May 11th, 2005 - 10:59 PM
Look Ma! No hands!!!
It's been a long time since our last post - and our last post should say pretty clearly why. Winifred Wood is a lovely creature, and any time not spent at the shop should be spent with her. She has given me a sense of mortality I have never known. I have never cherished my life so much, and it is because I cherish hers. Which gets me to my main point. RIDE WITH BRAKES. It's the law, but that's not a good enough a reason. If you don't give a crap about anyone else, then my argument is done - never discuss ethics with an existentialist or a psychopath. If you do, then you really have to look at what you gain by the behavior compared to what you might take away from others...
Most often people think of riding without a brake as a risk one takes on their own, like climbing a mountain - sure there's no good reason for the risk, but it's exhilarating and life affirming, and I only stand to hurt myself. The problem is when you take a fixed gear bike off the track you are sharing space with others who have not made that same choice - who might find staying alive life affirming. There have been three accidents in two years at the end of the Williamsburg Bridge near us where fixies have spun out their gears or lost control and taken pedestrians to the hospital with them. Do you think those pedestrians appreciated the cyclist's desire for the simplicity in style, or the rakish devil-may-care attitude that a bike with no brakes could boast? If you want to ride a bike with no brakes - track down your local velodrome and ride, damnit, ride (Kissena's just around the corna'). Otherwise ride with brakes. By the way, Deb strolls Winnie on the bridge. So gorgeous and so fragile.