okay... I am a cyclist

okay... I am a cyclist
I ride bikes
bikes have been a part of my life for many many years
I am a cyclist
on or off the bike I am a cyclist

it amazes me that someone can get off their bike and become something else
I guess because someone rides their bike it does not make them a cyclist

I am a cyclist
when I am walking down the sidewalk
when I am driving in my car
no matter what I am doing... I am a cyclist

it boggles my mind that people can not transfer their feeling of how they wish to be treated on the bike
unable to see how others want to be treated on the bike when they approach them in their car

I can not tell you how many times a joker runs up on my ass or pulls up real close and starts their lecture with...

I ride a bike too...

then there is the lecture about how I need to get out of their way because now they are in a car
and well
cars are more important
cars are taking people places

I hate when that happens
but it goes beyond the obvious
car to cyclist

a rower can get off the river
put away their gear as they bitch to their fellow rowers in the boat house about the jokers in the power boat or that jerk off on the jet ski
only to get in their preppy little car where they pass a cyclist fast and close leaving an equally obnoxious wake

there are cars with all sorts of messages on them

I can not tell you how many cars have the DIVER flag as a sticker on their bumper
that flag indicating diver bellow.... a warning to power boats to be cautious of the human lives under the surface
yet... this same driver with the concern for the life of a diver so often has no concern for the cyclist or the pedestrian
as their ethic and concerns only apply to themselves
only concerned with the health and well being of thesmselves


when I get in my car I drive in a courteous fashion
not just courteous to cyclists
but courteous to pedestrians as well
cars... well... I am occassional courteous of the other cars
I am concious of my behavior
I intentionally show others respect
anticipating the behavior of the runners, walkers, or cyclists in the world around me

there needs to be an eye opening education
somehow we need to give society an injection of empathy
as people fail to see things in a realistic way
people are also failing to see the consequences
it is not just the incosiderate behavior towards the cyclist or the pedestrians
it is the danger and risk to the life or safety of the cyclist or the pedestrian

there need to be some Public Serivice Announcements
there needs to be some education

everyone needs an education
even the cyclists may need an education
we all need an education
society needs to evolve
right now we are de-evolving