Archive for August 11, 2008

The nail that stands out

August 11, 2008 / / 4 comments

I used to work with this one guy, a third-generation Japanese American.

Nice guy. And one day when we were talking, he mentioned a traditional Japanese expression that says it’s the nail that stands out that gets pounded down.

I’ve often thought about that saying, because it so often seems to be true, even in a this country like this that supposedly prizes individuality. It’s the exceptions, the ones who stand out from all the rest, who often draw the harshest response, whether you’re talking about the campus geek in junior high, the neighborhood eccentric or leaders like Dr. King or Bobby Kennedy.

You can even see it now, when a politician can be criticized, not for his policies, but for his eloquence and ability to inspire others.

And then there’s the other side of that same coin, where someone tries to demonize some group, in order to justify their own negatives attitudes.

Like cyclists, for instance.

Because some people look at those exceptions — such as cyclists who regularly ignore the law and flaunt both safety and common sense — and somehow assume that all riders are like that. And decide that since that one nail is loose, we all need to be pounded down.

It’s not true, of course. Any more than it’s true that all (insert racist, sexist, ethnic and/or religious slur of your choice here) are alike.

It’s also demonstrably false. Just stand next to a busy street intersection along any popular bike route. You won’t have to watch very long to see that many, if not most of us, stop for red lights and try to stay out of the way of the way of traffic as much as possible.

But these people only seem to see the ones who don’t stop, or take a lane for reasons they can’t, or perhaps don’t want to, comprehend. So they automatically reach for their hammers to pound down every nail, rather than the few that stand out.

Take this recent letter from Graham A. Rowe in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, for instance, in response to their earlier article about the cycling the mean streets of L.A. (I also notice they didn’t print Will Campbell’s response to the article.):

“Bicycle riders believe that they should enjoy all the benefits of both car drivers and pedestrians. They choose to ride both with and against traffic. They obey no traffic signs, never stop at red lights or stop signs. At a red light they decide to become a pedestrian and simply ride across the crossing. They ride on the sidewalk at danger to pedestrians. Bicycles should be required to have a fee-paid license plate and be ticketed for infractions. Maybe then they would be more careful and get more respect.”

Yes, that’s exactly what we all believe, posts like this from Gary Rides Bikes and yours truly notwithstanding. Never mind that most cyclists don’t do those things, or that riding on the sidewalk is legal in Los Angeles.

You’ll note that he ends by saying that we’ll get more respect when we’re more careful. Despite the fact that drivers are required by law to grant us that respect, just as they would any other vehicle. And despite the fact that the consequences of failing to grant that respect are far greater for us than they are for the driver.

In other words, he’s saying that we’re responsible for the fact that some people refuse to drive safely, and legally, around us. Of course, not everyone who fails to share the road does so out of spite. Some are just unaware of the law, or refuse to believe it when they’re told. And some are just jerks, not unlike some cyclists.

I’ve written about it before, notably here and here, in response to some letters that were recently published in the L.A. Times. And I’m going to keep writing about it.

Because frankly, I’m tired of people trying to pound me down for something I didn’t do.

Great article from the U.K. about whether helmets are fashionable for Parisians and Prime Ministers. It also discusses a Dutch idea that assumes the driver is automatically responsible in any collision between a car and a bike. One lesson experienced cyclists learn is to make eye contact with opposing drivers. Cyclists protest unfair tickets in Santa Monica by crossing the street — repeatedly. The Times’ Bottleneck Blog considers what L.A. could be like with a little more foresight from out elected leaders. And finally, both Seattle and supposedly bike-unfriendly New York test the radical concept of turning a few streets over to cyclists and pedestrians.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers

August 7, 2008 / / Comments Off on We few, we happy few, we band of brothers

When I started riding, cycling was a very small fraternity.

Especially there in the deep South, bikers were very few and far between. Those of us who could ride with any kind of speed, or had the skill and endurance to venture much beyond the city limits were fewer still.

And God help anyone brave enough to don spandex in those days.

