Earlier this year, I asked Kentucky cyclists what their greatest fears were. In a totally unscientific tallying of the responses, here's my impression: The two most commonly cited fears were, unsurprisingly, getting hit by a moving car and getting doored. I can sympathize. I'm looking in the rear window of every single parked car I ride past  to see if there is a driver getting ready to exit the vehicle and throw me into traffic. 

I also asked what Kentucky cyclists fear that I had not considered. Boy, you all are creative bunch. Among the things you fear (and that I now have to consider) are:  

• Handle bars torque while at top speed going downhill.
• Vision impaired in both eyes due to cloud of gnats.
• Having your butt crack peek out of your pants as you bend forward to reduce wind resistance.
• Having a can thrown at you from a passing car window, looking down and then being smashed by a semi only to then have a bee sting you! 
• Being lasso'd in the middle of fricken nowhere and thrown in the back of a truck of a psycho woman and carted off to some hole in the ground.
• When in Kentucky... being bitten by dogs.
• Unexpected rain.
• River Road and people from the East end.
• I can't say that every single thing on this list is actionable in a court of law, but if you or a bicyclist you know are injured by a driver's carelessness, please, get a lawyer. If it's me, great. If not, that's fine, too. But, you need to get a lawyer so that the driver compensates you for all of your injuries. This includes your medical bills, lost time at work, property damage, and your physical pain and emotional suffering. 

Great infographic from ChangeLab Solutions about the trajectory of transportation policy in America and the effort to reclaim the bicycles' rightful place on our roadways. Plus, great quote from Susan B. Anthony:   

“I think [bicycling] has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat.”

— Susan B. Anthony

Riding my dad's old Raleigh ten-speed to my law office this morning, I started thinking about all the things that could go wrong for a bicycler, all the things that have  gone wrong for me. Being a bicycler is a lot like being a lawyer: it feels like the right thing to do, but seems fraught with more peril than is necessary. So, bicyclers, what do you fear when you hop in the saddle? (Because some of these events pose the risk of serious injury or death, when gauging your fears, weigh your perceived likelihood of the event occurring multiplied by the consequences of that event's occurrence.)

I'll tally these answers up and report back next week.  

Today was my first day of cycling to work. New house + new office = new commuting opportunities.

I'm a bicycling lawyer and I sue reckless or negligent drivers. 

I rode my bike every day to law school down Nicholasville Road in Lexington, so I'm accustomed to riding in traffic. But, I have found Louisville to be uniquely unfriendly to cyclists. On-street parking makes the possibility of getting doored everpresent and there are no protected bicycle lanes. If Louisville is going to grow into the Possibility City it aspires to be, we have to do a better job accommodating cyclists. 

The tragedy here is that Louisville would make a GREAT cycling city if it invested in bicycling infrastructure. The river, the views, the neighborhoods, the usually-gentle weather, and the relatively flat terrain all make Louisville perfect for cyclists. 

It took me 20 minutes and 45 seconds door-to-door (my route). I could have ridden faster, but cycling to work is a delicate balance of a number of factors: a) reducing your time in the seat while b) regulating body temperature so your officemates don't vote you and your B.O. off the office island and c) being safe.  

Speaking of being safe, I want to take a moment to rant about cyclists and motorists. Riding into work, I thought, "Maybe I should get a big patch made for my bag that says,

I'm a lawyer and I sue reckless drivers.

bencarterlaw.com

I wondered if that might give me a modicum of added protection against abuse by motorists. At the same time, I have seen some dumb, dumb, dumb cyclists in Louisville recently. Last Saturday, one woman was just riding at her leisure down the center of Frankfort Avenue heading north. In my car, I pulled up beside her and said, "'Share the road' goes both ways, you know." I'm not normally a dick, but that was a real dick move on her part. Obnoxious cyclists alienate drivers and make them more likely in the future to not respect cyclists. In a way, I felt like saying that to her was an act of self-protection. Listen: whether you're a cyclist or a driver, just don't be a dick. 

Having stated that rather obvious truth, if you are a cyclist that has been injured by the negligence or recklessness of a driver in Kentucky, contact me. Unfortunately, Kentucky is not a very bicycle-friendly state and you do not have the same rights and protections here as in other places. You still have the right to file a lawsuit and make the driver pay for his or her negligence or recklessness. Let me help you do just that.