I hate waiting for elevators.

Maybe you can hop into a vehicle with an internal combustion engine and drive into the people getting off so you can get on a little quicker.

It really is funny how otherwise rational people become bloodthirsty savages the minute they get behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle.

Been hiking a lot lately around Swallow Cliff and have decided to get a mountain bike this year. I see quite a few guys out there in their 40s and 50s still riding.

Those steps are brutal.

Those steps are brutal.

DES PLAINES, IL — A 41-year-old Mount Prospect man was killed Tuesday morning after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle. Police said they're currently looking for any witnesses to the incident.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 6:15 a.m. in the 1900 block of Golf Road. A 2017 Ford F250 truck, being driven by a 40-year-old Des Plaines resident, was traveling eastbound on Golf Road when it struck the bicyclist.

Des Plaines firefighters attempted life-saving measures on the victim at the scene before he was taken to a local hospital, eventually succumbing to his injuries.

Police said the incident remains under investigation and are seeking the public's assistance. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is encouraged to contact police at 847-391-5400.

The other day I was heading south on Orrington and I got to the intersection at Noyes. I saw two Asian girls on motorized scooters heading west on Noyes. They were going pretty fast and I could see they had no intention of stopping. I had already made my stop and I clearly had the right-of-way but they just plowed right through the intersection.

I'm not even sure if they knew how to stop those fucking things. I'm sure these two Northwestern gals are so smart they could split an atom in the bathroom sink at Allison, but they just aren't capable of operating a motorized vehicle properly.

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

Did you actually stop or simply slow down? A bike rider coming to a complete stop at a 4-way stop in Evanston would be pretty rare in my experience.

I probably wouldn't have come to a dead stop if they hadn't been there. But I pretty much always make a complete stop if there is anyone else near the intersection. I can balance on the bike for a long time so it isn't a big deal for me to stop.

Evanston is usually annoying in that most motorists expect you to blow the stop sign and will yield the right-of-way even when it's rightfully theirs. Then we get into an Alphonse & Gaston situation. I just want my right-of-way, not yours.

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

I had a similar experience recently in Arlington Heights. I was on a bike and had the right of way but came almost to a dead stop because I didn't think the motorized scooter, skateboard, or whatever it was would stop. Which he didn't. Which was fine. I would rather guess right than guess wrong.

One day I was heading south on Custer/Damen at Howard and I came up behind a car that had its left turn signal on. I pulled up to his right at the light but I just had a feeling he might not turn left so I waited for him to go. Sure enough, that motherfucker made a right turn right in front of me. I'm gonna say most riders would have caught a right hook in that situation.

I just expect that the motorist is going to do the most stupid and/or aggressive thing possible. If he doesn't, that's great. Once in awhile I ride with my wife and she just trusts that the motorists are going to follow the traffic rules.

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

Howard is, to say the least, less than optimal for bike riding. At least you weren't trying to ride down Devon.

I rarely ride on Howard. But Custer/Damen is a good route. I've picked up a lot of money on it, including currency.

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

Yeah, Custer is good. I don't have positive feelings about Howard/Damen since I once had a confrontation with some teen-aged ruffians right around there.

Most recent Google maps picture is from 2019. I imagine it has changed since then?

https://www.thrillist.com/venues/drink/chicago/bars/monsens-tally-ho

That's the neighborhood I grew up in so I'm kind of romantic about it. It has always been a rough area though. They've tried to gentrify Howard Street but it never works. In the summer there's still an open air drug market at Howard and Hoyne that looks like something out of The Wire.

I stole this from Steve Earle and wrote it in a birthday card to a friend of mine from the neighborhood who had moved out east:

On Howard Street all the neon's burnin' bright
Pretty lights
Red and blue
But they'd shut down the Tally Ho tonight
And say a prayer or two
If they only knew
Now you say that Boston is your home
But we both know
That ain't true

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

Who the heck carries three ID's let alone has 3 ID's?

Maybe you can hop into a vehicle with an internal combustion engine and drive into the people getting off so you can get on a little quicker.

It really is funny how otherwise rational people become bloodthirsty savages the minute they get behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle.

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

In contrast, your thoroughly calm and genial board persona suggests that you are only the most courteous and patient of drivers.

I know you're an ETHS guy. Where was your boyhood home?