Tuesday
Stupid Motorist Tricks
Stupid Motorist Trick: I was riding along E 56th St North this morning. A pickup came up alongside, intending to right-hook onto the US169 on-ramp. But apparently the driver not only misjudged my speed, he (or she, I couldn't tell) focused on my bbike so intently that he missed the ramp entirely! He stayed beside me until he realized he was well past the ramp, stopped,then reversed to enter it! Amazing!
Other news: I'm changing shifts as of tomorrow. I'll be working 0800-1630, and I'll be commuting in daylight! What a deal! Well, that, and I can be there to see the kids off to school in the morning. I'm looking forward to it.
Later the same day...
It was a lovely spring-like day with temperatures in the 70s! Imagine riding in just shorts and jersey in February! But as is usual on those first nice days, motorists are driving around with their windows down. As I rode west on a 4 lane arterial, someone in a passing pickup yelled, "Get on the sidewalk!" He went on down the street, then turned into the drive-thru lane at Arby's.
That's where I caught up to him.
Way back when, I was a sprinter, complete with the requisite short tempered disposition. Learning to control my temper has been a life-long struggle. And at Arby's, I successfully avoided going into Conan-the-Barbarian mode. (Crush your enemies, see them run before you, hear the lamentation of their women!) I'm a big guy at just over 6 feet tall and 220 pounds. It's gratifying to see how small a horn blaring motorist can get when I catch him. But I wasn't going to take any heads today.
I was polite. I was actually nice! I told him that it's safer to be on the street than the sidewalk and that the chances of crashing are about three times greater on the sidewalk. "Oh", he said, "that's because every ramp is another intersection!" He actually got it! Wow! And I told him that riding the sidewalks in a business district is illegal in our town.
"Just give me a little space on the road!" I grinned, and we parted amicably.
Damn! I'm getting old! Or maybe I'm just getting smarter.
Stupid Motorist Trick: I was riding along E 56th St North this morning. A pickup came up alongside, intending to right-hook onto the US169 on-ramp. But apparently the driver not only misjudged my speed, he (or she, I couldn't tell) focused on my bbike so intently that he missed the ramp entirely! He stayed beside me until he realized he was well past the ramp, stopped,then reversed to enter it! Amazing!
Other news: I'm changing shifts as of tomorrow. I'll be working 0800-1630, and I'll be commuting in daylight! What a deal! Well, that, and I can be there to see the kids off to school in the morning. I'm looking forward to it.
Later the same day...
It was a lovely spring-like day with temperatures in the 70s! Imagine riding in just shorts and jersey in February! But as is usual on those first nice days, motorists are driving around with their windows down. As I rode west on a 4 lane arterial, someone in a passing pickup yelled, "Get on the sidewalk!" He went on down the street, then turned into the drive-thru lane at Arby's.
That's where I caught up to him.
Way back when, I was a sprinter, complete with the requisite short tempered disposition. Learning to control my temper has been a life-long struggle. And at Arby's, I successfully avoided going into Conan-the-Barbarian mode. (Crush your enemies, see them run before you, hear the lamentation of their women!) I'm a big guy at just over 6 feet tall and 220 pounds. It's gratifying to see how small a horn blaring motorist can get when I catch him. But I wasn't going to take any heads today.
I was polite. I was actually nice! I told him that it's safer to be on the street than the sidewalk and that the chances of crashing are about three times greater on the sidewalk. "Oh", he said, "that's because every ramp is another intersection!" He actually got it! Wow! And I told him that riding the sidewalks in a business district is illegal in our town.
"Just give me a little space on the road!" I grinned, and we parted amicably.
Damn! I'm getting old! Or maybe I'm just getting smarter.
posted by Ed W at 12:10 PM
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