As a result, we all got to know each other, by sight, if not by name. If you happened to pass another rider, you said hi, and maybe fell in together for a few miles if you were going the same way. Or at the very least, gave a nod or a wave as you passed by.

If there was another rider waiting next to you at a red light, it was the start of a conversation, and often, a friendship. And if a rider crashed or broke down on the side of the road, you stopped to help. There was a real sense that we were members of a very small and exclusive club, and there were no strangers rolling on two wheels.

Like most fraternities in those days, though, it was virtually all white, and all male.

In fact, I clearly remember where I was the first time I encountered a woman riding in real cycling spandex. I fell instantly in love. And judging by her annoyed reaction when I said hi, I don’t think I was the first one.

But those days are long gone.

In some ways, it’s changed for the better. Now there are many more riders, of every sort, sex, color and ethnicity. And instead of encountering just one or two other riders in a single day, now you can find more than that gathered at a single stoplight.

Unless they decide to run it, of course.

At the same time, though, something valuable has been lost. That sense of brotherhood, of sharing a bond with a rider I’ve never met before, for no other reason than because we ride, is long gone. These days, most cyclists share a red light without ever saying a word, and ride off their separate ways.

Still, I’ll nod when I see another rider who looks like he — or she — knows what they’re doing. Or acknowledge them with that little finger wave that you give without moving your hands off the handlebars. But getting one back?

That’s as rare as woman in riding spandex used to be.

 

Gary Rides Bikes, and offers a must read about peaceful coexistence on the road. Seriously, send the link to every cyclist and driver you know. On the same subject, Bike Girl attempts to educate a driver on the rights of turning left. Will Campbell declares victory over a vanquished bottom bracket. Science Daily and the L.A. Times both report on a study that suggests cutting of your nose to save your penis. And yes, you did read that right. A local advocacy group is offering free bikes to anyone attending Obama’s Democratic coronation in Denver. As if cell phone cyclists weren’t bad enough, now we have to worry about two-wheeled texters. And north of the border, they’re encouraging riders to follow the rules, and wear their helmets.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Way too close for comfort

August 7, 2008 / / 2 comments

I’d like to give a big shout out to the driver of the #4 Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, who ran me off the road about an hour ago.

You were exiting the VA grounds around 12:50 pm, waiting at the light to cross Ohio. There was several feet of clearance on your right, so I was riding past you to make my way up to the intersection, where I would be more visible — and thus safer — than being hidden behind a bus waiting for the light to change.

But then the light changed as I was still beside you, and instead of going forward, you suddenly lurched to the right with no warning — without signaling and for no apparent reason — forcing me to grab ahold of the fence to my right and pull myself up out of your way.

Maybe there was a car partially blocking your path that you were trying to get around. Or maybe there was some other reason for your sudden move to the right. All I know is that if you had bothered to check your right side mirror first — as any driver should do before making a move like that — you would have seen me there.

Instead, you cleared me by less than a few feet before straightening out and driving off. Leaving me clinging to the fence for dear life, with a bicycle dangling between my legs.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Learning to ride safely. Or not.

August 7, 2008 / / 3 comments

Great post on the Gary Rides Bikes blog yesterday.

He wrote about repeatedly passing the same rider on a recent ride, since he was the faster rider but stopped for red lights, while she went through them but rode slower. So they kept leapfrogging one another.

It served as an example of the problem with so many riders who blatantly disregard the law — as well any semblance of common sense —  in an apparent rush to get where they’re going. And it struck a cord with me, because I’d been thinking much the same thing while I was riding today.

The problem, in a nutshell, is that so many riders learn to ride, and often, ride fast, without ever learning how to ride well.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a stickler for obeying the letter of the law. I think the highest obligation of cyclists is to ride safely — that is, without posing an unnecessary risk to themselves or the people around them. Sometimes that means observing the law, and sometimes that means breaking it. But for a damn good reason.

I got my first real road bike when I was living in Louisiana, and I quickly learned to ride fast and far, dodging pickup driving Cajuns along backcountry bayous. I continued to use the same skills when I moved back to Colorado, and found myself riding rural farm roads and high mountain passes.

