On Saturday morning, a 77 year old man was killed after being hit by a cyclist on Beach Rd in Mentone. That someone was killed walking in front of a bicycle is not surprising. Pretty much anyone who rides a bike in Melbourne will have had a pedestrian walk in front of them without looking at one time or another. The difference in this case is that this man was killed crossing with the 'green man' at pedestrian lights, by a 'peleton' of 200+ unofficially organised amateur riders that were either unable, or unwilling to break the bunch and stop in time. I can't help but think that bike/car relations in Melbourne are reaching some sort of crisis point. My daily ride to and from work, mainly along bike-friendly back streets, attracts abuse from motorists (and pedestrians) probably once a week on average. People hate bike riders. As a cyclist, the contempt with which I am treated by those in cars and pedestrians is really quite confronting. A short ride is enough
Hee hee. Jon Stewart is funny. And right. If you haven't seen this already, watch it now. Right through to the end. And some weirdness from Harry Shearer.
I'm aware that this isn't particularly ground-breaking, this video has been doing the rounds, but I want to post it here so I can remember it later. If you haven't seen it, it's another one of those 're-cut' movie trailers , this time featuring Harry Potter and the Brokeback music - remarkably effective. And as Virginia says, "the power of a soundtrack". Listen to it through headphones, or on something with good sound and it will make you teary. Very clever.
Dude! This is the awesomest thing ever. Ever.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for making my Wednesday afternoon altogether much more enjoyable.