Not dissimilar to what they teach in driver’s education: Adjust seat, bag loose stuff, check mirrors, fasten seat belt, release parking brake, and turn off phone before depressing brake and starting vehicle. Yet all but drivers during license tests totally ignore, same as bicyclists the previous paragraph, then suffer consequences and wonder why. And what of clearing snow and scraping windows before engaging gears? Those who don’t can’t see others, particularly bicyclists, and obscure view for others so show no respect for human life. As goes the old saying, preparation prevents poor performance, but surely as well permits attending priorities, such as concentration on sketchy pavement and safe operation in traffic.
Embarked on this extracurricular mission with a dim awareness of how thoroughly political bicycling on shared pavement can be. After a decade of neglect, then tactics and threats, own street was recently resurfaced. With a smidgen of satisfaction watched an enormous vehicle scrape an inch of crumbled asphalt and spew into trailing dump trucks, which presumably haul back to a plant that melts down for other streets. Then another overly wide vehicle laid down hot paste half a road wide in each direction, followed by a steam roller, which flattened and smoothed. Whole process took only 3 days. Undoubtably expensive, isn’t as if they can only afford once a century. Petrochemical skin lasts for about 25 years, then process must be repeated, though never saw before in nearly 40 years, so decades late. At least for a while you can enjoy rolling on a stretch that doesn’t constantly want to bite your wheels and cause a crash. But where are those new bike lanes or wide shoulders guaranteed by law?
Every summer forecast predicts rain, but turns out only overcast again and again. Fed up with being scorched, still echo plurality and escape le pluie by reserving riding to dry days. Yet can’t trust weather modeling, so took a chance one leaden predawn. Rounded a corner into a sudden downpour, road ahead already inches below water. While rushing to an underpass, was thrown from bike so fast wasn't quite sure what happened. Immediately dragging self and stuff to edge of road, narrowly avoided being run over. Probably wouldn't have happened had a storm blinded driver taking up most of lane not forced own unwanted track. Scraped right elbow and knee, but, worse, slammed hip on one of those plastic keepers used to tighten up jacket cord. Left a painful welt and prodigious bruise. A bit of handlebar wrap got clipped off, chain came loose, and sensor for cyclometer had to be repositioned, so no debilitating damage. Took a moment to set things right and wipe chain grease from hands. Soaked with no point waiting out squall, pressed onward. Arrived on time, but had to wring out clothing. Still wasn’t dry after 8 hours despite touted wicking properties of fabrics purchased.
Since road was completely flooded, didn’t immediately determine cause. Next time, traced route to figure it out. There were 2 enormous gaps in pavement, one a jagged 8 feet long x 1 foot wide grin, and other 1-1/2 feet deep and round pot to stick front wheel in. If not for Kevlar belted tires, might have flatted.
State or town theoretically can be sued for not maintaining roads. An individual would have to sustain considerable loss, though a mashed and totaled bicycle might amount to $25,000. People die constantly, yet survivors never blame road keepers. Government would dismiss grievance, ignore claimant, and snub any filing below a class action even if press gets involved. Can barely compose one sentence an hour, but over a quarter of a century sent reams of protests to agencies, cities, states and towns. In reply got several banal acknowledgements but seldom decisive actions. They say it takes overwhelming consensus to push states or towns to obey infrastructure laws existing for decades, though obtained results on own when illegality was undeniable and impact on motorists was also demonstrable, so solely upon content, not necessarily volume.
There’s an analogy in last post that could be further elaborated: Bicycles are Democratic, roll your own way, sort of a donkey prodded onward with reluctance. A unicycle is Republican, only one way (theirs), hardest of all to abide, likely to hurt you, lumberingly elephantine, not at all good for getting anywhere efficiently, stomping unsteadily everything in its way on a trophy hunt that benefits no one. Trikes are Progressive, only go forward, really never backward, even big wheel thingies that skid backwards and sideways, yet always in direction of momentum, require no balance or skill; toddlers can handle them. Motorcycles are for badass, swill chugging, tattooed bikers bound for nowhere but hell or jail. Readers will cheer or jeer this senseless metaphor. They feel buttons being pushed as they read between lines: Agree or denounce, then say what, as you introduce something they haven’t imagined. You actually have choices! Huh?
