Not the biggest fan of urban cycling as portrayed in this USA Today piece. Although it has been hammered into my head since I was a kid that bicycles have the same rights on the road as drivers, I do something a little different. I have always deferred to the driver when I'm cycling and to the cyclist when driving. Challenging each other as they seem to be doing in that article is a prescription for road rage in my view. Dan and Delmer are both CrabAppleLane faves and avid cyclists. Would love to hear their views. I'm fortunate in that I live in the country and have ample less-traveled roads and wonderful made-for-bicycle trails like the St Tammany Trace very convenient to me but urban dwellers don't have the same options. I don't know the solution but making drivers angry by tying up traffic or getting in their way when they don't have to is definitely not it. The statement below is from the same piece from Jeff Peel.
The idea is you are slowing traffic, which may be frustrating to some motorists but making the road safer for everyone. Creating safer roadways and right-of-ways for all users sometimes requires taking space away from automobiles.
I don't think that's the course to pursue. The roads are mostly safe. It's the users that make them unsafe. Mixing a group of users that travel anywhere from 15-40 miles per hour below the speed limit with a group of users that are going the speed limit or more and trying to get somewhere in a vehicle that will win most collisions with cyclists ... well, you get the idea. You can be right if you like but you may also be severely injured or dead. That'll show 'em, won't it? As for a cyclist occupying the middle of the road when there IS a parallel bike path or a shoulder, I have no words. A little more cooperation with each other would be in both groups' best interest.
The QOTD is for my friend, Dave. :)
Quote of the Day
Plus, every time I see Brad Childress with his weird headset I want to super size my value meal.
Ralph Malbrough, WWLTV.com
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Time for all the Dolphin fans to get behind our young QB and show why Chad Henne is better than any Brees!"
WOW. CrabAppleLane does NOT share that opinion. -Rob
Hahaha! On those occasions when I wake up in the wee hours of the morning, and I scroll through all of the doubts and fears of life that weigh heavily, one of them is that I inevitably conclude that Brad Childress is actually an alien.
One stretch of my drive to and from work is on a fairly narrow parkway on the west edge of Minneapolis proper. There's a bike/walking path the entire length and most bicyclists use it. Occasionally though, I come across one that asserts his/her right to ride the road.
I'm okay with that, though it's mildly irritating with the bike path right there, but what sets me off is when I patiently wait to pass them safely, and then end up in a line at a stop sign or light and they pass me on the right illegally so we all have to pass them again down the road.
If bicyclists want to assert their right to the road, that's fine. Then just obey the same laws that drivers have to obey. It's their hypocrisy when they don't that sets people off. I'm not going to ever use my car as a weapon, but I've rolled down my window a few times and ripped on someone. It's just a matter of simple respect on both sides.
I think Brad gets a bit of a bum rap but I'm also a little surprised that anyone is talking contract extension.
The example you cite would send more than a few drivers over the edge, Dave.
Re: the bike thing: This is where I quote my patron saint, Rodney King (we actually share a birthday): "Can't we all just get along?" But to do that, of course, you do have to have the ability to continually put yourself in the other person's place and to avoid presuming that anything you see a driver or cyclist do is personal. It's a pretty hard trick.
Most of the time, I ride in a way that clearly defers to motorists and tries to communicate I know they're there. When I see a "Share the Road" sign, I believe that applies to both me, the cyclists, and to the motorists on the road. On occasion, on a narrow street where I know I can do the speed limit or a little better, I'll take the lane. I have to tell you that there are some places -- long descents in the hills where I live -- where I can go significantly faster than a car can. I've had drivers slow deliberately, crowd the center line, and blow through stop signs to prevent my passing. You tell me why. Once in a great while, I've had drivers pull over to let me go by. That kind of makes my day, even though I know I'm going to get passed once I've lost my gravity assist.
Anyway, that live and let live ethic is missing among many cyclists, and there are neighborhoods in San Francisco where as a pedestrian I feel like I need to be extra careful because the bike riders are so dependably careless about stop signs and intersections.
Signs have just popped up on a stretch of road I take to work that say something like "Bicycles may use full lane." I don't mind sharing the road. I'm more concerned with the cars behind me putting pressure on me to pass or go faster (or my perception of it).
Once a month in Austin, they have an event called Critical Mass where a bunch of cyclists take over the road. I'd never heard of it until I got caught in it about a month ago. There were a thousand bicycles riding all around me on a downtown street. It was something to experience! http://critical-mass.info/austin.html
Thanks for chiming in, Dan. I just never see any of that around here. The road cyclists I see training around here all the time are very courteous and the drivers going around them give them a wide berth. The drivers I encounter while on my bike are usually courteous but I also try to stay out of their way. I'm just not getting it.
Those are the type of cyclists that most drivers are concerned about, Kim. From the Critical Mass Website:
"NOTE: Your friendly webmaster stopped riding Austin CM regularly in 2000 since many of the riders had become too confrontational for his tastes."
"Confrontational" is not the best avenue of approach in my opinion. A thousand bicycles swarming me is not something I care to experience. Did they touch your car or say anything to you?
In the article you link to there's a mention of a doctor that pulled in front of some cyclists and slammed on the brakes. I'm pretty sure this is the same guy I read about in Bicycle Magazine (in whatever the legal column is called) as it would be an odd coincidence for two docs to have done the same thing with the same outcome -- Anyway, this was the second time the doc pulled in front of bicyclists, slammed on the brakes, and caused a collision. The first time it happened the riders called the police and made a report but no charges were filed as the doc claimed it was an accident ... the second time it didn't look so accidental. (The first group, I believe, is now suing the doc.)
The place I live in is pretty bicycle friendly. We're getting more bike lanes -- when new roads go in and on some existing roads -- and have a nice network of bike paths.
When it comes to riding, I try to keep my eye on drivers and don't always assume they see me.
I obey most of the rules of the road. I run a sign here and there after slowing; if there is any other traffic I stop -- otherwise I go through it without coming to a complete stop... a lot of the time, in these situations, I'm the only thing on the road. I take my place in traffic at a red light -- I don't pass the line to be first, but I don't let cars pull next to me in the lane, as I'm concerned they'll bump me. When traffic starts to go I'll move over.
A local blogger just had a post about how he'd thought Columbus cyclists were mostly law abiding. He spent an afternoon at a coffee shop on High Street and noticed that about 90% of the riders he saw rode in violation of the law -- running lights and signs, moving in and out of slowed traffic, moving to the head of the line at a light, etc.
I usually ride as far right as is safe unless something is coming up that makes me worry that a car trying to pass might clip me, then I move to the center of the road.
I've sort of droned on here without getting to a point of any sort. What I think, though, is we all need to share the road (as the signs say). Motorists and cyclists need to be more aware of each other and respect each and we all need to obey traffic rules. Basically, we need to drive/ride as Mr. Rogers would want us too. (And a wool sweater makes for a nice jersey in cooler weather... maybe a pullover more than a button-up model.)
Finally -- I just came back from the Vancouver area. They have bike lanes on a lot of the roads and cars and bikes seem to get along very well. I saw a lot of bike commuters (rain or shine). And it seemed like a lot of people had their lights on and flashing (front and back) regardless of the time of day. I'd not realized what how much more visible this made cyclists even in the daytime.
(What does it say about a person when he doesn't have time to make blog posts, yet he goes on and on and on in someone else's comments?)
Thanks, Delmer. I'd like to see more bike lanes, particularly in the city. Personally, I think I'd prefer that the two groups always remain separate but that's a dream for another day.