As much as I did not want to respond to the utter crap that has been driveling from the Globe latley I have to. The latest was an amazingly childish and dangerously written opinion piece by “author” Monique Spencer. I understand that everyone has their opinions. As I have some very strong ones that offend people all the time. On the other hand though, I understand I can not break the rules, and there are laws in place that I have to deal with. And I respect everyone and what they do as long as they are FOLLOWING THE RULES! If I break them I should pay the price of the punishment. What I don’t like are people that just don’t accept the laws/rules because its inconvineint for them. This piece represents a person like this. These people are dangerous. They tend to think they can bend things, or create havoc because a rule that applies to some people does not apply to them.
Let take some of the “brilliant” areas of this artcle and add my opinion to them. Because I can…..
1. “I guess it’s because we are the fat ones in our cars, the people causing healthcare costs to rise. I don’t think that’s true, because we never do anything dangerous, unlike healthy people who are constantly breaking things skiing or getting lost hiking.” “My heart does get its morning exercise, though, just through panic attacks. I see the swarm of cyclists ahead. My body tenses, my blood pressure soars.”
Hmmmm, more “large” people need care for diabeties and other ailments that are caused by being overweight then lost hikers, bikers in the road or other healthy people that engage in physical activity. I might break a bone once or twice but that costs nothing compaired to life long blood sugar checking, hypertension medicine, O2 tanks for lung ailments among many other ailmets which can be obesity related. And when your heart rate goes up and all that energy is pumping that blood through your body and its not expending it through work (running, walking or moving of some sort) this is when you have a HEART ATTACK. Your heart can not take all that stress on it consistantly. This is why many doctors say excersise, move, do something. That stress on your heart muscle is going to kill you. And maybe, just maybe, if you worked out just a little bit you would not be such and enraged person. But perhaps happier, nicer to people and understand you have to take care of you. Worry about you, not the people around you that are doing what they choose and have rights to do. Its just pent up anger. And guess what, killing a biker will only make it worse. People really need to learn to embrace whats around them, enjoy your life and everything in it. And grow the fuck up, you can’t change it. So embrace it and move on.
2. “I have a fantasy. I drive a hybrid, which means you can’t hear me coming. Normally I am very careful to be sure that people see me coming since they can’t hear my car. My fantasy is that I will ride silent, ride deep, right behind a cyclist. Then I’ll beep my horn, real loud.”
This is the one that gets me fuming. This women is out of her fucking mind. And the Globe should be ashamed of itself for publishing this. If the wrong person (and there are many) read this and try it, its called MURDER, if when you beep I get so startled I fall under your front end and you run me over. Yes I am taking this personaly. How DARE you write something like this about another human being with out any knowledge of what the repercussions can be when you do something like this. Using your “hybrid” as a weapon because its silent and you can sneak up on someone? I believe if you did that and you killed a biker its going to be first degree murder, you know why, because it was pre-meditated. What would you think if I found out about something you liked to do (like walk a dog) and had all rights to do it, and I didn’t like it and found a way to kill you and wrote about it? The sheer irresponsability of this is so amazing to me. The Globe should have to print a retraction of this and apologize to its readers, the biking community, the Mayor and every innocent child thats going to love riding their bike and later on in life get scared off it because of crap like this. Every PARENT, MOTHER, BROTHER, HUSBAND, WIFE, CHILD, FAMILY MEMEBER, FRIEND should be outraged by this. Someone you know could be the victim of somthing like this. And this is not because I am riding in the road. This is beacause some angry women can’t control herself and endangers my life. How can you think your a responsible person to drive a 1 ton vehicle on the road and put this out there? How do I know you can control yourself when riding behind me, my husband or one of my kids? I want you, Ms. Spencer, to really take a good look at yourself and ask yourself, if it was you, and I worte something this heinous against something your family member does (like walk a dog) and it scared the shit out of you, would you be pleased? Or scared? Pissed? Please take a real good look at who you are.
I really could write a ton of things about all of this. But it comes down to who you are. I ride my bike, I follow the rules and I fear for my life everyday. But the love I have for being on that bike, the fresh air, the excersise, being closer to the community, waving to the same smiling old man every morning that gives me a thumbs up in Dorchester. It brings me peace, its reduces my stress, gives me a fabu bum 🙂 I don’t do it to be green or to save money. These things come with the territory. I do it because I love it, I love my surroundings and it makes me feel good. It teaches my children to be healthy, it teaches them another way of life and it shows them a whole other world not trapped in a tin box. I drive, I have two cars. I drive maybe once a week when its needed, and I would NEVER beep at a biker. When I am driving and see someone riding I want my bike!! I don’t get angry I get jelous 😉 And I have come across the worst of them, light runners, wrong way riders ect. But I know, and not from riding but from common sense the car will always win. And when I am on the bike, I don’t want to be in that fight, I just want to enjoy my life.
So after this long post I really hope this woman re-thinks whats going on inside to make her so angry. I think maybe if she rides one morning down Dot Ave and sees the old guy and gets a thumbs up, she might understand what I am talking about.
Stop looking out the window at the world angry and stressed, and become part of that one life in the one world you have and start enjoying your surroundings.
A toast to all you bikers, walkers, drivers, runners, everyone that lives happily with eachother, thank you for your respect, your acts of kindness, your ability to enjoy everything with a smile! Cheers!
