I’m a motorist. I’m cyclist. I’m a recreational bicyclist. I’m also a pedestrian. I have 4 points of view here as it relates to road safety, courtesy and general cooperation. The one that wants to speak up is the one on a bike. If you are a motorist moving down the road in a 6ooo lb chunk of rubber and metal you may not fully appreciate what a more vulnerable and self propelled traveler experiences.

My point here is that cyclists take their life in their hands every time they get onto a public street. While cyclists and motorists may not see eye to eye a bicycle is a vehicle and entitled to both be on the road and be safe doing so. Most cyclists are also motorists. Most motorists are not cyclists.

Biking is about freedom, fitness, sustainability, self reliance. Given the way the world works today you have to have a car and a license to maximize your opportunities but some of us opt to ride a bike when it is suitable to do so and we’d all be a lot better off if more people did so more often and if our cities and towns were better set up to accommodate this option.

In sum. You can’t realistically suck on a Biggie Coke while texting at 30 mph on a bike. If you are doing so don’t you do dare honk at me in traffic.