Unusual Musings...and lack of time!

First off there seems to be an awful lot of driver on cyclist violence in the news lately. Let me recap for those that don't know:

- Driver Takes out 50 Cyclists some of which were Bejing Hopefuls

- Drunk Driver Takes out Racers in Mexico

- Driver Goes Crazy in LA, Graphic Picture of the Cyclist Nose Injury

- Cyclist is killed by a garbage truck

Long ago at the most recent article I started wondering what my rights were as a cyclist and felt the responsible thing to do was to look up my local laws regarding cycling on the road (they are readily available online and are pretty standard from state to state). I was shocked to find out somethings such as riding two abreast is perfectly legal as long as you are not impeding traffic (i.e. cars can pass you safely), you don't have to ride completely to the right unless it is practicable, and you can take up a whole lane of traffic if you are riding the same speed as traffic or the lane is a substandard width (less than 11ft) and even the fact that riding on the sidewalk with a bike is ILLEGAL in some spots of DC. Of course there are some nuances but the bottom line is that Cyclists have exactly the same rights as cars and some rights that people who have licenses and drive automobiles just flat out don't know about. It is this lack of knowledge that I firmly believe is the result of all the Road Rage exhibited above, sans the last link of course.

Even as a driver and cyclist I was not aware of many of the laws regarding cycling, See an overview here, and now just shake my head at all the drivers that are just unaware and have a total disregard for cyclists on the road. While they are safe in their 1 ton vehicles we as cyclists are fragile when we get in a tiff with the internal combustion engine that is an automobile. The drivers above fail to realize this and I truly wonder what is going through their head when they slam on the brakes like that. Do they think we are able to stop on a dime, do they think we are going to harmlessly dodge around them, do they think we are going to bounce off their car like a rubberband? It is just beyond me when the rage and frustration with someone/something that has every right to be on the road and do what we are doing boils over to the point of full intention to inflict bodily harm (knowingly or unknowingly).

We even had our own incident this past Tuesday on our regular ride down at Hains Point. Granted Kirsten and I weren't riding with this group (thank goodness), but this is what was relayed to me and is eerily similar to the 3rd link above: A driver comes up behind the group of about 10 of our friends riding two abreast (two rows of five for those math challenged like me) and we are usually clipping along at 20mph or so. He started honking his horn crazily and then proceeded to pass the group within inches and pull in front of the group and slam on his brakes. Luckily everyone was on edge from the pass and coasting and kept their wits about them. Our friend Kip starts slamming on the car with his fist and yelling at the guy. The guy tries to get away from the group when another driver rides up next to the group and says "I saw that and I am a cyclist...that is bull shit!" The driver then goes after the offending driver passing him and weaving in the road to prevent him from getting away. Not sure what the resolution was but the offending driver's actions were unwarranted and completely unsafe. More so, what reason would he even have to behave like that when the group was riding legally and responsibly and he had more than enough room to make a "safe" pass and they were not impeding traffic? I just don't know, but these people obviously have issues that counciling couldn't resolve.

I just don't get it...not even remotely...people's lives are on the line and Drivers act like it is no big deal...they get frustrated with how we ride and we ride like that because of people like those above, purely for our own safety. The media depicts cyclists as individuals that disregard the law and blow through stop signs and stop lights...sure we do sometimes but I for one always slow down almost to a crawl to make sure it is safe and to let the drivers on the road that I am at least aware of the laws before I proceed and at major intersections I always stop. Even the police get it wrong sometimes when there is an incident as evidenced by this cycling law enforcement guide for DC Police. Even still it doesn't give someone the right to force you off the road, scare you, or make you run into their bumper (or worse rear wind sheild)...it is just wrong...So give us a little leeway when you see us out there, please.

