Been a quiet month. Just the occasional obtuse and aggressive move by temporarily thoughtless people. Didn't inspire me enough to even remember a license plate #. The most memorable mix-up was with a DirectTV van running a stop sign at William St and Pulteney. Missed me by "that much". Even then, I saw it coming and wouldnt've allowed a crash.
The weather was stellar.
I have much bigger fish to fry in my life than road incidents nowadays. Holding the marriage and the family together really is, and always should be, #1.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Second encounter with the Foreigner, and more.
I decided to get an extra workout in before heading off to the beach a couple weeks ago. On the road to Watkins Glen, a 45 mile round trip, I ran into a gray-haired gentleman on a folding bike. I believe it was the guy on the bike path we encountered earlier. We were both on the correct side of the road this time, and with no quarrels, we greeted each other cordially.
Unfortunately, these last couple of weeks yielded more than their fair share of cat-callers and stop-sign runners. The incidents took place on Centerway (unintelligible insults from some young passengers in an older compact SUV), the Walmart parking lot (stop-sign runner in a red Pontiac Grand Prix with PA plates, by the Painted Post Sunoco (Corning Natural Gas company employee in a compact sedan near-miss on a hurried left turn into the gas station). And there were others!
I've been putting myself out there more often, with 15 miles a day of commuting/errands lately, 7 days a week.
I use my bike whenever possible, damn the sticks-in-the-mud! Go forth, and do likewise.
Unfortunately, these last couple of weeks yielded more than their fair share of cat-callers and stop-sign runners. The incidents took place on Centerway (unintelligible insults from some young passengers in an older compact SUV), the Walmart parking lot (stop-sign runner in a red Pontiac Grand Prix with PA plates, by the Painted Post Sunoco (Corning Natural Gas company employee in a compact sedan near-miss on a hurried left turn into the gas station). And there were others!
I've been putting myself out there more often, with 15 miles a day of commuting/errands lately, 7 days a week.
I use my bike whenever possible, damn the sticks-in-the-mud! Go forth, and do likewise.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Weird encounter with a foreigner
I was cycling along our town's main bike path with my two kids when this funny gentleman, with a British Commonwealth accent, on a foldable bike, pulls up behind me, and announces he is going to pass on my right. He says this more than once. I move left as he attempts to pass on my left (not my right as he announced he would), and I run him off the path. He then castigates me - "you understand English!?" I respond "You said you'd pass on the right then you went left. YOU LIE!" And off he went. Silly helmet, tiny wheels and all.
Must have been a disoriented Brit, used to driving on the left side of the road, unsuccessfully coping with our backwards traffic system.
Must have been a disoriented Brit, used to driving on the left side of the road, unsuccessfully coping with our backwards traffic system.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Quiet Summer
No real problems this past month. Some delinquent in a compact SUV, windows down, babbled something incoherent at me and my son biking to the store. Other than that, mainly courteous drivers.
Read somewhere that Americans are using 25 million gallons less gasoline per day than they were 5 years ago. That is encouraging. Look forward to the day when gasoline is just some lunatic fringe boutique fuel, and the hydro/nuclear/solar/wind/biomass/geothermal complex is the mainstream for our transportation needs.
Read somewhere that Americans are using 25 million gallons less gasoline per day than they were 5 years ago. That is encouraging. Look forward to the day when gasoline is just some lunatic fringe boutique fuel, and the hydro/nuclear/solar/wind/biomass/geothermal complex is the mainstream for our transportation needs.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Continuing Struggle
The weather has gotten hotter. We passed through a rainy period, my family (4 kids) and I. We biked hard, avoiding the afternoon thunderstorms using luck and guile.
WIth the hotter weather, there are more open windows, and more irritated drivers, unhappy that they have to "share" the road with other vehicles like bikes. So we got a few honks and dirty looks since my last entry. Annoying, yes. This sort of thing is inevitable, given the state of humanity.
And, of course, we get our fair share of right hooks by inattentive/defiant drivers that we avoid. Too many to remember all at once in this entry, but not so many that I would have to take off my shoes to count all the incidents.
It can be frustrating, this cycling in traffic. So frustrating that my wife, who used to join us regularly in our cycling efforts, has given up. She refuses to cycle any more. Rightly or wrongly, I feel hurt and abandoned by her decision. We have done this together for years, but now, no more. Sitting in the car is not the same. Guzzling gasoline, when I don't have to, just doesn't feel right to me, nor should it to anyone, who is properly concerned about what sort of future our kids will inherit from us, and our energy-profligate ways.
So I soldier on, often with the kids, who do not understand as I do, but are mostly willing to go along for the ride. I, alone, may not make a difference. But one million more of me, perhaps. The "White Rose" movement in Germany to subvert Hitler and his Holocaust dreams made no difference. Does this mean they shouldn't have tried? I say it's better to try and fail than to not try at all. So I'll keep trying!
