the other night I was out on the New Belgium Cruiser...
just had a few drinks and played a few games of pinball at Lyman's tavern
but I heard the call of the bed
so... I cleared up my tab and pointed north
it was late... not that late... but late enough
so I rolled out before Midnight
I was hammering pretty good on the lead sled
the heavy custom New Belgium bike with its one gear and coaster brake was moving at maximum speed and maximum flowthe lights were turning green with decent timing
trying to maintain momentum as momentum is my friend
starting from a stand still takes more muscle
and I am not trying to get a work out
I am trying to get home
at the peak of a hill near what may have been Kansas Avenue I watched the intersection at the base of the hill
there were two cyclists ahead of me
they did not make the green and stopped a bit after the crosswalk
they waited for the light to change
my timing was such that I would arrive at the base of the hill with a green lightsure enough... it all unfolded as I anticipated
ahead of me the cyclists had several opportunities to go through the clear intersection
yet they waited for the light to turn Green
the light turned Green and they were slow to go
they were slow to go and I was approaching fast
distance was closing fast
fast and then faster
yet they were still moving slow
the female cyclist was more comfortable on the bike than the male
the male cyclist may have been in the wrong gear... or drunk... or new to cycling.. or all the aboveno matter
they behavior was slow and far from the point
before I knew it I was looking at a bike trying to move forward but perpendicular to the direction they were trying to go
well... it became unclear where they were trying to go
it seemed as if they were inevitably creating a dangerous point of intersection
I locked it up
the rear wheel was chirping loud
I started a turn with a little fishtail... unlocked the coaster brake and pedaled forward
it was close... not that close... but unnecessarily close
bad combination
a confident cyclist assuming that everybody on the bike knows how to ride a bikeand then this guy... more than likely an well intention-ed millennial
NO LIGHTS
NO HELMET
NO IDEA HOW TO RIDE A BIKE
and then
I barked at them... and they barked back
it bothered me that this guy barked back
he could not ride his bike
I could hear that his bike was either out of adjustment or broken
and his actions were far from predictable
sure... I was moving fast and loose
but really
another newbie in the way
another variable to the Frogger game the urban cyclists play every day
