Wrong Way

"A Cyclist Died Here" photo courtesy of Seattlest Flickr Pool member HeyRocker

"Wrong way, asshole" is actually what the dog-walker said to Tom and I as we pedaled along this morning in Central Park on a road that is always closed to vehicular traffic. Yes, we were on a road in which the arrows were pointing the other direction, but there was no flow of traffic and there never is. THE ROAD IS CLOSED. We weren't near him or about to collide with him, we were just chatting as we went relatively slowly through the park. As it was early and a day off for most New Yorkers, the park was sparsely populated. Would he have said this to a fellow dog walker going in the same direction? Or even to a dog-less walker? Doubtful. The target of his vehemence was cyclists.

As the two of us continued riding in the park, undeterred, we realized this guy was probably just about then letting his dog off the leash, as most dog walkers seem to do in the park, where dog walkers are required to keep their dogs on leashes. I bet he wasn't calling such dog walkers assholes, now was he?

What is it with some people who hate other people who happen to be on bicycles? I've never understood it completely. These verbal, and sometimes intentional vehicular, assaults are typically committed by people who routinely break the law jaywalking, driving above posted speed limits, running red lights and rolling stop signs. So, the argument that cyclists break traffic laws so they deserve some ill will is bunk. Let's be honest, we all do so on occasion. Some people do so regularly. Just get over it and get on with your lives without risking the lives of others.

Life is simply too short to get caught up in such pettiness.

Oh, the photo above is from a thoughtful piece in a Seattle blog on this same topic.

Celebrity sighting #37

During a rest break during Saturday's bicycle ride to Nyack, who should I spot walking unassumingly down the street of that quaint little town but actor/clown extraordinaire Bill Irwin (in a publicity photo at right from Topnews). I recognized him right away because he still had some facial growth like he does in this photo. "Waiting for Godot" (pronounced gawd-oh) runs through July 11, so he must retain his stubble. What a great show.

What I didn't recall was his name, until he was in the next block. If I had been thinking faster, I would have congratulated him on his incredible performance in Beckett's landmark play. As good as John Goodman, Nathan Lane and John Glover were, I thought Irwin gave the best performance. If you can't place him, he was most recently in the film "Rachel Getting Married," in which he played the father. You may also remember him joining Bobby McFerrin and Robin Williams in the 1988 music video "Don't Worry, Be Happy." He was the one wearing the top hat.

Eventful ride to work

As I was pedaling to Central Park on 90th Street this morning, I saw Tim Gunn turning the corner north onto Broadway. He looks pretty much like this, at right, and like he does on Project Runway (which I've seen only because Mary and Rachel are big fans).

While I was riding in the park, I also saw some familiar names on the jersey of a fellow cyclist. If you look closely at the photo below, you'll see the name Bishop's Peak on the chest of a cyclist's jersey. That's the name of a winery in San Luis Obispo County, our former home. Oddly enough, the winery owners used the spelling not of the actual peak - named Bishop Peak - but of the misspelled Bishop's Peak Elementary School. The peak's name is without the apostrophe s. Oh well. I bet the wine is good.