What's going on, Albuquerque?

Springtime

So was playing hooky from work and napping with my door open. Slowly, as if almost in a dream, I heard 2 people yelling at each other.

I got up and looked out, and it's a biker and some body in a car.

I made out this exchange. "What am I supposed to do? There aren't any bike lanes..."

"Why don't you get a car?" and something else that I couldn't quite make out.

Then the biker says, "Fuck you," and walks off.

The car peals out, and the biker, angry, walks his bike up the street.

As I fully wake up, I notice the biker is my neighbor and I pull on my shoes and go and find out if he's okay.

He is. He wasn't hit, and the confrontation started when he finally called out the driver on being overly aggressive, revving her engine, crowding him as he took the lane. He, like a lot of us, wasn't just willing to let the cars intimidate him and he spoke up.

I don't have any answers. and admit I'll generally take the biker's side in almost any car-bike conflict but want to point out a few things:

1) Bikers have the right to travel any road, at any time. Now the road in this case was Gold Ave, which is not a major thoroughfare. I've written elsewhere that while I, as a biker, may have the right to travel any road that doesn't always mean its a good idea. But, in this particular case, Gold Ave. is a perfectly fine road for a bike. I live on Gold Ave. and if you think its a good way to bypass Central Ave. or the Lead/Coal debacle, think again. People, some with kids, live here, and we don't take too kindly to choosing our road for your shortcut and in most cases its not a shortcut at all.

2) A car is not an extension of you. It is a large, almost 2 ton vehicle that can kill. So, if you don't have the wherewithal to keep your temper in check, then don't get behind the wheel. We are an overly violent society anyway, so we don't need your contribution.

3) Not all bikers, in fact most of the ones I know, bike because they 1) can't afford a car, or 2) lost their license. Most of the bikers choose bikes because they want to. It's a cost effective, efficient, environmentally friendly way to travel. So, we are going to assert our rights to travel on our streets.

Share the road....it'll make for a much smoother trip.

2 members like this

Comment by Granjero on April 1, 2012 at 6:33pm: I'm not a fan of bikers as a general rule. I see too many of them being stupid on the roads, where admittedly the drivers are just as stupid. The difference between the two is, the biker, who try's to assert his "rights" to the roadway, will die or get maimed as opposed to the driver who try's to do the same and maybe gets a dent in his bumper.

I don't care how many PSA's or Laws are made and passed, if a biker is trying to take on a car, he/she is an idiot. You're never gonna get rid of stupid drivers, so it seems the best way to solve this is to keep the folks who are more likely to get killed off the streets. Children, dogs, amnesiac old ladies and these bike riding humans.

Love me.