my open letter
dear drivers,
please be aware of something, i'm on a bike. i have no metal doors, no airbags, just a helmet. my vehicle doesn't vastly increase the amount of power or force i can impart on others. this means that when we meet at an intersection or if i'm on the greenway and have to cross a street i am NOT going to cross until you either stop or pass on by. it's very nice that you sort of slow down and possibly consider stopping but i don't know what you're doing so, risking pissing you off, i won't move. you could just be daydreaming or adjusting your shoes and not even see me. in these situations please just commit to a stop or a non-stop instead of throwing your hands up at stupid me for not realizing how generous you are. (oh and if you clearly stop but the opposite lane has not, deal's off, i'm still not crossing)
understand i don't like stopping. bikers can ride the the "get to work not too late" time crunch train too. also, somthing not often thought of when just pushing your toes down makes you go, losing my momentum isn't as much fun as throwing you a grateful wave and sailing on by. it's good for sculpting some fiiiiiine legs but annoying all the same.
one more thing i'd like to get out there. you may be shocked to hear this mister/misses driver man/lady but cars don't often stop unless they are required to by a law such as red lights and even then they sometimes don't. so if i come to an active intersection, even if it has a huge "stop for pedestrians" sign, i'm going to futz with my bag if i need to. so rarely do both lanes of traffic actually stop that i figure i can kill two birds with one stone. again thank you for showing how giving you are by stopping for me but please forgive me for not expecting this and not looking up when you do it.
i could go on into all of the issues surrounding sharing the road, deciding when to turn and throwing objects out your car windows but i won't. that's another letter.
sincerely,
your friend on a bike anna
ps. i know some of my fellow citizens on bikes can act pretty stupid sometimes. it cannot be assumed that someone on a bike is going to stop at crossings and it could be financially costly for you to assume so.
BUT if you see the girl in a bright blue helmet, riding a teal bike w/ soon to be orange handlebar tape, know that she's going to cover her own ass even if it causes you to be confused and frustrated that you can't be pedaling your way to work while the warm september air breezes over your face and through your leg hair.
please be aware of something, i'm on a bike. i have no metal doors, no airbags, just a helmet. my vehicle doesn't vastly increase the amount of power or force i can impart on others. this means that when we meet at an intersection or if i'm on the greenway and have to cross a street i am NOT going to cross until you either stop or pass on by. it's very nice that you sort of slow down and possibly consider stopping but i don't know what you're doing so, risking pissing you off, i won't move. you could just be daydreaming or adjusting your shoes and not even see me. in these situations please just commit to a stop or a non-stop instead of throwing your hands up at stupid me for not realizing how generous you are. (oh and if you clearly stop but the opposite lane has not, deal's off, i'm still not crossing)
understand i don't like stopping. bikers can ride the the "get to work not too late" time crunch train too. also, somthing not often thought of when just pushing your toes down makes you go, losing my momentum isn't as much fun as throwing you a grateful wave and sailing on by. it's good for sculpting some fiiiiiine legs but annoying all the same.
one more thing i'd like to get out there. you may be shocked to hear this mister/misses driver man/lady but cars don't often stop unless they are required to by a law such as red lights and even then they sometimes don't. so if i come to an active intersection, even if it has a huge "stop for pedestrians" sign, i'm going to futz with my bag if i need to. so rarely do both lanes of traffic actually stop that i figure i can kill two birds with one stone. again thank you for showing how giving you are by stopping for me but please forgive me for not expecting this and not looking up when you do it.
i could go on into all of the issues surrounding sharing the road, deciding when to turn and throwing objects out your car windows but i won't. that's another letter.
sincerely,
your friend on a bike anna
ps. i know some of my fellow citizens on bikes can act pretty stupid sometimes. it cannot be assumed that someone on a bike is going to stop at crossings and it could be financially costly for you to assume so.
BUT if you see the girl in a bright blue helmet, riding a teal bike w/ soon to be orange handlebar tape, know that she's going to cover her own ass even if it causes you to be confused and frustrated that you can't be pedaling your way to work while the warm september air breezes over your face and through your leg hair.