There seems to be a lot of hostility in bike blogs these days. Everyone has an opinion about wearing helmets (or not), vehicular cycling (or not), bike trails (or not), and so much more. Having an opinion is a great thing; forcing it down others’ throats with vitriol is not.

I just have 2 things to say about all this. First, cycling is not an individual act; it is inherently social, simply by the fact that other people are using the trails/roads/sidewalks. I am both a driver and a cyclist. When a cyclist is biking erratically or is not visible in the dark, it affects me as a driver, by increasing my stress level as I am driving and trying to be safe. Further, if I were to hit that cyclist, it’s not just the cyclist who would be affected. I would be emotionally devastated. Our health care system would take another hit. My loved ones as well as the cyclist’s would be impacted. Insurance costs would go up. So, yes, individuals have the freedom to make choices about how they want to bike. But that freedom does not exist in a vacuum.

Second, could we be a little nicer to each other and to those with whom we share the transportation infrastructure? There’s a great post at EcoVelo to this point.

Read the comments too, where you’ll find, among others, this gem from the post’s author:

“The idea that acting courteously as opposed to confrontationally is somehow going to put us on a slippery slope leading to “laws demanding that all cyclists get out of their way” is a fallacy that has been used all too frequently to justify rude, aggressive riding tactics. What’s going to get us kicked off the roads is disregarding traffic laws, riding irresponsibly, and treating other road users as if we bicyclists operate under our own set of rules (see it too often). You are right, the car is “almighty”, but fighting its supremacy with a head-on frontal assault is not the answer in my opinion. I believe we need to build good will with the general public and politicians to gain the political capital necessary to instigate the infrastructure and policy changes that would make our roads (and trails) more attractive to new bicyclists, thus growing bicycling to the extent we’re all hoping for. In my opinion, the “us versus them” mentality is counterproductive to this goal and has gotten us nowhere in the U.S.”

This image of a helmeted girl with face-trauma makes me sad. This billboard is near my house so I have to ride past her every day, and I’m getting really sick of seeing it.

One of the sign’s sponsors, Injury Free Coalition for Kids, has some interesting statistics on their site:

Head injuries incurred while riding a bike result in two-thirds of hospital admissions and more than 60 percent of the bicycling deaths.

If two-thirds of hospital admissions were actually from bicycle head injuries, I’d stop riding a bike!

I was also reading this sad story about Bradford Berk, head of the URMC, who sustained a serious spinal cord injury after losing control of his bicycle. This news report transcript doesn’t mention why he lost control, or talk about how to prevent spinal cord injury. It does, however, launch into a bizarre helmet advocacy piece. Two paragraphs about the accident, and then 5 about why helmets are so important.

If I had 5 paragraphs worth of space (or that much time on TV), I’d include a whole bunch of useful tips on top of the helmet tip, such as: ride in the road in the direction of traffic; take it slow on bike paths; use a bell or horn, lights, and a mirror; and give yourself some space on either side to avoid running into things or off the road. We don’t know if that kind of advice could have helped Mr. Berk, since there is very little reporting on the actual accident, but the media should really clear up all the bicycle safety misconceptions.

By the way, The Bagel Bin in Brighton has set up a wishing well to support Mr. Berk and his family. Ride safe out there folks — no matter what you put on your head.

A 10 year old boy was riding his bike without a helmet in my neighborhood. He ran a red light and hit a car. And died. Please stop running red lights. Please, please please.

Information about our aptly timed Ride of Silence is here.

I scanned this from the Spring 2009 magazine Geico sends it’s members.

Many thanks to Bob for getting us an exclusive showing of Veer.

Veer is a documentary about the Portland, Oregon, bike scene. It is large and multifaceted. They follow a couple of groups around, from the DIY bike repair shops, to the lobbyists, to the synchronized mini-bike dancers, to the bike chariot racers. There’s a lot, so it’s worth seeing, whether you ride your bike or not.

I think people in Oregon are perhaps too interested in riding mini-bikes (kids bikes) and tall bikes. But at least they’re having fun. And that’s what I think is important. The majority of this documentary is about people having fun on bikes and changing what riding a bike means. They talk about how it’s not just about fitness or transportation anymore.

