It was so good to get back on the bike. Started at the Bastille. Trail conditions were good. Took this picture of the Koi Pond by the dockmaster's house.
Cross-town, Jail Trail, Hot Metal Bridge: all good. Schlepped over in the direction of Thick Bikes to see what's up. Around the corner from Thick, I found an unexpected mixture of the divine and the droppings, eschatology and scatology.
This is a great message, as far as it goes - but it doesn't have any gravitas, there's no weight behind it. Imagine the implications if we could get HH the Dalai Lama to endorse a statement like this. Or even, just to have his picture taken with a placard to this effect. Because, getting your picture taken with a placard in Pittsburgh is earth-shaking.
Imagine the waves of change that could come from this:
Anyway. Riding northwest on East Carson St. at the Double Wide Grill, stopped at a red light. Car pulls up next to me. Opposite direction car wants to turn left. Light turns green, adjacent car urges them on, opposite direction car goes right across my path.
Everytime somebody tells me, my aunt's boyfriend knows a cyclist who doesn't stop at red lights all the time, I'm going to ask them why do you Yinzers think the Pittsburgh Left is legal? And I'm sure that will help.
Rode out toward Sandcastle, but turned around at the perimeter of the Valley of the Shadow of Eagles because the permashade from the hillside has the trail all icy and rutted. Saw Mikhael, always a treat. Hot Metal Bridge, Jail Trail, Penn Ave Bike Lane (out and in, because it seems like an obligation).
A very nice and much needed ride.
That photoshop of the sign + Dalai Lama almost had me spit coffee all over my monitor! :D
ReplyDeleteIn Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) they've been trying to implement those "Bike boxes" in front of traffic where ever there is a major cycle path alongside a road. It means at red lights you pull out in front of vehicles. This avoids the "being killed with kindness." Doesn't help on side roads but the hope is eventually the awareness of cyclists becomes more common.