Wrong Way Feldman

I jogged three miles yesterday afternoon but more importantly (at least to me) I then hopped on the bike for nearly three miles, the longest attempt yet since crotch surgery.

I am really looking forward to commuting by bicycle again, even though it will mean riding side by side with several hundred cars again, too. It's too bad I can't run to work... But no, the bus has provided a good ride, and indeed for a few months there I hardly ever took it I was riding the bike so often.

Interestingly, the buses are crowded, yes -- the entire aisle is usually chock-a-block with people -- yet these are all the same people as when gas was $3.00 a gallon. Not anyone new that I could tell.

My larger concern, however, isn't with having to stand on a bus but rather having to face wrong-way bicyclists on Franklin Blvd. They are dangerous, would cause a serious accident if engaged (crashing together at 30+ mph), and they know it's illegal...but they do it anyway. I spoke with one of these assholes at my cousin's house a few weeks ago; a pretty nice guy overall, yes, but even after successfully arguing all my points he simply refused to accept the idea that riding with traffic is safer. He said "I hear ya, but I'm still going to see them coming at me."

Here's my standard talking points against someone riding the wrong way:

• Closing speed between you and a car doubles, increasing four times your likelihood of getting killed if you do get hit, as the energy of a crash is not linearly related to speed;
• If a car has to slow down to not hit you, it has to slow down to zero mph instead of just your bicycle speed (say 14 mph). This gives a motorist much less time to react, who likely isn't reacting to a bicyclist anyway.
• A crash between you and another bicyclist going the opposite direction is going to happen; it will someday happen.
• Cars entering the road do not look against traffic before pulling out into the street.
• Furthermore, cars turning left off the road do not look against traffic before turning from the turn or traffic lane.
• You put at risk the right-way bicyclist who invariably is the one who gets to enter the traffic lane to avoid you.
• You absolutely increase your chances for an crossing accident with a car, which occur 15 times more often (45%) than getting hit from behind (3%).
• The white arrow on the road tells you, and you know, that you are going the wrong fucking way.
• It's illegal.

This is just like religion -- you can't argue reason against faith...even if faith in this case will most likely get you killed. "I hear you, but I'm still gonna ride facing traffic."

Sigh...