Ok, I\u2019ve been quiet about this long enough.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for me to speak.<\/p>\n
No matter where on the planet you are reading this, you may have heard about an event that occurred last week in our small corner of the world here in St. Louis.<\/p>\n
Last Tuesday, my friend Randy was out for a bike ride in Sunset Hills, Missouri, when he had an encounter with a driver.\u00a0 I met Randy on my very first day at the new FLEET FEET inside of Swim Bike Run.\u00a0 He was doing some electrical work right in my little corner of the store.\u00a0 I remember thinking he was a good dude.\u00a0 At that time, I had no idea that he is one of the best cyclists in the state.<\/p>\n
By Randy\u2019s account, he was cruising along when a man in a red convertible began shouting at him, \u201cGet off my \u2026. roads!\u201d and eventually swerved his car into Randy, knocking him off his bike.\u00a0 The driver then proceeded to drive away.\u00a0 After being pursued by another driver who had witnessed the incident, the driver turned around and went back to my fallen friend, Randy.<\/p>\n
The police were called to the scene and an accident report was filed, but nothing further was done. \u00a0Nothing. \u00a0The driver just walked away, or drove as the case may be.\u00a0 Randy was left shaken, bruised, bleeding and with a broken bike.\u00a0 Later, Randy returned to the police department with his attorney to seek some justice, seeing as he did sustain injuries and damage to his bike, but no information on the driver who needed to make restitution.\u00a0 It was at this time that Randy learned the identity of the individual who had hit him.\u00a0 The man in the red convertible was none other than the Mayor of Sunset Hills, so you can understand his possessiveness of his own roads.\u00a0 However, you cannot excuse his demeanor and you might expect he would be slightly more familiar with the laws that are in place to protect cyclists on the roads.<\/p>\n
Since the incident, the Mayor has denied that he intentionally swerved into Randy, saying that Randy grabbed onto the side of his car while yelling expletives at him.\u00a0 Side note, could you blame Randy for dropping an F bomb or two?\u00a0 I mean think about it\u2026Randy\u2019s trying to maintain balance on tires about an inch wide, on a road with no shoulder, and rather than the driver giving him \u201cplenty of room\u201d as is required by law, he is close enough for the Mayor to claim he grabbed onto his car.\u00a0 Think on that for a sec.\u00a0 And we wipe out all the time when there aren\u2019t vehicles involved.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had so many friends crash this year it\u2019s scary.\u00a0 But I digress.<\/p>\n
Eyewitnesses who were on the scene have come forward and corroborated every detail of Randy\u2019s account.\u00a0 And the 911 calls have been released.<\/p>\n
As soon as I learned of Randy\u2019s incident, I went to the Mayor\u2019s facebook page and posted a comment to the most recent photo of the Mayor.\u00a0 It has since been deleted but it went something like this\u2026What happened to my friend Randy on Old Gravois Road today is a travesty!\u00a0 When the leaders of our community are modeling complete intolerance as acceptable behavior, I fear where our society is headed.<\/p>\n
Randy commented back to me on that post and was appreciative of my support.\u00a0 By the next morning, our comments were gone.\u00a0 But the comments from others continued and ultimately lead to the removal of the mayor\u2019s Facebook account since it was becoming a breeding ground for hostility, from both sides.<\/p>\n
Now there is an investigation that the Sunset Hills police have turned over to the county in an effort to maintain integrity.\u00a0 While, in my personal opinion, the facts seem to be in Randy\u2019s favor, there is a whole lot of \u201cHe said\/He said\u201d going on at the moment.<\/p>\n
But, this is what I know.\u00a0 This kind of stuff happens all the time!\u00a0 I hear stories of friends who have been verbally attacked and even had things thrown at them (ie-cans of soda, a cup full of pennies, etc) while riding.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen videos of cyclists riding single file on the white line while cars trail behind them laying on the horn for no other reason than to just be a jerk.\u00a0 My friend Kerstin had a guy attempt to smack her butt one time as he cruised by in the passenger seat of a pickup.\u00a0 Clearly he had no idea how dangerous that idea was.\u00a0 This is assault!\u00a0 Plain and simple.<\/p>\n
Personally, I get \u201cbuzzed\u201d by cars all the time.\u00a0 And while the driver may not realize they are driving that close to me, the wind and the noise caused by the vehicle are enough to make me jumpy and throw me off balance.<\/p>\n
I worry about going out on the road by myself, which makes getting my cycling miles for Ironman Arizona a challenge.\u00a0 I try to go on group rides, or ride with friends, since I am still trying to learn road etiquette, but that isn\u2019t always an option.\u00a0 And sitting inside on a bike trainer got old after the winter we had, I want to be outside.\u00a0 But there is a total lack of mutual respect between cyclists and drivers which makes riding alone scary.\u00a0 I realize that not all cyclists respect the rules of the road and that ticks off the drivers.\u00a0 But here\u2019s a point I want the drivers to just be aware of\u2026the other day I was out riding with my friend Karen and there were a few times we were riding side by side that we just couldn\u2019t hear the approaching car so we didn\u2019t switch to single file.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t that we were being intentionally inconsiderate; we were just enjoying our ride. \u00a0We made a mistake, oops. \u00a0People do that. Regardless of why cyclists are using the road, or how they\u2019re using it, let\u2019s remember that no one has the right to use their vehicle as a weapon.\u00a0 Ever!<\/p>\n
