Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Letter to the city of Helsinki

Dear Sirs/Madams,
I thought we had an agreement. You keep the roads plowed so I can go to work. I go to work and pay you taxes with the salary earned from the work. Since you've failed to fulfill your end of this contractual obligation, I demand satisfaction.

At the moment the public infrastructure is in such a bad shape, that it is not feasible to commute to work by using a normal bicycle, such as a hybrid meant for urban conditions. Furthermore, despite the rationality of bicycling in such conditions may be questioned, I have continued to do so nevertheless, and as a consequence have gotten bitten by the mountain biking bug, and to a lesser extent, the cyclocross bug. Both of the resulting diseases will undoubtedly require considerable investments (in terms of my money and time) in the future.

However, I'm willing to work towards a compromise, so either of us will not be forced to taking legal action. I propose that
  • you, the city of Helsinki, purchase me one (1) Surly Pugsley bicycle, which I'll be able to ride to work even on badly maintained cycle lanes. Therefore you can continue to neglect the maintenance of the public infrastructure.
In return I, Budget Cyclist, will
  • stop demanding that you plow cycle lanes better and cease to mock your Public Works Department publicly (until next winter)
  • not take legal action regarding your aforementioned breach of contract.

I believe that 18'' is the correct size of Pugsley for me. Please have it delivered to my door within a week from today.


Sincerely yours,
Budget Cyclist, Esq.

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