Anecdotal research suggests that people are being let off-leash without adequate training to perform basic activities such as walking on sidewalks or through airports and busy city centers. I’m assuming this expands to shopping malls, but I never go there so I can’t be sure. It’s easy to blame the mobile phones which apparently grow from our hands, but even when no phone appears to be involved, the same problem exists: people wander about without any apparent awareness that anyone else might be in the vicinity.
Take, for instance, the gentleman who wandered off the Plane Train at SEATAC airport the other day. As he detrained, he stopped to investigate which of the 4 identical escalators best satisfied his fancy. I’m not one to criticize someone’s escalator scrutiny – you can’t over think these sorts of things – my issue is with the choice to stop just outside the exit of the train, completely unaware that he was blocking the way for the other passengers still left on the train.
It isn’t that these are bad people. We’re a product of our society and society teaches us that being a self-absorbed asshole is the right way to go about your life; there’s no limit to what you can accomplish when you don’t give a flying fuck about how those accomplishments impact other people. Which brings me back to my original point: we’re not getting the right training in order to avoid being assholes.
Riding a bike in general and riding in a group in particular teaches you all sorts of things about external dependencies and the trickle effect that our actions have on those around us. Rule #59 extends beyond just riding in a straight line, but to riding predictably and informing those riders who are dependent on you of dangers and obstacles. Cyclists develop a situational awareness that becomes second nature with practice.
I therefore propose that we modify our free-ranging policy to include a provision that mandates all humans be required to take a bicycle racing class and spend significant time riding in a group at speed before being allowed into the wilds of society. Don’t change your line when walking on a sidewalk without peeking over your shoulder. Don’t stop dead in your tracks without checking if someone is behind you. Don’t take a right-hand turn without warning when driving in the far left lane. Don’t block doorways. Don’t knock people in the head when you’re walking with a 2×4.
And for the love of Merckx, take off your headphones.
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The law should required a bicycle test as part of the requirement for a motor vehicle license.
@ChrisO
I think this is closer to reality. When you have three trillion people buzzing around you, you have to cut it out if you want any sanity. Basically you care even less about space and others.
@scaler911
It's physics....Sods Law.
Classic article, Frank. Chapeau.
Occasionally I enter/leave town on a converted railway/trail path. It's nicely paved and quick. Walkers, joggers, dogwalkers, people on bikes, etc are plentiful. I treat all with suspicion but I try to be polite and give a heads up should when I'm coming up behind someone. Invariably it's a waste of time as they have headphones on and couldn't hear me anyway. The worst offender I ever came across was one of those pedal tavern things. Took up the whole friggin' path. What it was doing there I don't know.
I call 'em like I see 'em. Let's be honest. Most Americans woefully lack self awareness. Common sense is decidedly uncommon. I work in hospitals, often needing to transport hundreds of pounds of equipment & implants via had cart. I've nearly crushed morons who stopped short in front of my cart without reason countless times in the corridors of every hospital I've ever been in. Just as I've nearly ploughed into the arse of countless unaware riders on the roads & bike trail who think stopping in the midst of the trail, for no apparent reason, a prudent decision. The daftness of the average Joe never ceases to amaze. These are reasons why I'm cynical & expect people to behave stupidly. The cynic is rarely surprised & never disappointed
There aren't many "bike paths" around here, and I wouldn't use them anyway. When non-cyclists mention bike paths to me, I say that they are more correctly called multiuse paths, with joggers, walkers, runners, cyclists, dogwalkers, rollerbladers or whoever else using them and are more hazardous than riding on roads. I also feel strongly that those paths reinforce many motorists' notion that bikes don't belong on the road.
@ChrisO @Mike_P Ah, that's my lot in fact (London Dynamo). I like to think we're generally fairly charming and thoughtful, as it goes. Not your experience, I take it? I'd disagree about our kit, however. I think it looks like the Thomson Local phone directory of old, but what can you do ...
@blackpooltower
Meh, never had a problem with them myself and they have some good riders and racers who know what they're doing. I certainly prefer to see them alongside me than a few other clubs.
But if someone says that about a club in London it's odds on London Dynamo is who they mean, which speaks for itself really.
Whether it's perception or reality is pretty much beside the point.
A-Merckx! I actually have a fantasy that I'll share - before you are even allowed to apply for a driver's license in the U.S. you'd have to commute by bicycle for two weeks. I really think that would make roads safer, cyclists safer, and maybe help drivers realize getting everywhere at the minimum of 45mph, no matter what the road conditions, is a privilege, not a right.
I sometimes ride through the local uni campus. It is amazing how many students can't walk in a straight line.
Also, how about folks who act as if public spaces, like grocery stores, are actually vacation destinations? Just because you have fuck all to do today, doesn't mean the rest of us have all the time in the world. Move it along, you can't hold a UN meeting in front of the milk and eggs.
I'm also part of a local cycling advocacy group. Our city is growing like crazy, and we're having more and more cyclists. Great! Oh wait, no helmets, no idea of riding defensively aggressively, and...earbuds. It actually puts me in the situation where I'm not always sure I want to encourage new cyclists.