Cyclist punched in the face at U of M

Cort has a write up over on Fix Memphis and the Daily Helmsman has an article up.

As if I really need to say it, this is both horrible and typical. While I haven't been physically assaulted while riding in Memphis, I have gotten close. It's not too hard to imagine at all. I hope they find 'em and Zac sues 'em hard.

Almost as bad as the act itself is the quotes that they have from students:

"It gets annoying when you're trying to go to class, and you can't run them over."

and...

"They need to stay off the road and ride on the sidewalk."

Ugh.  Disgusting.  I mean, there are always gonna be people like this, it just sucks having to see it.  Course, they wouldn't have to deal with (slow) bikes on the road if we had the adequate facilities.  But more to the point, it shouldn't matter whether we have bike lanes or not - bikes have a right to the road too.  Again, shouldn't even need to say it, but obviously some people don't know - or just don't care.

Greenline IN, Andertons OUT

The Commercial Appeal has an article on the state of the Greenline up. They should start work in January or February '10 and finish about 6 months later. Huzzah! Course, it ain't all jellybeans and sunshine. An excerpt:

The Wolf River Greenway will eventually link Memphis with Germantown, Collierville and other communities along the river. Short, individual segments will be completed as right-of-way and construction funds become available and eventually linked together -- a project that is projected to take at least 10 to 15 years.

 Yikes!  Ten to fifteen years?  Hoo boy.  Still, progress!  Yeah!

In sadder news, while Cara and I were on the way to Pho Hoa Binh (oh sweet tofu!), we saw a 'dozer levelin' the last bits of the Anderton's facade.  Sadness indeed.  That place was GREAT for photos.  Oh well. Suppose it wasn't really doing anything but collecting tags and trash, but still!  Don't see too many ornate green buildings like that one.

Au Revoir, Anderton's.

Followin' the Taco again

Once again, I find myself responding to another of Anthony's posts, specifically the idea of vehicular cycling.

As a concept, I think it's generally a good one: Bikes have the same rights and responcibilities of cars when on the road, so they should act like one. However, yet again, the exception rears its ugly head in the form of Memphis.

Say for a sec that Memphis drivers DID treat bikes as they do cars. Coming upon a bike, in this case, is like coming upon a car doin' 25 mph. Best case scenario, people find it annoying. Worst case scenario is a little worse.

On second thought, maybe Memphians are the best at treating bikes as cars. Maybe I should do an experiment and see if I get harassed more as a bicyclist or as a slow moving car...