Wow! I usually ride alone but when I end up riding with my partner Maggie it always seems that I get myself into some scrape with an idiot driver who beeps and yells at me to get off the road. Typically I’m tailing Maggie and I’m hanging a bit into the street more than usual in a purely defensive position to protect my partner from any aggravation. Sadly she gets more aggravated when I get into a spat with a car. She doesn’t care that I’ll give them a Massbike Same Road Same Rules hand out. TS!
So…thinking about the domestic consequence I started thinking about all my bike habits. They’re probably very similar to my driving ones only no one hears me when I call the guy who cut me off an asshole… However when I see other riders being aggressive against automobiles I don’t like it either. I’ve gotten to the point in my car when I ride with Maggie that I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut. I find it is permeating into all my driving…
Now to translate it into my bike riding. Why? Let’s see if I yell at someone they’re NOT going to HEAR what I say? That’s all it takes I guess. Just that realization that being an aggressive noisy guy only alienates drivers from any openess to riders. So… I guess we’ll be looking for our own “Hi Cars!” sign… and try to keep our mouth shut whenever someone beeps, cuts me off, turns in front of me, speeds by too close, races past me with a few yards to go before the red light, or whatever anti-social move they’re bound to make during my meager 4+ mile commute between Dot and JP…
Next? Ride correctly? Doubt it. I counted 10 (soon to be 11) traffic signals that I pass through everyday on my way to work…2 in Peabody Square (take a right on red and go thru the next one even if its red if no cars are in the Tedeschi lot). Codman Square at Mellville (often stop but run as I know it is a delayed red with southbound getting the green before the north). Park Street nearly ALWAYS stop if red although we’ll move off if we see NO CARS in sight after we stop. 4 Corners ALWAYS stop although take off as it turns. Next light on Washington NEVER stop as no right side egress and it is really a STUPID polically motivated light). Washington/Columbia ALWAYS. Columbia and Seaver (ALWAYS but I’d go before the light changes if all the cars clear). Columbia and Blue Hill ALWAYS (there’s an average of 8 cars running it on Blue Hill EVERY DAY). Montebello & Washington (ALWAYS although it’s a three cycle light and I’ll run through if the Forest Hills Ave light is green and all the cars have gone) (We’ll review the ride home another time although I’d say there are less lights). Would I ever be a total complier? Doubt it. How about you?
Oh and would declaring that I’m going to be nice on the road curtail my outspokeness related to the progress of bike development in Dorchester? I would say I’ve already toned things down a little, but don’t expect me to clam up altogether in that arena. At least not until the bike share is tabled for 5 years and one job in Dorchester gets done right the first time and beyond our hopes and expectations….(That might be happening too as I saw what looked like bike lane outlines on Mass Ave just north of South Bay so…)
