#FroggerNYC

This is actually a post that I had posted yesterday, but due to my stupidity, I lost the entire thing. I lost the draft, the post, and the images I used, so I've had to go and rewrite it as best as i could remember, and so here it is, once again, for your reading enjoyment.

An overhead view of my ride to work

Cycling to work at times or anywhere can be a hair raising experience, especially when you are living in the Capital of the world. At various times, it reminds me of the 80's arcade game Frogger. Each day I ride represents another level of the game. It's almost like Ground Hog Day, where I continue to relive the same day over and over. Poor Frogger has to dodge obstacles while on his way from point A to point B, and so too does the NYC cyclist. Even though NYC is becoming a safer place to ride, even as the days are pushing us toward our impending doom in 2012 (thanks myan calendar, you're such a downer), we still have to deal with obstacles in our own real life game of Frogger, and although I am not a frog, I do occasionally look like one as I am pedaling down the street.

The Taxi Cab

One of the most dangerous characters to look out for in this game is the Taxi cab. Off the bike, the taxi can be your friend, taking you home late at night when you're too drunk and don't have the patience to wait for the train, but while on your bike, the taxi has great potential to kill you. They regard the rules in the same manner that pirates observe the pirate code, more like a set of guidelines than actual rules, and they are more than willing to parlay with your life. The taxi will without any given notice, pull into the bike lane ahead of you and instantly open its door like the claw of a crab. The taxi will then proceed to release its clutch of passengers, spilling them into the street causing you to swerve out into traffic or into a parked car to avoid collision with them. The cabbie will then look at you, smugly roll his window up, and quickly speed away in his banana colored car with beaded seat cover, leaving you to inhale his exhaust fumes. Hey taxi, nice dice on your rearview mirror.

The Delivery Man

Now the delivery man, happens to be one of the more dirtier players in the game, partly because he himself is a cyclist. Normally, he can be seen on a mountain bike, but lately as China becomes a world super power, they can be more frequently seen coasting around on electric steeds. Delivery man has a job to perform and nothing is going to stop him from acheiving his goal of delivering that hot pizza in 30 minutes or less. I can't blame him though, like a momma bird regurgetating food for  her babies, so too does the delivery man have a flock of mouths to feed. He will come out of no where, cutting you or anyone off while riding on the sidewalk. He will display no concern as he travels the opposite way up any street or bike lane, so beware of him. Sometimes, I won't even notice him coming at me until he's almost on top of me. Please delivery man, attach some lights on your bike, I can't see you in the dark.

Notice the blank stare of the pedestrian

The Pedestrian

The third and final character that I will write about today, is the pedestrian. What makes the pedestrian scary is they possess characteristics of both the taxi and the delivery man. The pedestrian is slow like a turtle, but will freeze up like a deer in headlights when you are moving towards them, Even if it would be fun to run over them, I would never intentionally hurt any pedestrian, though at times I may have thought about it (almost like how motorists wish to run over cyclists). They will pop out of no where like a whack a mole, right into your damn path making you either swerve into traffic like the taxi does, or forcing you samsh into the back of a parked car. As if the lane is an extension of the sidewalk, they will stand smack dab in middle of the bike lane as they wait for the light to change. They become very snarky when you ask them to watch out as you ride in the very place you are suppose to be. You know pedestrian, we wouldn't interact as much if you followed the rules like you would like me to do.

Those are just a couple of things cyclists encounter living in their own game of Frogger. There are many other things I can bring to light such as pot holes, ice, homeless people, snakes on a plane and garbage trucks that can join in for game time. Oh, and don't forget to add cops to this ever growing list, but I will definitely wait for another time to write about them, they probably deserve their own post.

Wow, another level/day draws to a close. I have made it safely back to my lily pad, having dodged cars, delivery men, and pedestrians. I have crossed the river and can now relax. I may have lowered my power level on occasion by being involved in minor accidents, but I have yet to loose my life and restart the game (yes, I know we can't hit restart after we die). And so I look forward to waking up and playing the game all over again tomorrow.