A Prologue to the Next

A few weeks ago, my folks lent me their car so I could house-sit for them and still run back and forth between my house and theirs, and so on.

A while ago I admittedly had some issue with driving. It wasn't that I couldn't drive; it was more that I went a little, well, stir-crazy while doing so. I explained this to a friend the other day who also rides her bicycle enough to understand the following: that there is the potential for experiencing slight shock when going from riding one's bicycle for a long time to driving a car. Any change can cause slight waves, no matter how miniscule, this being no exception.

When riding my bicycle, I've found how easy it is to feel an incline or wind applying pressure from either side. You can feel your body pushing limits and getting stronger. You can smell such things as night-blooming jasmine, freshly cut grass and orange blossoms. You can't really experience those things when driving. (Not fully, anyway.) Going from powering a machine with my whole body to powering a machine with the touch of my foot took all the challenge out of it and did a quick number on my psyche, I'll tell you that much. But as usual, I digress.

Considering it's been about two or so years since that happened and that I have driven much more since then, I obviously didn't have that issue this time (although the difference in activity and energy level becomes apparent within a few days). Rather, the ability to drive offered me the opportunity to observe others' driving styles that end up being dangerous not only to themselves, but to others. (Also, happily, it helped me personally see that being an active member of the road - on my bicycle, at least - has made me much more assertive and cautious in general.)

In the last post, I focused on cycling and how important it is to not just consider oneself when on the road, but rather, by having the mindset that what one does can directly effect the other, the road can be a safer place to be for everyone. Along that same vein, the following post will basically make similar points towards drivers who could probably benefit from exercising more caution.