So my wife has been thinking of riding to work, rather than walking. One of her Christmas gifts is a bike helmet she picked out, so I encouraged her to ride today, her last day before Christmas. I rode in with her because traffic makes her a bit nervous, because she never learned to drive a car and is not used to it. We had a very nice and very cold ride in today. I came home and was hot from the layers.
This afternoon, the North Baltimore Bike Brigade Bus picked her up, which is to say, Dan and I. On University Parkway, a cabbie blew his horn at me a dozen times because he wanted me to actually stop and let him pull in front of me to stop. I know; it was better than him running me over, but come on. I was not stopping when he could just go around me or stop behind me. So when he kept blowing it and started coming over, I saluted him with the middle of my bike gloved hand. I also yelled the two words that went with it and made two yuppies gasp. Oh. Well. I didn’t mean to yell, but whatever.
Then we rode down to see the lights on 34th Street. I got ahead of Dan and F, and two Hampden thugs blew the horn and yelled at them on Chestnut. I joked that if it were the three of us, they would not have. Hampden thugs are reticent when they are outnumbered. Usually. Morons.
But still, it’s nice to brave the winter and get out on the bikes. We had Coke Zero and cookies for a bit afterward.
Oh, yeah. When I was stopped at a red light, a RED light, on my way home tonight, a tight pants stopped next to me. Looked both ways. And ran the red light. Jackass. I waited for the green and still caught up in my dork bike, jeans and Chucks.
(And I’m glad I’m not the only Baltimore cyclist who braves the cold.)
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December 22, 2007 at 9:37 am
Cham
In one small post you have just outlined why this place is so magical and wonderful. You get to verbalize and demonstrate your feelings toward other people and nobody gets too offended. Worth its weight in gold. Good luck with the bike riding and remember to work those middle finger muscles, you’ll be using them.
December 22, 2007 at 10:55 am
Johnny
No one here is…shy. Boston was a beautiful city, but no one talked to each other much.
I try not to get obviously angry with cars and toss the finger around, but this guy had it coming. :)
December 22, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Matt
Ha! I had to give a moron in a silver Acura the bird last night. I was riding home, going north on Roland. I had been stopped at the red light at Cold Spring. When it turned green, I started going. The dork in the right turn lane honked at me.
I try to reserve the finger for the special few. Most of the time, I don’t run across real jerks, which is lucky.
And yeah, I agree with you, I hate it when 90 pound dorks in tights, Sidi-300 dollar-shoes and a mere bike jersey (in 30 degree weather no doubt!)with aero bars run the red lights!