Do You Schluff Enough?
Robert Sullivan, author of a recent biking etiquette piece in the New York Times that sparked some heated discussion in the comments section of New York Streetsblog, presents this video introducing the concept of “schluffing.” He says the word is meant to evoke “a kind of sleepy riding” not to be confused with schlepping, which this technique helps to minimize. (The origin of the term, I’m told, has something to do with the Yiddish word shlofn.) Etymology aside, the video makes it pretty clear what he’s getting at:
We present schluffing as an alternative
to riding a bike on the sidewalk. We present schluffing as a Third Way,
a particular kind of compromise that bikers are great at, as opposed to
car drivers.
I’ll have to give this schluffing thing a try. Usually if I want to put one foot on the ground I’ll keep straddling the bike, but this seems like a better approach for that last block on the trip home, before I get to my front door.
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