Jun 21, 2013 at 02:55 AM
@Kieran that sucks... I guess there is nothing for it but to enjoy a malt-based beverage of your choosing?
Close Encounters of the #%&*@! Kind (Legal too)
Jun 21, 2013 at 03:47 AM
@Jules - would love to but apparently you're meant to stay off the booze until it goes away...tho I'm sure one or two won't delay the recovery too much... ;-) That said, hoping to make it out on the (track) bike on Saturday...
Jun 21, 2013 at 04:28 AM
@Eragot No Richardson on evidence at the traffic ticket hearings?
Jun 21, 2013 at 02:15 PM
I heard rumor of a Kissena who crashed into a ped a few days ago and was then surrounded by an angry mob - anyone care to confirm?
Jun 21, 2013 at 02:26 PM
@Jules - would love to but apparently you're meant to stay off the booze until it goes away...tho I'm sure one or two won't delay the recovery too much... ;-) That said, hoping to make it out on the (track) bike on Saturday...Balls! In that case you're screwed. Time to sell all you bike stuff and take up competitive knitting
Jun 21, 2013 at 02:26 PM
Are you kidding?tito said:I heard rumor of a Kissena who crashed into a ped a few days ago and was then surrounded by an angry mob - anyone care to confirm?
Jun 21, 2013 at 02:31 PM
Well, it's all heresay at this point - a guy who works at the shop passed by the scene. He admitted that the mob might not've been angry, but that it was definitely a Kissena. Maybe he was referring to Kieran's incident and had the details wrong.
Basically, I'm just aiding and abetting rumors because it's slow at work and I'm bored.
Jun 21, 2013 at 02:39 PM
Well get him on the straight & narrow then!tito said:Basically, I'm just aiding and abetting rumors because it's slow at work and I'm bored.
Jun 21, 2013 at 07:42 PM
Funny you should say that @tito because I can now give you an exclusive re-enactment of the dramatic events of Wednesday evening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E6VO8SM8Mk
They could have found a bigger actor than Emilio Estevez to play me though...
Seriously though, it probably was the same incident that your friend saw. The woman who was down could have looked like a ped given her bike was placed away from her.
The people who came to watch / help out were far from angry though. The funny thing was that you could tell you were in Park Slope - two hipster-ish people who tended to the fallen woman were all like "don't think about the pain, just look up at the sky, look at the clouds, feel the calming breeze..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E6VO8SM8Mk
They could have found a bigger actor than Emilio Estevez to play me though...
Seriously though, it probably was the same incident that your friend saw. The woman who was down could have looked like a ped given her bike was placed away from her.
The people who came to watch / help out were far from angry though. The funny thing was that you could tell you were in Park Slope - two hipster-ish people who tended to the fallen woman were all like "don't think about the pain, just look up at the sky, look at the clouds, feel the calming breeze..."
Jun 26, 2013 at 03:23 PM
So today as I'm cooling down after some pre field test openers I see a gaggle of 4 or so elderly people strolling in the car lane.
I stop to warn them of the Park-Van-of-Death that is coming their way and point out that there is a dedicated lane for walking on the other side of the park.
(Keep in mind the average age of the group is well north of 70)
They replied that yes, they knew that but that the sun was beating on the walking lane and this was the only part of the path in the shade...
I gave them some directions to the Museum and pedaled off thinking that there is always a perspective I hadn't thought of.
Jun 26, 2013 at 04:34 PM
I probably would have dive-bombed them, screaming like a death-banshee. To each his own.
Jun 26, 2013 at 09:30 PM
There was an ambulance ripping the wrong way without any sirens near the picnic house today. He almost hit a fred and came pretty close to hitting a parks dept pick up...
Jun 26, 2013 at 11:22 PM
They should ban those things. From all streets. Those guys have death wishes. Only the totalitarians of the bloomberg administration stand in the way.Wes Tillman said:There was an ambulance ripping the wrong way without any sirens near the picnic house today. He almost hit a fred and came pretty close to hitting a parks dept pick up...
