Share the road

There are many signs telling us that spring is here...the plants are turning green again, the jackets are being put in the closet, and the bikers are returning to our streets.

Last week, Minneapolis held an event entitled "Share the Road" and it involved bringing awareness to drivers about keeping an eye out for the two-wheelers. While I wholeheartedly agree that some drivers need to be more conscious of bikers on the streets, I am dismayed that this event did not focus on bikers sharing the road with drivers. While this is not an attack on all bikers, there are some who pedal around our city acting as though they have the right of way in every situation. There are bikers who refuse to use the bike paths and bike lanes built solely for their use and instead insist on riding in the middle of the street, well below the posted speed limit, creating significant traffic disturbance from all directions. There are also those who refuse to follow the rules of the road by failing to use the appropriate hand signals to indicate turns and by neglecting the stop lights and stop signs posted for all traffic control.

This has been a huge "pet peeve" of mine for years. However, it really came to a head last weekend.

I live in the Warehouse district in downtown Minneapolis. There are bike lanes all over my neighborhood. I know where they are, despite the fact that they are rarely used by those who ride their bikes. On Friday night, I was driving to meet my family for my boyfriend's birthday dinner. While turning right onto Third Avenue from North Second Street, I paused at a green light to allow a young woman to walk through the crosswalk. I was completely stopped when, all of a sudden, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and felt something hit my car. When I looked to my right, I noticed a very angry biker screaming at me. He had run his bike into the passenger side of my car. At this point, I was completely uncertain as to what had transpired based on the fact that I was at a complete stop when I was hit.

After exiting my vehicle, I was subjected to a tirade by this biker, telling me that he had the right-of-way, despite the fact that he had a red light at the intersection for the direction he was headed. After being subjected to several derogatory comments about the kind of woman I was, his argument boiled down to the fact that he had every right to ram my car because he had a bike lane. However, I wasn't in his bike lane, but merely making a right onto a street under heavy construction. If I had been infringing on his lane in any way, it was only to avoid the large orange cones and the steady stream of oncoming traffic. After being threatened with legal action, I snapped.

My frustration stems from the fact that, yes, we are supposed to share the road with bikers. This means that bikers need to share the road with cars. It does not mean one needs to intentionally ram his bike into a vehicle. This man should have stopped. He shouldn't have hit my car. Can you imagine if drivers chose to intentionally hit other cars because of gridlock traffic or a car stopped at a yellow light instead of speeding through it? What would happen if a driver hit a biker because he was riding in the middle of the street at a significantly slower speed? Perhaps this man had a bad day and I was simply on the receiving end of his meltdown. But, this really speaks to a larger issue that needs to be addressed:

1. If bikers are going to ride on the streets, they need to follow the street signs and traffic lights. This is for the safety of all drivers and pedalers. They need to use hand signals to indicate which direction they are turning. Drivers are required to use their turn signals and bikers should follow the same rules of the road.

2. If bikers aren't riding at the posted speed limit, move to the side of the road. This again, is a simple traffic law. Slower traffic should move to the right and allow for the faster moving traffic to pass on the left. Forcing a car to pass a biker in a lane of oncoming traffic is not safe for either the biker or the driver.

If bikers refuse to follow the rules of the road, they should be given a moving violation.

3. Use the bike paths. I will never understand why a biker chooses to ride in the street, right next to a perfectly good bike path. Using words like "on your left" clears up any traffic that may be moving slower on the paths.

4. Stop weaving in and out of traffic. Cars are watching you to see what you're doing, trying to avoid hitting you, and not necessarily paying attention to what else is going on around them. If there are bike lanes, I don't understand why bikers don't use them.

5. Lastly, to the man who hit me, get over yourself. You ride a bike in spandex. You aren't Master of the Universe and your bike does not entitle you to special privileges. You were wrong. Attempting to demean me and humiliate me doesn't make you a bigger person or make it right to yell at me.

And, like I told you that night, I'm a lawyer...I love a good fight. So bring on the law suit.

A side note...

I attended a Focus meeting for the Breast Cancer Three-day walk.

The walk is sponsored by the Susan G. Kome Breast Cancer Foundation and is considered the largest non-profit organization dedicated to breast cancer research, treatment and prevention. Do you know how much money they've raised? Less than $1 billion. Breast cancer...the New York Yankees...The Yankee's payroll this year is just under $200 million.

