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long nights, short days

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

I'm putting in some long hours at the office today. Since it's past the Autumn solstice, it means I'm cycling home in the dark.

I don't mind. Keeps the slowpokes and the zig-zagging hotshots on their single-speed frames out of the way.

To digress on the latter population of cyclists for a second: I have to say that I like the minimalist style and think that a "free wheel" single-speed bike with brakes etc makes a lot of sense in a city like Toronto. They seem to engender a peaceful attitude in their riders, too.

But what are the fixed-gear cyclists thinking? Cycling in the city YOU NEED BRAKES. I may just be a dull middle-aged breeder. But watching the collisions with cars, the spills from bunny-hopping or two-lane zig-zags in an effort to stop, the near-misses with sailing through red lights, slapping into parked buses, and the absurd habit of sliding between two rolling cars "because you can't stop", I'm really not impressed. What's the point of looking so great if your hipster outfit's covered in road grime or bloodied from a skinned knee?