While driving home this evening I spotted ol' Arnold Schwarzenegger cruising west on the Pennsylvania Avenue cycletrack, right below the Capitol. Caught up to him on Constitution to make sure I had a clear shot from the car. I know, Citizen Paparazzi. Apparently the former governator had a meeting earlier in the day with Obama about immigration reform.
Cool! Nice to see the Governator on a bicycle. Given his attire, it looks like it's a lot warmer in DC than it is here in Toronto right now.
ReplyDeleteNext time he comes, you'll have to get him on a more comfortable upright bicycle.
Hopefully he won't come here again- scumbag!
ReplyDeleteNext time he comes he should be on a road bike :P
ReplyDeleteWhere is his helmet??
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:10, no anonymous insults here please. No insults period, but especially if you won't even put your name with it.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:23 - oh please. He's an adult.
Agreed...where's that helmet? Set an example for the kiddies, man!
ReplyDeleteNice of him to enjoy the city on a day like this. Any idea who he's biking with?
ReplyDeleteSeemed like bodyguards, but don't know for sure...
ReplyDeleteAt least the guy on the right.
ReplyDeleteCool that he is seeing the city via a bike rather than tax-payer limo.
ReplyDeleteHe is an adult let him make his own decision whether or not to wear a helmet.
Very cool! Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the others on the helmet: land of the free.
you are free to not wear a helmet even if not wearing a helmet makes you look like an idiot
ReplyDeleteyou are also free to point out that not wearing a helmet makes you look like an idiot
hooray freedom
If I take your convoluted sarcasm correctly, people who don't wear helmets are idiots? Not adults capable of rational risk assessment?
ReplyDeleteIs biking really so inherently dangerous as you suggest? What about millions of Dutch and Danish cyclists who ride everywhere everyday without a helmet and seem to almost never get hurt?
Or is it HOW we ride (fast, hunched over, often in traffic) compared to our Euro counterparts (slower, upright, away from traffic)? Maybe our bike-unfriendly landscape in most cities compels the helmet-or-you're-an-idiot mentality?
Put another way - how about the person in, say, Washington DC, who *prefers* to ride with traffic because that's how he/she rolls. Ok, I hope that person is wearing a helmet.
Does the person toodling along the cycletrack on their 3-speed Citizen Cycle have the same level of risk?
All a little more complex, Mr/Ms Anon, than 'not wearing a helmet makes you look like an idiot'.
Sigh. Dammit, I really wanted this not to turn into a helmet thread... and here I am feeding the beast........... :(
Wearing a helmet is just safer. There is never a time that not wearing a helmet is safer especially in DC where motorists don't pay much attention to bike commuters. Ride my bike all over the city in all sorts of traffic patterns and cant tell you how many times cars have cut me off even when I am riding slowly in a bike lane. There are agressive drivers that will purposely intimidate cyclists.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing such a high profile celeb biking in DC, but would prefer to see him in a helmet.
great set of photos!
ReplyDeleteI live by the code I hold my children to... 'no helmet... no bike'
but I agree with you Bill
this whole notion that people have to wear a helmet is absurd
smoking is more likely to kill you than riding a bicycle
but I do not see car drivers making knowing faces at every cigarette smoker they see on the street
Hey Joel, thanks. Yeah, helmet for sure for kids. Helmet for sure for racer types like yourself. Helmet smart for the longer commuter who wants to swim with the sharks. For the short/slow urban jaunt, I think it's personal preference. I reject the notion that simply getting on a bike is so dangerous that a helmet is always needed. The stats don't back that up, nor does the real world experience of plenty of bikers, especially in places like Europe. One of the costs of overstressing danger and helmets is fewer people biking. Sure maybe you're safer with a helmet at any speed but only by the same logic that would have us wearing pedestrian helmets and driving helmets.
ReplyDelete