But I didn’t become a good rider until I started riding at Denver’s Washington Park.

In those days, Wash Park was the center of the local biking community, and a mecca for cyclists all over the country. Riding there often meant riding with cycling royalty, like Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney, and there were often rumors that Alexi Grewal or Greg LeMond might be somewhere in the vast crowd of riders, though I never saw them myself.

The big draw was a roadway that encircled the park, and was closed to car traffic Monday through Friday, providing a safe, traffic and red light free loop a couple miles long. Riders would start arriving in mid-afternoon; by 5 p.m., there were usually hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of riders circling in the same direction. Gradually, a peloton would form, as the slower riders dropped to the right, and the better riders grouped together and gained speed.

Anyone was welcome to join in, as long as you could keep up — and ride safely. Make a mistake, though, and you’d hear about from the other riders. Do it again, and you could expect a warning bump from a passing rider. Third offense meant a shoulder or hip check designed to knock you off your bike and on your ass.

The same rules held true on weekend group rides. If you wanted to do something stupid and risk you own life, go right ahead. There’d be no shortage of pall bearers at your funeral. But do something that endangered bystanders, risked the safety of the group or brought undue attention from law enforcement, and you could expect to pay the price.

It was a brutal way to learn. But I learned to ride safely. And I learned fast.

That sort of thing just doesn’t happen today. As many people have noted in other forums, there are no training procedures required for cycling, and the kind of education I received wouldn’t survive very long in today’s more litigious society — and probably shouldn’t. And experienced riders, such as myself, have learned the hard way that any attempt to educate another rider these days more likely to be met with a heartfelt “fuck you, asshole” than it is a polite “thank you.”

So new riders are left to learn on their own, for better or worse.

Which too often means they develop the physical skills to ride, without the knowledge that goes with it. They learn how to ride, and in many cases, to ride fast and far, just like I did. But they don’t have a clue how to ride safely.

Or courteously.

Especially in crowded, fast-paced and high-traffic city like Los Angeles.

 

Apparently, the conflict between drivers and cyclists isn’t limited by the Atlantic. A columnist in Colorado assures a driver that traffic laws apply to teenage cyclists, as well… but walking bikes across an intersection? Get real. Boston riders reveal it’s possible to look good on a bike, without resorting to spandex. And an Ohio man goes to jail for trashing his car after running down a cyclist on the sidewalk.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Cyclist heaven or biker hell? Or something in between?

August 6, 2008 / / 3 comments

Let’s talk about my most recent ride for a moment.

At one point, I was riding in a bike lane along a relatively quiet street, when a driver made a left turn from a side street onto the street I was riding on. Only problem was, her car was pointed directly at me, and crossed into the plane of the bike lane before she straightened out and moved back into the right lane. I made a quick swing to the right to avoid her, then moved back into the bike lane once she moved out.

Then, as I rode along side her, she kept looking to her left as if searching for an address. And as she did, kept drifting further and further to the right — towards me — until I finally got her attention by yelling a warning. Throughout it all, I don’t think she ever saw me or knew I was there until I yelled.

Several miles later, a couple of pedestrians stepped off from the curb — directly into my path — without ever looking in my direction. Again, I yelled a warning, and made a panic stop just feet in front of them.

Later still, I was riding in an area heavily traveled by cyclists, when a rider ahead of me made a long, looping turn to his left, circling back to something he’d passed on his right. Problem was, he never looked anywhere but where his front wheel was pointed. And he was on a path that would soon collide with mine. So again, I yelled a warning, he finally saw me, and we both went safely on our way.

That may seem like a lot of close calls, but I suppose three minor incidents over the course of a 43 mile ride isn’t that bad in a city like this.

But the more interesting thing is, the problem wasn’t just with drivers. It was with a motorist, pedestrians and another cyclist. And it had nothing to do with road rage, aggressiveness, rudeness or any refusal to share the road.

It was just plain, old-fashioned carelessness.

