bikes are not the solution…

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Dave Feucht

…to all our traffic issues.

This was illustrated to me rather clearly by a particular cyclist this morning whom I passed twice (giving her several feet of space both times) coming out of stoplights, because she couldn’t get her clip-less pedals to clip. That wasn’t the problem. What was the problem, is that then both times she sped past me, literally screaming “ON YOUR LEFT” at me, as if I’d somehow horribly offended her. The second time, she kindly added (as if gesturing with a certain finger), “I’ve been riding for 15 years! What the hell is wrong with you?!?!”

Clearly, people are people, no matter what form of transportation they use. While riding a bicycle may help to encourage a different attitude, it really is up to the person operating a vehicle, whichever vehicle it is, to be a helpful member of traffic.

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  • Trina

    obviously 15 years of riding has not helped her riding skill, attitude, or ability to realize there are more people riding bikes than her alone.

  • Anonymous

    She didn’t say what she had been riding for these fifteen years, did she? Val

  • Adrienne Johnson

    Imagine what she would be like without the release of riding : )

  • Zweiradler

    Why did she ask “What’s wrong with you”? Did you ride too far left in her opinion? Or didn’t she want you to be faster than her?

  • portlandize.com

    @Trina: apparently she learns slowly :)

    @Val: I’d guess something rather painful :)

    @Adrienne: That’s a frightening prospect.

    @Zweiradler: I have no idea, I wasn’t riding any differently than I do around other cyclists all the time. I think she was just looking for someone to yell at.

  • Andrew

    > passed twice…coming out of
    > stoplights, because she couldn't
    > get her clip-less pedals to clip.
    –
    This is like driving a car that stalls out at every stop — it's a safety hazard, and it gets everyone stressed out. Everyone needs to move as expected when the light turns green. A rider who can't clip in fast enough to go with the traffic should stick with flat pedals, esp. in an urban commuting situation.

  • brett

    I was gliding down the south park blocks on my Oma the other day when a coupla speedsters passed me. Yes, they were wearing the whole spandex thing, and I was in my bike uniform of jeans, normal shoes, sweater. Of course, we all had to stop at the (too) many stop signs as we headed north through downtown to the other end of the north blocks. Each time, they had to awkwardly re-clip, wobbling while I touched my foot down enough to briefly stop, passed them at my steady pace, then they passed me, repeat six or seven times, tortoise & hare fashion. Of course, we weren't racing or anything, just casually cruising, but my ride sure looked a lot smoother and more comfortable, and it reminded me again how much better suited Dutch/city bikes are to much urban cycling.

  • portlandize.com

    I think what I’ve realized in riding around town a lot, is the importance of average speed. A cyclist or a car that speeds up to 25-30mph between stop signals/signs doesn’t really travel at that much higher average speed than me going 10-15mph in-between stop signals/signs, unless they just happen to catch the signals at the perfect times, or they don’t stop at stop signs.

    And yeah, city bikes are definitely much better suited for your typical urban trips.