on your right

Some of the hardest habits to break myself of back here in the States have to do with bicycle riding. In Kyoto, people ride their bikes all year round in all kinds of weather. This is because all of the bicycles have fenders to protect you from splashes and handy baskets to carry things. Riding a bicycle is pretty safe in Japan because you never ride on the street, you always ride on the sidewalk. And no one wears helmets because there is no need; while cars may not appreciate your presence, they at least acknowledge it.

But in Bloomington, things are different. It is apparently against the Bloomington Safety Codes to ride on the sidewalk. Although there are bike lanes on some roads, even the roads with “Bike Routes” are narrow or parked on enough to warrent extra care when being passed by a car. A helmet is necessary if you fear for your life (or if your Professor threatens to fail you if you don’t wear one).

Because I am so used to the style of bike-riding in paragraph one, I often forget about all the rules in paragraph two. I ride on the sidewalk without a helmet all the time. My favorite quiet street is one way, and I take it the wrong way to school. I run stop signs, and I park my bike in non-bike parking areas. I’ve added fenders to my bike, which the bike shop says was never meant to have fenders in the first place.

I think I’m singlehandedly trying to turn Bloomington into Kyoto. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to work.