May 11 CTA – Another 500,000 bikes
For the past few days I have been driving. Thanks to the #voltKlout perk I received where I get to test drive the Chevy Volt for a few days (review on that coming later) I have been commuting to and from work. While having the car has been a novelty, it has also been a pain in the ass.
Since I started working in Boulder, I have been doing a combination bike/bus commute (about 35 miles, each way) and compared to driving myself, it has been a dream. I get about an hour each morning and evening where I don’t really have to pay attention to anything. The laptop comes out and I write for a bit. Or maybe I dig into a book for a while. Sometimes I’ll just flat pass out. It takes just as long to bike/bus it as it does to drive it. And with the bus, I get to fall asleep!
I guess that’s what turned my attention to the People For Bike’s campaign and their recent accomplishment of getting a half million pledges of people who will show their support to building a stronger bike culture.
A half million is a lot. So is another half million. With the goal of one million voices to speak together towards developing a stronger bike culture, People For Bikes has a ways to go.
This is your weekly call to action: I’m asking you to pledge your name.
Whether you ride a racing bike, a commuter bike, maybe even just a mountain bike. Once a week, once a month, if you’re ever on a bike ever, throw a pledge out there.
If you dont’ bike because you’re terrified of biking with traffic or because there just isn’t enough bike infrastructure in your area, throw in a pledge.
If you’ve ever wanted to see something actually hit a million. Throw in a pledge.
And then get 10 others to pledge.
And so on.
And so on.
This has been your weekly CTA
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An open letter to the Denver cycling community
An open letter to the Denver cycling community,
Well, mostly those who participate in the weekly Denver Cruiser ride.
I realize the publication of this letter might just make me sound like an ol’ fogey, only interested in sucking the fun out of everything and bringing the party down. And if so, let it be. However, my ultimate goal here is to not stop the party. Instead, my goal is to keep anyone from dying at the party. I don’t think that’s too unreasonable of a question to ask. As is the question: are the rules of the road so oppressive they are not worth following?
Lately, it seems I usually end up having to ride my bicycle somewhere on Wednesday nights. Meetings and social engagements and, in the case of this week, the gym. As a result my return from these events usually coincides with some sort of exodus or emigration of the Denver Cruiser Ride. This week it was riding up Walnut among a company of four Cowboys (as this week’s theme was Cowboys and Indians) on rented B-Cycles. From behind, I witnessed the four of them riding side by side, effectively taking up one and a half of the two available traffic lanes along Walnut between Broadway and 35th. As it stands, Walnut isn’t a particularly bike-friendly street. No bicycle lanes are designated and a rider has to hedge their bets against any of the trucks moving in an out of a warehouse. Combine this with the occasional Rockies traffic and the threat of anyone who has ever chosen to drive Walnut at any time of day and you have a potentially lethal situation.
Unless, of course, you are paying attention and courteous to those around you. Then Walnut is about as safe as any other street.
Sadly, these Cowboys were not paying attention. I feel it should also be noted that not a single one of them was wearing a helmet. I suppose it would have gotten in the way of their novelty cowboy hats.
My intention was to pass them. Get ahead of the problem and hope Darwin would take his course. However, as I approached them their paths became more erratic. They sped up, slowed down, cut in front of and around me. The longer I stayed with their pack the bigger danger we were all in. Eventually, I had to stop and pull over. It wasn’t until then I had noticed that a considerable amount of traffic had backed up behind the pack of cowboys. At least thirty cars were slowed to a crawl because the Cowboys had made Walnut impassible.
If this was the first time I witnessed something like this, I wouldn’t bother writing such a lengthy argument. But on more than one occasion I have had to move over and let a gaggle of Cruisers – every one of them insisting they ride side by side, few of them with lights and/or helmets – have the entire road.
Riding in such a manner is, in a word, irresponsible.
There will always be the debate of drivers despising cyclists, and cyclists despising drivers. Where you stand on this debate usually depends entirely on what your mode of transit is at that particular moment. I can say, for sure, that the two parties will continue considering the other a bother until both of them have respect for the rules: both the laws of common sense and what Denver City Code has outlined. As it stands, the municipal code for cyclists in Denver is pretty lax and fines and punishments hardly register as a slap on the wrist. We should be thankful.
I am all for cycling. My bike probably accounts for about 80 percent of my transportation around town. I think the more cyclists we have, the better. It makes for better communities and healthier citizens, as well as reduced traffic and emissions from cars and trucks.
I also like the idea of the Cruiser Ride as a vehicle (pun slightly intended) to support the local business who participate in the event. And who wouldn’t want to unwind mid-week with a few brews among good company? I get it. From the moment we all learned to ride bikes we have enjoyed a particular brand of freedom which was only surpassed by the acquisition of a driver’s license. Once we became old enough to drink and the weather was nice enough to ride most of us would prefer to bike to and from bars because we all believe cops weren’t looking for drunk cyclists.
I get it.
However, when you potentially have hundreds of cyclists riding in the same style as the Cowboys mentioned above – how is this a good thing? I’m willing to bet a majority of the Cruisers only ride their bike once a week for the event. Are the rules of the road discussed beyond the Cruiser website? The website which asks the riders to first have fun, and then follow the rules? The website which essentially states “But the basic reality is we don’t want to, nor are we going to be, your mommy” and essentially renders themselves free of responsibility?
When cars started becoming popular the rules were still pretty lax and not well enforced. Then drivers started hitting things and people and getting into altercations. The roads weren’t safe. Now, there are a bazillion rules to regulate the habits of drivers with the intention of making roads and the act of driving a car safer.
Since a license isn’t required to ride a bicycle, does that mean rules – which were developed out of safety for the most people possible – should be forgotten? If the Denver Cruisers was a Vespa or Motorcycle ride or any other form of transit, would Cowboy-esque riding still be tolerated?
Denver is working diligently to become one of the most bike- friendly cities in the country. New lanes and sharrows are going in all over the place. Buffered lanes are happening. Do you know what this means? Denver is actually concerned for the safety of the cyclist, they want more people to cycle. So why are so many of us riding as if we could care less?
How many Cowboys need to ride like idiots before Denver driver’s are pissed off enough to do something like this?:
I’m not saying the Denver Cruiser event organizers need to take responsibility for every one of their riders. I know I sure wouldn’t want to look after the Cowboys, so why should they? Responsibility begins at home; be the change you wish to see in the world. I ask every Cruiser and Cyclist – pro, amateur, casual, commuter or otherwise – to always set the best examples for what it is to cycle in Denver. We are no longer 10, there is no need to show off your sweet bike moves for the girls anymore. Now is the time to see cycling as a real and practical transportation solution; a lifestyle solution.
Fun? Sure, keep it fun. Wear the costumes and decorate your ride. Have a few drinks and embrace your community. However, I ask that we all be respectful of how we ride, no matter where we are going or how often we move. For some of us, cycling is not just means to go from bar to bar, but a way of living that we are constantly looking for civic leaders to support. When there are too many complaints from taxpayers who don’t cycle about those who do, these leaders are less interested in providing funding and support for increasing bike programs. Please, respect what we have built so it can continue to grow.
Best,
DTP
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