Jimmy Carter

 Today witnessed Jimmy Carter’s funeral.

Whatever one thinks of his politics and his overall world-view, he is—at least in my eyes—the best human being to occupy the White House during my lifetime .

That isn’t to say, of course, that he was perfect: Early in his career, he made a few compromises that, to be fair, some may see as having been necessary in the political climate of his place and time.  Still, to his credit, most of his positions and policies were consistent with his liberal philosophy and his Christian faith, as he understood it.

During the ride I took the other day, I made a point of peddling up and down Charlotte Street, which is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from my apartment. While it looks nothing like it did the day he made his impromptu visit nearly half a century ago, I had a sense-memory of the smoke and ashes that filled the street (which I wouldn’t see until many years later) and others similarly devastated.

While I remember seeing and hearing about that visit—and his work that followed, during and after his presidency, these might be, for me, the most enduring images of him:

Out Of The Fire

 Here in New York, we’re having the coldest weather we’ve had in a while. So some of you may interpret my writing about Los Angeles for the third day in a row is an expression of an unconscious wish.

I can honestly deny that, as I’ve gone for rides, however short, during our cold spell.  Also, I wouldn’t want to be in the L.A. area at this moment because my ride would be more like this:

Lady on bike escaping flames from #palisadesfire pic.twitter.com/N76am4Tf1C

— JASMINE VIEL (@jasmineviel) January 8, 2025

The Driver Who Thought A Paceline Was A Slamom

 A driver weaves through a group of cyclists, narrowly missing them.  At one point, he is actually driving in the wrong direction for the traffic lane.

On a video of the incident, someone can be heard yelling for the cyclists to watch out.

Shortly afterwards, a group of people smash the car in a parking garage about a mile from where the driver used the cyclists as a slalom course.

That incident was also captured on video.

Guess what the police have done.

They “believe” the incidents are “related.” But they didn’t arrest the driver. They are, however, pursuing vandalism charges against the people who smashed his car.

Call me a cynic, but I wonder whether the response to one incident and lack thereof to the other has something to do with the fact that the car in question is a late-model white Mercedes.

Whatever the constables’ motives and reasoning, it’s an example of what made Mimi Holt, whom I mentioned in yesterday’s post, give up cycling for nearly two decades when she moved to Los Angeles. She resumed riding after her doctor diagnosed her as a pre-diabetic, but says she’d feel a lot safer if there was a comprehensive network of bike lanes.

If she’s heard about the incident I mentioned today (it happened on Saturday), I am sure it reminded her of why she gave up cycling—and what police need to do in order to ensure that she and others can ride in (relative) safety.