Oy, Bike Lanes — Sidewalk

This morning, as my 4 year old scooted down the sidewalk on our way to preschool, I did the one-foot pedal( other foot tapping the ground). It’s a great way to keep up and as any parent with scooting kids will attest to, they’re are fast. So this way, I keep up, and we have an enjoyable commute to school, giggling next to eachother. No parent pushing lazy kid in the stroller. No lazy parent driving an over-sided SUV with kid strapped in to carseat. Just us and the fresh air. These moments of transition I have realized are important times in the day with our children. They define our relationship in more ways than one realizes.

We passed other parents on the street with big smiles as they saw us — too cute they’d say! Then, we came upon the old lady, pulling her foldable shopping cart towards us. “Oy! Bike lane!” as she gestures to the road with no bike lane, then as she points to the sparcely populated sidewalk that we both happen to be on, “Sidewalk!” She’s basically having roadrage.

I don’t say anything as we continue on down the block. Fact is, I wasn’t taking up any more space than if I had been walking, or running, next to my son. Yet she still took offense, and for that, I’m sorry lady. Bike lane — Sidewalk, yeah i get it, I do. Yet, the infrastructure is lacking, so let’s just live and let live, no? If she saw a pedestrian jay-walking, would she say have impulsively said “Oy! Red light! Green light!” Doubtful.