Flip Sign
(time for me to Photoshop another sign... if only I had Gif Builder to animate it)
yesterday I took a not so long road ride on my cross bike
even with the broken spoke it was a pleasure
for the most part the experience suffered very little friction from the car culture
but there is a perspective to this friction...
during my ride there is one section where the car traffic really irks me
that is ON THE CLOSED SECTION OF BEACH DRIVE
there is a section of Beach Drive that closes to thru car traffic
there are a few issues....
people are always going down this road not knowing that it is closed on weekend and holidays
only to get to the barriers at the end, thus causing them to have to turn around
they are so pissed that they speed through Rock Creek twice as fast as they entered
and
people are always flying down these sections of closed roads at high speeds to get to a family picnic at one of the many reservable picnic groves
sure... they are allowed to be driving to these picnic grounds... but can they at least do it in a more reasonable fashion?
doubling the speed limit should be enough to revoke a license... lets revoke some licenses!
and
people are selfish and stupid, that is a given
(usually I clarify that by saying that in this world people are either idiots or assholes, many turn out to be both)
this seems like a problem that could be solved with a little change here and there....
sure officer friendly could stand out there with his radar gun and his pad of tickets...
I have never felt that tickets do much more than generate revenue and piss people off
there needs to be an education, people need to learn that the area is closed to car traffic but that they are allowed to pass through to get to their picnic area
thus making them realize their subordinate position
that their right on this road in their car is beneith that of the roller blading family, the person running, the dog walking couple, and the pack of cyclists that are all on this section of road
one way to aid in this education would be MORE SIGNS
within the more signs education I feel that a "FLIP SIGN" for the speed limit would be an excellent part of this campaign
the Speed Limit sign of 25 MPH, which means in the driver's mind..... gun it on the straight away and hang on on the curves, should actually read 15 MPH with some sort of mention of the various non car traffic having the right of way
too often I get buzzed by some car traffic that is heading down Beach Drive lost and angry
only to have to turn around at its end even more lost and more angry
exiting the park at an even more aggressive pace then they had entered
weaving in between roller bladers and cyclists like they are orange cones on a closed driving course
the dangerous combinations are endless
a child could make a U-turn in an effort to regroup with their family
a roller blader could fall thus changing their expected path
and
the car as passing one cyclist could fail to anticipate the approaching speed of another cyclist coming the opposite direction causing a head on collision
this set of variables occurs not at random, but rather each and every time a car cruises through the closed sections of Rock Creek Park on weekends and holidays
time to walk the dogs
coffee is doing its thing, but working very slowly
this idea is not hitting the screen with the clarity that I seek
well, most of my recent posts have lacked the clarity that I seek
somewhere along the line my BLOG started going for QUANITY and not QUALITY
the race season should change that
as I start riding more
there will be more meat to my message
the races will offer a more clever set of stories
and the rest of my life will have to experience the balance of all that is fatherhood and all that is a struggling cyclist whose greatest struggle is laziness
(time for me to Photoshop another sign... if only I had Gif Builder to animate it)
yesterday I took a not so long road ride on my cross bike
even with the broken spoke it was a pleasure
for the most part the experience suffered very little friction from the car culture
but there is a perspective to this friction...
sort of like the mosquitos in summer... there are so many that on a day where there are so few...yesterday was a day with very few mosquitos, I mean cars
there is not need to complain as so few is much better than so many
yes, the mosquitos in some parts of DC are aweful after all.... DC was built on a swamp!
but we should still desire a mosquito free environment
during my ride there is one section where the car traffic really irks me
that is ON THE CLOSED SECTION OF BEACH DRIVE
there is a section of Beach Drive that closes to thru car traffic
there are a few issues....
people are always going down this road not knowing that it is closed on weekend and holidays
only to get to the barriers at the end, thus causing them to have to turn around
they are so pissed that they speed through Rock Creek twice as fast as they entered
and
people are always flying down these sections of closed roads at high speeds to get to a family picnic at one of the many reservable picnic groves
sure... they are allowed to be driving to these picnic grounds... but can they at least do it in a more reasonable fashion?
doubling the speed limit should be enough to revoke a license... lets revoke some licenses!
and
people are selfish and stupid, that is a given
(usually I clarify that by saying that in this world people are either idiots or assholes, many turn out to be both)
this seems like a problem that could be solved with a little change here and there....
sure officer friendly could stand out there with his radar gun and his pad of tickets...
I have never felt that tickets do much more than generate revenue and piss people off
there needs to be an education, people need to learn that the area is closed to car traffic but that they are allowed to pass through to get to their picnic area
thus making them realize their subordinate position
that their right on this road in their car is beneith that of the roller blading family, the person running, the dog walking couple, and the pack of cyclists that are all on this section of road
one way to aid in this education would be MORE SIGNS
within the more signs education I feel that a "FLIP SIGN" for the speed limit would be an excellent part of this campaign
the Speed Limit sign of 25 MPH, which means in the driver's mind..... gun it on the straight away and hang on on the curves, should actually read 15 MPH with some sort of mention of the various non car traffic having the right of way
too often I get buzzed by some car traffic that is heading down Beach Drive lost and angry
only to have to turn around at its end even more lost and more angry
exiting the park at an even more aggressive pace then they had entered
weaving in between roller bladers and cyclists like they are orange cones on a closed driving course
the dangerous combinations are endless
a child could make a U-turn in an effort to regroup with their family
a roller blader could fall thus changing their expected path
and
the car as passing one cyclist could fail to anticipate the approaching speed of another cyclist coming the opposite direction causing a head on collision
this set of variables occurs not at random, but rather each and every time a car cruises through the closed sections of Rock Creek Park on weekends and holidays
time to walk the dogs
coffee is doing its thing, but working very slowly
this idea is not hitting the screen with the clarity that I seek
well, most of my recent posts have lacked the clarity that I seek
somewhere along the line my BLOG started going for QUANITY and not QUALITY
the race season should change that
as I start riding more
there will be more meat to my message
the races will offer a more clever set of stories
and the rest of my life will have to experience the balance of all that is fatherhood and all that is a struggling cyclist whose greatest struggle is laziness