400 Santas Walk Into a Bar

It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but almost 400 thirsty Santas rode to various Milwaukee bars on Saturday. I've never had so many motorists and pedestrians smile and wave at bicyclists. What a blast.

Santa Rampage Ride from Jeff Frings Photography on Vimeo.

Let It Snow!

Bonus snow ride on Thursday!
Nothing special, but the first time on snow this year.
If it's going to be cold at least let it snow.

Let It Snow1

Halloween CX

The Expo Halloween party at the Washington Park cross race gets bigger every year. Gus and the crew didn't disappoint this year.

Halloween Expo Style from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

It's Called a SideWALK

Two days in a row, buzzed by drivers in similar situations and both times I get the same response when I ask them about getting that close to me.
"No I didn't know I was that close to you." Almost immediately followed by, "why don't you ride on the sidewalk."

950 ntl from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

252766 from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

For the bazillionth time, It's illegal to ride on the sidewalk!

Even if it wasn't, both these women seem to think that my not using the sidewalk would somehow justify their running me down.
I tried to calmly point out the danger in their driving, but what I should have asked the woman on Friday was, if your son was riding his bike instead of in the passenger seat next to you, and you had just come within 18 inches of killing him instead of me, would you be a little more concerned?

Nothing Ever Happens

Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all
The needle returns to the start of the song
And we all sing along like before
--Del Amitri

Del Amitri was making a commentary on the boring state of our everyday lives, but sadly, those words come to mind as I wonder about the apparent lack of accountability for drivers who kill or seriously injure others, especially cyclists. I didn’t know Jeff Littmann. I don’t know Lauren Jensen. But I do know what it is like to fear for my life while on the road. That fear is often the result of drivers who are either too busy doing anything but actually driving or too selfish to actually watch out for others on the road.

Very often those drivers terrorize, maim, or kill with impunity. When a driver hits a cyclist, unless they flee the scene or are drunk, there is often no penalty. In rare instances the driver might get a traffic citation with a small fine. Those are rare instances. The possibility of criminal charges are almost non existent. In many cases the prosecutor claims that the burden of proof is too high, that they would have to prove negligence to get a conviction.

If you are driving while drunk, texting, putting on makeup or doing anything other than devoting your full attention to driving, is that not negligent? If you were violating one or more traffic laws and that causes the death or serious injury of another is that not negligent? Isn’t driving 40 mph into a blinding sun where the driver admittedly couldn’t see “oncoming traffic or anything much more but (estimate) 10 ft in front of me” negligent?
The legal definition of negligence is, “conduct that the actor should realize creates a substantial
and unreasonable risk of death or great bodily harm to another”
Shouldn’t every driver realize that driving 40 mph with only 10 feet of visibility creates a substantial risk of harm to another? Shouldn’t every driver realize that when we disobey any number of other traffic laws we cause a substantial risk of harm? Isn’t that why we have these laws in the first place, because violating them causes a risk to others?

I understand “accidents” do happen. A traffic sign is obscured by a branch, you have a sneezing fit, you lose a contact, and cause a crash, any number of true “accidents” can occur. Violating traffic laws and causing a serious crash is no accident. If we keep treating these situations as accidents aren’t we just asking for more deaths and injuries. Perhaps we need some penalty between a 10-year felony and a slap on the wrist traffic fine for killing someone with a car. I understand no charging decision has been made in the Littmann/Jensen case yet. Maybe sometime soon something will happen. Maybe that something will be justice for those injured or killed by negligent drivers.

Listening to Reason

I heard that familiar refrain Sunday in Waukesha, "move over ...". But it wasn't coming from someone in a car, it was from a guy getting his mail. I thought for a minute, go back and discuss or keep riding. I think mostly because he didn't shout his message, I decided to discuss. Turns out that was a good idea.



He explained that he's seen numerous bicycle riders hit near his house and that I should ride closer to the right to be safe. I explained why its safer to ride where I ride, so drivers know they need to use the other lane to pass. He continued to insist that it's safer on the right edge but, as I explained in more detail, he said he understood the logic in my argument.

At the end of our conversation, he extended his hand and wished me well. I'm glad I stopped, and more importantly I'm glad we were able to discuss it calmly.

Thanks for listening Mr. Waukesha