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Old 11-16-11 | 09:08 AM
  #4802  
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FunkyStickman
On a Mission from God
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,009
Likes: 5
From: Thibodaux, LA

Bikes: '10 Surly LHT, Rat-rod Klunker, '82 Peugeot PH12 Centennial

Originally Posted by BridgeNotTunnel
wow, thanks all.

along with a death in the family, it has been a heartbreaking, mind numbing, month so far.

i was laid off nearly a year to the day from when i started bike commuting; just a fact there.

do not want to hijack thread.

thanks, again.
It's okay, man. I haven't been able to ride a bike in traffic, much less commute, for going on 4 months now. It was almost exactly a year for me, too. I miss it. Hang in there. Things will improve, and even if you can't go back to commuting, if you ride to get somewhere (as opposed to riding in circles for exercise) then you're still welcome here as far as I'm concerned. Heck, even if you don't, you've been through a year of commuting, which qualifies you in my book.

I most likely will not be able to go back to commuting at all as long as I live here. There is no bike infrastructure, and drivers are getting more and more aggresive and stupid, and the police are useless. I'm not going to stop riding, and I'm going to keep being an advocate, but I just can't commute any more.

I'm not okay with not being able to bike commute if I want. Every day when I drive to work, I check the weather, look at road conditions, and watch traffic as if I were cycling. It has changed the way I see traffic and drive. It makes my sick to my stomach that 99% of the populace here couldn't give a rat's behind about utility cycling. Sadly, this includes most of the local roadie club. The general consensus is "Commuting here is too dangerous." It makes me angry because it's true, but nobody is willing to do anything about it.

On top of it all, I'm still dealing with legal repercussions of my accident, not the least of which is the moronic police department claiming it's my fault I got hit by a car that ran a red light. It went something like this:
Police: "We went back and reviewed your case. We now think it's your fault."
Me: "Are you daft? The guy ran a red light and hit me from the side."
Police: "No, you would have been run over if that were the case."
Me: "Hello, he was in a Honda Accord! It knocked my bike out from under me. Bumper is only at my calf level. I went over the hood."
Police: "We don't see it that way, sorry."

Why do I even try? Ugh.
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