it happens all the time...

it happens all the time...
it is not without reason
it is not out of no where
it occurs with a certain amount of logic
as my bicycle blog does put me into a bicycle guru sort of position
even if i am not a guru and just another bike in the crowd


a person comes to me with a criticism, a critique, or a question about cycling behavior
more specifically cycling behavior in dc traffic

why do they run red lights?
why do they ride on the sidewalks?


so many questions
and well... they are right... cyclists share one big brain
we share the same ideas
just like the large empty brain shared by car drivers

i usually do not make an effort to defend the behavior
but rather to explain the motivation
or better yet... to open their eyes to the similarity to the behavior or maybe the misbehavior of the car

why do i run a red light or stop sign on my bicycle?
well... in so many cases i run that red light or stop sign because i am afraid that if i stop at the stop line i will get run over by the tailgating car behind me
cause i know that no cars ever stop at the stop line

okay... red lights and stop signs are more like yield signs to the cyclist
if i drove like a car without splitting lanes and flowing through intersections... well.. i might as well be in my car
i modify the laws in the same way that cars do...

it goes like that...
on different days they get different answers
all depending on my mood, my experience with the cars that day, and how much coffee i have pumping through my system

when feeling fair and rational i try to explain it simple and clear
it is all about an excepted and understood modification of the law
a bending of the law and not breaking of the law
actions that contain common courtesy and common sense
all in an effort to put myself where i am most safe

i try to refrain from standing on my soapbox and proclaiming

UNTIL THE LAWS PROTECT ME... THE LAWS DO NOT APPLY TO ME


acting like an anarchist and talking like an anarchist get different responses
sensibly they should understand?

why does a cyclist ride the wrong way on a one way street?
for the same reason that a person crosses outside the cross walk
just trying to get there quicker or more efficiently
but understand... the pedestrian can cross mid block until they are safe to cross in the cross walk
just like the cyclist can ride against traffic until it is made safe for them to ride against traffic

the cyclist is given nothing... not their right to space is not respected... not their right to safety is not granted
the cyclist takes everything that they have
nothing is offered

it is all about an excepted expansion of the parameters of the box
again.... the different between bending and breaking the laws
here it where it gets funny

why is it that when a cyclist breaks the law people call out the national guard?
fingers point and mother's scream.... THAT CYCLIST RAN A RED LIGHT! THAT BICYCLE IS RIDING ON THE TRAILS WHERE IT SAYS NO BIKES! THERE IS A BICYCLE RIDER ON THE SIDEWALK!
when car drivers are breaking the law with much greater disregard for others' safety
the worst case scenario of the bicycle and the worst case scenario of the car are very different things
they are based around a selfishness... we all know that the driver is surrounded by air bags and crumple resistant side panels.... while the cyclist is flesh and bones with maybe some cloth gloves and a Styrofoam helmet

the car culture not only bends the laws.. but blindly breaks them...
helen keller would be a fine driver in this age of the braille dashboard

need to start my day
this is what you get
i had more
but i lost it