Yellow Bike to the rescue!

~ brixton

My new friend Yellow Bike and I had not one but two accidents today. Accident #1 involved a truck parked on one of the skinny bike paths that snakes through campus by the library, the observatory, and the child development buildings off Nevada. I rode around it, but my tire got caught on the edge of the sidewalk, and I crashed to the ground. The truck guy came running over to make sure I was OK – I said yeah, I’m fine – it’s just hard to ride on the bike path when trucks are parked there.

Accident #2 involved an undergrad who stepped in front of me on the bike path on Wright Street. I was headed north from the library towards school and had already dodged a couple of people in the path when this girl stepped off the sidewalk in front of me without looking in either direction. I yelled “look out!” and swerved, narrowly missing her but crashing into the curb and cutting up my leg on my pedal. She apologized a bunch of times and asked if I was OK – I said yeah, I’m fine – but you need to look where you’re walking because this is a bike path.

In the last year I’ve come to really love biking places. I just spent a bunch of money on a helmet, lights, and a pretty new messenger bag to make a biking-mainly lifestyle safer and more realistic. I obey traffic laws about 95% of the time, which is about the same as when I’m driving. It’s just frustrating that stupid people not paying attention makes it harder to be healthy and environmentally friendly.

0 thoughts on “Yellow Bike to the rescue!”

  1. So although you’ve been biking here for a couple of years, on a moving exercise bike no less, you don’t get into an accident until you buy a helmet. Then you have two accidents.

    I wonder if the fates are saying “helmets are for chumps!” or if it was divine shopping.

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  2. On my very first day of grad school, I had a VERY bad accident involving a sorority girl/Trixie-in-training. I alerted her that I was coming up behind her and she didn’t look and walked right into my path. I still have scars. She didn’t get hurt.

    I had so many accidents after that on campus, or near-accidents, that I just stopped riding my bike anywhere near campus during the day time. Sometimes I would ride on campus at night, but even then, people will still suddenly veer onto the bike path, etc.

    And this is from a non-car-owning, bike-dependent person. 🙂

    As far as helmets are concerned, I have one thing to say to you: My aunt, an RN who was almost directly responsible for a law requiring people to wear bike helmets in parts of Colorado, has had to hold together people’s skulls until ambulances came in several bike accidents to which she was witness. And worse than dying is becoming a permanent vegetable. Not wearing a helmet is not wise. 🙂

    In any case, your bike riding is totally awesome and I am so happy you found a great bike!

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