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With a blinkered view of the world, BikeBiz.com will be watching the US election with an eye on which of the two candidates will be the best advocates for cycling.
As both Kerry and Bush are likely to react in roughly the same way to "terrorist threats", as both pay lip-service to Bible-thumpers and as both profess to be anti-Kyoto, there’s little to choose between them, despite what the mainstream media portrays as a ideological gulf between the two men.
So, as the race for President may swing on just 557 votes in Florida, which of the two candidates has the best bicycling policies?
The cerebral Kerry has never flip-flopped when it comes to cycling. He loves his Serotta Ottrott and is probably the best bet to carry his love of cycling into the White House.
But will Americans stick to the dirt-lovin’ Devil they know? He’s a Johnny-come-lately cyclist and this may count against him. Also, he doesn’t openly wear a Lance Armstrong yellow wristband, canceling out many likely votes in his direction.
Not that anybody cares, and not that this site has any US voting rights, but BikeBiz.com would vote for Kerry. He buys his bikes; Bush gets his free from Trek…
KERRY/BUSH BIKE ARTICLE INDEX
Monday 9th February: The next president of the United States is a…cyclist
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=3655
Dubbed ‘JFK the Second’, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has claimed victory in the latest US state caucus to choose a Democratic challenger to President George W Bush. Kerry is pro-Green and is now far ahead of the other five candidates and could sweep Bush from office in November’s presidential election. The ultra-fit Kerry takes part in lots of sports but has impressed many with his marathon bike rides in tough conditions.
Monday 19th April: Cyclists John Kerry and Lance Armstrong make Time’s influential-100 list
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=3983
Time Magazine’s annual listing of the 100 most influential figures in the world today includes the would-be president, and the cycling-God-in-waiting, as well as notables as far apart as British marathon runner Paula Ratcliffe, sex-texter David Beckham and terrorist leader Osama bin Laden…
Wednesday 5th May: US president-in-waiting falls from bike
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4057
John Kerry, the Democrat challenger for the US presidency, likes his bicycle, as reported before on BikeBiz.com. So, his latest spill won’t dent his enthusiasm for cycling. Kerry has previously injured his shoulder in a fall from one of his many bicycles. His current favourite mount? It’s a Serotta Ottrott…
Friday 21st May: Nothing but the best for John Kerry
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4142
When the presumptive Democratic candidate for US president fell from his Serotta Ottrott at the beginning of the month, late-night chat-show hosts went into overdrive. Jay Leno said Kerry was fine because he fell on his wallet (Kerry’s wife is super-rich). It’s likely Kerry’s Serotta is paid for and owned by the Kerry family trust. And no doubt it’s this trust which is insisting the carbon handlebar damaged in the fall is replaced with the exact same super-expensive model: the brand graphics match Kerry’s orange-and-yellow frame and orange-and-yellow Giro helmet…
Sunday 23rd May: Bush proves he’s just as good as Kerry at bike falls
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4144
What’s this, the US president and the wanna-be president vying to see who has the best bicycle injuries? At the beginning of May, John Kerry fell from his $6000 Serotta Ottrott. Yesterday, President Bush was scuffed following a fall from his MTB. But in the mileage stakes, Kerry wins hands down: he rides long-distance charity rides, Dubya fell while on the 16th of a 17-mile ride…
Tuesday 25th May: Kerry and Bush are butt of bike jokes
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4155
On last night’s ‘Dead Ringers’ impersonisation comedy on BBC2, President Bush gave his Iraq speech from a Raleigh Chopper, from which he fell. And in the US, late-night chat-show hosts are squeezing as much mileage as possible out of the Bush-and-Kerry bicycle-borne pratfalls.
Wednesday 26th May: Kerry makes off-camera quip about Bush’s bike spill
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4164
According to the Drudge Report, Democrat presidential hopeful John Kerry made a jokey reference to the recent bicycle fall suffered by President Bush…
Friday 28th May: Lance Armstrong for US president!
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4174
Late-night chat show hosts in the US really can’t get enough jokes about Kerry and Bush falling from their bikes. Jay Leno’s latest dig is a spoof TV ad…
Wednesday 2nd June: Serotta bikes cross the political divide, argues Ben Serotta
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4191
Serotta Bikes of the US is getting used to press interest in its $3000+ machines. It helps to have a presidential candidate riding one of your bikes, perhaps even better when the candidate falls off. "We can’t make a fall-proof bike," Ben Serotta told his local newspaper, The Saratogian.
Tuesday 13th July: Kerry is TdF buff
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4362
John Kerry, the would-be president of the US, famously fell from his Serotta and was soon thereafter copied by Dubya, who skidded on a pretzel and face-planted. But will President Bush go the whole hog, and plug himself into OLN to watch his mate go for a sixth yellow jersey?
Tuesday 27th July: Running is bad for the knees, MTBing is now the US president’s exercise of choice
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4414
John Kerry may have an $8000 Serotta (sourced for him by a Boston bike shop) but a reporter from the Associated Press reveals that President Bush is a new, and genuine, convert to cycling. His May pratfall from a bicycle was no one-off, Bush rides a $3100 carbon-fibre Trek Fuel, and seems to enjoy falling off it, just like any other MTBer…
Friday 30th July: Are Kerry, Bush and Armstrong pedalling cycling into the American mainstream?
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4439
A historic sixth yellow jersey has propelled Lance Armstrong into the pantheon of all-time sporting greats. A Seabiscuit-type Hollywood blockbuster is waiting to be signed off. Celluloid sainthood for Lance, good publicity for cycling. Plus, following last week’s Associated Press exclusive on Dubya’s Trek Fuel, John Kerry has upped the ante by cycling before the most important speech of his career, a speech which featured bicycling three times…
Tuesday 3rd August: New York Times compares bike riding styles of Kerry and Bush
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4453
It’s a clash of cultures, reports NYT. Roadies are "wussies", MTBers are "sensation seekers." However, the International Mountain Bicycling Association has just awarded honorary IMBA memberships to both Kerry and Bush (Kerry is an MTB rider, too), saying: "It’s good to know that both candidates appreciate sweet singletrack."
Sunday 8th August: This is no Fuel crisis, it’s a bicycle made for two
http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/…/article.php?id=4478
From one president to another, Dubya’s Trek Fuel 98 – henceforth to be known as Mountain Bike One – was a gift from Trek president John Burke. President Bush said he has found bicycling is "mind expanding."
