Did you know that a 20 minute bike ride burns nearly 200 calories?
That’s just one of the many reasons that I try to bike to work at least a couple days a week. There are a lot of reasons to hop on a bike, but if you are going to ride in the city, watch out. Riding can be as dangerous as it is fun.
That is especially true this time of year; Trees and flowers are budding, people start running with their shirts off, happiness abounds, and everybody gets a little lost. I’m a very attentive biker. I stop (at least as much as the vehicles around me) at every stop sign, I watch for cars in all directions, I keep my eyes on the doors of parked vehicles to make sure one doesn’t swing out in front of me. Yet somehow I’ve still been nearly hit over five times this year. The reactions from drivers vary – some are mortified and apologetic, some are angry, and perhaps the worst, some don’t ever notice at all. So here, I present you with my tips for bikers and drivers on how to share the road and get where we are going safely.
Drivers
- Before you turn, look both ways and check your blindspots. Really, this is a given, but surprisingly not many do it.
- Put down the cell phone. If you were that important, you’d have an assistant. Whatever it is, it can wait until you aren’t putting anyone’s lives in danger. Pull over for five minutes if you need to.
- Leave a safe distance between you and anything else on the road. For bikes, that means a few feet.
- Keep in mind that bikers often can not ride as far to the right as you think they can. People opening car doors in parked cars pose as much of a risk to bikers as moving vehicles do. Now you know why cyclists will be a few feet away from anyone parked.
- For that matter, when you open your car doors, check for approaching vehicles – powered or otherwise. This is for the safety of your door and your body as much as anything approaching.
Bikers
- When you are on the road, you have to follow the rules of the road. If you break the rules and get hurt, your just an effing idiot.
- Have and use the proper equipment for biking. At the very least have on a helmet and have a strobing headlight and taillight.
- Bear in mind that even when a driver is wrong, they’re still in a 2,000lb+ vehicle that propels itself with thousands of explosions. You might have tree-trunk Apolo Ohno legs, but that car is still going to win if you go to battle.
- (Chicagoans) avoid the Lake path during peak times. It’s the wild west of dumb behavior. I highly suggest biking to the path and going for a run or taking a walk instead!
- If you listen to music while biking, keep the volume low and only use one side of your headphones. Listening to what is happening around you is as important as seeing it.
Okay, I’m going to sleep now so that I have the energy in the morning to bike to work 
Be safe!
I’m fairly certain you will agree with me when I say this: Sex is (almost always) fantastic. It’s fantastic and it’s everywhere. It’s in our media, it’s on our phones, it’s in department stores, and occasionally it’s in our bedrooms (or perhaps theirs.) Yet strangely, considering how rampant innuendo is in our society, blatantly speaking about sex is still somewhat taboo.
A little over a year ago, I left the relatively safe and comfortable confines of Google’s Chicago office after working there for three years. I left to do something different. I left to change healthcare so it would be better. I’m proud to say that the team of people I work with every day has done a fantastic job of having an impact in that area, but there’s a barrier to making it big: how do we educate people about something that they don’t want to talk about?
April is STD Awareness Month. Join me in breaking down the barriers that prevent people from being healthy. Be safe, and encourage others to do the same. Safe sex means using protection, being educated about what’s out there, and knowing your status. Remember, the worst thing that can happen is not that you get an STD, it’s that you get an STD and don’t do anything about it. Many can be cured, and none of them mean the end of the world if cured.
So go out there and have a “ball” (or two), and for fuck’s sake, get tested. And if you want to try our new approach to STD testing, use the link below to get $50 a complete sexual health checkup.
Sure, this may not come as a surprise to many of us. As my good friend Cara said – there has been speculation about this for years. There are even the very revealing paparazzi photos of him in his skimpies on the beach with one heck of an attractive man. Perhaps this is a convenient time to come out, when he isn’t at the height of his career, when public acceptance of homosexuality is common and growing, and when it is seemingly trendy for celebs to come out. There’s a lot of sarcasm flying around about the topic, and even some bitterness; why?
It’s been a decade since I was outed to my family, but I still remember all too clearly the burden of keeping mum about being gay. It’s certainly not something that is fun to do. In a way, being mad at someone for remaining in the closet is similar to disliking them for being gay. Society makes it quite a hassle to be gay, it would be easier to just be straight, and similarly being in the closet is a horrible experience, and it would be much more liberating to live life unhidden. People remain closeted for a reason, and it’s important not to lose touch with that fact.
I’m not much of a celebrity follower. I love the art that musicians, actors, writers, and performers create for us to consume. I don’t need to and in many ways don’t want to know who they are dating or what they look like fetching the paper. The exception is when a celebrity comes out. Celebrities have a fantastic power to change the opinions of a large number of people. When someone of that status comes out, their fans and followers notice. Some fans will become former fans, and some formerly ignorant fans will become enlightened. We should commend artists that take the risk and lovingly encourage others to follow.
I ask my friends and readers to respond to this news not with vitriol but with compassion and appreciation.
I thank Ricky Martin for his bravery, and I wish the best for him and his family.
If not for the fact that Courtney Cox is a stunning, amazing actress, or that the comedy is original and smart, then at least for this little bit of gorgeousness – otherwise known as Matt (played by David Clayton Rogers.)
Click the image for the full affect – or just go watch the whole episode on Hulu yourself.
UPDATE: Apparently he was also in the gay movie “Boys Life 4″ – has anyone seen it? I’ve never even heard of it…
OK so I’m not a huge fan of the ear plugs, and definitely don’t buy into the diamonds-are-a-girl’s-best-friend tattoos, but don’t you just wanna knock him over and cuddle him?
This article argues that women wanting to get pregnant should look for an ugly guy because they are likely to produce more sperm. I look at it differently: pick the hot guy AND you have less risk of having children. Sounds like a win-win to me!
