Tour de France 2008 - Day 12

Greetings Readers

Early this morning, I saw that another rider was identified by his drug test as having EPO in his sample.

Today is the last day of the Pyrenees - one Cat 1 climb and then "gravy." Meaning, the riders are out of the Mountains and onto the Flats. Though, looming in the distance is the Alps. I will give an update later when I watch my tape tonight.

In the mean time let me continue the topic from the past recent posts...

I can not seem to let this particular issue go. This topic got intriguing when I initially brought this up to one of my friend-o’s. After reveling to my friend-o of the issue at hand and what was being done. I asked him how he/she would have reacted if he/she had the sticker applied to his/her vehicle.

“I would be mad.” My friend replied (exact words).

From there I started asking questions and my friend also asked me questions about said scenario.

Then, I recollected some of the biker / cyclist / commuter’s words – and this is not a direct quote. “I should turn these pictures into the Denver Police Department” Hmmm. Should he/she turn in those photos of people’s cars that were caught on film (their camera) parking in a biking lane? If he/she does submit the pictures then would said person also turn himself/herself in for tampering with a motor vehicle? I do not know.

But from previous comments – I can already hear (read) the biker’s / cyclist’s / commuter’s reason/excuse. Oh yes! He/She always has some excuse as if it was not his/her fault in the first place. My rights… I’m entitled… Blah, blah, blah. And the excuse I can imagine being given is that “Oh, the parking vehicle offender is more serious than my slapping a sticker to the vehicle.” Or I can even hear this excuse “Oh, the vehicle’s owner committed a crime first by parking in the bike lane, therefore that is the crime and my slapping a sticker on the parked vehicle is not a crime since the vehicle’s owner committed the crime first - ahead of me.” Believe me Readers; I know I can hear some excuse as if the whole slapping the sticker on a vehicle is not a crime.

After my initial “what would you think” to my friend-o I decided to ask more people. People that I know and people that I do not know. I asked everyone, I think – young, old, white; black, man, woman, child, teenager, people with bikes and people without bikes, business people, an everyday looking person (to me). No, I did not write down their answers, but I did remember what they responded with when I asked is it okay for a person who rides a bike, like me, to slap a sticker on a vehicle parked/waiting in a bike lane?

No. Fuck no. Are you serious? What? No way. Is this a joke? Uh-uh. No fucking way. I would beat the shit of out him if they slapped a sticker to my car. (Note: the response to my question this guy I poll-ed said “him” when I gave no reference to the gender of the person slapping the sticker to vehicles in the Denver area.), You don’t do this - do you?

Those are just a few of the responses I got when I started asking people about this particular scenario. Not one-person said / agreed it was OK to slap a sticker to anyone’s vehicle.

Some people asked what kind of sticker. Meaning - is there a sticky adhesive where you might try peeling off the sticker and it leaves the backing on the surface and all you peeled off was the top layer of the sticker. Some also asked where was the sticker placed on the vehicle.

I did not know the answers to those questions. However, if it was a sticky adhesive and left some/or all of the sticker on the car would the vehicle’s owner have to use a razor blade or some solvent to remove any remaining adhesive from the sticker that was remove from their vehicle? Again, I do not know. However, thinking to myself first you slapped a sticker a sticker to my vehicle and I now have a ruin windshield and/or paint job because of you slapping a sticker to my vehicle, you are a “mother fucker.”

Just because the vehicle’s owner parked/idle in a bike lane does that give you/a biker the right to deface a vehicle? These next sentences are only some of the statements that were voiced to me – What if this was the first time that the vehicle’s owner parked in a bike lane? Is that first offense of getting a sticker slapped to his/her vehicle okay? What if this person was on a deadline and the only way to get to his/her next destination in time was to park their car in a bike lane for a minute (up to three minutes) did that earn the vehicle’s owner to get a sticker slapped to their vehicle? What if the vehicle’s owner has been doing this forever and ever and no one has ever said/done anything to him parking in the bike lane – does this warrant a slapping of a sticker to their vehicle?

A few people did give examples of what the biker / cyclist / commuter could have done instead of slapping a sticker to their car. The person could have slipped a “handbill”, “flyer”, or whatever you want to label it – even a piece of paper under the windshield wiper instead of slapping a sticker to their vehicle. Even use a Post-It note as opposed to a sticker saying that they should not of parked in a bike lane.

Yet, that was not the end of the questions that a few had for me. How do we know that the vehicle’s owner would assume that a biker / cyclist / commuter did the slapping of the sticker to said vehicle. Could the person who slapped a vehicle with a sticker was not even on a bike? I do not know. Also, I do not know what exactly is printed on the sticker. Did the person who slapped the sticker print/sign their name? Use a nickname? I do not know. I did get it “if he did not leave a name or anything identified him on who slapped the sticker then that is one fucking chicken shit person not to own up to his actions. Again readers, I can not voice an opinion since I am already bias against the slapping a sticker on the biker / cyclist / commuter. Also, the response was “he” and never “she” when I left the person genderless.

Most of the people I asked for their opinion were really interested on what I asked them. They started asking some questions of their own, which most of the time I did not know the answer to. But on other questions I did. Such as… How long has this person been slapping stickers to people’s vehicles parked in a bike lane? I responded from what I read on their post from last year I could only estimate that this has been going on for over a year. “Really?” they responded.

Oh yes, they even wrote about the vehicles they encountered. And in some cases they took pictures of the vehicle(s), including a picture of the license plate and the driver (if possible). Which brings me back to my previous post you have got to have serious issues about investing the time to take pictures of vehicles parked in a parking lane. You have the “balls” to take all the pictures you want of the crime and tell the Internet world, but you do not have the conjones to back up what you complained / reported to your blog readers? Wow.

You want sympathy for pointing out the parking in a bike lane, but you do not have the “balls” to file a police report?! Though, I will give credit for the biker / cyclist / commuter on actually calling the Denver Police department for having proof, via digital picture(s), of parking in a bike lane and asking what to do. I can not call this person an idiot, but any person can go to the local police department and fill out a police report. It’s free! Granted, I have no clue what priority this offense would warrant, but at least a police report was filed along with picture(s) {evidence). Yes pictures – since the person slapping the sticker can afford to make, buy and slap a sticker I do not see any reason why not the person can not go to a local Wal-mart or store that will print out a hard copy of your digital picture. I think the last time I did this the print cost me about .10 cents and about 2 minutes of my time.

One interviewee asked me that I should be Mr. “McGruff” and report the crime (You know Readers - “take a bite out of crime”) since I have proof of a crime that took place. He/she asked me if I had proof and I said yes, because said person posted and provided picture(s) of the vehicle(s) he/she slapped a sticker on. And if any of you readers remember those commercials from a year ago – if you buy drugs from a dealer you are helping the terrorists. How do we know that any of us readers are not helping America from this person’s actions by not reporting him/her, which may be helping the Terrorist overseas? It is far fetched, but how do we not know?

Wait! I have no reason to report to the police of said crime since I am not personally involved by it or nor I had someone ever slap a sticker to my vehicle. Though it may be premature since any retributions on me could be forthcoming on said crime performed by said biker / cyclist / commuter. I do know the name of the person (and there could be more) committing the crime, but I have no reason and could care less to report this disgraceful crime. He/She has done nothing to me, so far, but given reasons for his / her actions from their point of view.

Though, I will keep looking over my shoulder every now and then and if I should hear a “different” car sound (like the sound of a vehicle gunning towards me) then I am all ears. I do not want to be a victim of someone else’s crime.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete