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Transportation

Rant of the Day: Irresponsible Cyclists Who Want to Kill Me

I hate you!
By Tim Rogers |
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With daylight saving time having ended, it gets dark pretty early. You’ve probably noticed. You’ve also probably noticed that I’ve been riding my bike to work when I can (your clue: the ever-increasing definition in my sinewy thighs). That brings us to all the people who tried to kill me yesterday.

My ride home is a little over 10 miles and takes me from downtown, along the Santa Fe Trail, up the east shore of White Rock Lake, and into Eastwood. I left work yesterday at 5:20, which got me to the lake around 5:50. Do you know what the lake looked like at 5:50 yesterday? I don’t know, BECAUSE IT WAS DARK BY 5:50. And that is precisely why I ride with a forward-facing, blinking white light and a rear-facing, blinking red light. I want everyone — motorists, pedestrians, cyclists — to see me. I want to live. “Watch out for Tim! Here he comes! He wants to eat dinner with his family tonight and not go to the ER!” That is what my lights say.

And so now I ask those of you — and there are many of you — who ride after dark without lights: WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? For now, I’m going to ignore those of you who don dark clothing and walk at night on a path used by cyclists. You are dumb. But what are you cyclists doing? Some of you last night were riding $4,000 Treks. Yet you couldn’t spring for two lights? I’ve got really good lights. They are super bright and cost $50 each. Again, because I want to live. But you can spend far less. You can buy a bike light for .0025 percent of the price of your Trek.

Let’s do some math, shall we? Biker A is pedaling pretty good on flat ground, without wind. He’s doing 20 mph in a northbound direction. Remember: he is 47 years old, he’s been reading copy all day, and his old eyes are tired. Biker B — an idiot who refuses to use lights — is doing roughly the same speed in the opposite direction. If Biker A can’t see dumbass Biker B and the two collide, at what speed will they meet? Answer: BROKEN BONES AND BLOOD!

In summary, please don’t be stupid. If you ride after dark, put a light on your bike. You twit.

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