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Critical Mass

10.02.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

I’m not a very political kind of guy. I tend to live and let live. I do think that bikes should get more deference from politicos, though, and I’d like to see local cities and towns take measures to make biking a more realistic transportation alternative for most people.

For most people, that would mean making the streets safer for bikers. Let’s face it, most folks haven’t taken classes in biking, like the Road I class offered by the League of American Bicyclists. I had the good fortune to take both the classroom and road parts of Road I last spring, and it did me some good.

One group of cyclists is trying to be more in-your-face about using the road. It’s Critical Mass, which has popped up in major cities around the country. And now, it’s even in not-so-large cities. San Marcos, Texas, where I work, has about 40-thousand residents, but because the university is a good-sized one, it now has its own Critical Mass ride. I got caught behind it on my way out of town this evening.

This cell phone shot doesn’t do justice to the size of the group. I estimate there were about 50. If you look closely, you can see that some have already made the right turn at the light.

The cyclists decided to take the main road leading from campus to the Interstate highway. They took up the entire right lane, which forced traffic to use the left lane. At 5:15 p.m., that can really back up the cars, and we waited longer than usual to get out to the Interstate.

In their favor, I must admit that they impressed me. There was none of the raucous conduct we’ve read about on other Critical Mass rides. These folks did a good job of keeping to their lane. They filled it from edge to edge, and with about 50 riders in the group, they were not a compact mass. However, by the time they reached their turn point, they had spread out, and were not as bunched in the lane as they had been. They seemed to be mostly university students. Although some older road bikes were present, I did not see one pair of padded shorts or a polyester cycling jersey. Clothing was rock concert casual.

Some motorists are always going to be upset by the presence of bikes, and some this evening were impatient to get past the riders. I’ll bet we’ll read something about it in the local paper over the next couple of days. But if nothing else, it showed the city that bikers are among ’em, and must be taken seriously.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Critical Mass, Safety

Riding in traffic vs. bike lanes

08.21.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

The whole riding on the sidewalk issue brings up a parallel line of discussion: Bike lanes or not?  Those who think cyclists must be treated as equals with motor vehicles maintain that bike lanes set up a divide between bikes and cars.  They think bicycles should ride in traffic, obey the rules of the road, and be given the same courtesies as motorists.

Those for bike lanes argue that bikes and cars are not the same, because of the difference in mass.  Many are probably less skilled riders.  In their view, bike lanes are common sense solutions to a potential hazard.

As seen in the previous post, I would have preferred to have a bike lane available, and did not opt to take what I thought was a risk of riding in traffic.

One problem with the bike lane or not issue seems to be the way urban planners and developers design new residential and commercial areas.  The north-south thorofare in my area has a bike lane for its entire length.  The speed limit for cars is 40 mph, on a four-lane divided road.  The main east-west road, the previously mentioned Slaughter Lane, has a bike lane for more than half the distance it travels across the city, but none in the last five miles or so on the west end.  Why?

The problem is compounded by a lack of east-west arteries in town.  Because so many suburban streets are built on curvy paths, there is often no parallel, less-traveled alternative to take.  For instance, for me to take an alternative route to Slaughter, I would have had to go a mile farther north, not just a block or two.

So I guess I’m all for bike lanes.  As bikes become a more common mode of transport, people will have to demand of their city officials more accommodation for bikes.

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Categories // Safety Tags // bike lanes, Safety

Riding on the sidewalk

08.19.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 11 Comments

I rode on the sidewalk the other day.

I know, it’s terrible. Real bikers just don’t do that. You might run the risk of being hit by a driver who isn’t expecting to see a biker on a sidewalk. Bikes have the same rights and responsibilities on the road as motorists. Take the lane.

All of which I agree with, except for one case: Slaughter Lane in southwest Austin. I’ve ridden on Slaughter in the past, as part of a club ride where we form a “bus” and are treated as such by the cars on the road. But Slaughter is a different animal for a solitary biker. It is a four-lane, divided road with no shoulders. The speed limit is 45 mph, but most drivers do at least 50. It just feels dangerous.

Slaughter Lane. Picture taken on a Sunday morning when traffic was relatively light.

So, the other day when I was on the last leg of our club ride to Kyle, I had a decision to make: Do I ride on Slaughter by myself, or do I take the sidewalk for the last mile and a half?

I thought back to the Road I course I took in April. The instructors told us that if we were uncomfortable doing something out on the road, don’t do it.

So I took the sidewalk. I make no apologies.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Safety, sidewalk

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