Eric Chu

>>What the heck can we do as
responsible (as responsible as possible) cyclists?<<

As great as the discussion is amongst us as recreational or competitive cyclists, it's kind of like preaching to the choir, even though we can definitely improve our end of the deal.

I think all of us can use negative incidents in the news as an opportunity to talk with co-workers, folks in church, neighbors, friends, whether they drive or bike, anyone we encounter on a daily basis and say, "hey...did you hear about this? what do you think? what do you normally do when you approach an intersection, etc..." A friendly dialog should be our goal. I think there are a lot of folks who just don't know the law or basic safety prinicples.

we really need to reach out to those outside our immediate cycling community and let people know we are as concerned or more concerned about the problem. Maybe put on some baggy shorts and a t-shirt instead of the lycra and ride around town and roll-up to those other cyclists that are all over the place and say, hey buddy, you know what....I want' you to live, so here's the deal in case you didn't know...

I know my first instinct about the negative perception is to try and differentiate the sporting community from the
average joe or jane communter or can collector....it's just a defenisve response.

But we need to do the opposite and include those people in the community and reach out to them and help educate them. Let's face it, we almost never differentiate between good drivers and bad drivers...they're/we're just drivers and we lump them all together, usually. And with cyclists, as a practical matter, the public is not going to differentiate between responsible cyclists and those who are off the program, no matter how hard we try to identify ourselves as the responsible ones.

So, in short, I think there's a lot we can do to affect public perception on a person-to-person level. Amongst ourselves, we should have a no tolerance attitude for those who should know better and do otherewise, particularly on organized rides.

thanks,
eric

Subject: Re: Koin cyclist Poll
Date: 07/11/2008 07:25 AM
From: hrdtduck

I'd have to agree D to a F....It really irks me that I see sooooo many
cyclist just flout the rules of the road...especially traffic lights and
stop signs....you'd think we, (and I say we because we all have some
responsibility to bear here) would recognize the damage we do to our image
and to our demand to safe & respectful treatment from all other road users.
(I.E. the Automorons)....
Down here in the Soviet Socialists Republic of Eugene...the biggest problem
is the "non-cyclist"...cyclist.....you all know who I am talking
about...riding on the sidewalk, off the sidewalk, wrong side of the road,
disobeying all traffic rules, clunker bikes, pulling garbage trailers full
of cans & trash, there seems to be a disproportionate number of these
"cyclists" and they are all too visible on the most commonly used roads in
town.
Yesterday within 5 minutes on 2 different residential street 4 way stop
intersections, I could have legally run over cyclists who just blew off the
stop sign....one after I had stopped and was entering the
intersection!...She looked right at me and rode into the intersection, no
attempt to stop at all. Unbelievable....What the heck can we do as
responsible (as responsible as possible) cyclists??