Not only is riding a bicycle often difficult and frustrating here in West Greenland, but it can also cost you your life:As such, I think every cyclist goes through a period of believing everybody could be happy if theyd only get out of their cars and onto bicycles:Every day as a cyclist, I witness gobsmacking displays of lawlessness, road rage, and distracted driving on our streets. But you know the scariest part? All it takes is a few minutes behind the wheel for me to be the one cursing under my breath, cutting corners, and putting others in danger. Cars and traffic just have a habit of bringing out ourabsolute worst tendenciesas humans.Bikes, on the other hand, bring out our best.Multiplestudieshave shown that bike commuting has large, measurable, positive impacts on mental and physical health. Seriously, try riding on two wheels as an adult and not smiling I dare you.Sadly, even though the observations above are true, I can no longer allow myself to believe any of itand not only because you can absolutely ride hundreds of miles a week without cracking a smile. (Its called being a roadie.) No, the reason I no longer believe it is because I need to stay sane, and in order to do so I have had to abandon anything resembling hope or optimism when it comes to peoples behavior. Yes, for a little while there even I believed maybe more and more people would start riding bicycles and wed all be safe and happy one day, but the electric motor put an end to that, and over the years the early promise of bike lanes has just turned into this:This is not to gainsay any of the sentiments conveyed in this opinion piece, all of which are quite valid. And I certainly dont mean to disrespect the memory of the person whose death inspired the piece in the first place. All Im saying is I intend to keep riding for as long as I am able, and in order to do I need to place all my faith entirely in the one person whose actions I can controland that person is me, and even then my self-control is tenuous at best, which is why I own far too many bicycles and fail to curtail my sodium consumption. Most importantly, I also need to reconcile myself to the fact that most people will always opt for the easier form of transportation, whether thats a car or an e-scooter or a robotic exoskeletonand that the bicycle will always be an afterthought for pretty much everybody.And yes, I realize it reflects poorly on me that Ive become so apathetic and cynical. But what can I say? A decade ago I fought against this sense of hopelessness by going to community board meetings and arguing in favor of the new bike lane, whereas now I just tell myself, Hey, at least you dont live in Turkey:Sorry, I dont think were supposed to call it Turkey anymore; I believe its now Trkiye, or maybe Torquay, though I think the latter may be where Fawlty Towers is located. Whatever the case, under no circumstances should you wear cycling tights there, because you could be removed from office by presidential decree:Mehmet Fatih iekli, governor of the northeastern province of Ardahan, was removed by a presidential decree dated July 17 after videos and photographs he shared of himself cycling sparked criticism on social media.The decree gave no reason for his removal, although Turkish media widely linked it to the controversy over his cycling attire.And yet he remains unbowed!iekli defended the outfit as standard cycling gear.The clothes Im wearing are sports clothes. I do sports in sports clothes, he said.Asked what he planned to do after his removal, iekli said, I will keep pedaling.Did I say I was cynical and apathetic? Well, I take it back, because I got chills when I read that. This man is truly an inspiration to all the MAMILs of the world.Fred, from this day forward, thy name is Mehmet Fatih iekli.And thats not the only worrisome cycling news coming out of Turkey:Heres what happened:A round-the-world cyclist broke her back in a freak accident as she tried to take a picture while on her friends shoulders.Matilda Pine, from Norwich, set off on a two-year expedition on 4 April, and was in Turkey when she fell, fracturing her back in two places.As weve already established, my sense of geography is informed entirely by British sitcoms, and I am only familiar with Norwich as the home of Alan Partridge:In case youre unfamiliar with Alan Partridge, he is a noted Tour de France commentator:Anyway, fortunately it sounds like the rider will recover, and so I hope you wont think me tactless when I askhow the hell does anybody carve two whole years out of their life for a cycling trip? When you add that to the seven years of preparation (!) thats longer than it takes to get a law degree:Pine told BBC Radio Norfolks Chris Goreham she had been preparing for her trip for seven years, gearing up both physically and mentally.And while you could certainly fail to attain that degree, it probably wont be because you fell off your friends back:As I was climbing onto my friends shoulders and he went to stand up, I just flipped off backwards and landed on my back, she said.The accident happened in a remote field and she was left lying on the ground for two hours before her friend then helped her walk to a road where they picked up a taxi to a treatment centre.Its unfortunate Alan Partridge wasnt there to rescue her:And please understand Im not trying to make light of the cyclists injury (well maybe a little), and I do wish her a speedy recovery, but I also refuse to temper my extreme anti-ultra endurance cycling agenda, and if I dont speak out against it then nobody will.Still, there are even sillier things than riding around the world, such as buying Albert Einsteins bicycle saddle:I realize I began this post with a dim view of humanity, but I am reassured by the fact that as of yet nobody has been dumb enough to buy this thing:The bike saddle that once helped Einstein maintain that life balance hasnt moved and remains available for purchase after an auction failed to generate bids during a Dominic Winter Auctioneers events here in May and in October. In the May auction, it was part of the Photographs, Posters & Postcards, Autographs, Documents & Ephemera offering, with a pre-auction estimate of 7,000-10,000 pounds ($9,396-$13,423).We would have sold it for 6,000 pounds if there had been any bidding at that level, Chris Albury, senior auctioneer and valuer for Dominic Winter Auctioneers, told BRAIN in early June.A month later, BRAIN followed with Albury, who said the auction house is still open to sensible offers before the saddle is offered in an auction next year.Sensible offer? Any offer for this thing is inherently not sensible. Cycling isnt even why Albert Einstein is famous! This is like buying Fausto Coppis slide rule. And yes, I know Albert Einstein rode a bicycle, and that he said this:Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep movingSo what? Its not even true! Ask any fixie rider:Also, its not always good to keep moving in life, because thats how you wind up in Turkey with a broken back.Heres more on the saddle:The brown leather Nelson saddle dates from about 1929 and comes with original paperwork and an order form to the German bike manufacturer Ludwig Nelson Fahrradbau GmbH. The company was active in the 1920s and early 1930s and based in Berlin-Schneberg and produced bikes, frames, and accessories. The order form was completed in pencil in Einsteins handwriting from his Berlin address on March 26, 1929.And here are some photos:It even has the anatomical cutout to preserve Einsteins taint:Okay, fine, I could see spending $50 for it and throwing it on the Roaduno.But thats my final offer.