A Few Friendly Reminders...

I don't intend for this blog to become political (as I've said before), but from time to time I will go slightly in that direction. This is one of those times.

A couple weeks ago, I was up north for a wedding, which involved driving on country roads near where I grew up. As such, I knew what to expect for the most part, so when I encountered a strange delay on my trip home Sunday afternoon, I wasn't sure why.

I didn't get a picture of it, but some yahoo was riding his bike, wearing fluorescent construction colours and brandishing a sign on his back that read:

<- 4 FEET

PA LAW

Even though I thought he was being a bit of a dick by purposely riding a little slower than normal, I get why he was doing it, I think...at the very least, he made me curious about the law, which I looked up. It's true.

So now, my mission is to come up with something catchy to yell back to the large angry woman in her dark green Buick that feels the need to yell at me to "MOOOOVE OVA!" on a near-daily basis in Francisville. Extra O's added for effect. Also, if you happen to be in that area, watch your back. She's angry...

Actually, my mission is just to continue to do everything I can to stay safe out there and hope that everyone else does the same. Getting tagged last month has made me a little more defensive as a cyclist, and also a little more vocal on the subject. It might be a little easier for people to know things like the 4 feet law if there were more signs like these, spotted on a random excursion to New Hope this weekend:

As you can see, it's not that large, but it's a step in the right direction.

There also needs to be a change of thinking among cyclists, as a patch on my friend's bag seems to suggest:

If we want to be treated as equals, we have to act like equals, but first we have to defend ourselves by just being smart. A cycling attorney that spoke at my friend's coffee bar a few weeks ago said as much. He also said that motorists are angry at us for a variety of reasons, which brings me back to that yahoo in the Lehigh Valley with the sign on his bike that I really shouldn't have been angry about. It's up to us as cyclists and motorists to remember that everyone is entitled to their share of the road, and not to be upset in either position. Lives depend on it.

I hope you enjoyed the vent, I hope you learned something, and most of all, I wish you safe cycling out there!