Though it's only fair to point out that an eight-mile city centre road closure probably affects more businesses and residents than a 30-mile loop in a remote mountain region, the small villages on the route of the Bike Day rely on tourist visitors, not all of whom are sympathetic to those who ride bikes.
Stranded on the side of the highway, I hitched a ride with some sympathetic offduty cops who drove me to the nearest city.
At a current running time of three hours (or a reported two hours and 20 minutes in its soon-to-be-released European version), Dogville was a tough ride for even the most sympathetic viewer.
Last week, you attacked Harriet Harman's use of English ("In plain English, Harriet, you're taking the public for a ride", Comment), describing her as "preternaturally sympathetic to the interests of the Primark-going classes".
Not everyone was sympathetic to passengers who shelled out big bucks for rides home on New Year's Eve.
With a strong sympathetic reaction in place, I got back on and rode it home, telling myself that I was okay.
Gruen, whose first novel was "Riding Lessons," turns horses and other creatures into sympathetic characters.
"I feel sympathetic," said Roy H. Carlin, a lawyer who lives nearby and has been refused rides many times.
Sympathetic and energetic, the music sets the scene and brings you along for the ride.
Another mezzo-soprano might have feared comparison with Joyce DiDonato, who sang the role in 2011, but Ms. Deshayes fully filled her tall leather riding boots, bringing heartfelt urgency to the opera's most honest, astute and sympathetic character.
