But usually I just grit my teeth and watch others bike around without helmets. Today though it was rainy and almost below freezing. It was dark and I was biking through downtown and I saw a bicyclist weaving through traffic, ignoring lanes, hopping onto the sidewalk...you know the drill. Of course...no helmet. So I boiled over as he ran a red light and as I came to a stop, and as he weaved onto the opposite side of the street into the oncoming traffic lane so he could jump onto the sidewalk, I yelled at him to wear a helmet. I didn't swear, I just told him to wear a helmet. He was polite enough to flick me off. About a block further down he pulled his bike over on the sidewalk and as I biked down the street he flicked me off with both hands and walked out into traffic yelling at me and challenging me to fight. Sure, he's an idiot and he has no chance of getting to me while I'm on my bike. Particularly because of oncoming traffic which is trying to decide whether to run his indie ass over or not. I admit though that he was a bit distracting. So I'm keeping an eye on him and the road and as he turns around to walk back across the street I see it just a second too late...the SLUT tracks.
I bike along them every day, it's the only option to get out of downtown without riding in the heart of traffic flow. I'm gutsy but not suicidal. Right as Mr. Indie Ass is walking away I cross the SLUT tracks without enough cross angle, my front tire traps in the the track and down I go. Thankfully no traffic was on top of me and I was up and moving in about 5 seconds. Bodies heal, pride heals, but dammit, scratches on my brand new bike don't fucking heal!
So apparently karma tells me that I'm just supposed to let assholes be assholes and that they should learn their lesson in the ER and not on the street. Thanks karma for ripping up the end of my handlebars, scratching the pretty finish on my SLI shifters and chewing up my knee.
Oh yeah, I have a nice patch of road rash across the side of my helmet where my head slid across the pavement. Thankfully I wear my god damn helmet.
Posted on December 27, 2007 @ 3:39 PM | 8 comments
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I hear helmets make good bludgeoning weapons too, particularly if you swing them around over your head before impacting the fucking with em. It's these kind of dumbtards who stage Critical Mass (critical MESS?) every month to "make a point" and only accomplish making all cyclists look like fucking idiots. ASSHOLE. I will find him and kill him for you. I'm imagining modding my bike with knife-spokes.
By 
Kat, at
4:03 PM, December 27, 2007
Hahaha, oy what a dumbass and what an unfortunate story. I'm really glad that you're okay. Damn slut tracks and non-helmet wearers. I'm right there with you on giving eye daggers to stupid ppl who don't wear helmets. Good for you for saying something tho. And yeah, Critical Mass has a good cause, but a shitty way of making their point made.
Welp, we still need organ donors, so as long as there is a fresh supply of non-helmet wearers, transplantees around the world, rejoice!
By 
Rachel, at
11:49 AM, December 28, 2007
eek! road-biking's cool and all, but is it worth potentially dying for? just think: for every idiot like that guy you describe who's on a bike, there are 10 behind the wheel not paying attention to you, just ready to plow you over.
By , at
7:42 PM, December 28, 2007
That asshole was probably the same guy that did a 2-lane left-hand turn, right in front of me and my car, as I went through a green light last week. I do wish it was he that went down on the slut tracks, and not you.
By , at
11:47 PM, December 28, 2007
Road biking is cool? Hmm, I'm not sure if I said that, god knows it wasn't cool in highschool when it was my primary mode of commuting.
I commute on bike because:
1) It's free (gas and car parking are not)
2) It's fast (I get to work in 20 minutes flat)
3) It's healthy (I get ~45 minutes of moderate/intense exercise daily)
You're right, it's not safe. But neither is driving. Is one necessarily safer than the other? Sure, if I get hit by a car I'm in trouble, but I do my best to protect myself.
When risk is moderate I generally cannot justify not doing an activity simply because I might be injured. I mountain climb, I rock climb, I scuba dive. Living is about mitigating risk. You take your necessary safety precautions and do your best. You do the same thing when you get in your car.
As a little tidbit of information compiled by national insurance agencies...after normalizing for contact hours, you are still 1.8x more likely to die in a car than on a bike.
By Justin, at
11:51 PM, December 28, 2007
The cycling is indeed the right thing to do, but I just let other cyclists do what they want.
I do wear a helmet when I cycle to work but it's my choice.
