So I feel like a follow up to my explicative laced tyraid with a little more clear headed thinking may be in order. Not because I regret anything I said, oh gosh no. Only because I have a few more things to say. (...And also because my mommy did not like the naughty language I chose to use.)
That said, this is the internet. Where people are free to say what ever they want, even if it is not true. The internet gives us a great outlet to say exactly what is on our minds in as colorful a way as we choose. With that in mind, if my language seems offensive sometimes, then I liken it to breastfeeding in public; if you don't want to see it, don't look at it, pervert. Simple as that. While I do not wish to alienate any readers (including my Mum), I also refuse to sugar coat my thoughts to make them more palatable for anyone. After all, I am not Willy Wonka, remember?
Today I simply want to make a case for wearing a Road ID. I will start by reminding you of a great person who was taken from us way too early. It is a widely held belief that she would indeed have been the next great cyclist to come out of Texas. While on scholarship to college, she had just been offered her first contract with team Kenda. Around that same time, she was on a training ride when she was killed by a motorist who had dozed off behind the wheel. He came across four lanes, hitting her head on. First, I cannot imagine what it is like to lose one of my children let alone having to help console a person who has. Nonetheless, I still found myself in a position where I had to find the courage and the words to speak to, and hopefully encourage her Father, my friend.
The conversation quickly went from simply offering my condolences to remembering this awesome person. Before I knew it, we were both laughing and smiling simply remembering the lives she touched while she was still among us.
Then her Father posed the question I had not given much though to.
"Jason, do you have a Road ID?"
"No, I don't. But I usually carry my license and debit card in my bag. Plus I always have my phone"
(I always believed this would help me be identified properly in the event of an accident)
"Let me tell ya somethin' Bud... When they found her, her phone was busted, and her stuff was scattered for about a mile down the road...it ain't that simple"
At the time this happened, she was going to school over 1,000 miles away from home.
Her Road ID identified her. She now rests in her hometown of Euless, Texas. While this ID cannot bring her back, it certainly brings back the memories of her and her Father every time I wear it.
With that in mind, I did not purchase it for me, but for my loved ones. I have a wife and three kids that depend on my making it home safely. At least in the event that I do not make it home, my loved ones will be notified upon finding me, and first responders at least know something about me.
(not my actual one, of course but I am not willing to show my personal info on this blog)
I feel like all this needs be said, in order to put some context in to who I am as a person, AND a blogger. If you wonder why I "drop the F Bomb" without batting an eye it is because the public's attitude towards cyclists continues to be a negative one. One that is growing as our numbers increase.
If you wonder why I sound so angry when I speak on the subject, it is simply this:
losing my friends because they were ridding bikes, is unacceptable. My children losing their Father, my Wife, her Husband, my Mother, her Son, etc... is unthinkable.
My opinions on those things are further compounded by the fact that no one considers that the person they are yelling at, just may be someone's Father or Son, on their way home from work or school and the person they hit, just may have been someone's Daughter or Sister, who was just enjoying a nice day on her bicycle. I weep for humanity, in all it's vanity and selfishness. It's inconsiderate nature has taken loved ones and friends, without a second thought of the ramifications of its actions.
We cannot bring back the ones we have lost, we can only honor their memory.
If you ride, you should be identified.
If you want a Road ID, follow this link... http://RoadID.com/invite/4DW5Y-TAFD93RCQQP
If you want to help ladies cycling efforts in the United States, follow this link:
Please be safe out there.
Love,
Queso
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