Open Letter to Fishers Island Ferry

I was thinking about heading over to Fishers Island for a weekend to visit a friend working in a summer seasonal job.  It looks like the Fishers Island folks don't like poor folks on bicycles crudding up their view.  My attitude about the Glastonbury-Rocky Hill Ferry is exactly the opposite, especially since it was free this past Saturday for CT Open House.  I was so excited about the free ride that I purchased a t-shirt with the ferry on it.

An open letter to the Fishers Island Ferry

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To whom it may concern,

I was planning a bicycle ride to visit a friend on Fishers Island.  Was pretty excited about it as I hadn't yet had the chance to visit New London or that part of Long Island.  Excited until I learned about the steep bicycle fare.

It seems absurd that the rate for bringing a bicycle on the ferry ($55) is more than the rate for an automobile ($51).  Whats the logic there?  A bicycle takes up significantly less space, can be stacked together, and is the environmentally responsible choice.   The bicycle as transportation is also the clear choice if one were to worry about the quality of life in a vacation community, where traffic and parking are irritating issues.

Thought I'd put my two cents in.  Based on my initial judgement of Fishers Island from the ferry rate, I'll skip the trip across the Sound and spend my vacation elsewhere.  Not a big loss I'm sure, but if you've ever been to bicycle and pedestrian friendly towns and cities - you'll notice that life is better where cars aren't taken for granted as the only way to get around.

Have a beautiful smog filled summer, and I wish you short term profit followed by decades of rising sea levels. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Tony Cherolis

Beat Bike Blog

Hartford, Connecticut

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Question to readers.  Am I missing anything by skipping Fishers Island, or is it just a bunch of white, over compensated investment bankers?

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When you honk your horn...

...I am judging the shit out of you.

Especially when I'm riding in the dark, 40F rain on my home from a long day at work.  You have to be able to see me.  You actually proved that you can see me by honking, and passing with plenty of room.  I've got one Planet Bike Superflash Turbo (known to cause discomfort at about 200 ft) on my helmet, and another Superflash classic on my left pannier.  Now let's count reflectors.  One on the rear rack.  Reflective piping and stripe on jacket.  Reflective, rear facing stripes on both panniers.  Reflective accents on shoes and both pant leg elastic bands.

You are a dick. 

If for some reason you can't see me or you don't feel comfortable passing a cyclist in the right third of the lane with a center buffer lane between you and periodic oncoming traffic, they should take your license away and flog you with a seatbelt for thinking that you are safe behind the wheel of a multi-ton weapon. 

Perhaps you haven't changed your windshield wipers in three years.  This is a more common problem than one might think.  There is also the buildup of 3-4 years of plasticizer sublimated from the plastics from your car interior.  What your lungs don't filter out gets deposited on things like the inside of the windshield.   This is something one needs to clean off at least a couple times a year if not more.  Surprising this isn't covered in drivers training courses considering how much it impairs vision at night.  Imagine a thin layer of dirty vaseline. 

Suck less car drivers.  You should be embarrassed about getting basic car safety tips from a guy without a car. 

The next time you pass a well lit, responsibly riding cyclist and think of laying on the horn, think for a second - Why am I such a douchebag?  Then lay on the horn anyway because douchebags don't think.  Who does this smug prick on a bike think he's kidding?

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