some bikes zip in front of the camera at various parts of my day


these photos are from the day before yesterday...
the day before the snow and ice
today is the day after the snow and ice
the snow and ice is nearly gone

above I presented some words as defined by Britannica Dot Com
common sense was one of those terms
let me put that definition down again

common sense
1 : the unreflective opinions of ordinary people
2 : sound and prudent but often unsophisticated judgment

traveling around the city it is apparent that people are functioning on a level that is absent of common sense
this could not be more prevalent than on a day like yesterday where snow and ice were everywhere

simple and plain
the law is one thing while common sense and common courtesy are another
people are operation under a different set of rules
rules dictated by the effort to serve oneself
to serve oneself at the expense of others

yesterday the assholes in this town really got an opportunity to show their multicolored baboon asses
the speeding and the red light running should decrease in conditions of snow and ice... yet the incidents of such increased

one days like this... pedestrians and cyclists should be given more space
but that was not the case...
frustrated drivers tailgated cyclists and buzzed past pedestrians in the same obnoxious fashion as they always do
only on this day things were more dangerous
with decreased visibility and a need for increased stopping distance you would expect modified behavior
oddly... some people actually drive more aggressively in these situations to compensate for being late
accept being late


in an effort to finish this thought and get back to the task at hand I will bypass the tangent of this rant where I go off on people's inability to wipe their cars clear of snow as well as their inability to understand something as simple as a Defrost Button
no... I will stay focused on the notion of common sense


here is my close...
if the SPEED LIMIT is 25 Miles Per Hour than people should understand that these are the instructions on how a car is to behave around other cars when the situations are optimal
under lesser conditions
as in ice and snow where visibility and traction are decreased
the cars should slow to less than 25 Mph around other cars

now add a flesh coated human
be that human on bicycle or on foot
that human is devoid of the crumple resistant side panels
that human lacks the surrounding of the various air bags
well... it is so obvious that it is hard to type onto the screen
when a car is passing this delicate creature... the car should slow to less that the SPEED LIMIT
as the SPEED LIMIT IS THE SPEED MAXIMUM
the SPEED LIMIT IS SET FOR HOW CARS BEHAVE AROUND CARS
then the speed of cars should be less than the maximum when moving around people

NO DAH! DAH HICKEY!
NO DOY!

sorry...
the sight of so many multi colored baboon asses really has thrown me
I rode home without incident
I got passed by many a baboon... baboons that were then passed by me on my Single Speed
they were forced to eat my slush!
as the bicycle is more efficient in the city ... even on snowy surfaces

when I was home after I shoveled my walk I went out to walk my black dog brutus
when going to cross the street I waited for things to be clear
down the hill came a familiar form
it was Chris Merriam a friend from the local cycling community

it appeared that Chris had not anticipated the snow and ice of the day
this was apparent by Chris' choice of bikes... Chris was on his road bike
not his cross bike.... not his mountain bike
but his skinny tire road bike

chris was well lit with lights to see and be seen
he came down the street with speed and confidence
chris gave me more than eye contact but a wave of the hand

he passed and nearly simultaneously a massive black SUV passed as well
the vehicle was following closer than it should follow another car
this vehicle was following closer than it should on a dry day
so here is this asshole tailgating a cyclist in the dark on a winding road with snow and ice everywhere
I hope Chris got home safely
I hope that a tree falls and crushes that asshole's obnoxiously large SUV