Something that is un-fun about being a bicyclist is having your non bicyclist friends send you every article within a thousand mile radius (or more) about anything negative that is bicycle related. This is so irritating I had to set up this anonymous blog to complain about it. To the person who describes herself as "considering me a very close friend" --- please stop sending me news articles about death and dismemberment via automobile. Barring that please stop driving your car.
I only wish I were kidding. There was the article from nytimes.com about how racing bicyclists have fragile bones and are prone to broken collar bones. I mean I only wish I weighed 70 pounds and was a Tour De France contender - and those are the people that the article concerned.
THEN there was the article about area woman (and a mother, like you!) how she was "just your age" and it was "so, so tragic!" that she was killed by a 16 wheeler near the on-ramp to the 280 in Portola Valley. Didn't I think this was "very scary?"
It's bad enough that every time I talk to my dad he says "Still riding your bicycle?" and then I admit it and he says "well, ride safely." I don't actually need my best friends discreetly inquiring if I haven't died yet?
Yes. I will ride safely. Unlike those days where I ride as if I am a crack whore looking for her next trick.
So, non-bicyclists out there? Please do not send your bicycling friends your special RSS feed of cyclists horribly maimed by semis, okay? In return we promise not to tell you "hey, you look fat in that outfit because, you know, you ARE fat... and hey, have you seen these stats on car accidents on the interstate? Looking grim, and do you....well...worry about being crushed against your steering wheel on the way to work...?"
I know exactly what you mean. I used to take it pretty seriously when someone told me about a local bike accident... but then I realized I was always hearing about them from non-cyclists that I started to think they were just being mean.
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