If Veer is meant to be inspirational and make you think about the bike community in your city, I think it sets the bar unreasonably high. Portland has been building their bicycle community for decades. I didn’t see anyone in that documentary whining about being passed too closely by a car, or crying about a lack of bike lanes. In fact, one guy got a ticket for breaking traffic laws and actually shook the officer’s hand. Cyclists in Portland are responsible riders. In Albany, we’re still struggling to get people (drivers and cyclists alike) to recognize that bikes belong in the streets.

Lately I’ve gotten a smidge more involved in things. At the very least I’ve started writing more helpful articles. Turns out, they are only helpful for starting heated debates. Which is really very disappointing. It makes one think that nobody really wants to change anything, they just want to get upset tell everyone how terribly they’ve been treated.

Gandhi said “be the change you want to see in the world.” I think about this every day. I’ll write an article about riding with traffic, and then I’ll go out and I’ll see somebody riding against traffic, and I hope they see me, riding with traffic, and I hope they get the hint. I’ll write an article about obeying red lights, and not riding like a jackass, and I hope that every time I stop at a red light and be courteous to the other people on the road (and I mean drivers, too), that they see that, and recognize that. I hope that for every drunk-in-the-afternoon college jock who sarcastically calls out “nice bike,” there’s some kid who sees a grown up riding a bike with his lunch in a basket on the back and thinks “that’s cool.” I hope that a driver sees me signaling my intention to turn, or waiting for a green light, or stopping for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and says “whoa, a cyclist who is not a self-righteous punk.”

(To be honest, I always thought this was the point of Critical Manners. That as a group we would teach each other how to ride safely and responsibly, and we would show the rest of the world that not everybody on a bike is a jerk. And maybe we could get some new people to show up once in a while, and if we were nice to them, and made friends with them, maybe they’d stick around and learn something and pass it on.)

I don’t think we all have to go to Capital Hill with bikes and signs and protest. What we all have to do is be nice and ride our bikes. Be nice. Ride your bike. Ring your bell. Wave to other cyclists. Say “hi” to people raking their lawns. Be happy, smile, and enjoy riding your bike.

Apparently there is some confusion. The state law is not to HONK AT pedestrians in a crosswalk, the law says you must YIELD TO pedestrians in a crosswalk.

That said, I would like to thank all the nice people who stopped to let me make a left turn. Your courtesy is a glorious beacon of hope. I know letting me turn in front of you cost you precious seconds, and I want you to know I appreciate your sacrifice. Which is why I waved and smiled.

Nice Day for a Bike Ride
(In 4 parts)

Ride to work
First day in the seat since my whiplash injury.
A few aches, but I’m feeling okay.

Ride home
Three teenage guys are blocking the path.
Two move, but one stays square in the middle and looks me right in the eyes.
I know a challenge when I see one,
and I’m not in the mood for it.
There’s room for me to pass, but barely.
As I pass, I sarcastically say, “thanks for moving.”
Not really smart.
But ignoring men who harass me gets old.
The guy mocks me, “thanks for moving.”
On a good day, I figure I can out-bike someone who’s bikeless.
But my first day in the seat, with an achy back, is not really my best day.
I’m a little concerned they’ll take chase.
I look in my rear view mirror. No sign of them.
I hear “Fuck you!” yelled at my back.
I want to flip them off, but I refrain.

I start to fume, reflecting on every rude act I’ve experienced or heard about over the past few weeks.
I’m pretty sure that the phrase, “Kids these days,” pops in my head.

As I near my home, I see a boy on his bike, meandering along the sidewalk.
He cheerfully yells out, “Hello!”
I say hello, though not so cheerfully.
Undaunted, he says, “Nice day for a bike ride!”
Smiling now, I say, “Yes, it is!”

Ride to yoga class
Feeling stronger now.
I come upon a couple of young boys on their bikes.
One says hello.
The other rides up alongside me.
I say, “are you gonna race me?”
He smiles and starts pedaling.
I shift my gears and start to pull ahead.
He says, “Oh, you’ve got gears, that’s why you’re faster.”
I smile and keep moving.

