Wednesday, March 12, 2008

yup, they're out there

simply ginormous. biggest week since November. legs are alive. Mojo is with in sight.
Some great rides lately, I'm feeling like myself again. Gettin fired up to get back down to fighting weight.
Otis Last week. Dog town Sunday with the crew. Monday, Geenwood w JW. Commuted, to & fro work Tues. I do believe I'm coming out of hibernation!
I was so fired up on my commute I didn't get worked up about receiving the middle fing'a from a guy in an F250. Par for the course.

Below is a letter to the editor of my local paper, please read some of it...
The article is about my neighbor, an avid cyclist, runner and swimmer.
I thought it was a joke at first, but turns out this guy is serious.
-A serious moron.
His name is attached. Wonder if he drives an F250?
hey when typing F250...if you leave the shift down it spells F@%)


Hamilton - To the Editor:

This will be my last attempt to express my concerns regarding jogging,
biking and walking on our small roads, especially under adverse winter

conditions. Once again I happened upon the Walnut Jogger, only this
time it was on Linden Street, another fairly heavily traveled side
road in Hamilton.
It appeared as though she was coming off of Bay Road and heading down
Linden. It was Saturday morning during a snow/rain/ice storm. The
conditions were slippery and once again the white safety line was gone. I was driving up Linden and recognized Mrs. Robinson.
She was running toward me, hopping over ice patches and puddles with
great agility I must admit. As we got closer I wondered what she would
do as she was at minimum two feet on the road side of the line. I only
had two choices, either stay my course in which case she would have
been hit or swerve at least two feet over the double yellow line into
the oncoming lane. I naturally chose the latter and fortunately there
was not a vehicle approaching or a serious accident would have
occurred. (Humm, uh...what about applying some brake??)
I think you may feel like I am singling you out, Mrs. Robinson, but I
assure you this is directed at all joggers, bikers, etc. who would
indulge in similar carelessness. You obviously missed the point of my
last article with your references to my lack of respect for dreamers
like Sir Edmund Hillary, Amelia Erhardt, the woman who swam the
English Channel and others.
I admire them as well and doubt that their goals posed a safety threat
to others. I point you out because it was clear to me that your tunnel
vision quest to stand on an Olympic podium has blinded your concern
for drivers who have no other alternative regarding transportation.
You also made reference to your contribution to the cause of global
warming. You can run across America with Al Gore as far as I'm
concerned, just don't choose the Mass Pike as your route.
"So here's to you Mrs. Robinson, the podium holds a place for you I
pray." I'm simply trying to make a point. You may be right in being
allowed to run on public roads, but I'd truly hate to see you end up
dead right or cause a serious accident involving drivers who may not
be capable of maneuvering their way around you. I too am a dreamer and
I have a dream. "I've been to the mountain top and have seen a land of
promise. Unfortunately it has a long way to go regarding common
sense."
I end my appeal with three promises. The first is that this will be my
last letter regarding this subject. Hopefully others will speak out,
especially joggers or others who share similar or opposing opinions.
As someone close to me often says, "everyone is entitled to their own
stupid opinion," including myself. The second promise is that I will
always make an effort to avoid hitting a jogger, walker, biker, etc.
Finally, although we do not agree on this issue, Mrs. Robinson, I
really do wish you well in reaching your commendable goal, just be
careful.

Lou DiSanto


10 comments:

van den kombs said...

Did i have dinner with this neighbor training for the olympics ? Where is her letter..Hillary, Earhart..it must have been quite a letter.

I this dude wouldn't have approved of me walking in the dark on grove st the night I got lost walking home from the train.

WELCOME to HAMILTON...
no walking , jogging, running or biking on our roads. We need lots of room for our big SUVs and polo ponies !

van den kombs said...

OH..and another thing,
Welcome back, now drop and
give me 100 pushups !

Andy, R&D said...

good thing we'll all be driving toyota yaris' and honda scooters in the future...lots more room for the polo ponies, and those damn runners..

Thanks for the 100 pushups. i needed that.

Andy, R&D said...

...and I should have mentioned that Margot, "the safety threat of Hamilton", is Olympic material.

kevin said...

I bet if this guy had to swerve into the other lane because there was a car parked on the side of the road he wouldn't think twice about it. But someone out exercising? We have to put an end to that.

There are very few things that annoy me more than people that just complain, but offer no solutions. Even though hearing possible solutions from this guy would probably be high comedy, it would do more towards improving the situation than his complaints.

"Why you gotta be outside all the time? Is your TV broke? Can't you just jog in place in your living room? You wouldn't let your kids go outside when it's snowing would you? If it's so important for you to be outdoors all the time, why can't you just run a few laps around your driveway"

Tomi said...

Lou is a fucking asshole.

margot said...

OK Andy,
Lets get the facts straight. My Olympic dreams faded back in 1980 with the boycott. My time was Worlds in 1981, but it wasn't the same. I decided to go on to med school - seemed a safer bet than relying on our politians to do what is right.

Now, my podium dreams are to beat out all the other hot-flashing, menopausal, bifocal - wearing, gray haired and wrinkly ladies....who, by the way, are pretty damn tough. We love that warm and fuzzy feeling when we blow by a 30 year old guy on a bike who started his swim 10 minutes ahead of you. And, then, what's even better is to hear him shout: "F@%), she's 50!"

We need the Lou Desantos out there-who else would be laugh at.

Your neighbor,
That evil public safety menace

jeff said...

i don't mind laughing at guys like Lou, but they also scare me.

i moved here (to central vermont) to get-away from the hectic lifestyle of boston... was soon told by my neighbor that i'm crazy for riding my mtbike on one-lane forest service roads because he drives 70 on them. i replied that if he didn't drive like a "dickhead," (direct quote) and risk the lives of other user groups, we'd all be a lot happier... i don't he has slowed down and i'm certainly are not going to stop riding on all this epic dirt. problem is, the guy driving the truck usually wins.

margot said...

You are right. People like Lou really aren't funny.....and they are scary.
We all have lots of stories of close calls and real injuries.
Stay safe out there.

rick is! said...

yikes, we're surrounded by douche bags!