The advocacy supported by the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign seems to be the sort of bicycle advocacy that I feel I need to support. I surfed into their site following a row over curb "bulb outs" being constructed on Mclendon Ave over in Dekalb county. I can understand that this will cause cyclists who prefer to hug the right curb while they ride a considerable amount of difficulty. What I can't understand is why these cyclists want to ride there.

After completing two seasons as a bike courier in Atlanta without significant injury from abusive motorists, I can easily say that these riders need to take the lane. Yes, take the lane, it is yours. I too was once a right curb hugging rider, riding far to close to parked cars and hidden driveways. Now, I can't stand riding that far to the right. Why? Well for one, it is actually more dangerous due to several factors. Parked cars with their doors are a bicycle accident waiting to happen as are the hidden driveways mentioned above and then there is the glass and road debris that tends to accumulate along the sides of the road. This road junk promotes flat tires and flat tires in the case of a sudden blowout can prove deadly for the unsuspecting cyclist.

I ride the lane and only get over to let cars pass if I feel it is safe to do so, not if the guy in the H2 thinks so, me, I am in control of my vehicle. Not only that but the road itself is smoothest where the cars actually ride. I don't get flats from broken beer bottles in the street and car doors are not long enough to hook me when I ride more towards the middle of MY lane. The law is on my side as well. I have as much right to take the lane as a motorcycle or car. I have rarely seen motorcycles forced to the right so why should I be intimidated by motorists to follow some arcane unwritten rule?

Sure, I have been assaulted by motorists for taking this position, that is the risk, The driver and his/her precious time. Funny how time works while driving in an urban area. A car accelerates to pass me only to find itself having to stop at a traffic signal just yards away. So how did I inconvenience them? Do traffic signs and signals not cause more of a delay for motorists than me riding my bike?

Another thing, why advocate bike lanes? Does the existence of a bicycle lane or path deny my right to take the "real" lane?

As an individual who rides a bicycle as a means of transportation, How could the Atlanta Bicycle campaign advocate the loss of my rights to the road?

From the ABC list of accomplishments~ "Organized a campaign to straighten dangerous parallel sewer grates in Atlanta" Hmmm, I saw one of these grates still in use just yesterday on Marietta Street. I guess it going to take more than a campaign to straighten those grates out. If they were to encourage cyclists to just take their lane, bicylists would not be sinking their front wheels into these dangerous grates in the first place.

Sometimes the wires expose a more touching side of the news by showcasing the elderly.
the link below is but one example.


Lifestyle

I am so tired of watching tragic events play out in front of me day after day after day here at work.

Why do I work here?

Working here on most days makes me feel like hunting down a cartoon network employee and spitting on him/her.

I never had any idea how truly malicious the members of the morning show on 99x are. During some internet surfing I discovered some offensive material from them regarding bicycles and the road.

For the two years I spent as a bicycle courier here on the streets of Atlanta, I was constantly made aware of who really owns the road. I had more than a few close calls with cars and found that Atlanta motorists have some serious issues with cyclists who want their share of the road.

I remember one afternoon in particular on Peachtree Street next to the High Museum of Art, a mother with two small children in a Volvo station wagon did not like me being on the road. She made her stand known by laying on the horn and then an attempt to run me off the road and onto the sidewalk with the fender of her car. (Where are the police when you need them?) Afterwards, I caught up to her at the light at 14th street and did my best to inform her of my rights and that she was out of line for trying to bring harm to me. She screamed and yelled about getting on the sidewalk and sped away when the light turned green.

It was from this experience that I came to the realization that some motorists are really interested in bringing physical harm to cyclists who try to use the street. I can also say from experiences like the one above that Atlanta is one of the worst places to ride a bicycle in the United States.

Enter 99x. Wow. I had no idea that these guys could say such things about bicyclists. One of them even joked about nudging cyclists off into trees with his automobile. Having had this happen to me on more than one occasion leads me to believe that this "shock jock" has actually done this in the past and enjoyed it?

This event happened back in April and since then, we have been informed that these people have been disciplined and made a formal apology on the radio. Was that really enough? I don't think that these people understand how impressionable their teenage listeners are or maybe they do and they just don't give a damn.

The weekend found me in Athens Ga.
I don't think I could ever live there. Seeing all of the students living it up just makes me feel old...

I wonder if hardcore environmentalists secretly want to see the Earth totally annihilated.

Is the human race just another parasite in the long line of such pests to have the good earth play host?

Will the skinheads, hippies, and punks who once made L5P their hangout, now shop at the new Ross Dress for Less just down the street?

Why do I concern myself with such useless thoughts?

The state of Georgia continues to amaze me with its complete and udder backwardness.
Lately, I am fed up with the District Attorney of Floyd County and her decision to appeal the Marcus Dixon case. For those of you not aware of this case, Marcus Dixon was an 18 year high School senior with a 3.96 gpa and a scholarship to Vanderbilt University. He attended Peperell High School in Floyd County, Georgia. One afternoon after school he and a 15 year old student who was just months shy of her sixteenth birthday had what was originally described by the victim as consensual sex. During this act, the girl's virginity was lost. Since I am not a woman, I can not speak with too much authority on this subject but I have heard and read that losing one's virginity can be quite a painful experience. Marcus Dixon was later charged with aggravated sexual assault as well as child molested by the Floyd County district attorney. The incident in question resulted in a jury convicting him in May 2003 of misdemeanor statutory rape as well as felony aggravated child molestation.

While the former charge carries a maximum one-year sentence, the latter carries a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence. The same jury simultaneously acquitted him of rape, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and sexual battery, leading many to question the jury's understanding of the felony charge, a fact that was later confirmed by the jury foreman and other jury members. Dixon's scholarship to Vanderbilt was subsequently revoked.

Following this conviction, Dixon filed an appeal with the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that the Georgia legislature never intended for the behavior in this case to fall under the felony child molestation statute and further, that the ten-year mandatory sentence was cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution.

Thankfully, the high court ruled in Dixon's favor. Now, the Floyd County district attorney is at it again. I guess the members of the Georgia Supreme Court are confused and unable to hand out justice in a fair and balanced manner as an appeal is being filed Floyd County District Attorney. The D.A., Leigh Patterson claims the court's 4-3 May 3 ruling was in error when it said Marcus Dixon should have only been charged with misdemeanor statutory rape, not aggravated child molestation, one of Georgia's "seven deadly sins" crimes.

This woman needs to be informed that racism is no longer tolerated in this state and people of her ilk are part of the reason that the southern states have a bad reputation. She also needs to be removed from her office but unfortunately that is for the people of Floyd county to decide.

Anyone who knows about this case should be outraged as me. Please help this person see the error of her evil ways and mail, fax, or call her at:



Ms. Leigh Patterson, District Attorney
3 Government Plaza, Suite 302
Rome, Georgia 30161
Telephone (706)291-5210
Fax (706)291-5163

Sorry for the gap in my posts,

The weekend found me fighting the home maintenance/repair battle.
I own an older home in a mostly working class neighborhood itp. I was told the it was built in 1945. Needless to say, many homebuilding techniques have changed since then.

Upon arrival home from work on Friday afternoon, a small leak was discovered in my bathroom. I shut off the water in the house and upon closer inspection of the leak showed a nearly complete degeneration of the stubs to the sink.

This is where the problem started, what to do? I did not have $500-$600 dollars to pay a plumber so it was off to the nearby Lowe's to find the needed parts and replace them. This was easy to say and hard to do.

The whole do-it-yourself trend in America must generate mixed emotions among the professional set. Was I to become a plumber in a day?

The answer was sadly yes.

Now I need a weekend to recover from my weekend.