Rants and raves from a testy bike commuter
Howdy. I’m Geeky Bike Dad, a mostly mild-mannered Boston bicycle commuter and father of two future cyclists. I bike to work on most days, except when it’s precipitating in any form or below 25 degrees. My commute is about 6 miles each way, mostly on bike paths (i.e. the Charles River).
I have a love-hate relationship with bicycle commuting. I love the exercise, and the smug sense of self-righteous satisfaction I get from zipping past carbon-spewing cars, but I hate riding in traffic, hate idiotic motorists, get quickly impatient with clueless pedestrians, and can’t abide fellow cyclists who act stupidly. (In my book, you get an automatic Stupid mark if you ride helmet-less. Extra Stupid points for wearing headphones and riding the wrong way on one way streets.)
I am neither the decked-out bike racer with all the fanciest gear nor the nonchalant irony-laden fixie-riding hipster, but rather am a strictly utilitarian cyclist with a 10 year old hybrid bike and a modicum of gear. I thus no doubt earn the disdain of both ends of the cycling community spectrum. I care not a whit!
With Bike Week just having concluded, I am more committed to my bike commute than… well, than I was a week ago. But I need an opportunity to vent, and share the (way too) occasional moments of grace and transcendence that occur on my rides. Posts will be very occasional and mostly uninformed.
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May 25th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
welcome! If there is anything you need let me know 🙂
May 25th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Thanks! I’m exited to be part of this community!
May 25th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Cool, I look forward to reading some good, uninformed rants. 🙂
What time of day do you usually take the path by the Charles? I’ve noticed some different ped/cyclist/blader traffic depending on proximity to rush hour.
May 26th, 2010 at 12:17 am
I could have written this myself! see mtalinm.bostonbiker.org
May 27th, 2010 at 12:22 am
a) what makes kitted-out riders and fixed gear riders the opposite end of the spectrum? it seems like you are placing yourself in the middle of those extremes, but i can’t infer the logic of the spectrum here.
b) why do you think you earn disdain from one of those groups from being a responsible bike commuter? i understand the sentiment, but it seems like you are perpetuating a few stereotypes of others, as well a paranoid stereotype of yourself, for the good of a blog.
that being said, i will surely be reading your posts when i find time, which is almost all the time…
June 4th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Yes to stupid marks. You should come up with an official system. Maybe it could be adopted when non-vehicular cyclists have more power in the legislature and the public eye.
1 SM (Stupid Mark)- no helmet
2 SM- no helmet AND headphones OR writing wrong way on one-way street
3 SM- no helmet AND headphones AND writing wrong way on one-way street
4 SM- no helmet AND headphones AND writing wrong way on one-way street AND no lights at night
5 SM- all of these above, and a lack of deference to motorists