Jun 27, 2013 at 01:12 AM
Wes Tillman said:
http://youtu.be/mWFM7glaWiU
you mean this ambulance?There was an ambulance ripping the wrong way without any sirens near the picnic house today. He almost hit a fred and came pretty close to hitting a parks dept pick up...
http://youtu.be/mWFM7glaWiU
Jun 27, 2013 at 02:19 AM
are you the Fred Wes references?
Kidding. Where were the cops when the park needed them?
Jun 27, 2013 at 12:04 PM
Is that what was happening as I came slobbering by you at the end of my interval?Jules said:So today as I'm cooling down after some pre field test openers I see a gaggle of 4 or so elderly people strolling in the car lane.I stop to warn them of the Park-Van-of-Death that is coming their way and point out that there is a dedicated lane for walking on the other side of the park.(Keep in mind the average age of the group is well north of 70)They replied that yes, they knew that but that the sun was beating on the walking lane and this was the only part of the path in the shade...I gave them some directions to the Museum and pedaled off thinking that there is always a perspective I hadn't thought of.
Jun 27, 2013 at 04:30 PM
@Ryan I think so; I did think "Eric" looked a little odd out of the saddle going up the hill... But my eyes are going so I attributed it to fuzzy vision... Makes much more sense now...
Jun 29, 2013 at 06:43 PM
Some of you will probably see I put this on Facebook, but I think discussion here would be interesting. I've been seeing these ads pop up, but when I saw two more of them while Maria and I were on our way to see Owens in the hospital, I really felt exasperated. I cannot fathom why the City thinks that a campaign that clearly casts cyclists as a traffic safety problem makes sense.
What are they trying to accomplish? Sure, tell cyclists to be more careful. There are many, many people who are awful, inconsiderate, and dangerous on bikes. So maybe this ad will prevent those idiots from harming themselves. But this ad doesn't feel concerned about anyone's wellbeing. It feels much less about safety and much more about "don't inconvenience drivers."
I feel like this kind of campaign really validates the mentality of someone who already thinks of bikes as a menace and makes the streets even more dangerous.
Jun 29, 2013 at 06:51 PM
I prefer the campaign with the death stats on driving 40mph. It's hard to believe that it was so successful they thought it best to move from life hazards to little annoyances.
I agree with your sentiment.
Cyclists who ride dangerously are mostly a danger to themselves. But speeding, texting, illegal turns, failing to signal, failing to yield, running reds, and many others are still killing cyclists. I think street safety has a long way to go before the DoT needs to do an ad campaign telling cyclists to ride with traffic.
Jun 29, 2013 at 07:09 PM
The City seems incredibly conflicted on many fronts right now.
Citi bikes & dedicated bike lanes, but candidates gleefully predicting how they are going to "tear up" the bike lanes and a police force that is clearly antagonistic.
Stop & frisk is a necessary evil but red light cameras are fascism....
Logic has no place in these discussions...
Jun 29, 2013 at 09:23 PM
Surprisingly, I am happy to see subway advertisements of this sort. I am much more upset with wayward cyclists these days than with vehicular traffic, Owen's outrageous this morning notwithstanding.
This appears to be part of an informational campaign. I think everyone knows that it is not OK to speed and run red lights and hit cyclists/pedestrians with their cars. They just choose to ignore those rules, just as we choose to run red lights. Obviously, cars carry lethal force and we don't. But from the point of view of an informational campaign, a lot more work is required for cyclists than for drivers.
Enforcement is another matter. I think we really need to find a way to have a productive conversation about the best way to enforce socially acceptable behaviors by all parties (vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians). I think that more leeway can be granted to those with lower amounts of momentum (mass x speed). But that requires political will, a basic understanding of physics and human behavior, and probably shock therapy appointments at the local precincts.
