Veloski Tours
Bonjour dans Bourg d'Oisans, France (aka Alpe d'Huez)....
Fascinating reading about one officer's ability to mess with your riding
enjoyment on the "rural roads" of central Oregon. Also sad to be
reminded of the intolerance of the motoring public in Oregon as compared
to France. Bourg d'Oisans is perhaps the mostly highly utilized
cyclists haven in Western Europe due to the proximity (most within 40km)
to the following famous and not-so-famous climbs: col du Ornon, Col de
le Croix de Fer, Col du Glandon, Col du Galibier, Col du Lauteret, Col
d'Izoard, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Mollard, Alpe d'Huez, Les2Alpes, Col
de la Morte and Col du Sarenne. Everyone of these climbs is a
"two-lane" width of pavement that daily carries cars, trucks, buses,
motorcyclists, farm equipment and cyclists. Many sections of the roads
are so narrow that they do not have a "center-line", yet they carry all
manner of traffic daily.
It is important to note that these are not American designed "two-lane"
roads, they are retrofitted European wagon roads without shoulders
carved into the rock hills that are often narrower than a single lane of
pavement in Deschuettes county. And the amazing thing is that everyone
seems to get along just fine without incident every day. Last week
there were 1600 Dutch cyclists in town for a fund raiser, so there were
groups of 2, 4, 6, 10, 20 riding on the roads in the area. And they
were riding in typical Euro fashion; 2-by-2, side-by-side on these tiny
mountain roads.
Why does this happen? Because in this part of France cycling is huge
tourist income for the communities that host stages of the Tour
d'France, la Dauphine, Tour d'Avenir, la Marmotte, Etape du Tour and the
thousands of cyclists that come just to ride the famous roads of the
legends. Also, because cycling is the national pastime and there is a
general respect for all users of all roadways. Maybe you can call it
vehicle chivalry, but there is a certain attitude of the bigger vehicle
watching out for the smaller vehicle that permeates the culture.
Proactive things that are employed and which may be of benefit in Oregon
include the following: signs reminding motorists to leave at least 1.5
m of space when passing, bike lanes in the more congested areas that are
painted a different color; traffic lanes painted deliberately narrower
to induce a sense of confined space as a way to slow traffic speeds
(open space implies freedom to drive faster); well marked cycling route
alternatives to busier sections of roadways near the bigger cities
(Bend and Redmond sized or larger) .
In the end, the Euro culture promotes an acceptance of all users of the
roads. The freedom to drive a car is restricted to only those who have
demonstrated competence after long hours of driving school classes;
usually cost several thousand Euro to complete. Young people are not
allowed to drive until after 18 years of age, while 14 year olds can
ride 50cc or smaller scooters. Consequently, everyone knows from
personal experience the challenges of other roadway users. You know,
"to really understand another's point of view, you must walk a mile in
their shoes".
I came to Europe for the first time in 1996 and I was immediately
"hooked" on life as a cyclist here. Now I am in Europe 5 months each
year guiding bike tours where drivers are courteous and cyclists respect
the rules of the road too. Oh, the food is pretty good too.
Keep riding and smiling,
Larry Smith
VeloSki Sports
tours@veloski.com
btw...it sounds like at least one of the vehicles involved in the
"accident" was driving too close to the other vehicle or not looking
ahead far enough to anticipate probable outcomes for the actions of
other users on the roadway.