As with religions, folks generally choose party into which they’re born out of misplaced loyalty and rigorous indoctrination. When neither of predominant two suits you, you seek another or stay home. Half of eligible voters do the latter, not because they are apathetic losers but because no candidate represents them. If you live in a district that’s overwhelmingly polarized, your vote doesn’t really count, superfluous. But who’d want to move into MAGA-Land just to overturn electoral college? Once a year these brainless imbeciles and mental defectives show up drunk at polling places and waste their vote in support of empty slogans. They loathe bikes and love NASCAR. You’d have to tolerate such hatred and ignorance 363 other days. Never saw a MAGA cap? Most likely place will be on noggins of @hat drivers of Chevy pickups or SUVs, same ones who drive so badly they scare bicyclists, even other motorists, off road.
Of Trump’s hand picked administrators, exactly 50% have been asked to resign or fired outright due to corruption, though impeachment of their boss seems about as likely as reelection. Of Trump’s own accomplishments, zero policies have been enacted. Silver lining in all his gross negligence and outright malfeasance is that nation escaped major harm from what could have been ruinous precedents. Plus nazis were exposed. Though debt has doubled, people previously enjoyed a chief executive who helped to reduce, so redemption is still possible. But wasn’t lack of congressional leadership and subpar representation the very reasons Trump got elected? Seems any baboon who insincerely promises to drain Potomac swamp stands a chance to serve country. But not rule as a monarchy! Been two King Georges against whom you could have acted but didn’t, then let a con artist sneak in on a technicality. For shame! To hear anyone with presumed intelligence defend smacks of sellout or stupidity. Shouldn't bear mention. Works on principle that all publicity is good, as long as name gets repeated and stays in conversation.
When sorting through rhetoric, keep in mind that those who argue you drank Kool-aid are the ones who mixed it. Bush withheld funding for bicycling projects while laws and mandates already existed. Obama restored, so a few lines got painted. Trump again broke compliance and retained Republican track record of persecuting bicyclists. Meanwhile, venues to safely bike disappear as 2 lane roads get converted into limited access highways and shoulders get restriped for extra motoring lanes. Previous administration saw both a decrease in gasoline prices and increase in bicycling miles; usually the opposite occurs, but new accommodations can have that affect. Average prices at pump since have gone up 22%, to be expected as global reserves dwindle. How much longer can motoring go on? Gridlock so bad, miles per gallon are next to none. Smarter to burn fossil fuel in stationary plants to produce electricity for vehicles to use, though was startled yesterday when passed by a Tesla, it was so quiet, a new reason to carefully prepare.
Pavement may not, but roadways endure. Politics push bicyclists off the edge. DOTs only act in the interest of motorized moneybags, doing whatever stimulates corporate profits and transfers taxes from you to them including spending a trillion on interstates every decade. Like fishing with a purse seine, big business sets a wide net and surrounds entire school of suckers. Collateral damage to bycatch of marine mammals resembles what happens to bicyclists whose streets are no longer shared but stripped of supportive stripes. Unless cars and trucks consume fuel, thereby requiring crude fractioning with asphalt a byproduct, roads wouldn’t be paved. Only a glutton grabs all of whatever is worth having. Republicans not only enable, but offer tax breaks to Monopoly mascot Uncle Pennybags, other New Jersey casino magnates including game show gambling host Trump himself, and whoever tosses bones into bosses’ war chests. Grossly bizarre, why would Americans vote their purse, not whether they’ll survive to curse? Conditioned to value money over sanctity of life itself? Equate as just tools to exploit? Can only a bicyclist see how imbalanced this would be? Love or leave? Maybe should be bicycling in France instead?
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