Anecdotal research suggests that people are being let off-leash without adequate training to perform basic activities such as walking on sidewalks or through airports and busy city centers. I’m assuming this expands to shopping malls, but I never go there so I can’t be sure. It’s easy to blame the mobile phones which apparently grow from our hands, but even when no phone appears to be involved, the same problem exists: people wander about without any apparent awareness that anyone else might be in the vicinity.
Take, for instance, the gentleman who wandered off the Plane Train at SEATAC airport the other day. As he detrained, he stopped to investigate which of the 4 identical escalators best satisfied his fancy. I’m not one to criticize someone’s escalator scrutiny – you can’t over think these sorts of things – my issue is with the choice to stop just outside the exit of the train, completely unaware that he was blocking the way for the other passengers still left on the train.
It isn’t that these are bad people. We’re a product of our society and society teaches us that being a self-absorbed asshole is the right way to go about your life; there’s no limit to what you can accomplish when you don’t give a flying fuck about how those accomplishments impact other people. Which brings me back to my original point: we’re not getting the right training in order to avoid being assholes.
Riding a bike in general and riding in a group in particular teaches you all sorts of things about external dependencies and the trickle effect that our actions have on those around us. Rule #59 extends beyond just riding in a straight line, but to riding predictably and informing those riders who are dependent on you of dangers and obstacles. Cyclists develop a situational awareness that becomes second nature with practice.
I therefore propose that we modify our free-ranging policy to include a provision that mandates all humans be required to take a bicycle racing class and spend significant time riding in a group at speed before being allowed into the wilds of society. Don’t change your line when walking on a sidewalk without peeking over your shoulder. Don’t stop dead in your tracks without checking if someone is behind you. Don’t take a right-hand turn without warning when driving in the far left lane. Don’t block doorways. Don’t knock people in the head when you’re walking with a 2×4.
And for the love of Merckx, take off your headphones.
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@Puffy @optimiste I get that and in many situations I would agree.
I don't use them in London for safety reasons, and I wouldn't use them on a long country ride because I agree it is also nice to hear the environment and ones own thoughts.
However the two differences here are:
1. Not much environment. I'm training on the same roads, about 15-25km depending on route, and there's not a lot of scenery or wildlife. It's 0530 in the morning and for half the year it's mostly dark.
2. I'm training. I find it helpful to sometimes tell my inner monologue to STFU and let me get on with it. When I'm commuting, pootling or just riding I am not so focused and happy to take in multiple sensory inputs.
@Barracuda
There was a guy in a group ride from my LBS last summer. We were on country roads that were perfectly wide enough for two lanes of traffic let alone a car and our group. Yet every time a car came the other way he would brake without warning. I couldn't help wondering what he was like in a car. After a few brake tests I went and rode the head of the group and was expecting to hear mangling carbon behind for the rest of the ride.
@ChrisO Do the locals have 300 words for Sand like Eskimos do for Snow?
@Teocalli
Probably although my total Arabic vocabulary is about 20 words and sand isn't among them. If I stay here another 30 years I might be able to converse with a three year old.
The way it was described to me was that Arabic doesn't use adjectives like we do in English and the Latin-based languages.
So where we would say red sand, dry sand, marshy sand, rolling sand, bastard sand etc and could use 300+ adjectives for the same noun, they will have a different word for each of them.
That makes it quite a difficult language to speak, which is why there isn't a single language.
There's classical Arabic from the Koran, there's Modern Standard Arabic (effectively the official version always used in newspapers, news broadcasts and written or official documents, like Mandarin in China), and then there are the spoken variants which tend to be regional. So there is the Meghreb (Egypt/Sudan/North Africa) Arabic, the Levant Arabic (Jordan/Syria/Lebanon) and the Khaleej Arabic (Saudi/UAE/Arabian Gulf) version. Khaleej means Gulf, I know that much ! And within that each country or smaller region may have some specific words. I know Egyptians who have a lot of trouble understanding Gulf Arabs.
So yes, between all that there are probably 3000 fucking words for sand.
@Steve-o
Problem is that in some parts of the world you are compelled by law to use them. Moronic law-makers!
@Steve-o
@TheVid
Yes! My pet peeve is those who are in the middle of an airport concourse and stop dead in the middle to look at the flight info boards - with their bag perpendicular to the length of the corridor. As you have said, have the decency to pull of toward the edge of traffic!
I was riding back from Rutledge the other day. Coming the other way were two girls on bikes, one younger, maybe 12 yrs old the other clearly at least at the age of consent. From a distance it looked like they were drunk, not only taking up the whole lane with a random pattern from left to right in long and short swooping arcs but occasionally, and without any sort of indication as to her inclination, into the oncoming lane. The older girl clearly teaching the youngster on the finer points of complete unpredictability. At first I thought, well at least she will succumb to the laws of evolution before she breeds, that was before I concluded it was too late as she was already passing on her teachings to a younger generation.
If I was a better person I would have stopped and taken the time to perhaps show them a safer way to ride, but I was not that person, rationalizing that it would of been a wasted effort and spoiled my 500 meter sprint to the railroad tracks. I stayed on the drops.
How about the "TriGuy" who shows up to the local group ride and creates chaos instantly by not holding his line, not communicating and just generally being a douche?
Happened last week, group slows up a bit, TriGuy jams on brakes Full On - I have to brake hard not to rear end him...I turn to apologize to rest of group behind me, whereas he is oblivious to all this...
You can't even shame them by calling them out. Oblivious to all the Cat 6 shit pulled.
@VirenqueForever TriGuy should be debriefed of the "ways of the tri" and briefed on "the way"...
@The Grande Fondue
No, no, no, no, no-ooooo, no, nope. Disguise it by mounting under the top tube near the seat tube. Stuff in jersey pocket until needed.