Okay, I am now stepping off my soapbox for the day ;)

This week has been absolute chaos as far as time is concerned, I guess that is what we get for just sitting on the couch on Sunday afternoon/evening. Monday night Kirsten and I met with a financial advisor, free to us which was AWESOME! After picking up Kirsten from the Bowie MARC Station about an hour later than she was due to arrive thanks to an unannounced train delay, we finally got there to meet with him. We walked out of there knowing that while we have a significant amount of things to do to set ourselves up for the type of retirement we want, we are in a relatively good place for the age we are at. The one thing that came out of it is that we should wait on the house and put more money into our retirement right now while we can before we buy a house and have kids and expenses start getting tighter. Not what I know Kirsten wanted to hear since her recent addiction to perusing online real estate sites has become her sole evening activity ;) But we were glad to know that we could still live our active lifestyle and travel while still saving for a down-payment on a house and putting more money into our savings/retirement. All in all a good session I would say and I think eventually we will use him for our investments once we take some suggested steps over the next couple months. We got home around 9 or so and Kirsten was busy packing since this was the last night I would see her until late Thursday since she was leaving for Mississippi for work.

Tuesday was another chaotic day/evening as my Bottom Bracket on my bike started clicking again and I had to take it into the shop before our epic 200 mile bike ride on Saturday. Riding 200 miles with a click click click click every pedal stroke would drive me nuts! After the mechanic said it was just a loose skewer I felt like a complete idiot and took his word for it. But tomorrow would tell if it truly was! After getting to the grocery store and getting home after all that it was already 7:30 and I didn't even eat until 8:45 or so....where is all my time going!

Yesterday (Wednesday) I had to go with Eric to the Poolesville Park's Board meeting to make a presentation for Endure 24 a 24 hour bike race we are trying to put on in conjunction with Autism Speaks for charity. Everything went fairly easy and we were surprised after all the hell the National Park Service gave us when we submitted the permit for a location in one of their parks. We left the town hall with a smile on our faces and a tentative approval pending proof of liability insurance. All the folks on the board were VERY friendly and very small town, which made it a pleasure to be there. They usually host bike races there a couple times a year but we were surprised with the idea of a 24 hour race they didn't even flinch but offered up suggestions on the route options, locations to stage out of, and one guy even said he was going to challenge his son and his friends to the race! Bottom line, October 4th, 2008 in Poolesville Maryland one of the few 24 hour road bike races in the area will happen. And it will be so much better than that "other" 24 hour race that only has a 2 mile loop...ours is almost 10 ;)

After getting home around 8:30 or so and scarfing down some left overs, I moved on to caulking the guest bathroom shower since Kirsten's parents are coming into town tonight and the caulk needs some time to dry of course. It was a project we had tried to get to for the past 3 months and I finally did! It wasn't very easy given the layout of the shower and the crappy job they did before but I managed to get it done and hopefully it doesn't crack and prevents the water from getting in behind the tiles...I mean it is more about functionality rather than looks right?

So we are finally to today...Kirsten comes back...her parents come into town...and I still have to go to the grocery store, REI, and get my bike fixed...I almost took a "I have too much crap going on and work is getting in the way" type day...cough cough...but my conscience got the better of me and I devised a time schedule in my head to get everything done. It doesn't mean that I will...but at least I feel better about it. The morning started out pretty good and the ride felt a little tough, but the clicking in my bottom bracket was NOT the skewer as it turns out! Looks like I have to go back to the shop again...oh well. The ride overall was good and I pulled the strongest riders along at times and held on the back to get some rest at others. It was nice to know that on the last lap that I was in the group that broke apart the peleton and everyone else was far behind us. I even led a charge that broke apart the group further...the cycling is coming along well...now if I can get Eric to make me a RAAM rider I will be all set. Oh yeah and rumor had it, further confirmed by me actually seeing him and his employee (aka Laurel) asking me if I liked riding with her boss, that we were riding with John Kerry this morning...and wouldn't you know it...WE WERE! Crazy...but in DC...anything is possible ;)

Next up, tons of guests in our house for the weekend and a 200 mile ride should make for some good Blog updates this weekend...stay tuned to channel KNC!