Transformation

Spring blossoms on the shared sidewalk I ride every morning and every afternoon.Would you ever guess that only a few weeks ago this was the 50 Shade of Ice Path and then home to the Impassable Puddle?

Yesterday when I came to the end of this path and got ready to cross the 149 Street intersection (riding on the road, in the "go straight" lane) I spied a fellow cyclist riding on the sidewalk, preparing to cross by riding in the pedestrian crosswalk. Not a child, but a full-grown man, as evidenced by his thick chin covering. When the light changed, he got a head start on me, because the walk signal comes on a few seconds ahead of the green light. He rode across through the crosswalk, then swerved in front of me onto the road. As he approached the stop sign, he didn't appear to look around at all, but swerved left and without signalling, executed a sloppy left turn, completely ignoring the two cars approaching on the cross street that has NO stop signs. I stopped my bike in a standing stop, waiting for the cars to proceed. This is my normal procedure at this stop sign, and drivers have always understood that I am yielding. But this time, the drivers were clearly unsure, suspecting that I might be of like mind with The Madman, because they both stopped. I then put my foot to the ground to make it obvious that I was being responsible and stopping completely so that the vehicles that have the legal right of way could go first. I can only hope that my strict observance of the law helped to cancel out the bad impression made by The Other Guy.