I was in the basement beer/bike room the other day and felt the pull to get back on my bike. I haven't ridden in over a year for a whole host of reasons, mostly because I was (and still am) devoting most of my exercise time and energy to swimming.
But with the gorgeous weather we've been having, I decided to go for a short ride just for the fun of it. And it was fun. I love my bike. It fits me like a glove, and it handles like a dream. And I'm a good cyclist. Plus I have a book planned about a murder in a cross country cycling race, so I need to keep my hand in. Or butt, as the case may be.
It wasn't long, though, before I remembered another reason why I hung up my helmet. My joy at pedaling was marred by the behavior of the cars I have to share the road with. Well, that's not fair. It's the drivers, not the cars.
Regardless of your bumper stickers, type of car (I'm talking about you, Prius drivers), or even the fact a car has a BIKE ON ITS ROOF, I don't know if you will give me an inch on the road or not.
However, I think I've figured it out. Whether you care about endangering a fellow human being or not comes down to whether you are too busy to have brain space to spare to notice the world around you.
I'm not saying the drivers who nearly brush me don't see me, I’m just saying they don’t process me.
And yeah, I know cyclists can behave badly too. But you know what? I DON"T CARE. Really, because who has the bigger obligation to behave? The person on 17 pounds of metal or the person in 2,000 pounds of metal? Yes, cyclists should be good citizens of the road too. But CARS CAN KILL YOU. All this focus on getting cyclists to be good citizens just gives drivers an out.
I’ll go out for a ride again, but I will make sure I am riding defensively.
People are too busy.
Sorry for all the yelling.
Peace.
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