spokesNspin

Here is a story about a young woman cyclist who was killed in an accident with a garbage truck this week. Here is a link to the WABA page with several links to news stories about the accident.

I am having a hard time to not cry as I write this.  She was so young.

The stories lead me to believe that she was not all the experienced in bicycle commuting.

Many people I talk with are nervous about riding on streets. Their biggest concern seems to be cars that are traveling in the same direction coming from behind them. The biggest concern for me is intersections. I am always very cautious at intersections and especially in the type of situation like the one where Alice was killed.

Unfortunately, the United States is a car obsessed culture where the automobile reigns supreme. I get the impression that many places in Europe are not like this.  Bicycling is more common there and the laws and culture actually favor cyclists.

Let me make a few comments to all of you cyclists who may be new to cycling.

Ride defensively. It doesn’t matter who has the right of way. A commercial I remember from my childhood used to say about defensive driving “You may be right. Dead right”. A bicyclist will always lose in a squabble over rights with a car.

Be especially vigilant at intersections.

Always watch for the cars traveling in the same direction as you who may turn right.

Watch for cars turning left in front of you.

Watch for cars entering the street from driveways, parking lots and cross streets.

Be especially careful when riding on an off road bike path if it is adjacent to a road and you are traveling against the flow of automobile traffic.  Yes you are separated from traffic.  But invariably cars will come from a side street and drivers will not even look to their right if they are turning right onto the roadway.

Watch! Watch! Watch!

Be predictable in your riding and use hand signals to let others know your intentions.

And for hell sakes pull the damn iPod out of your ears while riding and be aware!

My heart goes out to Alice’s parents.

On Saturday we were driving near a very popular bicycling route.  We were waiting at a light to turn right onto said popular bike route.  A car coming from our right made a left hand turn right in front of a cyclist coming from our left.  Big jackass car driving jerk! The cyclist felt the same way.  We could tell by his reaction. 

The light changed and we turned right and were therefore following the cyclist.  At a stop, sign the cyclist didn’t even slow up but blew right through the stop sign.  Big jackass hypocritical bicycling jerk!

I am a proponent of vehicular bicycling though I am not as radical as some on the topic.  I believe that bicycists should generally drive and be treated like other vehicles on the road.  But I also believe there is a place for bicycle paths and lanes.

I know people who like to point out cyclists that disobey traffic rules like the one I mentioned above.  And yes, I don’t strictly obey every traffic law.  How many drivers strictly obey every rule of the road?

In the interest of complete disclosure, I will confess to my personal common actions that could be interpreted to brand me as a cycling traffic law scofflaw.

I leave for work at 5:00 AM in the morning.  I don’t wait for red lights.  I do come to an almost stop if there is no traffic.  I don’t go through red lights if there are cars in the lane with me waiting for the light.  Folks there is so little traffic that time of morning.  And some of the lights won’t change until an automobile drives up to the light.  And some of the lights are timed so short that a cyclist can not go from a complete stop and get through the intersection before it turns red again.

I could sit there with no cars anywhere in sight and wait several minutes or just go through the intersection.  I choose to cycle through.  I faithfully obey lights later in day. 

No I don’t always come to a complete stop at stop signs.  A complete stop would mean putting my foot down or having the skills to do a track stand.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the skills.  If we are at a 4-way stop and I have the right of way do you really want to wait for me to stop completely?  You will just wait that much longer for me to get started and through the intersection.  Some states actually allow for cyclists to not come to a complete stop.

There are other things that I do that may or may not be illegal but certainly are not possible for automobiles.  Such as,  parking lot shortcuts, going through closed gates, maneuvering through a traffic standstill.  Hey it’s one of the benies of riding a bike.  Get over it!

I am generally courteous and try to avoid cutting off or  brushing close to pedestrians.  I would say my riding behaviour and that of the previously mentioned cyclist is something more like the difference between going 60 MPH or 80 MPH in a 55 MPH zone.

My point is that there are road regulations but there is also common sense to help keep the traffic flowing.  If you really want to be a stickler than next time you are in a car and want to pass a cyclist,  don’t do it unless you can do it by moving completely into another lane.

I know it’s a crazy notion but lets just all try to be courteous on road.