Commuting to work this morning on Mass Ave near the intersection of Tremont Street, I witnessed a particularly grimace-worthy altercation.
A young man on a fixed gear was riding down the center of the right hand lane, no helmet, no hands on handlebars, fiddling with a smart phone. Shocker of shockers, a car honked at him, and shocker of shockers he proffered the middle finger to the driver and screamed FUCK YOU BBBBIIIITTTTCH!!! (which, under the best of circumstances, none of which come to mind, is a sentence that makes me angry no matter what) YOU’VE GOT A RED LIGHT ANYWAY!!. He then proceeded to dust the red light, ride in the middle of the street through a number of pedestrians crossing with the light in the crosswalk, and generally make everyone around this genius happy he was alive. What a firecracker!
Thanks so much. You give cyclists a dumb name. Please consider annoying people in a different city.
This leads me to a related topic. It’s the loud, annoying people who make reputations. Squeaky wheels, if you will. How do we ride nicely and attract attention at the same time? Yell in traffic HEY I’M FOLLOWING THE RULES!!! This seems silly and like someone still will yell at us for being loud.
We need to ride “loud” bikes!
Make your bike seen (if not heard). Decorations, bright colors, bells and whistles. Wear crazy outfits. Overuse reflectors and lights! Make your helmet into something a little more exciting! Do all of this while riding like a normal cyclist, and maybe we can change opinions about cyclists in the city. Here’s hoping!
