In my time, I've been praised as a "tough" rider. I won't deny it: I've ridden long and hard in all manner of conditions and across all sorts of terrain. I've cycled when I was ready to fall asleep and even in altered states of consciousness. (You can ask. I might not answer!) . And, yes, I've pedaled in, and through pain.
When it comes to riding my bike with infirmity and discomfort, though, I have nothing on a fellow in South Nashville, Tennessee.
Just after midnight this morning, police officers responded to a "shots fired" call on Lafayette Street. There, they found a man struggling to ride a bicycle before he collapsed in the street.
Turns out, he had a gunshot wound in his leg. Officers believe he got it somewhere near a barber shop in the neighborhood.
Officers took him to Vanderbilt University Hospital, where it was determined that his injuries were not life-threatening.
That's what I used to tell my old training partners and riding buddies on those rare occasions when I got hurt: "It's non-life-threatening." And I would keep on going.
Now, whether I was tough or just stupid is a fair question. Either way, I had nothing on that guy in South Nashville.
The new semester begins today.
So what did I do yesterday? I went for a ride, of course!
An agreeably cool morning turned into an agreeably warm afternoon, both full of sunshine. And I had the wind at my back on my way home.
The tide was out at Point Lookout. I was tempted to ride onto the sandbar. I think Tosca, my Mercian fixie, would have been game. But I didn't want to chance the tide coming back in.
I had a good time. I'm sure everybody did!
Today I'm teaching some basic freshman English classes. Tomorrow, though, I get to teach something that even a few weeks ago--let alone when I was living as a guy named Nick--I never imagined I would teach.
Women's studies. Can you believe it? I didn't ask for it: I was asked.
Is there some other kind of tide coming in?
Maximum protection for your moving parts whenever you want to move your gear.
Of course, with a slogan like that, could the product have any other name but "The Chain Condom"?
You never can have enough protection, right?
A sixteen-year-old boy is riding his bike. A car turns onto the street.
"I was assuming he would stop for me," said Alex Zhao. "I guess he didn't see me."
Alex doesn't remember much about the impact because "it happened so fast." All he knows is that it threw him clear of his bike, which ended up underneath the car.
Paramedics who responded to the crash offered to take it to the fire station so he could pick it up later. But the bike, which held "a lot of memories" for him and was his only mode of transportation, was a wreck.
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| Steven Nuckolls |
Seeing his sadness, the firefighters went to a nearby bike shop to see whether the bike could be fixed. Shop employees said it was impossible. So, the firefighters decided to buy him a new one. "We kinda looked at it, looked at each other and said we think it's the right thing to do," explained Steven Nuckolls of the Arcadia, California Fire Department.
That shop, Helen's in Arcadia, donated the bike--in fire engine red--and a helmet, which Alex wasn't wearing when the car hit him.
Then the firefighters called Alex to the Arcadia Fire Department. He believed he was going to pick up the remains of his bike. What he found instead moved him to tears.
Oh, and the firefighters helped him deliver a painting he'd created for an art contest, and was carrying with him when the car struck him. He made the deadline to enter.
I hope he wins again.
$88 billion isn't chump change, even for Warren Buffett.
It's greater than the GDPs of about 50 countries, including Moldova, Kosovo and Rwanda. Moreover, it's the value of a not-insignificant industry.
Now, when I say that something is "not insignificant" on this blog, you know it has something to do with cycling. In this case, that $88 billion is the "economic impact" bicycles have on the United States.
The fellow who pointed that out ought to know: His state is one that benefits more than most from all of those bikes, parts, helmets and related items cyclists buy--and from related services.
He is David Price, who represents North Carolina's Fourth District in the US Congress. That district includes much of "The Triangle," home to several leading universities and research laboratories--where one finds, not surprisingly, lots of cyclists.
Also, right in the heart of that district is the headquarters of Performance Bicycle, one of the world's largest cycling retailers. Their "command center" employs 200 people, while another 2000 work in its online store or retail shops.
It also just happens that some 35 bicycle equipment manufacturers are located in the Tar Heel State, as well as 229 brick-and-mortar retailers and 44,103 PeopleForBikes members.
I don't know how many people are employed by those manufacturers or retailers, but I'm sure that it's more than a few. And that's just in North Carolina: There are surely thousands, if not millions, more in the rest of the country.
So why is Congressman Price pointing out the economic impact of the bicycle in the US?
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| David Price |
He is part of the PeopleForBikes Summer Campaign, which includes a tour of bicycle industry companies and retailers. The campaign, says Price, "highlights the impact that Federal infrastructure investment programs have in providing alternative modes of transportation that can enhance the quality of life in a community."
He knows what he's talking about: he is the highest-ranking Democrat on the Congressional subcommittee responsible for federal infrastructure investment. Moreover, he is a member of the Congressional Bike Caucus who vows to "continue fighting for programs that enhance the cycling experience."
Of course: If you "enhance the cycling experience", you just might entice people to leave their cars home for errands, shopping trips or even their daily commutes--and for day and weekend trips, or even vacations. That will keep more than a few people working, I'm sure!