I bring this up because Will Campbell — yet another member of the Bike Writers Collective — recently took the Wall Street Journal to task for last Friday’s article about the problems and perils of riding in L.A. And he’s right; as a rule, I find riding in Los Angeles a relatively safe and pleasant experience.

As an expert rider — after three decades of riding I certainly put myself in that category — I know where to ride, and where not to. I also know how to ride safely, avoiding the perils that pop up with regularity in any urban environment.

The problem is, most riders aren’t experts. I frequently see cyclists with limited skills plodding along crowded, high speed streets I would be very reluctant to put a wheel on, and I see them attempting moves I would never try. Or advanced moves I can get away with, but that they don’t have the skill to pull off successfully.

And that inevitably leads to collisions, and confrontations with angry motorists.

So the WSJ article was right, as well. With a few notable exceptions, Los Angeles streets were not designed for cycling. And many cyclists and drivers here are painfully unaware of the rights and responsibilities of cyclists, as well as how to safely share the road.

The point is, riding in L.A. can and should be much safer than it is. You shouldn’t need expert riding skills to safely traverse the city on two wheels, or to enjoy a pleasant weekend jaunt to the park and back.

We need to educate both drivers and cyclists alike, and keep pressure on the city to take at least some of the same steps that other cities, like Denver and Portland, took decades ago to make the streets safer for everyone. Including us.

And we need to pay attention out there. Because, as my experience shows, many — if not most — of the problems here are caused by plain old carelessness.

 

A cancer expert says the real danger from cell phones isn’t disease, but using them when you walk, drive or cycle. Well, duh. We got Manny from Boston, now maybe we can adopt their new bike-friendly attitude. A Detroit protest against heavy-handed police turns into a celebration of cycling, while an Ann Arbor writer suggests simple changes that could help us share the road.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

Is this our Howard Beale moment?

August 5, 2008 / / Comments Off on Is this our Howard Beale moment?

Sometimes I think I’m too political. Then there are times when I don’t think I’m political enough.

This is one of those times. Though which one, I’m not quite sure.

You see, I was always one to fight for my right to the road. A driver cuts me off or passes to close and he was going to hear about it, and I was never reluctant to give an unfriendly driver a friendly wave. Except I usually used just one finger. And it usually wasn’t that friendly.

Then one day I gave that one finger wave to the wrong woman, and she tried to shove her car up my ass. And nearly succeeded.

I had a lot of time to think as I recovered from a broken arm, and the 18 months my mangled bike was tied up as evidence in a civil case — which got me a settlement of a whopping $2500, most of which went for attorney fees.

I realized that, justified or not, things like that were counter productive, at best. All my ranting and raving never convinced a single driver that I was right, or they were wrong. Just that I was an obnoxious jerk. So now I try to keep my mouth closed, with hands firmly planted on the handlebars — though sometimes I fail, as this post from last week would suggest.

But now it seems like maybe it’s time to fight. To throw open a metaphorical window, and like the Howard Beale character from the movie Network, scream “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”

Seems like every time I check the news online, I find another article like this one from Winston-Salem, describing the hit-and-run accident suffered by a local bicycling doctor. Another cyclist was killed by hit-and-run in Hawaii, but the prime suspect gets released. Michigan riders fighting for a piece of the road. Or this one from Forth Worth, that says cycling in Texas is more dangerous than it need to be — although chances are, you could change the location to anywhere else in the U.S. and it would be just as appropriate.

And that’s just from this weekend.

Even the more positive pieces, like the recent Times editorial, or  this one from Carson City, Nevada, ask drivers to share the road — and stop harassing riders or running us off the road.

Then there are the recent stories that tell us what we already know, that the police — whether here in L.A., Seattle or across the country — don’t seem to take our safety seriously. And too often, the local press doesn’t dig any deeper than the first page of the police report.

To their credit, L.A.’s finest and the local press come through for us in the wake of the good doctor’s Mandeville Canyon brake test. Whether the D.A.’s office and the court system will do the same remains to be determined.

But what happens next time, when it’s you — or me — writhing on the asphalt?

