Had the misfortune chance to “attend” the extremely sterile and uninviting “Greater Albuquerque Active Transportation Committee” meeting via Zoom this past Monday. It was no fun. As has been the case for pretty much every GAATC meeting going back to when I served on the formerly named “Greater Albuquerque Bicycle Advisory Committee,” any attendee would get the impression that “active transportation” (or a bicycle) is the dullest, most unenjoyable enterprise imaginable.

For truth in advertising sake, we probably should change the name to “Greater Albuquerque Doing the Laundry Committtee” or something equally indicating how unfun attendance is in any form (member, guest, presenter). Speaking of fun, the actual funniest aspect of how unfunny attending these meetings is that all this somber seriousness is being mentally spent talking about active transportation as if the Committee’s decisions carried a great deal of public policy clout.

Uh, no…they don’t.

This past Monday’s meeting was particularly somber due to the recent passing of the Committee’s Chair (condolences), yet it really didn’t stand out with regard to the level of impotent overseriousness exhibited. They’re all like that.

Well, I hate to tell everybody, but “active transportation” is fun. Yeah, there’s the fear about getting killed doing it part (which consumes about 99.9% of the Committee’s work/thinking), but c’mon people…it’s fun. Even the almost getting killed part is more fun than we’d like to admit. Even when crossing San Mateo at, say, Claremont.

Every time I attend a GAATC meeting I think back to seeing Steve Martin open for Steve Goodman in 1978. Yes, that really happened and yes I am really that old. I sat in the second row at Dallas’ Fair Park Music Hall and watched Mr. Martin play the always happy banjo and sing a happy, upbeat song about “Death, and Grief, and Sorrow, and Murder…” It’s just hard not to have a smile on your face while you’re riding a bicycle…

With the warming weather, allergies and wind be damned, I hope you’re having some fun committing “active transportation” today and/or sometime real soon. That Steve Martin makes a real nice “earworm” for any such activity; I should know, I’ve had it stuck in my head through many a trip across San Mateo at Claremont.