Random ride thoughts

I spent the better part of today’s ride thinking about two things. My twin sister and idiots.

I have a twin sister, Joanne, who is a complete goofball and I’m very lucky to have her in my life. She loves Cheetos, bowling, Valley Fair, her family, and I can never forget her love of animals because usually the first thing she asks me about is how my cats are doing. When we were born Joanne couldn’t breathe on her own and went some time without oxygen. As a result, she has cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities. Because of this there’s not a lot she can do physically. I have the Chinese characters for twin taped to the stem of my handlebars to remind me that no matter how hard my life gets, Joanne has had to overcome so much more than I will ever be faced with. No matter how hard a ride might be, I at least have the option of riding my bike and to quit my whining.

Secondly, Kevin and I ran into every yoo-hoo today and it was very frustrating. I know there are a lot of cyclists out there who make it a challenge for non-cyclists -- idiots who run stop lights and stop signs, who take up too much of the road etc…but that doesn’t mean all of us are like that. Today non bicyclists were running in the bike only lanes on designated bike trails, someone was running in the bike lane on the road on Summit Avenue, and a complete idiot (with no helmet) was riding the wrong direction on a designated bike lane on the road. The worst was the woman in the Dodge Caravan. Kevin and I were riding, in the bike lane, following the law, and this complete idiot wasn’t paying attention and started to make a left turn directly into us. She wasn’t even looking. Kevin slammed on his brakes, I ran into him, crashed and landed on the road. It was a complete blur but I do remember thinking “that women is going to hit us” and next thing I knew I was on the ground. I feel really bad because some poor guy stopped to try and help me and all I could manage was a string of obscenities I didn’t even know I knew. I wish I could apologize to that poor man but he ran away before I composed myself. After 15 years of biking, today’s ride was the most frustrating and the closest I ever came to getting seriously hurt by a vehicle.

So, for my non-biking friends and family who read this, I’m very sorry for the idiot bikers out there who make it difficult for all of us. But please remember, that we are not all idiots and that cyclists have a legal right to ride on our city streets so please pay attention. Thanks!