From the Peanut Gallery

Maybe the extended summer weather is messing with people's moods (bring on the cool crispness of fall already!) but there seems to be a lot more commentary from the peanut gallery lately while riding.

Today's ride, a driver leaning out of some sort of government van (it had an Ontario logo on it):
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to <mumble mumble>"

Hecklers never stick around. He was off before I could say pardon. I thought at first it was "pedal around" but then on reflection "pedal on the road" on "play on the road" seemed to make more sense in context.

If he had waited for me to answer, I might have asked him "didn't your mother ever teach you manners?"

Oddly enough, this was also on Queen Street where on a nice lovely day like today there were probably twice as many bicycles as cars on the road. (so if he is ignorant enough to think bikes should not be on the road, he has a lot of people to chat with)

Yesterday's ride encountered a snarky pedestrian. Now I can understand snarky pedestrians if oh say I was biking on the sidewalk, blasting through a red light, or deking into the crosswalk. But I was doing absolutely nothing to the pedestrian who felt the need to shout from a distance "You should wear a helmet!" She wasn't close enough to answer, and I was moving, and probably "You should wear one too in case you get plowed over by a cyclist" might have sounded just a *wee* bit aggressive.

Since apparently people have forgotten the concept if you don't have something nice to say don't say it...

I'm declaring next Friday - that's October 12 - to be Say Nice Things to Cyclists Day. Feel free to put your suggestions in the comments of random nice comments you can make to passing cyclists.

P.S. You don't have to wait until Friday :)