I had a friend once who, as I left to go ride home, would occasionally call out loudly, "Hey!...Hey! Hey Tarik... Be Careful!". The seed was planted, I would think to myself, hmmm, what does he know? Was I not privy to a meeting among all car drivers where they decided to target cyclists that day? Or is it crazy driving tuesday again?
I am not sure where I am going with this. Anyone else find these friendly admonitions a bit disquieting?
The reason I bring this up is that I have a new cubiclefarmmate at work who usually leaves at about the same time as me. He always tells me to "Be careful", "Lots of crazy drivers out there", as we leave. Pretty much every day.
I know it. Really. Thanks Pal.
Memorial Ride for Vlad Zotov
8 hours ago
5 comments:
I had a similar and I dare say weirder experience. I used to have this college friend that, as I would be leaving, would say: "Don't fall down.". It always caught me off guard. It's just weird.
I get the same thing on almost a daily basis. My usual response is the old Wisconsin saw: "drive safe now!" What's ironic is that statistically speaking, they're as much at risk as I am, if not more, per unit of transportation time. They just think they're safer inside that glass and metal pod.
They could just as well save their breath though, cuz I already ride as if absofuckinglutely everybody were out to kill me.
Yeah, my least favorite is when some nice, motherly lady tells how much she worries about me riding that bike with all those crazies out there driving. Now I should feel guilty for causing her mental anguish by riding my bike.
Corollary to "it's dark"/"it's raining"/"it's cold"/"there was an earthquake in Java--are you *sure* you don't want a ride home?"
Well-meant, but weird.
--scott in c'ville va
Just today I was reprimanded for my lack of helmet. A nice, southern drawl told me I would regret it when my "brains are squished all over the pavement."
Jeez, I never thought about that before.
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