Ride home
Twilight.
Sounds of the neighborhood as I pass by.

Yep, nice day for a bike ride.

This? Rocks.

This is my new bike. It’s a Trek Allant. I got it from Downtube in Albany. I’ve been riding it to work and loving it. I sit upright, instead of all hunched over. It’s smooth and agile, nimble, unlike my beastly mountain bike. As you can see, it’s got fenders and a rack. I had mixed feelings about the grips. They look weird to me. But they’re really comfortable. They provide a lot of support, and cushion my hands when I hit a pothole. Which I try not to do, but I mean, it’s Albany, right? My only “complaint” with the bike is that if I have to stand up to pedal up some hill, the handle bars are not really angled for that and it’s hard to keep it in a straight line. Fortunately, it’s easier to just downshift and slide up the hill.

Here’s my “vision.” The ABC website puts some useful content up there. Things like “how to ride safely” and “how to keep your bike from being stolen” and “how to buy a new bike.” Then they make up little cards and tags bike, like this.

On the last Critical Mass, I rode a bit with Rohan, who runs the ABC website. He agreed that they really need some content up there and offered to sign me up. I agreed. I haven’t heard anything. But seriously people. You can’t spend all your time and energy bitching at the government because they won’t make you a dedicated bike lane. You have to help people have fun riding their bikes.

This video is worth watching. I appreciate a cyclist admitting he does dangerous things. I also appreciate his calm explanations of why things are dangerous.

It’s because of little moments like this one:

From Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery

Doug Ramsey, who writes very entertainingly about jazz at his site Rifftides, has this to say about getting back on the bike this year.

On a side note, I’ve interviewed Doug on my show, The Jazz Session. You can listen to the show, if you’d like.

Jack did a little bit of rabble rousing on Saturday when he came out against cycling! Check out his post to understand his reasoning. I myself prefer to walk on trails that are not all torn up by mountain bikers, so I understand where Jack is coming from.

Tryon Park is the central front in this war, as it’s one of the more popular parks for mountain bikers, but seems less utilized by foot traffic. I dropped by there last night on a scouting mission.

No obvious signage indicating lesser class status for bikers. 

The drier parts of the park seem to be holding up well, even with the bike use . . . 

. . . but the wetter parts of the park have uneven and torn-up paths. These tracks had pretty much hardened. 

What sort of jerk is tearing up the park with his shoes? Oh, that’s me. 

In the interest of a truce, I suggest letting the mountain bikers try to coexist with the foot traffic at Tryon Park first. Let’s take it slow.

P.S. While I was standing at the entrance to Tryon Park, I got to witness a pole-mounted transformer explode! I waited around until the fire trucks came:
 

Don’t forget, this Thursday in Rochester: Let’s Talk Cycling.

News 8 ran a short interview with Jean Triest and Frank Regan about the event.

I liked what Frank had to say, though he could probably cut his soundbytes down a bit (the reporter had to kind of drag his point out of him).

Also, I’m glad Jean is talking about cycling as someone from the county government. And I know Traffic Safety is her job. So I mean the following criticism with full respect and appreciation.

But I do feel that her helmet lecture was too much. I know she means well. But if helmets prevent 89% of head trauma as Jean says, why not tell motorists to wear helmets? Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of head injuries in America. Head trauma in motor vehicle accidents kills many thousands of people a year, with head injuries occurring in 70% of severe crashes.

If you’re going to tell cyclists to wear helmets, you should probably add that with or without a helmet, safe cycling will raise your life expectancy while safe driving lowers it. And remember: the few studies that we’ve done on this topic show that the “weight of evidence is against the encouragement of cyclists to wear helmets.” I’d like to see more studies on this, and until then, I’ll wear my helmet in most contexts and stop telling other people that they should.

One way we could make Monroe County’s road really safe is to convince everyone to stop driving cars and to ride bikes instead. That may take a few millennia of advocacy (and some serious global warming), but it’s not going to come any quicker if people think that bike riding gets their heads smashed more than car driving does.

