Kinda Hot Rant

Okay, here’s the dilly:

Today for Kinda Hot Wednesday I would like you all to recommend someone for me. I’m starting to run out of people, and I have a rant today I need to expunge. So please, suggest someone in the comments, I will pick one and will do a spotlight of said person next week for KHW.

Kay? KAY!

Now. The Rant.

So, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am a pretty careful bike rider. I don’t zip through stop signs (I really will wait and let the other person go), if there is no car there or anywhere, ok…I’ll admit it, I’ll zip through. Who doesn’t? Ever see a bike rider stopped at a stop sign with no cars around? Okay then.

I stop at stoplights. Especially the three-way ones that are common on Lincoln between Diversey and Armitage…those make me nervous. I used to be comfortable riding down one-way streets the wrong way, I’ll do that for maybe a block or two, but I think it’s really dangerous. People don’t look both ways on two-way streets, they definitely aren’t expecting you coming down a one-way the wrong way…

Now, in the past week, I’ve had two different people give me poop for the way I ride my bike, both of them were blatently hypocritical.

The first guy had his pretty red riding suit on. He was all decked out, the clip shoes, the matching “bicycling” outfit, the pretty red helmet, whole she-bang. Well he starts yelling at me when I go through a red light WHERE LITERALLY NO ONE IS COMING. This was on my morning bike ride to work, on Wells, ton of people behind me also riding through the light. I mean literally, no cars in sight. So the guy starts yelling about how I’m endangering him and other riders, we scream at each other while we’re cruising down Wells, other people are telling this guy to relax and keep looking at the road, he’s looping in and out of the bike lane, riding down the middle of Wells, yelling at me about how I’m endangering him. He’s telling me about “less experienced” bikers, you mean, just because I don’t have a pretty red riding suit? I don’t know how to ride?

So fine, maybe I should have stopped at the red light WHEN NO CARS ARE COMING. But the dude proceeds to scream his head off, then WHIPS THROUGH FOUR LANES OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I’m serious. He was way too far ahead for me to tell him he was a hypocritical son of a bitch, but I watched him cut through Wells, right by the Merchandise Mart, by literally weaving in and out of oncoming cars. Um dude? That is way more dangerous than not stopping at an empty stoplight. BAH.

Then yesterday…I’m cruising down a one-way (going the right way) right by my house. There’s a dude WITH HIS HEADPHONES ON, riding the wrong direction down the same one-way. I get over to the other side of the one-way to make a left hand turn INTO MY ALLEY WHERE I LIVE and I hear the guy say “stay to right damnit”. Like I had done something wrong! He was the one going the wrong way down a one-way street, with his headphones on! I did what any car, person, or bike can do, I turned left to GO HOME.

You know what all your hypocritical assholes? SHUT UP. Just shut up! Now, like I said, I don’t necessarily follow the rules of the road to the letter, but I also don’t yell at other people who might zip through a light when I choose not to. It’s not my business really, ‘cause I cheat too. As an afterthought, the only people I will passively say something to are the buttheads that ride on sidewalks. You're not twelve, ride in the street, cause you almost rolled over my doggy's foot.

So screw off all you holier than thou people who think you know everything and can make the rules for someone else but not yourselves. It’s really starting to piss me off, and makes me think that bike riders really do suck, that cabs and busses are all right, I’m sure with these guys its ALWAYS someone else’s fault.

Don’t make me stop liking my bike. I’ll hate you all forever if you keep making my bike rides annoying.

Whew.

Ok.

Thanks everyone.