The death of a bicyclist in our community last week took every one aback a little. Bicycling has come back into our lives, both as transportation and exercise. but I can't help but notice that today's bicyclists are a lot different than the ones of my childhood--or even of my children's childhood.
In those days, we drove against oncoming traffic and carefully hugged the curbside. If we came to a place where we had to cross a street, we dismounted and walked our bikes across. We knew that traffic was a "menace" and that cars were to be feared.
Not saying that it's right or wrong, but today's bicyclist considers him/herself "equal" to cars and brazenly cuts between them and zips across intersections and changes lanes almost randomly (but I do give them credit for making hand signals). I thank bicyclists for not contributing to pollution, for the less wear and tear on our streets, for keeping themselves fit so I won't end up paying for their health costs, but I wish they'd be more careful.
