Will,
I do not know if you were at the meeting, but the subject of honking of
horns was addressed.
One of the local homeowners asked, very politely, how a motorist should
alert a cyclist that the car is approaching. She did not imply that the car
would be too close, just that she wanted to let the cyclist know that she
was back there. Several of us suggested that a brief tap on the horn would
be a good solution.
Many cyclists seem to be unaware of cars behind them. Some cyclists listen
to music while they ride and this obscures the sounds coming from behind.
Perhaps there is enough wind noise that the cyclist does not hear; perhaps
the cyclist is lost in thought, or talking to a friend.
I am surprised you are surprised that motorists are inconvenienced by
cyclists. On nearly every group ride I have attended in the last 30 years,
riders have taken at least half of the lane, even when riding two abreast.
I have noticed that many cyclists weave a bit as they ride, or move the bars
in an arc when they stand to climb. That weaving, or the arc when standing
takes much more room than 18 inches. Would you be comfortable if a motorist
passed you 24 inches from the fog line? That is 6 inches more than your
average cyclist.
The example of Cavendish is correct: in a race he can pass lots of riders.
He can also bump riders and cause season ending crashes for them as happened
at the Tour de Suisse in 2010. Hauser and Boonen were out of action for
months after that accident. Do you advocate for cyclists bumping cars or
for cars bumping cyclists? It is very common in bunch sprints for the
riders to bump each other to create room to move forward through 100 guys.
The fact that a cyclist can pass others is not evidence that a car can
safely pass those same cyclists. Have you even ridden Bridge Pedal? A
skilled racer may be able to pass those cyclists, but the riders being
passed may not like the way they were passed. I have had trouble getting
past riders who were taking up far more room than they should by riding side
by side: 12 feet instead of 5 feet. I see this same behavior from many club
riders and some racers.
As several have already said on this list, the goal is to co-exist with the
other road users. As a rider and a driver, I am frequently appalled by the
inattention of drivers and riders, as well as their disregard of the laws
and common courtesy. Yes, drivers should be more patient. So should riders
who roll through stop signs because they do not want to put out the effort
to stop and start.
The cyclists and residents I spoke with after the Skyline meeting thought it
was a good meeting and a good start to finding a solution for co-existence
on the roads. One of the Skyline residents commented that it is not the
first rider or even the first few groups of riders that cause consternation.
Rather, it is the steady stream of riders throughout the day that slow her
commute many times in a single day. She made a good point that many of us
had not considered.
I encourage all of us, as cyclist and as motorists to be attentive to our
surroundings and to be courteous to the other road users.
Robert
Description: image002
Robert Burney, JD
o: 503-608-7813
f: 503-210-1595
c: 503-502-4289
www.IntegrityFinancialpdx.com
Brokerage of Life Insurance, Annuities, Long Term Care and Disability
Insurance.
1820 SW Vermont St., Suite M
Portland, OR 97219
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Catlin, Wil
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 11:26 AM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Lawyer Ride/Skyline
How about this: if a driver needs to alert you with a horn that they're too
close, MAYBE THEY'RE JUST TOO CLOSE!
Our two-person paceline got that little honk from a woman speeding down the
Skyline S curves while talking on the phone yesterday morning, even though
we were exceeding the speed limit by about 5mph ourselves.
Actually, I'm always a bit surprised to hear of drivers being inconvenienced
by cyclists. Bikes are about 18 inches wide. We don't take up much space. A
person can fairly easily pass 100 cyclists strewn out on the road - we watch
Cavendish do it all the time. Hell, you might pass 1,000 in the bridge pedal
if you accidentally slept in.
The real issue is that people are choosing to try to pass bicycles WITH
CARS. Duh! If folks elect to move around in two ton metal/composite
appendages that are roughly the size of third-world duplexes, then yeah - it
might get dicey trying to maneuver out there. Go figure. But don't blame it
on the bikes. And if the cumbersome nature of those vehicles mean that
drivers are stuck moving at, gasp, 18 miles per hour for while, at least
they can enjoy climate control, lumbar cushions, and the ranting, anti-bike
radio personality of their choice.
In truth (but with medical exceptions), drivers are inconvenienced by their
own insistence on the convenience of driving. I'm continually shaken up by
the sheer number of people with perfectly functioning cardio-respiratory
systems and intact limbs who elect to move around in cars. It's rather
mind-blowing. And if we're ever going to get them out of those cars, driving
had better get a whole lot LESS convenient. Folks need to reach for their
keys in the morning and say, shyyiiit - is it really worth the hassle of
queuing up in the few dedicated personal vehicle lanes while everyone else
is flying by on bikes and in busses?
Of course, then they'll just elect to hop on their Trek 'Morning Tadassana
Commuter Townies' and we'll be yelling at them to hold their F****ing lines
as they weave around trying to get over the little Hawthorne bridge rise, or
cut across traffic to pull into the latest Starbikes 'ride through' express
espresso window...