Brakes Belong
It is frightening
beyond words
really
what some of these people are doing
these days
out on the road.
The equivalent in, say,
another sport
such as
rock climbing or skydiving
is people risking their lives
and the lives of others
for something
they saw
in a magazine.
You see them
flailing
out of control
unable to snap that skid
that famed saver
of all that is good
when they need to most.
The bike fights back
and the wheel doesn’t skid
the way they planned
and they go humping through the intersection
hoping for the best.
And one shouldn’t be fighting the bike
in situations such as these
for a truer friend
you have never had.
And the fight continues
day after day
the faux-messenger
fixie kid
and the brakeless bike
resplendent in that uniform
all of them wear
from Philly
to Flagstaff
and all points in between.
Comments
20 Responses to “Thursday’s Poem - Brakes Belong”
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Ninja Please on February 14th, 2008 8:31 am
I see this daily in Chicago. These douche bags are just begging to be one of the fatalities here.
“6000 crashes in Chicago between 2001 and 2005, resulting in 30 cyclist deaths.”
Most crashes go unreported. Most injuries unreported.
dirtybiker on February 14th, 2008 8:39 am
word.
Joe on February 14th, 2008 8:39 am
some should never be on a bike in the first place.
bikesgonewild on February 14th, 2008 9:47 am
…nice little social commentary but i’d suggest a subtitle…
…Brakes Belong:
…Darwin’s Theory of Cycling Selection…
jamie on February 14th, 2008 9:47 am
a friend indeed
dan on February 14th, 2008 10:07 am
…at least they aren’t driving cars.
Bobbo on February 14th, 2008 10:45 am
thinning the herd is part of natural selection
CanWood on February 14th, 2008 11:32 am
Nice. I had this same rant over a beer on Sunday. fsck’n hipsters.
gone-ja on February 14th, 2008 11:35 am
happy v-day bike lovers..LOL
combination burrito on February 14th, 2008 11:44 am
Jake Brake, just like the big rigs
bikepunk on February 14th, 2008 1:01 pm
CanWood gets the award for most geek’d-out reference. Nice to see another Mac/Linux/Unix user around.
And I like my front teeth as well as being alive or able to walk on my own or whichever reason we want to agree on.
bg_cyclist on February 14th, 2008 1:11 pm
Its Valentine’s Day, a national day of love…So I say we join together in harmony and love one another!
Young Friend on February 14th, 2008 1:43 pm
http://www.urbancougar.com/
ok, all you poor biker bums, saddle up
John on February 14th, 2008 2:01 pm
Just saw one of those assclowns tag a pedestrian yesterday. I’m not sure how I’d react in a similar situation with some guy in girls’ jeans screeching at me to watch where the fuck I was going.
dirtybiker on February 14th, 2008 2:50 pm
i think today’s poem goes nicely with Bike Snob’s post today
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/02/worst-of-nyc-craigslist-bike-ads-51.html
john cunningham on February 14th, 2008 3:04 pm
Brakes only slow you down man!
The real shame is the fixie kid in the chick pants can’t corner worth a damn.
Seattle on February 14th, 2008 3:53 pm
I saw two skinny hipsters downtown
In the middle of a busy brick street
Walking their fixies off the road
by their tiny handlebars
One had his hand covering his mouth and chin
Blood was pouring from between his fingers
bockbock on February 14th, 2008 4:02 pm
nice link, bike snob good blog. what a day so far, DC is chillin
road my little girl home on my crusier.
some one say hell yeah
DrunkenBiker on February 14th, 2008 4:13 pm
“I saw two skinny hipsters downtown”
Now that is some fine poetry.
Encore, encore.
Rusty Sanchez on February 14th, 2008 11:36 pm
Me vale verga. I’m so glad I live somewhere that isn’t tainted by urban-fixie-hipsterism. Good poem, though.