Well, I'd say that this was another of my accidentally appropriate photos, but, well, I vent so often on this blog that the only thing "accidental" about it is the fact that I wasn't thinking in those terms when I took it. But, yep, I've got some venting to do.

Here's Vancouver's latest assault on cyclists. And, to tell you the truth, this so ludicrous, so outrageous, so moronic, so discriminatory, so unjustly persecutory, so incredibly fucking insulting, I'm at a loss for words. Aren't you glad?

However, if you're thinking of coming to Vancouver to enjoy its "bike friendliness", well, forget it.

My beloved Fisher ProCaliber is dead! Yep, the frame's bent beyond repair. Know what one of those puppies costs these days? 'Way, 'way more than I can afford. Gary, if you're out there, I loved that bike, man. It was my first taste of what a "good" bike really was.

Heck of a fun day today. And, relevant to the photo. It's old, but, you know? hang onto something long enough and it'll eventually become relevant. As you can see, it's a stop sign. You know, the things that are supposed to tell people to stop? When you're riding a bicycle, if you've got any sort of survival instinct at all, you do. People sitting comfortably inside 2,000 pounds of metal, however, well, to them it seems to be optional. At least, it was to the driver who hit me this morning on my way to work. Boy, that's some fun, I'll tell you. Especially that half second when I realized that, golly, the front end of that SUV seems to be half an inch away, moving faster than I'd really like it to be. My next memory is of being on the ground and being really, really - and I can't state this too strongly - REALLY angry. And, later - much later - glad not to own a large handgun. 'Cause I'd have turned the guy and his SUV into Swiss cheese otherwise. As it was, I just spent a good few minutes getting seriously Nixon-oid on him (there's a generational joke if there ever was one).

There are no penalties to drivers for running down cyclists, unless you count a scratch on the front bumper's paint a penalty. For the cyclist, however, well - paraplegia, anyone? Quadriplegia? Death? I got lucky. Scrapes. Bruises. Probably some soreness, stiffness tomorrow. And my bike out of action till repairs get made.

The thing is, it brings up the question: Why bother to obey traffic laws? I was hit at a 4-way stop. I stopped, looked, assumed that the driver approaching the intersection from my right would do the same when he got there, and rode on. Big mistake. I should have just run it. After all - he did.

So, drivers? When you're cursing cyclists who seem disinclined to obey traffic laws? It's because we don't want to die at your hands. Because you either don't see us (and I was wearing a bright yellow jacket, riding a bright yellow-and-red bike, and wearing a red and white helmet - how can you not see me?), or regard us as amusing targets.

In some large cities, cyclists have apparently taken to carrying hammers attached to the crossbar of their bikes. Not an all bad idea, really. Wouldn't be able to do damage anything like an SUV body-blow, but...

Well, enough whining. "Americans"! Let us good folks of British Columbia take over. You'll feel muuuuuch better. Really.

Nope. Not my home and not my bike. Looks nice though, doesn't it? Peaceful? Even a tad quaint? It's a great neighbourhood - colourful (wait till tomorrow), vibrant, evidently filled with creative people. Unfortunately, it's also a neighbourhood with a break-in rate that's astronomical. Kinda close to the not-so-nice Downtown Eastside. Too close, really.

But, the point of the photo (at least for now, and, again, by sheer coincidence) is the bike. Friends of mine (you know who you are) are now living deep in the heart of New York City. Talk about vibrant and full of creative people! Zowee! Their car got towed today. Retrieving it cost waaaaayyyy too much money. But, then again, owning a car costs way too much money. Why do people buy these things? I'm riding the same bicycle I bought in 1986. It was pretty pricey at that time - about $1,500.00. A couple of weeks ago I had it serviced. Cost me $200.00. Over the 22 years that I've owned it, that brings the grand total I've spent to maintain it to...ummmmm.....$400.00? Which means it's cost me......holey moley!.....$18.00 a year to own. I ride it to work every day - summer, fall, winter, spring. Sun, rain, snow. I ride it to go grocery shopping. I ride it to go visit friends. I ride it for fun. Tell me again. Why do people buy cars?

And this concludes "Bike Week" here at Shaggy Dog Pix. This guy won the men's "Real Good Riders" class race. Well, "won" is actually a tad weak. He obliterated the competition. He was the only rider in his lap. He'd passed everyone else in the race. I suspect he could have passed them all twice, but didn't want to seem like a show-off.

Yeah, O.K., it's "Bike Race Week" here at Shaggy Dog Pix. Sue me.