My apologies if, on one of my cycling escapades, I have ridden too far into the lane, or I haven\u2019t used my right arm to signal long enough (my balance isn\u2019t great that way), or if I made you 30 seconds later to get where you were going.\u00a0 Please forgive me.\u00a0 But allow me to offer a truce.\u00a0 I am a cyclist.\u00a0 I am also a driver.\u00a0 But we\u2019re all people.\u00a0 So what I propose is very simply, mutual respect and understanding.\u00a0 Tolerance.\u00a0 Acceptance.\u00a0 And above all, Forgiveness.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Randy and several other folks I know rallied at a peaceful demonstration on bike safety in Sunset Hills.\u00a0 I wanted to be there, but I knew Randy would understand that I needed to take advantage of my opportunity to train and get a lot of miles in.\u00a0 I was there in spirit.\u00a0 The theme was I AM HUMAN.\u00a0 We are all people.\u00a0 Like I said, I am a cyclist.\u00a0 And a driver.\u00a0 I\u2019m also a mom.\u00a0 And a daughter.\u00a0 And\u00a0a sister.\u00a0 And a friend.\u00a0 And an aunt. \u00a0And a cousin.\u00a0 And the list continues.<\/p>\n
All of this reminds me of a post that I wrote about a year ago when I got buzzed by a truck pulling a trailer on 109.\u00a0 That experience left a lasting impression with me, so I feel the need to share that post again.\u00a0 So, if you will indulge me, here it is once again…<\/p>\n
A LETTER TO MY FRIENDS WITH CARS<\/p>\n
Dear friends with cars:<\/p>\n
I know you don\u2019t like to wait for cyclists.\u00a0 Believe me, I get it.\u00a0 I\u2019m not particularly fond of it either, especially when I\u2019m running late to get somewhere.\u00a0 Which is pretty much all the time with me.\u00a0 But humor me, for a minute, if you will.<\/p>\n
This morning I went out for a ride.\u00a0 I only went about 16 miles because I didn\u2019t have a whole lot of time before my doctor appointment that I ultimately missed because I had the time wrong. Duh. \u00a0But something occurred to me while I was out on the bike earlier when\u00a0some guy\u00a0in a red pickup truck pulling a trailer nearly scared the crap out of me as he sped past in very close proximity.\u00a0 I\u2019m not really sure what he was trying to prove, since it was pretty obvious that he and his means of transportation were way bigger and faster than me and mine.\u00a0 If he was trying to prove that he\u2019s a jackass, he succeeded.\u00a0 Anyway, I think we all know I\u2019m a pretty fearless chick, there\u2019s not a lot that truly scares me.\u00a0 However, this caused enough fear in me that I began shouting at the driver of said pick up.\u00a0 It is entirely possible there were obscenities involved.<\/p>\n
As I rode on I started thinking, if that guy was a friend of mine, he wouldn\u2019t have been as likely to do that.\u00a0 No, I\u2019m not planning to use his license plate number to track him down and make friends (nor for any other reason, for that matter).\u00a0 Actually, I have a favor to ask of all my driving friends.<\/p>\n
My confidence on the bike has grown leaps and bounds over the past couple months, but I still consider myself a novice and I\u2019m still figuring out the rules of sharing the road.\u00a0 I typically try to ride with company, so I can learn from my more experienced cyclist friends, but that\u2019s not always an option.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The runner girl in me is used to sidewalks and jogging paths, or being able to jump out of the way without the risk of too much damage, so trust me, I don\u2019t love riding in your driving lane, but I also don\u2019t love riding over all the gravel and potentially hazardous junk on the shoulder of the road.\u00a0 If I had my way, I would ride strictly on bike paths or country roads where the only traffic is an occasional tractor, but I have to get to those venues somehow.\u00a0 I’d rather not be\u00a0scared or killed\u00a0in my attempt to get there.<\/p>\n
So, here\u2019s my favor, you ready? Next time you are out and about in your car, and you happen upon a cyclist, pretend for a moment that it\u2019s me, your friend.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to think that most, if not all of you\u00a0care enough about me that you\u00a0are concerned\u00a0with my well-being.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to think that you wouldn\u2019t want to cause me any harm, such as paralysis or\u00a0death or\u00a0at the very least\u00a0the humiliation of soiling myself in public (although a few of you would probably enjoy that last\u00a0one).\u00a0 There is a reason we wear helmets, and it\u2019s not about the fashion statement, I assure you.\u00a0 It\u2019s to protect ourselves, and I\u2019m hoping you all like me enough that\u00a0you would be willing to protect me too.\u00a0 So, please, use the brakes, slow down, take the extra 30 seconds to let traffic clear before you give me plenty of room as you carefully go around me, and I promise we\u2019ll both have a better day because of it.\u00a0 Think about it, wouldn\u2019t it\u00a0mess up\u00a0your day\u00a0a whole lot more\u00a0to have to make that call to my mom and my kids?\u00a0 That\u2019s what I thought.<\/p>\n
So next time you see \u201cme\u201d on the road, instead of thinking that I\u2019m some egocentric cyclist who is out there being a jerk with the sole intention of messing up your commute, please remember that I\u2019m really just out there doing the best I can.<\/p>\n
Thanks, Friends.\u00a0\u00a0Now get out and enjoy this beautiful day!<\/p>\n
XOXO\u2026<\/p>\n
Rambling Runner Girl<\/p>\n
Note: If I have ever offended or harmed you in any way and you would in fact like to run over me, please disregard this message.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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