Please, pass with care!

After last weeks glorious weather I awoke this morning to overcast skies, light drizzle, and a temperature about 20 degrees cooler. Kind of yucky. I was determined to ride in to work anyway and donned my waterproof rain jacket and headed out. It turns out that the riding at a gentle pace and paying attention to all the cool stuff around me made the ride in as pleasant as always. Riding a lot always does the same thing to me. The more I get, the more I want. I am back at the point where I get cranky if I don't get to ride. I like the time I get to think about this and that and work out the pesky little challenges I will face during the day. My route in to work is mostly on highway 46 which is, for most of the trip, a six or eight lane divided highway. It's your typical suburban sprawl connector with lots of strip malls and such. But the shoulder on the east bound side is very wide and generally in good condition so using it for the ride in makes a lot of sense. Except, of course, for the dumb-asses in the cars. What is it about being in a car that causes pretty much everyone to make choices that are stupid and dangerous? Texting, holding your phone to your head in such away that makes it impossible to really look around while changing lanes, reaching down under your seat to find your donut; you know you've done it and so have I. This morning, an old guy in the left lane was signaling to move right. There is a driver in the right lane who, instead of being a good neighbor and allowing him over, speeds up to prevent the guy in the left from moving. Well, old guy is undeterred and also speeds up and darts into a space that is really too small for his car. Old guy continues his move into what we call a Jersey sweep (crossing three lanes without slowing down) and continues into a driveway entrance to a medical center accompanied by the squeal of brakes. Now mind you, this all happened about 10 feet in front of me and had I been just a little further up the road, I would have been under the wheels of old guy's car. I couldn't help myself. I followed old guy into the parking lot and pulled him over to express my thoughts. I know what you're thinking. You figure that I am going to start screaming at the guy but I can tell you that this strategy has never worked for me in the past. I just asked him if not missing turn and having to circle around and come back was worth accidentally killing a human being in the process. The guy was actually very apologetic and he said that he did see me but the guy next him caused him to act so dangerously. I asked him to please be more careful and moved on.

Last week a rider was hit and left for dead near this spot. It was 10:30 at night and I am guessing that the rider had no lights and probably was not wearing a helmet but some careless moron ran this guy over and drove away to leave him bleeding on the street. Come on people! Aren't we better than that? How did we become so selfish and numb? How can we solve any of the challenges that face us if we can't even show each other some basic respect?

So here is my tiny request. Slow down a little. Take a little more care. There is nothing waiting for you at work, or at home, or at the mall, that is worth killing another human being, or yourself for that matter. Hang up the phone, put on your makeup at home, pick your radio station before you put the car in drive. You know what to do. Please, please, please..do it. You may find yourself enjoying your life a little more when you slow down and appreciate the beauty that is all around.