Jun 29, 2013 at 09:48 PM
Bad cyclists are annoying. Bad drivers are lethal. The City's messaging and its action (ticket blitzes and such) deal with the former, not the latter. You can deal with both, but it's wrong to pretend they're equal parts of the problem.
And surely you don't pretend that cyclists running red lights and cars choosing to ignore the rules you mention are equivalent?
And surely you don't pretend that cyclists running red lights and cars choosing to ignore the rules you mention are equivalent?
Jun 29, 2013 at 09:57 PM
I don't disagree with you. I just am making the distinction between an educational campaign (signs in the subway) and enforcement (ticket blitzes and red-light cameras). They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Just because the city makes poor decisions about enforcement, doesn't mean that the posters in the subway about cycling are a bad idea. (Though I can understand and commiserate with your sense of adding insult to injury)
Jun 29, 2013 at 10:13 PM
Yeah, it's the demeanor of the "don't be a jerk" cycling posters that are so out of whack. Sure, put up signs reminding all the new (and old) cyclists not to salmon or ride on the sidewalk or buzz pedestrians, but they don't need to actively contribute to the notion that cyclists are inconsiderate, self-absorbed assholes by and large, and somehow extremely dangerous. Many of these ads covey and promote that concept.
Jun 29, 2013 at 10:25 PM
I've seen these ads around town and initially I was disturbed by them because of their obvious bias against cyclists, and yet, on further reflection and seeing this ad a few more times, I tend to like the photograph.
On the bike she's calm, her mouth is closed (one of my rules while riding), both hands on the handle bars, wearing a helmet, and she clearly sees the driver - her head is titled in the car's direction. The driver, on the other hand, window down hand out and up (representing the middle finger gesture?), mouth open - an angry posture. While the message is trying to convey don't ride the wrong way, it's really showing what we as cyclists have to put up with, drivers who will yell and get angry. If I'm looking at the picture correctly, it appears to be a one way road and the driver is way over to the side where the cyclist is, a dangerous place to drive, regardless of who's in the road. I think the ad shows a bad driver. I'm not convinced others see this, but do know most people won't read the copy, just glance at the picture, and here in New York, what people will pick up on is an angry driver. Maybe, inadvertently, this is a good photograph for cyclists.
Jun 29, 2013 at 10:30 PM
I guess I'd like to see a big ad campaign that vividly shows cyclists getting left/right hooked, driven too close to, and the various and endless ways that the bike lanes are incessantly violated by deadly vehicular behavior. Don't see that coming.
Ok, enough ranting for one day. I'm somehow alive and have been invited to a BBQ thrown by a fashion photographer who said it will be full of models. Time to milk this injury.
Ok, enough ranting for one day. I'm somehow alive and have been invited to a BBQ thrown by a fashion photographer who said it will be full of models. Time to milk this injury.
Jun 29, 2013 at 11:12 PM
Damn, another hit and run, but this time killed the poor cyclist.
Jul 04, 2013 at 11:55 AM
I got mistaken for Myles today (or the other way round?) by some tri guy in a "Snapple" unitard.
This is how it ends?
Jul 04, 2013 at 11:58 AM
Frankly im more concerned than you
On Jul 4, 2013 7:55 AM, "Jules"
On Jul 4, 2013 7:55 AM, "Jules"
Jul 10, 2013 at 12:42 PM
discouraging day yesterday. on my way to floyd, a guy gets his wheel banged in by a van and then the van tells him it will pull over and doesn't. i stupidly just sat there. should've gone over to get pictures of the van's information. i did get the van driving away. talked to the cyclist and got his info. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acFxjWzrn2M. if any of you video wizards can manage to get the license plate out of that video, let me know so i can let him know.
i know it's not on the injury scale that others have dealt with, but it just contributes to an overall feeling of vulnerability that i dislike.
then on the way back from floyd, a truck nearly creams several of you guys.
then a van passes clifford at a hazardously close distance.
just not fun. unacceptable.