Beer + Bicycles = : )

Stepping out of a party late friday night, a friend asked jokingly, "you okay to drive?" We both laughed as I clearly wasn't but then again i wasn't about to get behind the wheel of a car.

Call it an unspoken perk of riding - being under the influence simply isn't as big of a deal. In fact, it's rather enjoyable. It's also a de facto sobriety test, you have to be really fucking wasted not be able to ride. That is to say, you'll find out real quick if you're too drunk/high to ride when you can't get on the saddle. At which point, you'll be forced to a) call a cab; b) wait till you sober up; c) walk home. Either way, you won't have to deal with the b.s. that comes w/ worrying about parking tickets and picking up your car the next day.

Of course, there are plenty of pro-bike anti-fun folks who will cry "think of the children!" (helmet nazis I'm talking to you) but such priggishness belongs at a Pilgrim convention.

Let's get real - You're just not as likely to maim, kill, or die in a drunken biking accident as you are in a drunken car accident. It's a difference of technology. Bikes are light, small, require a certain level of dexterity to operate, and don't go too fast (unless you're Lance). Cars are heavy, large, simple to operate, and very fast. That's why I don't think bicyclists should have to adhere to the same vehicle laws that cars do and why most of us don't.

Cruzing through the Santa Cruz streets past 1am, feeling the sweet ocean breeze, what a fantastic feeling. And yeah, I made it home just fine, just a little sweaty.