Great photoblogger, not so great a road-user

Sam Javanrouh is a photoblogger in Toronto. More than that, his blog Daily Dose of Imagery has been cited by photoblog.org as among the best photoblogs in the world.

But based on "Biking with 5D Mark II" I can't say that Javanrouh is among the best cyclists in the world. This video is about four minutes of Javanrouh using the Canon 5D Mark II to grab some test footage facing forward while riding in the Yonge and King areas of Toronto about a month ago.

A lot of the footage was "hands-free," (and some of that was on wet pavement and beside parked cars). He apparently ran a yellow light, passed a lot of stopped cars on the right (in a space too tight for me, but maybe it was the wide-angle lens) and entered a street that police had blocked to traffic. Oh, and he appears to pass on the right a vehicle that is about to turn right (hello, officer!).

So, he's a top blogger. I'm a top curmudgeon, and I couldn't help but think as I watched his test footage: Man, this guy is a moron.

Comments

[Chris Mills]

Hi Bill - here's a suggestion for moron of the week -

Moron: You are an adult female, no helmet, navy shirt, crossing Erb St. going north at Father David Bauer at about 1:30 pm on Monday.

Moronity:

(we'll overlook lack of helmet - it's not illegal, just dumb and dangerous only to yourself; the rest is both illegal and dangerous to others, qualifying you for moron status)

Instead of dismounting you rode in the pedestrian crosswalk - against a red light - then continued riding on the sidewalk, despite the bike path right beside you. I followed you into Waterloo Park and watched incredulously as you passed a pedestrian, with no bell or signal of any kind, right into the path of an oncoming pedestrian. The latter, despite having the right of way, prudently stepped off the path to let you proceed on your reckless way.

Please, for the safety of all, take the CANBIKE learn-to-ride training on Sunday, July 26 at A.R. Kaufman Y in Kitchener, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more info about certified cycling instruction, you can contact Cooper at 519-883-2008, ext. 5324.