NYC: Road Rage

Photo by: Unknown

i remember last fall i was searching for a place to live. i had been living in Carroll Gardens for the past 3.5 years, and had found my current place in Park slope. i was riding over to pay my deposit and first months rent and decided to ride my bike since it was so close. i was riding down 5th avenue enjoying the weather that morning and was coming to a stop at a red light, and all of the sudden i heard this screeching and a girl go flying into the intersection flipping over her bike handlebars and into oncoming traffic. i dropped my bike, and ran into the intersection to help her up and pick up her bike. i pulled her over to the corner and began talking to her about her fall, and to calm her down a bit. She was so grateful, and was talking to me about the "Ghost Bike" (pictured above) and how the intersection was so tricky for cyclists in the area. After talking to her for a bit, i went home and made a mental note to consider my surroundings here in the city. i have never seen her again, but remember that corner quite well for two reasons, one for that bike haunting the corner, and two for the very instant that she brushed death. This morning i was reading the NY Times article Moving Targets, and decided to take this moment to remind cyclists out there, that we are NOT invincible, and although we have the right of way in several situations, never take for granted the power of the vehicle. Remember, these are people who find themselves so above the world, they can wreck the universe with their exhaust, what makes us think they don't think twice about our safety?

read the article and judge for yourself.