Friday, April 13, 2012

Biking -- +++ es and ---es

There is nothing like riding a bike to be aware of your surroundings. Earlier today I enjoyed a leisurely two hour ride to a nearby park and back.

On one particular stretch of road, perhaps three miles long, there were four different places where dysfunctional government procedures had left dangerous situations on the road surface where bikes ride. Had they been hit by my Trek 1420, they could easily do three or found hundred dollars worth of damage to the bike and could conceivably do far worse to me, should I have been thrown, as would be likely.

A few miles further, I found five men in day glow vests (ok) and hard hats (wtf) picking up trash along the edge of the road. I stopped to ask whether they were paid or volunteers (since all five were working at once, I doubted that they were paid) and sure enough, they ARE volunteers.

I thanked them for picking up after the pigs who use the world as their personal garbage can, and shared with them the fact that at my "other place" (Dixie) I do the self same thing myself, at least along the one road on which we live.

Oh, and sitting in a gummint van, doing NOTHING, was the one paid town employee watching the vollies working.

6 comments:

Lowandslow said...

"paid or volunteers (since all five were working at once, I doubted that they were paid)"

Why am I NOT surprised?

S

Chiang Guy said...

Unfortunately unsafe road conditions are just a way of life here in Thailand. But it does keep you alert!

Anonymous said...

CG-be advised I tried to comment on yr blog and am not able. I advised that I got 'snakebite' punctures one after another when my trek was new (takes 115 lbs tire pressure) and that I took to doing my distance riding in a 20 mile triangle, eliminating the wind as a factor for part of the time and minimizing the distance I had to push the thing home.

Scot-glad you picked up on that!

BenB said...

It doesn't surprise me anymore to see all the trash on the sides of Interstates; State highways and city streets. I don't get it, but I can't do anything about it (well, I have a few times when I caught people in the act, but that's a different story). What always surprises me is hiking in the mountains and finding the same trash laying everywhere out on isolated trails that aren't anywhere near civilization. Where do these people come from? How does a person not have enough conscience to be able to simply throw their trash anywhere and everywhere, just dump it out as you go?

John0 Juanderlust said...

That pretty well paints the picture.
If the big O had just told that story in place of his State of the Union speech, he'd have actually told the truth and given an accurate assessment, for once.
Great post

Sunny said...

Hi Fin! I find that riding my scooter I see more things than I'd like to. The "government" has botched up many a road, path, etc around here too. Poor Scoot! We do not like the clumps of tar left in the city trails ! Neither do the bikers ! I agree, great post :)