Surviving the Game

Note: The title of this post is stolen from the film of the same name; an adventure film starring Ice-T in which he plays a bum taken to the forrest and hunted for sport by wealthy businessmen. This post has nothing to do with that somewhat below average film

While in Wellington biking has clearly remained a big part of my life. It has basically taken on three forms; work (baxi), recreation (mt. biking), and last but not least transportation. Up until now my single speed mountain bike is my sole form of transportation (that may change soon, we are trying to buy a car). I am a full-time commuter, I go to my 8-5 job everyday on my bike parking it in the garage with the one other bike in a building that serves hundreds. Sometimes I ride in a change of clothes, but often I just wear my work clothes. The morning are cool and the ride is almost completely downhill so I never work up a sweat. Coming back is a another story, with the long days it is still warm at 5pm and I have to go up some steep hill for a single speed.









It isn't just work though, it's everything: grocery shopping (those hills become twice as hard with 20 pounds of groceries on your back), going to practice, going anywhere really. Because of this I have spent a lot of time on my bike, a great deal of which has been in the CBD of Wellington; an area of tight one way streets, lots of traffic, and pedestrians with less regard for street lights than any I have seen. In such a city, when riding you have two choices. Option A: be patient and act as a as a car, waiting you 'turn' and maybe sometimes scooting ahead of stopped traffic. Option B: See how fast you can get where you are going with dying.


Okay, perhaps it isn't as binary as that, but nonetheless I find myself increasingly drifting towards option B. Here the thing, riding your bike it traffic during rush hour plodding along is not fun, but riding your bike really fast during rush hour is really really fun. It is hard for it not to become a game; can I make that light, squeeze in that gap, pass the other guy. I leave the office, attach my single earbud to my right ear (only one ear bud, I need to be able to hear, safety first you know) on my ipod, go to some upbeat pop music (Peter Gabriel good, Britney bettter, Ace of Bass, there it is) and just go. When I am able to combine good timing with some luck and everything just falls into place, its such a great feeling. It is intoxicating, passing by and through this whole world, leaving it behind you. When I pass a bunch of cars on my bike it feels like winning as the underdog and I love being the underdog. The only problem is that this game don't have no Game Genie, giving you unlimited free lives. No this is more like when you were at the arcade and mom only gave you one god damn quarter and when you put it in you knew that this had to be the best Donkey Kong game of your life because there wasn't going to be another if you died.

If I had to predict the way I thought I was most likely to die in the next five years, riding my bike wouldn't be a bad bet. Not that that I think it is likely but people do die doing this, even ostensibly more safer riders then myself. In fact in my job at the corner's office I have input data about two bike deaths; one person got 'doored' (parked car opened a door in their path) and another moved into the path of a passing car on a country road.



However I wouldn't want you to think that I just race down the road being careless and endagering myself. I consider what I do safe. There are a lot of factors contributing to safety beyond just how aggressive you are. I do a lot of things that are more safe then other cyclists or drivers. First and foremost when I am riding throught the city I am completely focused on it. Not only am not doing other things (talking on my phone, adjusting the music, eating, et cetera) I am also not thinking about anything else. I am completely engaged in the task at hand. Most people look passively in front of them, and maybe to the side if they are changing lanes. I am constantly scanning around seeing what is in front of me , behind me, where there are cars and people. I am making predictions as to what is going to happen next in this space. When I drive I think in terms most of the space directly in front of me. On a bike I see the big picture, how it all interacts.

So as long as I remember to keep vigilant, watch out passing on the left before a turn, avoid sidewalks as much as I can (though they are so tempting), and don't push it too far I think I can make this quarter last a while. Then again, I suppose that is what everyone thinks.

Joey