WIth the hotter weather, there are more open windows, and more irritated drivers, unhappy that they have to "share" the road with other vehicles like bikes. So we got a few honks and dirty looks since my last entry. Annoying, yes. This sort of thing is inevitable, given the state of humanity.
And, of course, we get our fair share of right hooks by inattentive/defiant drivers that we avoid. Too many to remember all at once in this entry, but not so many that I would have to take off my shoes to count all the incidents.
It can be frustrating, this cycling in traffic. So frustrating that my wife, who used to join us regularly in our cycling efforts, has given up. She refuses to cycle any more. Rightly or wrongly, I feel hurt and abandoned by her decision. We have done this together for years, but now, no more. Sitting in the car is not the same. Guzzling gasoline, when I don't have to, just doesn't feel right to me, nor should it to anyone, who is properly concerned about what sort of future our kids will inherit from us, and our energy-profligate ways.
So I soldier on, often with the kids, who do not understand as I do, but are mostly willing to go along for the ride. I, alone, may not make a difference. But one million more of me, perhaps. The "White Rose" movement in Germany to subvert Hitler and his Holocaust dreams made no difference. Does this mean they shouldn't have tried? I say it's better to try and fail than to not try at all. So I'll keep trying!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Finally some action...
When it rains, it pours.
First, I was biking back home through the bar district (it's a small town, so the "district" really is 3-4 bars clustered at a small crossroads). from work at a quarter to one in the morning. There were 3 or 4 people, drunk, in the middle of the street, yelling epithets and threats at one another. I just came off a downhill and wanted to preserve my momentum, so I blew by the first group, who had no time to react to me. The second group saw me coming and, all two of them, charged me. Not wanting to expose my flank, I barrelled head-on toward them. Their menacing looks gave way to some sort of surprised fear as they realized I meant to go right through them. They were small and drunk, and in no condition to stop a 200+ pound juggernaut headed straight toward them at 15+ mph. So, they stepped aside and I was on my way. "Shitheads!" I muttered within earshot of them.
I headed back to work on Saturday. I was maintaining a brisk pace on the smooth shoulder of the road when a Ford Expedition, license plate # DSG 9951 (NY), with open windows, slowed, and its occupants spat forth unsolicited advice, telling me to ride on the sidewalk. My discipline held and I was silent, even though I was within a stone's throw of the vehicle for the next mile or so. Probably stupid bored teenagers taking daddy's car out for a spin.
That's it for now. There will surely be more to come, as the busy season for Driving While Stupid (unfortunately perfectly legal) has arrived.
First, I was biking back home through the bar district (it's a small town, so the "district" really is 3-4 bars clustered at a small crossroads). from work at a quarter to one in the morning. There were 3 or 4 people, drunk, in the middle of the street, yelling epithets and threats at one another. I just came off a downhill and wanted to preserve my momentum, so I blew by the first group, who had no time to react to me. The second group saw me coming and, all two of them, charged me. Not wanting to expose my flank, I barrelled head-on toward them. Their menacing looks gave way to some sort of surprised fear as they realized I meant to go right through them. They were small and drunk, and in no condition to stop a 200+ pound juggernaut headed straight toward them at 15+ mph. So, they stepped aside and I was on my way. "Shitheads!" I muttered within earshot of them.
I headed back to work on Saturday. I was maintaining a brisk pace on the smooth shoulder of the road when a Ford Expedition, license plate # DSG 9951 (NY), with open windows, slowed, and its occupants spat forth unsolicited advice, telling me to ride on the sidewalk. My discipline held and I was silent, even though I was within a stone's throw of the vehicle for the next mile or so. Probably stupid bored teenagers taking daddy's car out for a spin.
That's it for now. There will surely be more to come, as the busy season for Driving While Stupid (unfortunately perfectly legal) has arrived.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
"Open window" season, where folks have their car windows open due to the warm weather and so decide to shout stuff at the bicyclists they pass, has been mild for me so far. Since the last post, I only have had one verbal encounter. It was rather civil. I lost the flag to the bike trailer I use. It blew off in the wind, and when I returned to find it, it was gone; perhaps someone picked it up. So Open Window Guy says quite gently: "You need a flag for your trailer." (we were stopped at a light). I told him it blew off a few days ago. He waved, the light changed, and we parted ways.
I can handle encounters like that.
Other incidences were simply friendly toots from friends and neighbors who I recognized and waved at.
Other than the consistent right hook maneuvers by inattentive motorists, it has been peaceful. I like it!
I can even prevent the right hook from happening by taking the turn lane if I have to. So, even that situation isn't so bothersome as it could be.
I can handle encounters like that.
Other incidences were simply friendly toots from friends and neighbors who I recognized and waved at.
Other than the consistent right hook maneuvers by inattentive motorists, it has been peaceful. I like it!
I can even prevent the right hook from happening by taking the turn lane if I have to. So, even that situation isn't so bothersome as it could be.
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