you can be honest without telling all...

honesty is not always the best policy

honesty does not mean telling all

sometimes I think I am too vocal about my occasional dip into the woods on the bicycle
people have such a strong response to the actions of the bicycle

funny...
in my mind it is not so much the issue of legal or illegal
it is more the issue of right or wrong
I feel it is no more wrong than the infractions that the majority of the population incur each day

last night my step mother told me that I buzzed past her on the sidewalk on my bicycle as she was trying to turn into her parking garage at work
it is sort of humorous
how would that be explained?
it would have been very odd had I been hit my my own step mother while on the bike

when she asked me what I was doing on the sidewalk on my bike I responded quite simply; it happens

so often people are so quick to realize the breaking of the law by the cyclist
while they are unable to see the bending of the laws in their own actions

the bicycle riding on the sidewalk?
as long as the cyclist is respectful of others it is a non-issue
sort of like a pedestrian jaywalking
there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to bend the law
if a cyclist is traveling a city block or two on the sidewalk is different than them traveling their full route on the sidewalk
that said... some cyclists do not feel safe on the road...
control the car chaos... then penalize the cyclists and the pedestrians

the same goes for the cyclist running the stop sign or the red light
the majority of car drivers fail to make complete stops at stop signs
they roll through never fully stopping
never taking in the variables
yet... these arrogant car drivers will get outraged if a bicyclist floats through

what is up with the car driver's need to pass the cyclist?

yesterday a construction vehicle came blazing up my street
it was some sort of earth mover
I am sure either of my boys could tell me the appropriate name of this vehicle
the yellow construction vehicle with its large knobby tires and mechanical shovels front and rear was moving up the hill at a rational pace
maybe a few miles an hour above the speed limit
the car behind this vehicle passed over the double yellow line on a blind curve to get in front of this vehicle
not because of the speed of the vehicle
just because he/she felt that they should be in front of such a vehicle
in the same way that cars get frustrated and feel that they need to be in front of the bicyclist

so often a car tailgates me
never looking ahead to see that there is a line of cars just ahead
they make the pass
then I pass them
most often they pass on the left then re-enter the lane all the way to the right
blocking my passage
which of course sends me passing on the left
passing all the cars that just past me
none of them leaving me space to continue forward
I am forced to take what I can get
as so little is offered up to me

enough on this rant
it is all over the place and hardly worth posting