Ottawa Cyclists

I would love to say that I am a big fan of Ottawa's cycling masses. After all, they are doing the right thing. They chug chug chug to work and back every day on their own power, saving us all from ourselves and keeping themselves fit at the same time. The problem is, a lot of them drive me crazy. As winter approaches, the antics of more than a few cyclists in the Nation's capital have caught my skeptical eye. Consider the young woman (I think I have the gender correct) who cycled past me as I sat in my parked car last evening, well into the twilight. Bundled against the cold, there was not a single sensory organ in evidence, save for a couple of dots that might have been eyes peeking out from above her PLO-style balaclava. Her field of view was restricted to a small fur-rimmed tunnel - no peripheral vision at all. And no sign of an ear anywhere, unless you could count the thin cord running from her pocket to what I assume were earphones hidden away under a layer of thick down (or the synthetic equivalent). No headlight. No tail light. An accident waiting to happen. Ditto the loonie who swerved into and out of my path as I drove along a major roadway at rush hour. Why was he swerving? Maybe it had something to do with the full water cooler bottle he was trying to balance on his rear parcel rack. But even with such menaces toodling about, blissfully and arrogantly unaware that they are saving the planet and endangering themselves and others in the process, the major portion of my ire is reserved for those whack-os who think that it is a really cool idea to trail their little kids around town in those nylon and aluminum pods, dodging potholes, commuter traffic, pedestrians, buses, taxis, stray dogs, and all manner of other obstacle. What are these people THINKING? Oh - right. Everyone is safe. There's a little red FLAG waving from the ass-end of the kiddie-pod. Like THAT is going to catch the world's attention in the face of a million other distractions. Don't these people understand that, from the perspective of a driver, those little wagons are essentially invisible? What do they think - that their good intentions will protect their kids from getting clobbered by one of the thousands of vehicles that they will encounter on an average ride to the milk store? Think of it another way - would any of these people let their kids ride their tricycles on the street? Not very likely. And yet there they are, fighting for rush-hour elbow room with guys driving SUV's talking on their cell phones, their knees blue with the cold and their eyes glowing with righteousness.

They drive me nuts.