Tagged: rants

A Frustrating Day on the Bike

This morning I rode to the Troy Farmer’s Market. I went down to the river and took the bumpy Corning Trail out to Watervliet, along whatever street that is, over the bridge, and into Troy. I got two compliments on my bike and Caribbean for lunch. On the way back I took 32 and Broadway. I had a nice tailwind the whole way, and I was trying to convince myself that riding on a mostly empty four-lane street with a tailwind was as good as I could hope for. I posted some photos of that here.

Then I rode to Downtube to drop off some more fliers. Apparently people are excited about the Tweed Ride. Which is good. Then I swung through Washington Park.

I heard one cyclist (riding against traffic) tell another cyclist (riding with traffic) to “stay on the right side.”

On the way out, I caught up to a guy on a bike with a kiddie trailer. I assume there was a kid in there, I didn’t look. On Lake I checked over my shoulder to see there was no traffic coming, and pulled up along side of him and said “howdy.” He gave me the who the hell are you? look. I’m just trying to be friendly. People don’t even recognize that anymore. People fear it; they give you the who the hell are you? look. I stopped at the red light. He did not.

On New Scotland, riding in the sharrows, there’s an older fellow on a bike coming directly toward me. He is riding against traffic. He is what we refer to as a bike salmon when we are trying to pretend this sort of thing is funny and not dangerous. Because there are moving cars to the left of me, parked cars to the right of me, and this jackass has suddenly realized he doesn’t know where to go. If only there were some sign, perhaps painted on the street, to indicate proper direction!

Bicycle Light Rant

Full disclosure: the turns into a wee bit o’ rant.

Last night we were in TAR ET. As we walked in, a guy came in behind us with a bicycle. He had no helmet, and no lights, despite the fact that it was pitch black and raining. He asked the security guard if it was alright if he left his bike in the entryway because he didn’t have a lock and he didn’t want to leave it outside. The guard was okay with that.

For those of you that don’t know, I commute by bike every day. Come hell or high water, and I’ve ridden through both. I believe in being visible to drivers (and other road users) and I believe in being responsible for your bicycle.

No lock? You went to the store without a lock? Would you park your car in a parking lot if it didn’t have locks on the doors? Why don’t you have a bike lock? You can get a passable bike lock for $20. You can get a badass lock you could kill someone with for $50. And believe it or not they sell bike locks at TAR ET.

But no lights? WHAT THE FRAK, PEOPLE! You wouldn’t drive a car without headlights and taillights.* Why do you think it’s okay to ride a bicycle IN THE DARK and IN THE RAIN without lights? I know the street lights are there, and maybe they help you see the street but trust me no one can see a cyclist lit only by street lamps. You’re a black smudge in the storm and NO ONE CAN SEE YOU. Not other cyclists, not pedestrians, and certainly not that ditz in the luxury suv who’s checking her Facebook updates. NO ONE CAN SEE YOU.

Whenever there’s a story on the news about some poor bloke on a bicycle being hit by a car driver, the driver always says “I didn’t see him.”

Lights are STUPID CHEAP now. A friend of mine GAVE me a pair, headlight and taillight, that he got on the internet for $3. $3! And believe it or not they sell bike lights at TAR ET.

PLEASE get some lights. Already have lights? Good for you. Maybe for Christmas you can buy lights for someone you know. Or someone you don’t know.**

* Technically, driving a car at night without lights is illegal and the police will pull you over and write you a ticket, or worse. Technically, writing a bike without lights is also illegal, but the police could care less. In other cities police WILL stop you and they will give you a ticket and it will be more than the cost of a set of lights and probably more than the cost of your whole bike.

** That gives me a great idea.

Crows

People LOVE to complain. Possibly to the exclusion of all other things. They complain that it’s too hot. They complain it’s too cold. They complain when it rains and when it snows. Do people even recognize how stupid that is?

Today they are complaining about crows. Of all things, crows. They say they are creepy, and noisy, and they poop on their cars and the sidewalks. THE HORROR!

What about the college kids who descend on the city like plagues of barbarians? They are violent, they are loud, and the are not afraid of public defecation. They destroy public and private property. They leave their garbage (which is not limited to broken glass) all over the city. Do we waste thousands of dollars every year trying to scare them off with lasers? No, we give them cheap accommodations, access to plenty of liquor regardless of their ages, and zero responsibility.

Honestly, I’ll take the crows. Watching them at dusk is phenomenal. I feel like I’m witnessing something powerful, something bigger than me. There’s something magical about a bruise colored sky flashing with shiny black wings. You can stand in awe of them, commandeering the sky and the trees in numbers you cannot fathom. It’s almost primal.