Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[ZenNMotion]

Usual commute into work riding the bike path. Bike path crosses a major road, I get the walk sign, I count to three and start to pedal through the intersection, car runs the red light and misses broadsiding me by an inch. Idiot was on a phone.

Grump over, happy to be in one piece.

Lemme guess, Gallows Rd. Those intersections are getting worse each year during rush hours.

[NYCfixie]

Still can't kick this cold/cough that has been present for a few weeks. Never again will I take a job in a k-6.

Ah yes - good to know!

I probably should have posted this in your other thread. I have worked in k-12 schools before but usually avoided areas that have students younger than 7th grade because of the bio-hazard concerns. Unfortunately at my current school, my office is on the same floor as the k-3 classrooms so the air is a petri dish of all types of sickness. I rarely touch anything and use adult bathrooms on other floors but still seem to be sick all the time.

[SpeedyChix]

Today I learned that a good friend who was always ready with a smile, never a bad word, full of life and go...took his own life. His wife said he'd struggled with depression for years. You never would have picked up on it and he never openly talked about it.

I'm not big on posting in the grump thread but if this post helps just one person you know or yourself stay alive it will have been worth it. If you or someone you know struggles with depression, get help. Talking, working with a doc, taking meds, whatever it takes. Do it. Your loved ones care, your friends care, your life is worth sticking around for.

[deano]

Wow, Anne, so sorry to hear that. Peace passing understanding to her, to him, and to you too.

[joosttx]

Delayed in Chicago ... but what is new

[j44ke]

Driving out to Amagansett, once you reach the "Hamptons" area, the road goes to one lane with a speed limit of 35-45mph. When emergency vehicle appears, everyone pulls over onto the shoulder of the road to create a sort of zipper effect that allows the cop or ambulance to zoom through the middle. Tonight an ambulance appears, and cars begin pulling to the side to let it through. So do I. But when I start to pull out, the guy behind me tries to pull out and pass me on the left, nearly hits me, nearly head-on collides with traffic in the opposite direction, gets out of his car and starts yelling at the other vehicle who is now stopped and blocking his way because he is now in the oncoming lane, etc. I was right behind the car in front of me. No space. No place for him to go. It would have gotten him one car further down the road if he had been able to get around me, but I guess for him it was worth nearly crushing three cars and generally being a total asshole. Great value system.

[rwsaunders]

Delayed in Chicago ... but what is new

Do they have the sleeping cots rolled out in the terminal? If not, you should be ok.

[htwoopup]

I love my Great Dane to the end of the world but her jumping on my foot when she dismounted from the couch when she saw a chipmunk outside was just more than my foot could take. Broken 3rd and 4th metatarsal bones in my right foot. Never mentioned it because it seems so minor compared to real world issues. It is almost 3 weeks of not riding today. I couldn't even finish the plank challenge back when as my foot couldn't handle it. No end in sight. I thought I was getting there so wore a snow boot today. When my foot came out it looked like it might never be able to fit in a ski boot, cycling shoe, or even flip flops ever again. Made for a glum day. But, on the brighter side I am sure Friday the sun will come up showing a beautiful vista here in Quebec.

[robin3mj]

Driving out to Amagansett, once you reach the "Hamptons" area, the road goes to one lane with a speed limit of 35-45mph. When emergency vehicle appears, everyone pulls over onto the shoulder of the road to create a sort of zipper effect that allows the cop or ambulance to zoom through the middle. Tonight an ambulance appears, and cars begin pulling to the side to let it through. So do I. But when I start to pull out, the guy behind me tries to pull out and pass me on the left, nearly hits me, nearly head-on collides with traffic in the opposite direction, gets out of his car and starts yelling at the other vehicle who is now stopped and blocking his way because he is now in the oncoming lane, etc. I was right behind the car in front of me. No space. No place for him to go. It would have gotten him one car further down the road if he had been able to get around me, but I guess for him it was worth nearly crushing three cars and generally being a total asshole. Great value system.

Nice. Driving home tonight after the bike portion of my commute, I slowed down on a busy stretch of road (part of why I do the drive/bike commute after DST ends...) to carefully pass a cyclist lit up like a runway. So naturally the asshole behind me in a minivan decides to pass me, then come straight across my front fender with minimal clearance to make the same soft right turn I was making. Fortunately we were both clear of the biker (an older guy I had actually passed while cycling a few minutes prior.)

He then took a wide right turn sans blinker into a cross street on which a moving van was parked at the corner and almost had a head on collision with someone coming the other way.

