c0urt

no day that starts with a bike ride can end badly

Where's that great quote about how if you're cycling in Europe, the car drivers see you as a hero; if you're cycling in America, you're a target?

I'd actually say that I've never felt that way but I do frequently see motorists viewing me and the bike as a nuisance. I think a big part of the problem is that these days everyone's in a hurry to get everywhere, even if they really have nothing to get to. And few people like being stuck in their car, even for a few extra seconds, especially when they're forced to drive at a slow speed. I think that desire to get moving fast, that need to BE somewhere is what causes most of the aggression towards cyclists.

We are traffic.

The next time you feel like cyclists slow you down, think about how much time you spend waiting behind people who insist on stopping in the middle of a busy road to cross a busy lane rather than making their turn at a nearby light.

If a cars with a single occupant took only twice as much space as a bicycle, you'd spend much less time waiting to get through lights. I have yet to see a situation where only one or two bikes can make it through on a single light cycle, but this happens all the time with cars.

Bikes might not be very fast, they're definitely faster than the parked cars on the side of the road. If drivers followed the example of cyclists and parked somewhere other than on the street, another lane would be available for everyone.

They say Americans are a patient folk; they'll put up with almost anything unless it holds up traffic.

Drivers: when you're about to endanger a cyclist by cutting him off, throwing some object out your window, or even honking or yelling, try to remember that we are people just like you. Maybe we're late for work, too, or on our way to some important function like you are doing. We're not there specifically to annoy you, and honestly, we don't want to get in your way. But we also don't want to get killed or hurt. Please, give us a little extra room, extra time to move out of the way, and be patient. It's not worth somebody's life to get where you're going a little sooner.

"I ride to elevate myself, yet I am always relegated instead....relagated to somone whose life is worth taking chances with. Apparently many drivers feel this way about me."

"I don't think drivers like me. That must be why they threaten my life with their bad driving."

"When a driver want to release some aggression, a cyclist is an easy target...soft and defenseless"

"They can kill me with their car, but I can't kill them with my bike."

Here is what I want from a driver:

Please judge me as an individual. I know sometimes that can be difficult, as a rider it is all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking of drivers as jerks just because one out of one hundred really is. I'm sure the same applies when behind the wheel. When it looks like there is plenty of room for me to the right, it is just that, it looks that way from a car, going a bit slower I get to see glass and road hazards. The last thing I want to do is hit a pothole and go down in front of you. In places where I have to take the lane I do. I get back out of the way as soon as I can. I do not want you on my tail any more than you want to get stuck behind me. Actually I want it even less than you do. You lose a little time. If I fall just when you sneeze I am in real trouble. Please remember that what would be just a fender bender with another car can be a serious accident with a bike.

Oh and for the people who are trying to be nice and not crowd me in a left turn lane, that is the one time I do want you on my tail. Far too often my bike is not enough to trip the light sensor and I really don't want both of us waiting forever for the light to change.

I've gotten a couple of questions about safety I'd like to address. We'll call it Zen and the art of riding in traffic. First off, if you allow yourself to feel intimidated by the concept, then you won't enjoy the experience, and that's a guarantee! The following are a few guidelines I use. I was a truck driver for many years and a safety instructor for the last 10 years of my career in the trucking industry and used a variation of these guidelines such as situational awareness for a 23 year accident free driving career as well as cycling. Safety is your responsibility as well as the other road users, so use these in good health! Cycling has fantastic health benefits. Don't offset them by injury. As I've said before, I would lose weight without it due to my surgery, but nowhere near as much and I wouldn't have the strength and endurance I now have.

Situational Awareness

The first concept I'd like to introduce you to is situational awareness. Be aware of the traffic patterns around you as much as the individual vehicles and keep an eye open to available escape routes. Ride to the right and follow the traffic laws. Don't run stop signs or lights. If you hit one of those traffic lights triggered by a sensor, and you and your bike won't trigger it, take a look and see if there is a pedestrian button at the crosswalk. If there is, feel free to use it and if necessary, walk the bike across the intersection. I know this is more easily said than done if you are wearing cleated road shoes, but if you are a Roadie, and riding with clipless pedals and cleated shoes, then this article isn't really aimed at you anyway. It's aimed at the beginner rider just introducing themselves to traffic riding and haven't developed the skill set required for safe traffic riding.