By running42k, at
4:12 AM, December 31, 2007
haha, i agree with rachel. it's darwin in action! yay for transplants! on the other hand, what if that asshole just injures himself to the point of being a veg in some hospital, and you and i as joe and jane taxpayer possibly get to pay for his care for the next 80 years?
By , at
2:59 PM, January 01, 2008
Amusingly enough...as a nurse, if they end up in a hospital bed it's still my problem. Doh!
By Justin, at
5:05 PM, January 02, 2008
I swear I must be on drugs (and no...I haven't gotten into the narcotics cabinet).
Shift is almost over and I get to bike home in the sun!
Posted on December 24, 2007 @ 12:23 PM | 1 comments
Comments:
sometimes it just happens like that. Did you have to work on Christmas? I did. My first time working that day...and after all the stress in planning and prepping for the Holiday...then I was stuck at work. It really sucks. More power and thanks to those of you in the medical field (and other fields) who sacrifice your holidays to keep others safe and comfortable. I don't know if I could deal with it. Hopefully, next year I will be with a nice pharmaceutical company that is CLOSED on Christmas!
Our engagement photos came in the mail today! Head on over to our engagement photo gallery and check them out! [ Yes, there ARE 300 of them. ]
If you are friend or family and would like copies, just email me (but be sure to correct the email address) the ID number of the photos you want and your address. We'll send you digital copies and/or prints!
All photos were taken by Nicole Tavenner of Piknik Studios in Polson, Montana.
Posted on December 05, 2007 @ 10:29 PM | 9 comments
Comments:
Lovely pics.
I have a cultural question - is it common in the US to have professional engagement photos taken?
In the UK this would be a bit flashy or pretentious, but you and Justin certainly seem anything but.
By , at
2:49 AM, December 06, 2007
i love your photos. you picked a beautiful place to have them done and you both look so happy! :)
By gleek, at
7:26 AM, December 06, 2007
That photo is so D/s...hah!
By Justin, at
10:33 AM, December 06, 2007
Hey Lou,
It's common to have a few casual photos taken because people often post engagement announcements in local papers and want a picture to go with the words. These pics aren't always professional but more often than not they are paid for, and shot in the portrait style.
We wanted some pictures taken to commemorate our engagement even though by the time we decided to have them done it was more than a year after Justin proposed. For me, this was less about the engagement and more about making a record of our relationship.
I tend to take a lot of pictures and therefore I'm always behind the camera and never in front of it. These are the first professional photos we've had taken of the both of us in the 8 years we've been together. I also wanted to do this shoot because it allowed us to test out our wedding photographer and get some more relaxed pictures than those we were expecting on the wedding day.
Justin was reluctant at first because he didn't see the need for the photoshoot. The funny thing was that partway through it, he was saying that we should get it done every year because it was such an emotional an intimate experience for both of us. We really had a great time!
That being said, the photographer went WAY BEYOND the call of duty. We expected to have her for one or two hours and maybe get a handful of good shots out of it. But she took pictures for over 4 hours-- in 6 locations. This was NOT what we were planning on! It was amazing and really affordable for what we got. (She didn't charge us any more than what we had agreed on.) We were all just having so much fun in that incredible location that we didn't want to stop.
So no, what we did is not common or standard at all. There are usually some commemorative photos, but not like this. Our photo shoot was an unusual experience.
By Kat, at
11:53 AM, December 06, 2007
your photos are gorgeous. any favorites? i still like the by-the-tree makeout used on your blog. there are lots of great ones. your kids are going to be fucking beautiful. yeah, a 300-shot engagement series could be seen as pretentious, but, you're not pretentious, and people don't have enough quality photos of themselves and their loved ones, so, fuck it. you'll only be young and sexy for so long, right? =)
By , at
4:30 PM, December 06, 2007
Great photos. I am partial to the black and white ones myself.
By running42k, at
4:41 AM, December 07, 2007
stunning pictures!!
- meegan
notsosimple.net
By , at
7:00 PM, December 07, 2007
Thanks for the long reply! It's nice to hear that your experience was so cool.
Lou
By , at
1:28 AM, December 10, 2007
Browsing some of your photos, I was puzzled as to that bright orb in the sky (some people call it the sun I guess). I haven't seen that thing for a few months. Then I read the rest of your post and noticed they were taken in Montana.
You got some, er a LOT of great shots!
By Louie, at
7:59 AM, December 11, 2007
Posted on @ 5:37 PM | 0 comments
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