Days like this I almost wish cars were not as safe as they are these days. We might have a lot fewer of these idiots out there on the roads.

[j44ke]

Is it one lane or two lane when there is a lane for each direction? This is bugging me. Can never remember. Anyway, two way road, each with one lane of their own. Sheesh.

Matt - that's a common move here. Parallel turning. Also a variation - pull to the left side of the lane to pass a cyclist and a right turning car immediately tries to squeeze between my car and the curb with the cyclist directly in their path. Where are these people going that they need to get there so quickly?

[Len J]

Ember-8702.jpg

Our 7 YO English Mastiff, Ember (Who we got as part of my wife's recovery from Cancer) was diagnosed with bone cancer on Friday, and then threw a major stroke on Saturday that had her unable to stand, both eyes going in opposite directions and hallucinating. We suspected , before the stroke, that her time was limited, but after the stroke, we made the hard decision to let her go. Tough stuff.

Everything this week has been a a memory trigger. She was a great companion. Very sad week.

[Matthew Strongin]

Ember-8702.jpg

Our 7 YO English Mastiff, Ember (Who we got as part of my wife's recovery from Cancer) was diagnosed with bone cancer on Friday, and then threw a major stroke on Saturday that had her unable to stand, both eyes going in opposite directions and hallucinating. We suspected , before the stroke, that her time was limited, but after the stroke, we made the hard decision to let her go. Tough stuff.

Everything this week has been a a memory trigger. She was a great companion. Very sad week.

Heartbreaking. So sorry to hear.

[robin3mj]

Jeez- sorry Len. That is a beautiful pup.

Just got back from the vet with mine (8 y.o. lab/chow/mutt). They're running blood tests but don't think it's likely anything more than an aging combo platter- early arthritis, some incontinence, etc.
Getting old sucks- for us and for them.

[Nierman]

Hard decisions indeed, Len. Hang in there.

You too, Matt - keep taking those pictures.

[Chad]

So sorry Len. Never easy. Rainbow Bridge.

[dashDustin]

So, in the past 2 weeks...

we've listed our house

accepted an offer

started the design process of the new house

put in one "order" for the new house

done all sorts of small repairs on current house

and this weekend we will be moving out, and into an apartment for 6mos.

dogs will have to go to my mom's and that bums me out.

i'm tired. ready for a break. ready for 2016 to be over.

[ldamelio]

Death in the peloton - a beloved regional cross racer in the PA and MAC passed away evening. This man was a friend to all and it always brought a smile to my face to have our weekly chat at the races. He collapsed and had a protracted cardiac arrest while finishing warm-ups last Sunday at our state championship race. I and a couple of other medical people were there but out of hospital CPR without meds or an AED is pretty much futile after a few minutes. Eventually ALS arrived and got a rhythm, but it just delayed the inevitable by a couple of days - he was gone on Sunday. As a trauma surgeon in an urban war zone, I see people die on a regular basis and my frame of reference is skewed. It is surreal and unnnerving to have a friend die at your side in the middle of a field on a cold, gray December day doing something that you both love.

Tailwinds, my good friend. We will all miss your smile and kind words.

[znfdl]

I Fawcking hate e-Bikes, as there is nothing worse than pedaling in 30F temps into a 20+ mph headwind and have an e-Bike pass you and the guy does not appear to be working hard.

[znfdl]

Lemme guess, Gallows Rd. Those intersections are getting worse each year during rush hours.

No Columbia Pike where you start the four mile run trail.

[NYCfixie]

I Fawcking hate e-Bikes, as there is nothing worse than pedaling in 30F temps into a 20+ mph headwind and have an e-Bike pass you and the guy does not appear to be working hard.

Counter point -
At least it is another bicycle that cars need to notice and avoid. More bikes on the road = more better road bike riding conditions for all of us.


I used to get all kinds of nasty comments from "real motorcyclists" when I has on my Honda 150cc scooter in full neon protective gear. They said I was not a "true motorcyclist" with "that little toy scooter and all my gear". Without being rude, I informed them that I was out on the road more days and probably more miles in good and bad weather than they were being a "Sunday fair weather motorcyclist". As a result, I was doing more to encourage drivers to be more careful of motorcyclists than they were in their T-shirt, shorts, flip flops, bucket helmet, and Harley with loud pipes that just annoys others.

I can't imagine your mental state when that fawcker passed you but be happy he was freezing his ass off as well rather than riding in a climate controlled cage.