Eastern Bloc Cycling Club

I read the supposedly funny article in the Courant this morning. Jim Shea is making fun of the Ct. Driver's test.
I do not feel that calling bicyclists "moving targets" is in the least funny. Not at all, not ever.

I do plan on writing to the Courant and complain about this, and I would hope others to do the same.

I will certainly send him a note.

My note to Jim Shea:

Dear Jim,

I’m a big fan of your column; read it religiously. Inasmuch as we are of the same generation, a lot of what you have to say strikes my funny bone and generally brightens my day.

However, I have to say that today’s column struck a different kind of nerve. I’m an avid cyclist and ride upwards of 5000 miles a year, so I find even tongue in cheek remarks such as bicyclists being seen as moving targets by motorists not to be humorous. As you may know, each year several cyclists in CT are struck and killed by motorists, who are often, I suspect, distracted with texting or talking of the phone. Fortunately, most motorists are generally courteous to cyclists. The minority of motorists who are antagonistic to cyclists do, however, present a serious threat to essentially defenseless runners, walkers, cyclists and any other non-motorists who have a legal right to use the roads that we also pay taxes for.

I don’t mean to get on a soapbox here, but I think you blew it with this one. I, and I’m sure every other cyclist in CT, would appreciate something of a mea culpa in this case.

Sincerely,

Tom Wing

His response:

Tom, I’m a long time cyclist myself and understand all your points. Sometimes humor isn’t politically correct, so no mea culpa. Thanks for your note.

Gotta say, he's dropped a notch - or three - in my estimation. FWIW, I also wrote a letter to the editor at the Courant, which has not as yet been published, either on line or in print.

My response to him

Jim, Thanks for taking the time to reply to my note. Inasmuch as you seem immune to political correctness, I look forward to your column on the whiny wives/girlfriends who get beat up by their NFL husbands/boyfriends. You know, those sissies who can’t take a punch……

Some things just aren’t funny Jim.

I've never heard of Jim Shea before this but this thread made me curious so I read the commentary. I took it as him making fun of the crappy drivers that populate Connecticut's roads more than a poke at the DMV's written test. Other than the crack about moving targets I found his writing mildly amusing but certainly not enough to read anything else he has written. He's only as relevant as we make him folks.

Up until now I thought Shea was a harmless curmudgeon who is occasionally is funny. Now it's clear he's, as the kids say, a douche.

I find his responses to Tom's and Bruce's letters offensive. Jim Shea is usually quite funny and relates to many of us as Tom said. I would have expected a response more along the lines of:

"I'm sorry that I struck a nerve with you. As an avid cyclist myself, I know too well the dangers of sharing the roadways with motorists. In my next column I'll remind motorists about the 3 foot passing law, the need to treat cyclists as other vehicles, their right to use the regular lanes of traffic especially at intersections, exercising patience when encountering cyclists who are avoiding poor shoulders, and the fact that they may ride two abreast in this state."

Perhaps I'll send those suggestions along to Mr. Shea myself.

Doug Gerard

And you can find it here: http://www.courant.com/opinion/letters/hcrs-21879--20140913-story.html