Only drive what you can handle

There are a lot of bad drivers out there - especially the busy Bay Area of California. There are too many people in general, too many people who come from different places and were taught to drive differently. Too many San-this and Santa-that. It gets confusing. Stop and go, construction, female drivers, Asian drivers (yes I went there). Need I go on? Whomever or whatever you want to blame driving conditions on. We got 'em here.

So, in the interest of safety: Only drive what you can handle.

Whether there is a soccer mom with a car full of kids doing a 10-point turn at a Safeway, or a new millionaire having trouble with the clutch on his new Porsche, there are just people who should not drive certain types of cars. It doesn't mean they are bad people, or even bad drivers necessarily - only that their driving skills and automobile choices are mismatched.

Interestingly enough, I was a bad driver recently when I smacked my 9-year-old Mazda 3 into the back of a Buick SUV a couple of weeks ago. It was stop and go traffic, I must have looked away, tried to break, and stopped on the bumper of Mr. Todd, who was very nice about the whole incident. It was my first big accident: tow trucks, insurance, the whole bit.

And... there goes my perfect driving record. If you heard of a crash pulled to the shoulder of 85 on the morning of April 15 - that was me. I was that person.

Lil' Red Ridin' In the Hood (aka Lil' Red) was totaled. Right after I got a bike rack installed. Super bummer. She was a good car. I bought her when I was living in a rather sketchy part of San Jose.

So, now I introduce to you: Big Red The Bike Carrier (aka Big Red). Yes, I am now a woman, living in the suburbs who drives in SUV. My children are bikes. I don't know if I can handle this. Being an SUV driver is a lot of pressure. I'm going to have to teach myself how to drive this beast. (Oh, and how to pay for the extra costs of owning a larger vehicle. Eee gawds.)

Big Red holds her own with two BMWs. 

Big Red and I will have many adventures together along with my children, Cervelo and Griffen.