GET ON THE ROAD

What is it with people riding their bikes on the sidewalk?  Does this bother anyone other than me?  Do you people actually think it is safer?  I've got news for you, it isn't.

Let's take a step back before the ranting will really continue.  I know, kids on tricycles shouldn't be on the road.  I am not suggesting endangering the lives of children.  No.  Not at all.

I could explain the law to people, but that wouldn't be right.  These adults should already be familiar with the law.  Of course, if the law were to actually ticket these people, maybe they would get the message.  I realize that it isn't feasible--but there might come a day when the provincial government sees the opportunity for a cash grab (imagine that) and decides all adult cyclists need a licence (it isn't as funny as it sounds).  Well see how that turns out.

Bikes on the sidewalk pose a couple of problems, and I grant some of them are exacerbated by walkers.  Usually, if you were to come up behind someone on a bike, you should ring your bell or honk your horn (probably a law) to warn them of your approach.  While I haven't seen any of these modern day road warriors have bells on their bikes (probably spent all their money on overpriced bikes and fashion accessories--see the next blog for thoughts on that), and since most people 30 and under can't go anywhere without their ear buds in, they wouldn't hear it if you did honk.  Seems like a recipe for disaster.

The second problem is for motorists.  When we look left and right coming out of a shopping mall, or store parking lot, we scan the road for fast moving vehicles.  We scan the sidewalk for slower moving objects.  If your closing speed is between a person walking and a car driving, you might get overlooked.  Heck, the way some buildings are designed, we can't see you based on your closing speed.

Get on the road.

If It's Too Cold, Why Did You Go Skiing?

Is it right to complain when you knew exactly what you were getting yourself into?  What I mean is, if the situation was clear to you before it began, and you had a choice, don't you forfeit any right to whine and moan?

Last week I took a bus trip to go skiing.  Everyone chose to go on the trip and paid their money.  At the same time, some people cancelled at the last minute, but were not chastised in any way, or even charged money for the trip.  Almost all of them (I would guess that in fact it was each and every one of them, but I didn't bother taking survey) had a smart phone--certainly all of them had access to a television.  So when the weather report was forecasting a somewhat cold temperature (minus 17 I think) it wasn't really out of the blue.

None of this would have mattered if it didn't change the rules.  What it did was shorten the trip by one hour before it even begun.  Fearing the cold, despite wearing some rather expensive thermal gear, many people grumbled and got the trip ending changed.  Of course this was decided before anyone got on the slopes or even tried to cope with the cold.

Had I not wanted to ski, or fallen, or been having a miserable day, I wouldn't have tried to get everyone to leave early.  I would have gone to the lodge to stay warm and waited.  If I had felt I was too cold, I would have either not gone on the trip, or waited in the warm lounge.  At the very least I would have set a midday meeting before making any of these decisions.

As it was, most of the people who lobbied for early release arrived late for the bus.  I guess they were enjoying themselves skiing, despite the cold.