I’m Promoting Cycling, but Horses Would Do

Someone wrote in this exciting news Last Thursday in the comments section: There are several towns in California- Woodside, Ojai, and Acton, where people are committed to using horses as a means of transportation whenever possible. In fact, there are grocery stores, restaurants and even bars that all have hitching posts outside. Pretty cool way of life, don't you think?

Does anybody know anything more about that? Are we talking about more than a few eccentrics? What I’d really love is to hear from someone who’s doing that. And I have nothing against eccentrics (as one might infer from my blog) so don't be shy. Can we talk?

What if someone started a horse taxi service in Portland? I suppose it would be expensive, but I wonder how it would compare with gassing up an SUV these days? There’s at least one business that runs a couple of horse carriages around downtown that that are hired for weddings or graduations or by tourists. All I’ve seen so far though are open carriages, replicas of old fashioned ones.

Somebody should design a modern, weather-proof carriage with comfortable seats and a sound system in it. They could ride down Broadway picking up commuters in the morning and they could listen to NPR on their way to work, or music, or talk to each other. Raise your hand if you would like to start your day like that.