when we make it us versus them, we make it us versus us

It's interesting sometimes to hear people talk about the issues of bicycle riding in traffic. One of the things I've taken note of lately - though it occurs to me that I've probably heard it over and over again in the past - is the way cyclists often refer to drivers. I don't mean militant bicy-fasci-nistas, for whom I've made few-if-any efforts to mask my disdain (Critical mAss, that's aimed directly at you). No, I'm thinking of average, everyday urban cyclists who are simply trying to do their part in sharing the road and improving the neighborhood by keeping one more car off the road and go from where they are to where they want to be under their own power.

If you manage to catch a conversation in a random, public place, you might hear bicycle riders referred to as "bicycle riders" or "bike riders", "bikers" or "cyclists".. but there is - more often than not, anyway - one of those humanizing suffixes tacked onto the end there.. that's the "-ers" or the "-ists". Catch a group of cyclists discussing traffic, though, and you'll very often hear motorized road users referred to simply as "cars". It seems like a trivial-enough point, but think about it with me for a moment.

We cyclists are clearly at a disadvantage on the roads of the US. We're exposed to the elements. We're powered by our own.. well.. power. We don't have safety cages, crumple zones, traction control, ABS, or airbags. We're given the dregs of the roadway and told it's "been set aside" for us.. by some paint.. which is usually the DOT's last priority for maintenance.. somewhere on the list just below filling in the potholes in the bike lane.. which I suppose they can't find.. because the paint's faded.

And so it's not really any surprise that cyclists don't view drivers as peers on the road. Rather, many only see the glazed and glossy, anonymous, roaring behemoth that could - all too easily - kill a cyclist. And so maybe it's not an incorrect response.

If we're going to get the attention of motor vehicle users, though, and get them to understand the challenges and needs of cyclists on the streets, we need to change our collective attitude. We need to address other road users as other road users, rather than as nameless vessels. We need to humanize "them" the way most of "them" humanize us. There are bad seeds of course - the ones we read about in newspapers and on internet forums - but we need to focus our attention on the good seeds - the ones who see us.. and we need to remind ourselves of the fact that that is most people. Because we'll never get anywhere arguing with cars, but maybe - just maybe - we can get a few people to listen.


Don't worry, I haven't gone completely soft.

dumb luck is still luck

Clearly, I've been hiding in the treehouse waay too much, lately. Working on the book has taken over my whole life. Well, except for the occasional Sunday or Thursday when I've stolen off for a few games of bike polo. Man, that's a good time.

Right about now, though.. or maybe more like about this time yesterday.. it's clear that I need to get the hell outta the house during the day. Even if I can just sneak away for lunch or coffee for an hour or so, or maybe for a short ride in the woods.. I've got to do something, though. I've really become a hermit, here.


I did manage to catch a good show at Beerland last night, though. About 10:00, I'd had enough of the house, so I headed out. But instead of zipping down Oltorf to the Horseshoe, which is close and easy, I started rolling up Congress toward downtown. It wasn't a conscious decision.. it just sorta happened on its own. Rather than fight it and make a U-turn, I kept going and minutes later found myself at Beerland. The first act was awful, but I'd already given the guy at the door my five bucks and cans of Schlitz were two, so I figured I'd just suffer through it. I'm glad I did.

Next on stage was this kid from Idaho, Andrew Anderson (heads up: his home page has audio.. not a fan of audio that starts without warning on the internets.. but his music's good, so it's still worth checking out.. ooh.. did I just give something away? shut up already, and let them keep reading..). After just a few licks on his mandolin, I started thinking to myself, "What the fuck is this guy doing playing here? On a Wednesday?" But it seems that's Austin, for you. There's a ton of real talent rolling through this town on any given night - raw, genuine people who just love their music so much that it can't be anything but infectious. All you have to do to find it sometimes, is show up.

..still need to get out more..

And You Will Know Them by the Trail of Yarn

She's peering into your soul,
looking for the weakness

Seriously? Little Stray Cat has decided to go into heat. I know she "decided to" because that's what cats do.. they spend hours on end, pretending to sleep, when what is actually happening is they're entering a meditative dream-state where they can come up with all sorts of surreptitious ways of making our lives hell. Case in point: time I recently spent keying-away at my laptop in relative silence is now filled with howls, yowls, squawks, gurgling, and something that sounds like feline yodeling. Yes. Feline yodeling. Try, just try to convince me that could be anything but a carefully engineered weapon of mass disruption.

And as further proof of the premeditation behind her assault on my psyche, she waited until a rainy cold front moved in over Austin before springing her nefarious plot. Still think it's just nature at work? Yeh, me, too.. The inborn nature of cats being EVIL!


I think I've gotta get out, more.