Jill Tarlov, R.I.P.

Sad news:  Jill Tarlov, the Connecticut woman who was struck by a cyclist in Central Park, has died.

As of this writing, no charges have been filed against the cyclist.  That he remained at the scene, I think, shows that he isn't a scofflaw.

 

And, as I said in an earlier post, I don't want to place blame anywhere.  There are indeed reckless cyclists.  Perhaps I was one in my youth; I don't think I'm one now.  I try not to be, anyway.  I think the same could be said for most cyclists.  At the same time, most pedestrians are careful, as Ms. Tarlov probably was, but sometimes they let their guard down.

Anyway, after this incident, I don't think I'll be riding in Central Park any time soon.  I very rarely ride there, as I said the other day.  I simply cannot enjoy a ride when I have to dodge pedestrians, skaters, skateboarders, horses and carriages and food vendors' carts.   I think the park is actually more congested than the streets and the hazards are less predictable.  I actually feel safer on most streets than I do in Central Park.

Greeting Me

This morning I had a visitor.

Is he/she a bug?  A baby bird?


This interesting creature took up residence on my LeTour some time since Thursday night, when I last used the bike.  It had been parked on the street ever since.

Maybe he/she likes black metal.  Hmm...a new Black Sabbath fan, perhaps?

NIMBY, NOMBY And NOMBE

NIMBY stands for "Not In My Backyard".

We could have our own version, NOMBY, which would mean "Not On My Bike...Yet">

I said that about STI, clipless pedals and a myriad of other bicycle parts and accessories.  

Perhaps there could be another acronym, NOMBE--"Not On my Bike, Ever",

I think this would fall into that category:

 The Scootrix Bike Noise Maker makes me think of the bike radios Radio Shack used to offer in every color in which ice pops were ever made.  But Scootrix is to those radios as modern bike computers are to the old Lucas cyclometers.  Scootrix can make rocketship roars, police siren wails, hot rod screams or--get this--the sound of a UFO, whatever that is.

All right, this accessory isn't NOMBE for me; it's NOMBY.