Thursday, May 15, 2008

BBW, Day 4

That's BOISE BIKE WEEK... NOT BIG, BEAUTIFUL WOMEN!

(Although we can agree that both are very positive, desirable things, huh?)

I'm happy to report I've ridden every day this week (and last week... and the week before... etc.). This week I've been faithful about putting on my "ONE LESS CAR" T-shirt every day during the commute.

(I've also got a T-shirt that says "CARS SUCK." With a motorcycle. But we're striving for diplomacy here.)

I don't think I'm just imagining a LOT of cyclists on the road these days. Which is fantastic, as long as they're being GOOD cyclists - following the rules and not making asses of themselves. (Of course, Danielo has noted that many of them are fair-weather riders, and the first day it's too hot or too cold, they traditionally hang it up. We'll see if gas prices pushing $4 makes any difference this year.)

Speaking of motorcycles... this afternoon I'm going to eastern Oregon on mine, to burn a little fossil fuel. Gonna do some riding in the Blue Mountains, in the Baker / La Grande area. I expect there will be places where the snow is still clinging to both sides of the highway. The plan is to return to Boise Friday evening, rejuvenated and recharged. And to participate in the PEDAL POWER PARADE on Saturday.

I hope to see a HUGE turnout at the PPP! The forecast is sunny and 90+ ... bring hydration! (I hope the weather isn't TOO "nice" for the more fickle among us.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This morning I witnessed an accident between a wrong-way cyclist and a vehicle turning right out of a parking lot. I reached the scene just as the driver was telling the bike rider that she would pay for damages. When I said that she was not at fault the bike rider began to dispute with me. At that point I lost my temper and began to lecture him, saying that a bike is a vehicle, that he needed to follow the rules of the road, that he was lucky that he wasn't dead, etc....I told the driver to call the police so that there would be some record of the incident and at that point the bike rider decided to leave the scene on foot, abandoning the bike. An officer arrived but since there was no damage to the car and no serious injuries he just took our contact information. Before I left I told the officer that I would appreciate if he and his fellow officers would watch for wrong-way cyclists.

db said...

Wow, Bob, eventful morning. Nice of you to wait for the police. Why would the biker leave his bike, though? Stolen?

Anonymous said...

DB, I did not get the feeling that the bike was stolen. The rider appeared to be concerned about getting to work on time and since his place of employment was close he took off.

By the way this incident took place on Emerald between Maple Grove and Five Mile and the rider was going the wrong way in the bike lane. The BPD officer seemed to know the bike rules. While we were still at the scene another wrong-way cyclist passed and the officer told her that if she wanted to ride that way that she needed to get on the sidewalk.

Bikeboy said...

THANKS for putting in a good word with the police officer, Bob! IMO (and I've said it before), we have an infrastructure, climate, etc., for Boise to be a premier cycling city (WAY better than, say Seattle or Eugene). Where we are sorely lacking is in education and enforcement. (Demonstrated by both parties in the accident this morning.)