Psst. Here's the Skinny...

I like 'em skinny, them lanes. So here's the skinny on that: A couple of weeks ago, snow conditions on quieter residential streets were just too difficult for me to manage and still get to work on time. This is not uncommon, so what I do is ride on busier streets that have been "cleared" by the traffic. In this case, however, I chose to take York Street, a busy street that I used to avoid because I had been scared riding on it a few times in the past.

Well, things have changed and I love York Street now, because the lanes are skinny. Skinny lanes make taking the whole lane a no-brainer for me now and there's nothing scary about York Street any more. My memories of York were from a time not so long ago that I always rode on the right edge of the street; never in the gutter, but on the right 2-3 feet from the curb. Here's how I ride York Street now:

Taking the lane like that on any street will get you all kinds of liberating passing clearance from cars. What I like about York, though, is that the lanes are narrow enough that I think way more motorists "get" why I'm doing it. That makes me feel like less of a jerk, so skinny is good.

Now, before anybody starts in on me in the comments, I know full well that I or anybody else who takes the lane is not a jerk, but somebody who is making everything more safe for everyone on the road, whether others know and appreciate it or not. The trouble is that like most people, I generally prefer that others like me. A wrong or misinformed opinion that I am a jerk still counts as some other person thinking I'm a jerk. Call me what you will, I don't like that. Should I care what some-jerk-who-is-definitely-a-jerk-because-he-thinks-I'm-a-jerk-when-I'm-not thinks about me? No. But I do... I think a lot of us do.

Now all of this sensitivity to what strangers think of me rarely adds up to me riding somewhere I know is less safe, especially in the last couple of years, so in terms of safety I'm all good. What York offers is the opportunity to ride safely with less self-perceived jerk factor, which makes the ride even more enjoyable. So that's the skinny on York: skinny is good.


I bet you thought I was done. Not yet! I've also got the skinny on me being made skinny, so here's the skinny on that:

In a comment or post somewhere I recently mentioned that I could stand to lose about 30 lbs, which is true. One of my regular readers and the author of Imagine No cars was kind enough to send me this rendition of a slimmed-down me that you see above. I appreciated his effort and got a laugh out of it for sure, because it reminded me of "Kid" from Kid n' Play; I had to look that up though, because I couldn't remember his name, just his hair. It also reminded me of Mr. T a little bit.

When I decided to write about it, of course I went looking for images of those guys. I was staggered by how similar we really do look, even without the skinny treatment! Check out these good looking fellows... if their skin was just a little more greyish in tone they would be just about as handsome as me!















See? Crazy, right? I know! So, that was the holy-crap-I-look-like-silly-yet-handsome-looking-famous-dudes-of-yesteryear skinny.

I bet you thought I was done. You thought right. Until next time, I remain:

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Hey There, London!

I've always made much of my readers in Texas. That is for two reasons, the first being that they were among the first to show up and even stick around, and the second being that they do stuff like this:

Now really, how could I not like that bunch?

This post, however, is about recognizing the people right here in London, Ontario, who read this blog. I watch my stats, not obsessively (at least not in the last six months or so), but I do watch 'em, and I'm getting more visitors from right here at home than ever. There is one main thing I would like to say to my local readers: Thank you. I feel a peculiar satisfaction knowing that some people who see my videos and pictures can relate directly with the streets they're seeing.

I have never been part of a cycling group or community except here online. To be frank, I am intimidated by hardcore road cyclists, I'm too old to hang with serious MTB cyclists, and serious commuters are mostly a bunch of loners like me. I guess in my heart of hearts I hope that local everyday commuters are reading and relating to this blog. I wave to cyclists who appear to be kind of like me. I don't know if that's annoying or not. I kind of like it when people on the other side of the road nod or wave, so I do it.

I'm not entirely sure why I'm writing this. I guess it is my clumsy effort at being social with people I might actually meet. If you live and ride in London, that heavyish dude in a blue cycling jacket who gives a low wave is me! I'm considering marking myself or my bike with RANTWICK, because I would really like to stop and talk with people who know me via these pages... what do you all think? Should I? Or is that just kind of lame?

Yours In Shameless Insecurity,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Is "shameless insecurity" even possible, or is it an oxymoron? More worrisome, am I an "Oxy moron" for asking that question?