Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Boomerang
So I was on a ride today, stopped at a red light. A guy in a truck pulled up next to me. He had his window down and stuck his head out and asked "hey, don't you have a car". I answered "yeah, but who needs cars when we've got bikes". And at the last second I added "oh, and this bike is worth way more than my car" :)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Bicycle Rights
Every single time I roll out of my driveway I have to cope with the same fearful thought that I had when I first started cycling 7 years ago. "Will I make it back alive today?"
There are sports that hold inherent risks. In mountain climbing there is always the risk of falling; hiking the risk of getting lost; mountain biking the risk of breaking bones in a crash; basketball brings sprained ankles, broken noses; soccer and tennis torn ligaments. But these risks are understood and the athlete assumes the responsibility for taking those risks with their own health. It is a personal choice.
With road cycling though the risk, more often than not, is death. Not because of the dangerous nature of the sport (it's actually relatively benign as far as injury is involved) but because of the carelessness, disregard, and the flat-out animosity of other vehicles on the road.
When it comes to a collision between a 2-ton steel vehicle and 150 pound cyclist, there is little wiggle room for sprained ankles and torn ligaments. The disparity between this match up almost always leads to severe and catastrophic injury to the cyclist.
After 7 years I may have honed my ability to cope with the fear induced by malevolent drivers. I don't jump and swerve anymore when someone startles me by blaring their horn when their car is three feet away. I don't run off the road when a rear view mirror misses my head by a foot (though I probably should). I have learned to swallow my anger when I get run off the road at stop signs by a driver who misjudged how fast I was going and how much time they actually had to pass me. I can even hold my line in the air-wake of a Semi blasting by me at 50+ mph.
However, that fear remains just as potent and present as it was on my very first endeavor. Flash backs from prior close calls still make me break out in a cold sweat.
However, unlike these other sports, it is not for the road cyclist to assume the risk of severe injury or death caused by an inattentive or careless driver; that is not a risk inherent to the sport. That is the direct result of actions taken by one individual which cause harm to another.
For any cyclist abiding by the rules of the road, there is absolutely zero reason for their life to be at risk. By law, they posses the same rights to the road as any other vehicle and demand the same level of respect and consideration as any other vehicle on the road.
So the next time you're passing one, remember, this isn't a matter of fucking pride. You're not clever for "teaching someone a lesson about the road." You are toying with the life of another person, this is a matter of life and death for me and I don't deserve to die simply because I like to ride my bike to places sidewalks could never go.
There are sports that hold inherent risks. In mountain climbing there is always the risk of falling; hiking the risk of getting lost; mountain biking the risk of breaking bones in a crash; basketball brings sprained ankles, broken noses; soccer and tennis torn ligaments. But these risks are understood and the athlete assumes the responsibility for taking those risks with their own health. It is a personal choice.
With road cycling though the risk, more often than not, is death. Not because of the dangerous nature of the sport (it's actually relatively benign as far as injury is involved) but because of the carelessness, disregard, and the flat-out animosity of other vehicles on the road.
When it comes to a collision between a 2-ton steel vehicle and 150 pound cyclist, there is little wiggle room for sprained ankles and torn ligaments. The disparity between this match up almost always leads to severe and catastrophic injury to the cyclist.
After 7 years I may have honed my ability to cope with the fear induced by malevolent drivers. I don't jump and swerve anymore when someone startles me by blaring their horn when their car is three feet away. I don't run off the road when a rear view mirror misses my head by a foot (though I probably should). I have learned to swallow my anger when I get run off the road at stop signs by a driver who misjudged how fast I was going and how much time they actually had to pass me. I can even hold my line in the air-wake of a Semi blasting by me at 50+ mph.
However, that fear remains just as potent and present as it was on my very first endeavor. Flash backs from prior close calls still make me break out in a cold sweat.
However, unlike these other sports, it is not for the road cyclist to assume the risk of severe injury or death caused by an inattentive or careless driver; that is not a risk inherent to the sport. That is the direct result of actions taken by one individual which cause harm to another.
For any cyclist abiding by the rules of the road, there is absolutely zero reason for their life to be at risk. By law, they posses the same rights to the road as any other vehicle and demand the same level of respect and consideration as any other vehicle on the road.
So the next time you're passing one, remember, this isn't a matter of fucking pride. You're not clever for "teaching someone a lesson about the road." You are toying with the life of another person, this is a matter of life and death for me and I don't deserve to die simply because I like to ride my bike to places sidewalks could never go.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right.
So I came recently came across the title of this blog entry while lurking on someone's facebook. Apparently it's a quote from Henry Ford. But it definitely caught my eye because I agree with it 1,000,000 percent. Most people don't realize how far their own mind can take them. Just believing in yourself and your ability to succeed goes a hell of a long way. If you don't believe in yourself achieving what you set out to do, what's the point of trying at all? If I don't think I'm going to win a bike race that I enter, what's the point of me even showing up in the first place? I remember when I was a wee lad, this old janitor (don't ask me why a janitor was talking to me lol) was giving me advice so I didn't end up in a job like him and said "if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anyhting". I never really took that quote to heart for the longest time. I usually approached it with an immature mindset, arguing against it with "if I put my mind towards jumping off of a building and living, I still probably won't live". But honestly, that shit is so true. Put your mind towards something and see if you've got the balls to stick with it.
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