December 12, 2010
I photographed the accompanying scene this morning as I wandered about the Westside on an entirely too beautiful day. If it looks like a paradigmatic moment of classic pedestrian cluelessness on a bike path…well, it was. The lady in white dragged her brat across the path without a sideward glance, leading to panic braking and, a moment after the shutter clicked, fairly restrained remonstration from the woman on the road bike, who was certainly more reasonable than most of us would have been in the same situation.
It reminded me of BikeSnobNYC’s recent lampooning of the Brooklyn NIMBYs who whined that having a bike path on Prospect Park West meant they would have to look omigod both ways before crossing the street now!
The lady in white replied with a snarl that was unintelligible from my distance. I imagine she responded much the same way many of us cyclists respond when we, say, barge across a red light and through an intersection, causing motorists to brake and shout. At any rate, I see (and hear) that happen fairly often.
Only then we are the lady in white.
Cagers, of course, do it too, cutting off cyclists and pedestrians (and other motorists) and snarling at them for being in the way, when of course they are not.
It seems arrogance is pretty evenly distributed among all transportation modes. Cagers crowd the lanes, pedestrians cross streets and paths without looking, cyclists blow through red lights while flipping middle fingers right and left, and everyone ends up hating everyone else.
Really, what’s the big deal about waiting for a red? You really think blowing through it makes you a big bad revolutionary? Honestly, making drivers think that all cyclists are jerks will not tempt them out of their cars and onto bikes, which is what will define our revolution. Instead, it’ll just make them nag their various representatives to vote against anything that makes cycling in our cities faster, easier, safer, or more comfortable.
This rebel-without-a-clue BS on the streets is not doing the real revolution any good at all–the revolution which bicycling can help bring about now as it helped develop feminism in the late 1800s. Let me quote my own blurb from Bicycle Fixation: “The bicycle is antithetical to sprawl, to isolationism, to waste. The bicycle is complementary to community, economy, sustainability, and self-reliance.” Those people who piss you off, or whom you piss off? We want them riding too!
Keeping people out just makes our community smaller, poorer–and weaker.
You make a good point here, that asshole behavior is independent of transportation mode.
I would like to add some more complexity. Obeying or disobeying traffic lights, signs, or rights of way, doesn’t always translate to arrogance. After all, a red light, is just that, a red light, and not a proven indication that it is safe to cross or not. I will definitely cross an empty street against a light, and look for cross traffic, even if the light is green. I think part of the rebellion is against taking orders from colored lamps instead of using your own brain.
The same applies on the beach path. Using my brain, I have determined that this is a terrible place to practice my racing skills, which based on her racing bike and clothes, I assume the woman in the picture is doing. With kids running everywhere, distracted tourists, and sand in all the turns, I can’t imagine a worse place for turning the speed on, even with a supposed right of way.
I’m afraid that street conflicts will happen regardless of intent. I would recommend tolerance, and application of intelligence. Understanding each user’s narrow focus really helps to understand why a motorist is yelling at you, or a pedestrian is crossing your path without looking. The revolution will not happen when we show the master automobile drivers how obedient we are, it will happen in each person’s mind when they rise above the petty conflicts.
Comment by Aaron Kuehn — December 13, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
I agree with you for the most part, but I do see a lot of cyclists blowing lights in a ways that seems intended to inconvenience other road users–including pedestrians and even other cyclists.
Sure, if there’s no other traffic around, I’ll roll a red light–if it’ll be a long one. Otherwise, I have no problem waiting. Why succumb to insitutionalized hurry, after all?
Imposing oneself on others, regardless of the excuse, is just egoism. Same thing SUV drivers do–just ‘cuz it makes them feel like big bad dudes.
Great comment, thanks!
Comment by Richard Risemberg — December 13, 2010 @ 9:33 pm
I may be coming in tomorrow by the way, I’ve noticed your sale , I’m looking for a pair of all black holdfast straps, how much % would be taken off the purchase if I were to get a pair?
Comment by Jonathan — December 22, 2010 @ 1:24 pm