Well a cyclist got hit on Hwy 101 a couple weeks ago. Its even on the new bike lane that I've written about in previous post. To tell you the honest truth, I thought that it was bound to happen so I'm not surprised. Like most cyclists like me that put on 3000-5000km/per year on BC roads, we see a lot of cars or trucks passing by us. A majority of what we see are good drivers that give some space but we also see a few drivers that get uncomfortably close. Whats that zone of comfortableness? 3-4 feet away is my zone. Sometimes (2-5 times/year) I get the WTF moments when I don't think that that driver saw me at all. It's these drivers that should be seeing a cyclist but it seems that it doesn't register that there is a human next to the road. Deer or other wildlife probably get more room on the road!
I've cycled through many places in BC this year. Kelowna, Nanaimo, Comox, Powell River, Sidney, Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Ladner, Richmond, Mission, Chemanus, Mill Bay, Brentwood and of course on the Sunshine Coast. What I come to conclude is that Sunshine Coast drivers are the worst for ignoring cyclists on the road. I can't understand why, but the highway section between Gibsons and Sechelt is creepily terrible. The best place for drivers to give room to cyclists? West Van or North Vancouver Island. Yep Redneck or Yuppies areas seem to be a safe haven. If you are in a retirement or a hippy community like the Sechelt, Roberts Creek or Gibsons, look out the white hairs are coming to get you! My last brush was a grey car with bumper stickers - Ban Clearcut Logging and No Farms, No Food....f'in hippy!
----WAB1234----
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Bike-lanes safe or an opportunity to be ignored
Let's set the background on this diatribe - I like riding my bike for the enjoyment of making myself fitter and in better health. These values are much the same as why a runner runs, or a skier skis, or an ATV rider rides, why men play hockey and softball above the age of 40. I don't ride to save the world or to try to make a small statement that I'm making the world a better place. On the contrary, I'm a Forester so I'm really behind the 8-ball on that goal. However, the one thing that puts me into the fray of taking my life into my own hands, is sharing my sport on roads used by cars with almost mutually exclusive uses (drivers don't drive to keep fit...). So, due to the cycling advocacy groups, our local government and the Ministry of Highways have been diligently making bike lanes (paving an additional 1-2m wide sections) on the highway and rural roads effectively making them wider. For the general public, its viewed as an extrinsic thing to do to make our roads safer - right? I'm starting to think not....but how?
Flashback to mid 1990's - No lanes were in on most highways and rural roads, except for a small 1m section of the extreme right of the road, was available to ride a bike. Bikes therefore had to ride on the road and cars must "share" the road in the strictest sense of the word. Drivers actually respected the space of riders, possibly crossing the line to provide the ultimate respectful regard. Drivers that didn't respect this space were considered "assholes" and "got fingered".
Forward to 2011 - Majority of the highway's have wide areas or bike lanes for riding on the right-hand most part of the road. This inherently separates the responsibility of the driver to consider the cyclist as an entity to avoid. My recent and dare I say, anecdotal experiences, seems that drivers almost don't see, or ignore the cyclist riding in these bike lanes. Often when riding in the lanes, drivers are hugging the white lines which begs the question "do they see me at all?". So, I ride to closer to traffic -often riding on the white line in order to be safer not only from traffic, but often the bike lanes are not cleaned of dirt, glass, or sharp rocks that eats tubes like you wouldn't believe. Do I get the respect applying my rebel cause tactics? - yes so far. I'm sure that it pisses off drivers that will be inconvenience to go around a cyclist, but that how it is. Do I feel safer in bike lanes? I must say that I like to think so, but when most drivers don't even slightly give space to bikers on bike lanes, what will happen when I come to that section of road that there is no bike lane and roads need to be shared? I don't like to think about it, cause in an effort to become safer, the respect is gone and therefore the road is that much more dangerous for us to ride on.
----WAB1234----
Flashback to mid 1990's - No lanes were in on most highways and rural roads, except for a small 1m section of the extreme right of the road, was available to ride a bike. Bikes therefore had to ride on the road and cars must "share" the road in the strictest sense of the word. Drivers actually respected the space of riders, possibly crossing the line to provide the ultimate respectful regard. Drivers that didn't respect this space were considered "assholes" and "got fingered".
Forward to 2011 - Majority of the highway's have wide areas or bike lanes for riding on the right-hand most part of the road. This inherently separates the responsibility of the driver to consider the cyclist as an entity to avoid. My recent and dare I say, anecdotal experiences, seems that drivers almost don't see, or ignore the cyclist riding in these bike lanes. Often when riding in the lanes, drivers are hugging the white lines which begs the question "do they see me at all?". So, I ride to closer to traffic -often riding on the white line in order to be safer not only from traffic, but often the bike lanes are not cleaned of dirt, glass, or sharp rocks that eats tubes like you wouldn't believe. Do I get the respect applying my rebel cause tactics? - yes so far. I'm sure that it pisses off drivers that will be inconvenience to go around a cyclist, but that how it is. Do I feel safer in bike lanes? I must say that I like to think so, but when most drivers don't even slightly give space to bikers on bike lanes, what will happen when I come to that section of road that there is no bike lane and roads need to be shared? I don't like to think about it, cause in an effort to become safer, the respect is gone and therefore the road is that much more dangerous for us to ride on.
----WAB1234----
Almost Sideswiped
I wrote this last year...still pisses me off!
I meant to write about this for a while. About a week ago, I was just doing my regular riding route on the highway and a purple F150 brushed me (about a foot away from the mirror) and then suddenly turn right in front of me. All I could do was jam my brakes on and yell at the top of my voice. The driver kept driving up the road probably not even aware of the almost carnage that could have occurred. I felt incensed! Pissed off! and woefully helpless....I felt that I should have track the person down and let him know that the driver was in the wrong or something like that. After a week of thinking about it, I believe that it was an honest mistake and something that any driver of automobile wouldn't get how I feel unless they could feel that their life was in jeopardy too. Something like if their brakes failed or someone was in their lane heading towards them in a head-on collision. At least, a head-on would get their attention whereas hitting a bike rider would even dent the quarter panel. Suffice to say that whatever the odds, it'll be Truck 1; Rider 0 every-time.
---WAB1234---
I meant to write about this for a while. About a week ago, I was just doing my regular riding route on the highway and a purple F150 brushed me (about a foot away from the mirror) and then suddenly turn right in front of me. All I could do was jam my brakes on and yell at the top of my voice. The driver kept driving up the road probably not even aware of the almost carnage that could have occurred. I felt incensed! Pissed off! and woefully helpless....I felt that I should have track the person down and let him know that the driver was in the wrong or something like that. After a week of thinking about it, I believe that it was an honest mistake and something that any driver of automobile wouldn't get how I feel unless they could feel that their life was in jeopardy too. Something like if their brakes failed or someone was in their lane heading towards them in a head-on collision. At least, a head-on would get their attention whereas hitting a bike rider would even dent the quarter panel. Suffice to say that whatever the odds, it'll be Truck 1; Rider 0 every-time.
---WAB1234---
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