Be Predictable and Wear a Helmet

Ride WITH the traffic and be predictable. If the other drivers can't reasonably predict your actions, then YOU are at risk. A 3000 pound steel cage (read car!) can stand up to impact far better than your unprotected body can.

Wear a helmet and bright colors. The helmet won't make you bulletproof, but it will help protect your one and only head from injury when you crash. Don't kid yourself, statistically a crash is inevitable. They happen! I've seen what one of my helmets looked like after hitting the road and my friends, I was glad it was my helmet and not my unprotected skull! If your helmet has been used for it's purpose, replace it! A bike helmet is really only good for one crash. The bright colors make you more visible, by the way, and the more visible you are, the less likely you are to be hit.

Don't pass a line of cars at the light on the right at a light. This makes you have a much greater likelihood of being “right hooked”. This is where a motorist is making a right turn, right over you! This happens because you are in a blind spot for them. This situation can be avoided. Be aware of upcoming entrances to parking lots as well, as this is another favorite location for being “right hooked”. The motorist loses sight of you and assumes you are clear and turns and BANG! You hit the side of their car! They didn't intend to “right hook” you, but it happened. Be aware and you can avoid this as well as the driver who misjudges your speed and pulls out in front of you. (Hint to drivers, if the rider is on a road bike and wearing a Jersey and Spandex shorts, he's probably riding faster than you think he is, maybe in excess of 25 mph! This is an example of the Greyhounds of the cycling world, a Roadie!)

Keep to a line, don't wobble. As I said before, being predictable is one of the keys to safety. Lights: Use lights to increase your visibility. A Blinking LED light on the back, headlight and perhaps an LED Head strap light will do wonders and with LED lights, the batteries can last 100 hrs or so. There are also strap on blinkies you can get for your legs and reflective straps for the arms. These are all cheap insurance. One point, a blinking light can be seen from farther away than a steady light!

Approaching a Cyclist From Behind

When you approach the cyclist from behind, try to remember he or she is on an unprotected vehicle balancing on 2 wheels and what to you doesn't seem to be that close of a pass, to the cyclist is a scary experience! The turbulence your car or van or UPS truck generates can cause the cyclist to lose control and crash. Try to allow a minimum of 4 feet for safety and remember, a bike is a vehicle under federal law with equal access to roads except for limited access highways (except when there is no alternative route in some cases in states like California and others in the Western half of the country). Cyclists, if we want to keep this status, we need to respect the laws of the road as well. Motorized and human powered traffic can share the roads safely, but we need to respect each other!

What's NOT Funny

One final note. It isn't humorous to blare the horn or scream out the car window at a cyclist as you pass in your car, nor is it funny to throw things at us. I don't understand the apparent resentment from a certain portion of the driving population toward us, perhaps they are just angry and we make a convenient target? I guess certain people are just jealous of the perceived freedom as they are crawling along, stressed out by the other drivers around them! Ride safely and have fun! Keep pedaling.

Remember to go and vote here!

Today I rode out to Thorntown, Indiana. The ride was more or less uneventful. Trip distance was 29 miles, less one mile I had The Mrs shuttle me over a gravel section of the road. Towns I passed through were Stockwell, Indiana, and Bower, Indiana. Stockwell is a tiny little town, which used to be a railroad town, founded in 1859. Bower, though, is just a little collection of houses in Montgomery County on CR 800. The point of note there is a church that's in ruins. Shame to see it abandoned like that! Another site was the "Colored Cemetary out by Thorntown. A reminder of segregated times. It's an interesting memorial, and it predates the Civil War, founded in 1836.

Indiana countryside is beautiful this time of year, by the way. The corn is up and the old saying goes “Knee high by the Fourth of July”. Well, it's waist high. The corn is doing great! I have some pictures from the ride to show you Indiana and what it looks like. Today was a fantastic day!