It just kind of put it all into perspective for me. A ball club will spend more money to win the national championship than people are willing to donate to curing breast cancer. It is estimated that, without a cure, ten million women will die from breast cancer in the next twenty-five years. A-Rod is earning $27.7 million dollars this year.

I know that American values have to lie elsewhere...

So you had a bad day...

Yesterday could have been better.

And, sometimes I fail to see why I'm so lucky that I've made it through my life relatively unscathed. I've had some set backs and I have had some failures...but my life would be deemed successful, worthwhile, and happy...

Let me explain. Yesterday I deposed my first rape victim. This has affected me in ways I didn't really expect. As an attorney, you should appear to have taken it all in stride. You are not supposed to show your surprise, you should act as if you knew it all along.

But, what killed me yesterday was the fact that this woman was twenty-one years old and scared. She didn't speak English...she couldn't read...she's single and five months pregnant. And, as a human, there are certain things that we cannot stomach. This was one of them. As she talked about how my client had repeatedly raped her, I began thinking about my duties to my client as a lawyer. As a woman - as a human - my initial response was to be as caring, compassionate and concerned as possible. But as an attorney, my response is somewhat different. It's supposed to be unemotional, unaffected and suspicious. I am supposed to be a zealous advocate for my client. But, how can I act that way when I have a frightened young woman sitting across from me, telling me her most shameful experiences?

So, what did I do? I tried to poke holes in her story, I tried to find footing on which I could build a defense. I did my job. I'd like to think that I was respectful of her while I was doing it, but come on...I was trying to find the pieces that didn't fit.

I haven't stopped thinking about it.

There's got to be a Silva lining...

I love the Minnesota Twins...I love what they're about, how they play the game...they're cute, funny and to me, represent what baseball should be about.

I once read an article about the New York Yankees...according to this article, George Steinbrenner has spent $1 billion dollars in the past six years on his franchise...that's $1 billion dollars not to win a championship for the past six years. The phrase "waste of money" and pictures of starving children in Africa come to mind. But, the Yankees are the most notorious team in baseball...everyone knows who plays for them...everyone knows who played for them...from the Babe to Gehrig, DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Micky Mantle...and as those who have paved the way for today's ball players, there are no bigger names and players who have affected the game of baseball. The Twins, on the other hand, haven't spent $1 billion dollars on their team in the entire franchise history.

Granted, our last championship was almost sixteen years ago...

But last night's game reminded me of how much I really love the game of baseball. After a somewhat tumultuous series with the Yankees (well, let's be honest, they turned us over their knee and spanked us like we were little children) the Twins showed us that they really play baseball for the love of the game.

They swing their bats hard...they don't quit...even when it looks like the batter got a double, the Twins somehow find an ability to turn that into a double play. The only one who isn't getting any love yet is Carlos Silva. He's had two excellent outings and the relievers and closers just have to go and take away that "W." But, it's nice to see Silva back in true form. I've been a little nervous since last season...and especially when they announced he was in the rotation.

But the point of the story is this: The Twins don't need money to make the game great. They still play well, they look like they have fun and they've cultivated a fan base that loves them. While the same can be said for the Yankees, you don't see Twin fans booing Little Nicky Punto when he tries to steal second...and you don't hear them trying to send Torii packing when he tries to be a hero...True, Rondell White did get on many a Twins fan's bad side last year with is below the Mendoza line batting average. But, we love our Twins...we appreciate them and they play baseball because they love the game...not the money that comes with it.

And I would walk sixty miles...

So, the commercials got to me.

I realized that this disease - cancer - has affected the lives of so many people who are close to me. It has affected me personally. I thought about how our lives would change if cancer was cured. And then I thought that thinking does nothing to bring anyone closer to a cure.

However, this can.

I am going to participate in the 2007 Twin Cities Breast Cancer Walk. Over the course of three days, I will walk sixty miles. It will be a great physical undertaking and I cannot wait to tackle the challenge. I want to walk to stand up for those who have been cut down by this disease. I want to walk to show support for those who are currently fighting cancer. I want to do this for those who will fight in the future. More importantly, I want to walk to show my support and love for those in my life who have been so deeply affected by breast cancer.

And, this is where you come in. I have pledged to raise $2,200.00 and I am asking for both your financial and emotional support to attain this goal. Any donation is greatly appreciated. You can click on the link below to take you directly to my personal fundraising webpage. Please send this to anyone you believe will be able to assist me in reaching this goal. I look forward to this challenge and to do something bold to fight breast cancer.

Thank you for your support.

http://www.the3day.org/twincities07/katiekopperud