And yes, there was a lot of talk from local politicians about moving forward with the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights following the good doctor’s arrest. But now we can’t even get the Mayor and the rest of the MTA board to devote a lousy 1% each from their proposed sales tax increase to help keep cyclists and pedestrians alive. And after a brief flurry of coverage of cycling issues, the local press has moved on to more important issues, like whether Lindsey is or isn’t gay.

So I find myself getting fed up with it all, and like Howard Beale, feeling mad as hell and ready to do something about it.

And I wonder if it’s just me, or is this, finally, our moment — the time when we join together and scream at the top of our lungs, we’re not going to take it anymore. When we finally take action as a group to demand the respect of drivers, politicians and law enforcement. To insist on our rights as cyclists and as Americans. And ensure the safety of every rider, here in L.A. and around the country.

Or are we just going to get back on our bikes and let this moment — and our anger — pass forever, like all the other such moments before?

 

Streetsblog covers the exceptional police protection at last Friday’s Critical Mass in Santa Monica. The stupidest bike lane in America has been discovered right here in Westwood (though personally, I’d vote for the bike lanes on the new Santa Monica Blvd. that end without warning in Century City, leaving riders to fight for space on an over crowded, high speed thoroughfare). A student at Humbolt State may or may not have been fatally injured in a traffic accident. As if road rage wasn’t enough to worry about, someone is shooting cyclists on Long Island. Riders in New Jersey share our complaints about crowded and inadequate roadways. Finally, a writer for the Concorde Monitor suggests cyclists and drivers can all get along if we just use a little common sense and think more like fishermen.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, General / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Educating drivers, one at a time

August 4, 2008 / / Comments Off on Educating drivers, one at a time

I was a passenger in a car over the weekend, on the way to meet some friends. We were stopped at a red light, and watched as a cyclist came down the cross street, made a right turn, and continued on the street ahead of us.

He did everything right. He signaled his turn, entered the intersection on the green, and was riding on the right side of the right lane, as close as he could get to the parked cars without undue risk of getting doored. I was admiring the way he was riding legally, safely and courteously; the driver, on the other hand, was furious.

We were just a few minutes late. And the cyclist was in her way.

Now, this was a nice four-lane street, and we were the only car on the entire block. It would have been easy for the driver to swing around the cyclist and go on her way. Instead, she started raging about how he shouldn’t be there. So I pointed out that he was riding legally, exactly where he should be, and had every right to be there.

“I don’t care,” she said. “He doesn’t belong there. I should just run his ass over.”

She didn’t mean it, of course. She was following safely, if angrily. I said, “You know, that could be me next time.”

She didn’t care. She was late. He was in her way. Case closed.

I asked why she didn’t just go around him. She replied, “I can’t, there’s not enough room.” So I told her to just swing out into the next lane, which was completely clear, and would give her plenty of room to pass safely.

She did, and we went on our way, arriving at our destination just 5 minutes after our scheduled time, of which maybe 10 or 15 seconds might have been due to following the cyclist — who never knew he had an angry driver on his wheel.

And I realized just how far we have to go in educating drivers on how to share the road.

 

Last Friday, the good doctor had his first day in court resulting from the Mandeville Canyon Break Check. Both Streetsblog and LAist comment on the hearing, including amazing speed and convenience of his first court appearance, and how it was courteously arranged so he could avoid the press, as well as future hearings. Just wait — he’ll undoubtedly end up pleading to vastly reduced charges and get off with no jail time. (Note to gangsters and other assorted criminals: if you want to get away with a driveby, just use a car instead of a gun. And make sure the victim is wearing spandex.)

In other news, the Wall Street Journal looks at bicycling in Los Angeles, and pretty much misses the point — just like the researcher for Marketplace who wanted to know how the bad economy was affecting my relationship with my bike. Uh, how about the fact that it’s putting more pissed off people behind the wheel for us to dodge? LABC’s president discusses a member’s recent accident, and the lack of effective police action. And finally, a cyclist from the UK comments on Critical Mass, the latest local version of which takes place Tuesday — and check out his other posts for some lovely shots of cycling in the countryside near Cardiff.

 

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , ,
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