I was on the road (after being on a plane) all last week, and I planned to write some very “Special Reports” outside of the L.A.-sphere. But no longer.  Upon my return, persons informed me that the L.A. biker community — that’s right, the L.A. biker community– was up in arms over an accident that occurred last week.

The sordid, compact details are as follows: A driver may have intentionally hit two bicyclists in a case of road rage. The sordid, less compact details are available here, here and here. The case is also gaining notoriety because it is one of the few times a hitter of bicyclists may face felony charges for assault and battery and even attempted murder. Road rights for bicyclists are now an issue in the city of angels!

If you take a look at the articles’comments, they’re pretty interesting to read. There are bicyclist sympathizers, car drivers who hate the all-consuming “arrogance” of bikers, personal friends of the defendant and the people searching for happy mediums. To me, this incident just once again illustrates the bipolar extremism that inhibits the great L.A. of Socal. Everyone is doing what they do, voicing that opinion, acknowledging the validity or stupidity of the other side’s right to feel how they feel, and sometimes listening to the other party with sincerity.

And because I’m an L.A.ian myself, you’ll be able to accuse me of the same thing. I stand with the bicyclists. I am a bicyclist. I face death daily, even when I am not on a sidewalk or legally have the right of way. Drivers forget that even if a bicyclist is arrogant and zips in front of cars, doesn’t brake at stop signs or takes up a lane, their life still depends completely on the human controlling the motorized machine. Sure, the driver’s late, talking on the phone, not checking out their blindspot, but in the end, the bicyclist will come out the worse — no matter what. I guess ever since my own first collision with a tunnel-visioned driver, I take a very Yossarian-point of view when biking on public roads — people are out to kill me and I must be defensive and avoid that.

Now the facts of the case are still in the murk and mire of the suddenness of media attention and publicity, but I think that this is a good reminder for Los Angelenos, whether they go by bike, mass transit or car, that they must remember that they not only have the right to use the roads but must share them too. So slow down! Look both ways. Check your blindspots. Life goes by so fast that there’s no reason to elbow your way up in an already gridlocked lane or shove someone off the road just to arrive at your point of destination ten minutes sooner.