it is hot out there and some people are loving it... the EBBP is certain to be packed full on the ride home - and I'm starting to think wistfully of the 30-40 degree high temp days... days when the path was free of roller blades and part time pathletes. The regular walkers are great. The expect cyclists, they usually never have headphones on and when they do - they are always able to respond to a passing "'Morning" on my way in. Their was a young woman on the way in yesterday morning. no helment, iPod firmly implanted, I caught up to her and from slightly behind as I was passing I said a rather loud "Morning" as I do to most others on the commute in. Just sort of something that seems right, greet people ya know? Cheerily wish them (good) morning. This gal didn't even flinch, look over or nuttin as I rode past. Big designer glasses that inhibit peripheral vision, flowing blond hair in a pony tail, riding her bike in with back pack on. Across the big bridge and everything.
It bugged me a bit. For a moment I got judgmental and angry with her choice of using the iPod and not wearing a helmet. Doesn't she care about her safety? Doesn't she understand just how dangerous it is to ride without being able to hear? Then I thought of TP and his TT with the device. And I softened a bit. Sort of the whole Pectin deal in all of 1 second. Does it matter? Ultimately this individual decided to ride their bike that day instead of take a car, or other means of getting to work. They are getting some exercise, they are exploring other options and acting on them. Not perfect, but progress. Right direction and all that. Good stuff. I can hope that they will stay accident free. Certainly here in the USA our cycling fatalities are minuscule compared to say China where one number I read recently reported that there are 35,000 fatalities a year as a result of cycling accidents. That's almost as many automobile deaths that we have here in the USA annually (from some report i read a while back that I don't feel like looking up even though I know I should probably link it to follow citation random facts out of the ass protocol).
In that same second I was suprised at my thought process and reflected on what possibly might be some personal progress. I went from, at one second, wanting to angrily lecture this young woman about the dangers of riding in the manner she was, to the next, thinking that could be counter-productive and make me seem like a d!ckhead, and immediately thinking there is a way to positively phrase a comment that would maybe make a difference, but even it if didn't make a difference, it at least, wouldn't cause any harm. That whole honey and vinegar thing. Maybe there is hope that I can change. And from that transformation (if it is real and not just a momentary wrinkle in the time space gewillidom) maybe I can be a more compelling voice for the injustices I see around me and feel compelled to espouse on.
Not sure where that whole tangent came from. But the "Year of the Trucker" and Peanut's first race of the year report and one other thing not worth bringing up got me to hit create...
That first one...
that got me reflecting on the industry a bit (the bike industry). I was involved in being a shop rat for the big Mountain bike boom. Who knows what this next wave of popularity will cause, but if the story Mark pointed out is any indication, it could be a good thing. If it keeps guys like Jack and Jesse in business, that's cool too.
Lord protect us from another bike boom, but I wouldn't mind seeing a few more people get into it in a good way.
ride ur bike
heddwch
g
6 comments:
Doesn't she understand just how dangerous it is to ride without being able to hear?
I think you should also ask the question, do i understand how dangerous it is to ride without being able to hear?
The number one way to die on a bike is to get hit by a car. Do you think that your superior hearing allows you to tell the difference between "drunk driver weaving onto the shoulder behind me" and "regular car just passing me?" Or do you ride in a desolate enough area that you can look behind you the second you hear a car and keep your eye on it while it overtakes you?
I see so many people doing so many stupid things on bikes on my commute each day, and yet I've never seen someone get worse than doored (and I've only seen that once). The only conclusion I can come to is that the margin of error for people riding slowly who are blissfully ignorant is a hell of a lot higher than you think is it. Headphones might cut into that margin, but it's still surprisingly safe.
On paths headphones are deadly.
Did you me inconvenient? Dangerous? Annoying?
I fully support the argument that people who block the bike path while being blissfully ignorant of that fact are clowns who should be hated, but let's not pretend lives are at stake, here.
Your life is always at stake. There is always potential danger. You might get killed by a falling helicopter, does that mean that walking with headphones is unsafe because you won't hear the falling aircraft until it's too late?
Find me a single article where two bike path users managed to get in a fatal accident with each other and I'll shut up.
Hey, I did my own research and found this.
Two guys hit each other head-on riding in the dark without any lights, reflective gear, or helmets. One died five days later.
So if you make enough bad decisions, (no helmet, no lights, no reflectors) you *can* die on a bike path.
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