Anyway, Jean gets bonus points for saying that bikes have a right to be in the road, for giving some real practical advice on how to ride safely, and for spending time on the county dime covering bike safety issues. I’ll see you all on Thursday.

On Saturday night, Henry Sun was out walking near his house in Brighton, a Rochester suburb, and was struck and killed by a motorist. He was 14.

We had our first thunderstorm of the season that night. The details are vague and contradictory on the various news web sites, but it appears that Henry was walking in the shoulder of the road, was struck at about 8 p.m., he then later passed away at the hospital, and police have not charged the motorist.

The police have stated that there are sidewalks in the area, but news sources have quoted some who say there are no sidewalks (and Google Street View backs up the lack-of-sidewalk claims). A story in the Democrat and Chronicle discusses neighbor complaints about speeding on that stretch of road, which is known as “The Elmwood Expressway.”

Henry’s death moves me more than most deaths I read about. I was riding just south of the neighborhood where Henry was walking that night, on my way to a dinner, where I complained about the walkability issues in that part of town. But I haven’t actually done anything constructive to make the area safer for pedestrians.

The mother of a six-year-old girl who was struck on the same stretch of road in 2007 shares her frustration in the comments of this story:

I went to the town of Brighton and asked them to help slow Elmwood down before someone else was hurt or killed . . . I want to start a petition of all Brighton residents to present to both the town and the county to get the road right with sidewalks on both sides and if needed, speed bumps.

These are good ideas, I fully support them. They help to mitigate a serious problem. I doubt you’ll see the county install speed bumps on a 35 mph road, but you might see them try other traffic-calming strategies. For example: a narrower street, with a reduced shoulder size (or bike lane!) and raised sidewalks with curbs, can help signal to drivers that this is a neighborhood and not a highway. This is a response, but it doesn’t eliminate the problem.

The statistics are a little old, but the late bike advocate Ken Kifer’s site has a long rundown of the various dangers cyclists (and pedestrians) face. Ken notes that in his calculations (based on 1997 data), one out of every 69 people will either be killed by or kill someone else with a motor vehicle. Sadly, Ken was one of those people – he was killed by a drunk driver in 2003.

We know that motor vehicles are the problem here, directly causing over forty thousand deaths each year in the US alone.

The convenience of owning and operating our own cars is no good reason why so many people have to die violent, tragic deaths.

Of course, there’s a lot of work to do.

Want to know how? Head over to Albany Bob’s Liberty on Bikes! site.

The snow has thawed and spring is fast approaching. It’s that time of year when we have to decide between riding over potholes or riding closer to the center of the road than motorists prefer. I’m ready for another season of angry honks and middle fingers in the face!

One of the worst-planned roads in the city has to be Norris Drive, at the base of Cobbs Hill. I wrote a bit about it back in January when it got flooded out. After all that flooding and freezing, it’s no surprise that the road is a wasteland at its edges:

C’mon Obama, stimulate this road back into good shape! 

Luckily, it’s not too hard to avoid the potholes if there’s not a lot of traffic.

Know of any rough streets in your neighborhood?

This? Looks awesome. Via BikeHacks.

I found this essay by Albany cyclist Nathaniel Ward via Ron Silliman’s blog:

In many ways I feel like I didn’t really know the area in which I live until I started riding bikes seriously. Things are both much nearer and much farther than I had imagined them to be, more accessible and less, too. The immediacy of the Self to art, to politics, to society at large, as experience by the pedestrian is what de Certeau is getting at. From the perspective of the cyclist, though, it is different yet again in that the physiological transformation that equates to greater fitness allows spatial relationships between geographic points to become diminished. So my world is larger as a competitive cyclist in that I can ride my bike from Albany, NY to visit my brother in Northampton, MA, for instance–a ride of roughly 85 miles–and at the same time it is smaller. Smaller in the sense that an average day’s training ride has the potential to bridge a social and emotional distance, and larger because what this amounts to is a choice. And choice amounts to social mobility.

Read the rest of the article.