How a woman's orgasm can save a man

This is too great not to share. Ladies and gentlemen alike will appreciate it.

The Spanish Inqusition of Bicycle Crashes

This is a nice piece on dooring by Bike Safe Boston.

Song of the Week: Politics in Space

My girl L just introduced me to Kate Miller-Heidke. This song is super neat.

Reflections on being doored

From the Urban Dictionary:
v. to crash into and/or over a driver's side door(of a vehicle) while riding your bike. A painful biking experience where two conflicting world-views collide.

What dooring looks like. It is illegal in Massachusetts to door a cyclist.

It's been exactly two weeks since I crashed into a gentleman's car door on Washington Street, on my way to watch the Fourth of July fireworks at a friend's house. There are a lot of things I should have done the night of and in the days after that I didn't, either because I was in shock or because I was trying to be tough. I learned a lot from the experience about how to be prepared and what to do when something like this happens. So, in case its helpful for other cyclists, here are my four recommendations:

1. Call the cops
The guy who hit me gave me a fake number and at the time of the accident, I didn't think to take a picture of his license plate or anything like that. When in car accidents, folks always call the cops and let them deal with getting all the info. Why not do the same for a bike/car collision? It didn't even cross my mind. 

2. Carry the bicyclists accident report
I give these to people all the time but for some reason I didn't have one in my wallet the night of my accident. The report was created by Josh Zisson, a local lawyer specializing in bike law, who also launched Bike Safe Boston and has been making accident reports for cities across the United States.

3. Go to the doctor, even if you think you're okay, especially if you have health insurance.
I felt pretty banged up after my accident. I was initially dizzy and was in a lot of pain but nothing felt broken and it didn't feel like I'd hit my head. Later that night the dizziness went away so I thought I was fine. I was covered in bruises and it hurt to laugh for nearly five days but that's what happens when you smack pavement, right? Nearly a week after the accident I started feeling dizzy again I started having tiny panic attacks, something I've never experienced before. I went to the doctor Friday and learned that I had a concussion. I have had a couple before, but I didn't realize that you don't have to hit your head to get a concussion, even whiplash can cause head trauma. I also learned that mood swings, irritability and other psychological abnormalities can be symptoms of a concussion.

4. Ask for help
Trying to be tough is stupid and crashes are scary. Don't be afraid to ask friends or loved ones for help and hugs and whatever you need. Crashes are traumatic and I didn't allow myself to process the trauma until just a few days ago. My instinct was to tell myself and everyone around me that I was fine but I suffered as a result and missed out on the moral support and guidance I really needed.

What we really need in Boston is cycletracks, bike travel lanes that are physically separated from traffic. Luckily this is something the Boston Cyclists Union is working on and Boston may see it's first cycletrack before the end of 2012. Maybe someday we'll even get our own bicycle superhighway.

Rad music video

I'm proud to say I know the woman who directed this kick ass video. It's super gay and there are bikes in it. Enjoy.

Fourth of July & Beadazzling Bicycles

I had a surprisingly lovely 4th thanks to some good friends and roomies. We started out with a loose plan to bike to Walden Pond, and ended up going to Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-sea. I got to ride a tandem bicycle for the first time (and watch my housemates master it), we enjoyed some wicked good ice cream, ate all kinds of good food (mozzarella-stuffed burgers and potato salad), and then we got to watch many, many fireworks displays from a balcony in Fort Hill in Roxbury.

Unfortunately, I got doored on my way to watch the fireworks but I didn't break anything and my friends picked me up so it all worked out. I also didn't get run over and the woman driving the car behind me stopped and gave me all her contact info in case I needed a witness. And, the guy who doored me was very sweet and apologetic. In a weird way the experience made me appreciate my neighborhood more. As far as getting all busted up, I'm going to consider it a right of passage, like maybe I'm a real city cyclist now.

Speaking of cycling, here is a cute piece I wanted to share from local bike blog Biking in Heels about meeting the challenge of bringing home a CSA by bicycle.

BEDAZZLE.

Ryan and Aaron brave the tandem at Singing Beach.

V conquers her rapidly melting ice cream.