M
Mike Boyd is editor of the Colorado Springs Business Journal and a
poor comedian. He can be reached at [email protected] or 329-5202
Bicycling doesn't top list of my favorite activities
http://www.csbj.com/story.cfm?ID=10469
"The Colorado Department of Transportation issued a warning last week
that drivers of internal combustion machines (i.e. cars, trucks,
hulking SUVs, etc.) should be on the lookout for riders of muscled-
powered vehicles (i.e. bicycles).
Seems that with the onset of spring, bicyclists become more prominent
on the roadways. CDOT also was reminding cyclists that they play by
the same rules of the road as gasoline and diesel consumers, and can
be penalized for breaking those rules (of course you never see a peace
officer stop a cyclists for running a red light or failing to maintain
a minimum speed or passing on the right or anything else for that
matter - not that I'm bitter).
The following are CDOT's tips for bicyclists:
* Ride on the right and never ride against traffic (and I would
add: stay out of the way of traffic, because those of us in hulking
SUVs like driving really fast and can become quite agitated when we
have to slow down become some health-nut on a bicycle thinks he or she
is just as much entitled to the road as we are - I know, I should
probably add this to the list of issues to discuss with my therapist).
* Ride single file (which it seems is all too often too difficult
of a concept for a group of cyclists to grasp).
* Obey traffic laws, signs and signals (unless of course that
would slow you down or inconvenience you, because after all, laws only
apply to the mean-old-motoring, carbon-monoxide-producing, killing-the-
planet-by-burning-fossil-fuels public).
* Use a headlight, taillight and reflectors at night (better yet,
stay off the roads at night, it's safer for everyone).
* Make eye contact with drivers (that way you can tell when we're
about to explode with road rage).
* Always wear a helmet (which I never did as a child, which might
help to explain some of my issues)..........SNIP"
Some people got it, some people didn't come close
http://www.csbj.com/story.cfm?ID=10530
"Just in case you haven't heard/read, I'm not very popular among some
in the bicycling community.
It seems the tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and caustic whit in my April 6
column didn't resonate with everyone who read it. However, some people
did get it.
The first e-mail I received about the column was from Eva Syrovy on
the morning it was published. "Your opinion piece brought a real
chuckle. Like most cyclists, I'm also an occasional driver, so relate
to both sides of that story! Gotta say, I do break the rules sometimes
when on two wheels - and feel sort of guilty about it - but justify it
blithely by somehow equating my lack of carbon-monoxide production
with karma points. What do you think - perhaps a mile of non-carbon
monoxide for one run stop sign?"
But a lot of folks didn't get it. Last week we printed two of the e-
mails as letters to the editor. Those two were just the tip of the
iceberg of the responses I received, but are representative of the
majority of the comments.
I appreciate the feedback from everyone who took the time to read the
column and write a reasoned reply - even those folks who missed the
tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and caustic whit or somehow thought I was
advocating violence against cyclists (which I still can't find in the
column no matter how many times I read it), and those folks who
wholeheartedly disagreed with me.
But as the e-mails continued to flood into my inbox, it became clear
that some members of the cycling community had things other than
reasoned disagreement on their minds..................SNIP"
poor comedian. He can be reached at [email protected] or 329-5202
Bicycling doesn't top list of my favorite activities
http://www.csbj.com/story.cfm?ID=10469
"The Colorado Department of Transportation issued a warning last week
that drivers of internal combustion machines (i.e. cars, trucks,
hulking SUVs, etc.) should be on the lookout for riders of muscled-
powered vehicles (i.e. bicycles).
Seems that with the onset of spring, bicyclists become more prominent
on the roadways. CDOT also was reminding cyclists that they play by
the same rules of the road as gasoline and diesel consumers, and can
be penalized for breaking those rules (of course you never see a peace
officer stop a cyclists for running a red light or failing to maintain
a minimum speed or passing on the right or anything else for that
matter - not that I'm bitter).
The following are CDOT's tips for bicyclists:
* Ride on the right and never ride against traffic (and I would
add: stay out of the way of traffic, because those of us in hulking
SUVs like driving really fast and can become quite agitated when we
have to slow down become some health-nut on a bicycle thinks he or she
is just as much entitled to the road as we are - I know, I should
probably add this to the list of issues to discuss with my therapist).
* Ride single file (which it seems is all too often too difficult
of a concept for a group of cyclists to grasp).
* Obey traffic laws, signs and signals (unless of course that
would slow you down or inconvenience you, because after all, laws only
apply to the mean-old-motoring, carbon-monoxide-producing, killing-the-
planet-by-burning-fossil-fuels public).
* Use a headlight, taillight and reflectors at night (better yet,
stay off the roads at night, it's safer for everyone).
* Make eye contact with drivers (that way you can tell when we're
about to explode with road rage).
* Always wear a helmet (which I never did as a child, which might
help to explain some of my issues)..........SNIP"
Some people got it, some people didn't come close
http://www.csbj.com/story.cfm?ID=10530
"Just in case you haven't heard/read, I'm not very popular among some
in the bicycling community.
It seems the tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and caustic whit in my April 6
column didn't resonate with everyone who read it. However, some people
did get it.
The first e-mail I received about the column was from Eva Syrovy on
the morning it was published. "Your opinion piece brought a real
chuckle. Like most cyclists, I'm also an occasional driver, so relate
to both sides of that story! Gotta say, I do break the rules sometimes
when on two wheels - and feel sort of guilty about it - but justify it
blithely by somehow equating my lack of carbon-monoxide production
with karma points. What do you think - perhaps a mile of non-carbon
monoxide for one run stop sign?"
But a lot of folks didn't get it. Last week we printed two of the e-
mails as letters to the editor. Those two were just the tip of the
iceberg of the responses I received, but are representative of the
majority of the comments.
I appreciate the feedback from everyone who took the time to read the
column and write a reasoned reply - even those folks who missed the
tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and caustic whit or somehow thought I was
advocating violence against cyclists (which I still can't find in the
column no matter how many times I read it), and those folks who
wholeheartedly disagreed with me.
But as the e-mails continued to flood into my inbox, it became clear
that some members of the cycling community had things other than
reasoned disagreement on their minds..................SNIP"
