Well, It's getting hotter. I remember my youth in the mid south as being alot of sweaty summers, riding my bike in the dustiest of fields, rolling in the woods and trees and culverts and smelling to high heaven. My mom would sometimes ask-no- demand that I take my clothes off before I came in the house. I am still really good at getting nekkid fast. Sometimes there would be the tic check, I had/have a really thick mop of hair & critters would get in there and try to subdivide. I am still really sensitive to bugs and creatures on my person. The best part of summer was freedom and to a ten year old boy that meant a fully functional bicycle. I would ride as far as my bony little legs would carry me and then I would ride back. I would look for the best hill to jump, the best trails to ride and build the nicest ramps you could out of cast off plywood and cinder blocks. I would never wear a helmet, knee pads or one of those little flags that people have on their bikes. I always rode in the street, up and down hills and through yards. I say this because I now live in the Midwest and I have seen some things that make my stomach twinge and a little bile build up in my throat.
Grown men and women wearing helmets. I can understand if you are on a trail or in a road race that you want that extra safety, I just do not understand why on God's green earth you would wear one whilst riding your Target bicycle, pulling a little toddler carrier, on a side street, doing 6 miles an hour why would you feel that need to get decked out like Lance himself. I understand that you wanna be a good influence on the kiddos and you wanna show them how to do right, but what happened to "do as I say, not as I do"? If you wanna show the kids some real life, take one for the team. Fall down and get a concussion and show them how to shake it off. Get hurt and don't cry about it or try to sue someone.
This in, fact, leads me to my "Rules of the road for bicyclists"
1. Share the road. That goes for you too, family of four taking up all of the road in both lanes.
2. If you are expecting to ride your bike on the street with gas powered HEMI's
-there is a speed limit the people that need to get somewhere try to go. You better be doing your best to get to that speed. What I am saying is if you are on a street that has a speed limit of 45 MPH, you should be haulin at all times. Some of us have to be at work soon.
-there is a speed limit the people that need to get somewhere try to go. You better be doing your best to get to that speed. What I am saying is if you are on a street that has a speed limit of 45 MPH, you should be haulin at all times. Some of us have to be at work soon.3. If I have to obey rules of the road, so do you. Do not bring your casual riding, taking up all of the lane on a 45MPH road, ATB up to a stop light and then decide you are a pedestrian and you can cross in the ped-xing like you were not just in my lane, dilly dallying and acting like you were annoyed that I was tailing you a mere 2 feet from your back tire. And I swear that if you cross against the light or jaywalk-I promise you this, I will find the nastiest, gooiest substance in my truck and fling it at you when I pass you.
4. Unless you are in a sanctioned event, you do not need the whole pointy helmet, spandexed racing outfit to go with your livestrong bracelet. I throw the football with the kids, play baseball, soccer and tennis. I am never decked out in full pads. When I played football in jr. high/high school, we didn't wear game jerseys to practice in. You look ridiculous-Just stop. Yes we know you spent $5000 on you titanium graphite bike with Italian & carbonite brakes, but you do not have to show off the wiener shorts every Saturday on you casual ride through my neighborhood.
5. For the love of all that is holy, stop telling everyone within earshot that you are doing this for the environment. I just saw you drive up in your Hummer and unload your bike-or better yet your Honda Hybrid that is causing the manufacture of batteries that will affect our landfills for thousands of years after you are dust.
All I am saying is ride you bike for fun, I do, Ride like you are on a bike, not a car and if you are in my lane, ride like you have someplace to be-soon.
And look out for gross projectiles.
Live to ride-Ride to live.
SF
