How to ride in traffic

I have been meaning to post for a while about how to ride in traffic. Since the last few weeks in Seattle have been amazing, more cyclists have taken to the roads. The problem is that many of them ride badly. This has nothing to do with their speed, type of bike, or clothing. Instead what scares me has to do with the strategy that other riders use to navigate the roads with traffic.

I was going to write a big step by step set of instructions for how to do this. But I found someone has already done that work for me. I think these instructions are really pretty good. There are two big points I want to emphasize, then I will make a third point of my own.

First, don't ride on sidewalks. Cyclists aren't visible there. At most cars are expecting a person walking at 4 miles an hour (if they even think about them at all). A cyclist going even 12 miles an hour is in serious danger of being hit. Sidewalks are death traps, don't ride on them.

Second, ride in the middle or even to the left side of the lane. It is cyclists who ride to the right side of the lane that really scare me. That is an invitation for cars to pass without moving over. Unless you think there is enough room to pass you, don't do it. I only ride to the right of the lane if it is actually safer. Usually this is on a main road with only one lane. There is one section of my commute like this, and it is the most dangerous thing I deal with. Even riding with big trucks is safer. If there are two lanes going your way, ride in the middle of the right lane. An added bonus is that you are more visible to cars going the other way as well. This is a good thing.

These two points are the opposite from what most people were taught. This article explains a lot of the history and politics behind pushing cyclists to the side of the road. Most drivers, and even police, think that cyclists have to ride as far to the right as possible. This video shows why that is a bad idea. Worse, it isn't factual from a legal basis. Cyclists only have to be to the right if they are slower than traffic. Even then, you only need to be as far over as is "safe". Remember, you determine what safe is. Also, you cannot be fined for "impeding traffic" if you making a good faith effort and are moving at your top speed. Learn the laws for you where you live. They are on your side.

The third thing I would like to say is: look out for turning cars. It doesn't get mentioned a lot, but that where the really bad accidents come from. Cyclists don't often get rear ended. A rider is more likely to be hit by a car making a turn. Learn to watch for them and assume they don't see you. Be aware that you can be "hidden" behind other vehicles. Also, look for common problem spots on your normal routes and be extra attentive. Watch out for drivers heading to a Starbucks early in the morning. They are tired and haven't had coffee. Their only thought is getting their latte, not the cyclists they are about to hit. Seeing the problem ahead of time is half the battle to avoiding it.

Finally I wanted to point out this video from my home town. It does a pretty good job of covering the basics of what you need to get out there.

-Dravis

Tragic Accident

A man died on my route to work today. I noticed the flashing lights of the police cars as I made my turn onto East Marginal Way. I was hoping that it was just a collision of two trucks that also navigate the same road. The mangled bicycle lying in the road and the shape under the white sheet told me that something terrible had happened.

I don't know much more than that right now. I don't know exactly how it happened. It isn't even clear who the man is, but if you are reading this just take a moment for him and his family.

What makes this even more tragic isn't just that it is the first day of Bike Month. It is also that, I believe, this accident could have been prevented. A little paint, a tweak to software, maybe a bit of concrete, and just a little planning could make that intersection much safer.

Lets face it, that is a dangerous intersection. It has heavy traffic on it during morning rush hour, both bikes and trucks. For bikes this is the main route that leads to the Spokane Street Bridge. That bridge mind you is the only direct route from West Seattle into downtown. This makes it one of the most used bike routes in the city. On top of that this road is also filled with trucks in the morning. (The evenings tend to be much quieter.) It may seem strange but I tend to like truck drivers. They just have more experience driving than your average person. I often find that they are courteous and get what is going on. That doesn't mean they have clear visibility or the ability to stop however. In general I don't mind biking down that stretch of road. There are bike lanes on each side of East Marginal and even a sidewalk on the west side. (Not that I recommend biking on sidewalks.)

So what makes this intersection so dangerous? Most of it comes down to poor planning. The roads make sense from the perspective of a driver, but it is clear that no one thought about who bike riders would use the road. The cyclists who come from West Seattle are routed along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road. To use the bike lane they are forced to cross over three lanes of this heavy truck traffic. There isn't even an indication of a crosswalk in the area. This is just dumb. It was bound to happen. I was wondering just last night why that intersection hadn't hurt or killed someone more often. Now it has.

The galling thing is that the solution to this would be simple. Don't direct bikes onto the sidewalk. They aren't safe there. Instead ensure that bikes have a place on the roadway. Yes, even with the big trucks. All that is needed is a protected lane for getting off the sidewalk from the Spokane Street Bridge. Something similar is in place on the Fremont Bridge. Then a few sharrows along Spokane Street before East Marginal. Now instead of being on the opposite side of the road, cyclists would end up naturally in the bike lane. This would only require a bit of cement, some plastic posts and a couple cans of paint.

Even worse the Mayor and the Seattle Department of Transportation are patting themselves on the back for saving almost $12 million on the widening of the Spokane Street Viaduct. If just some of that money and a bit of common sense had been used, we might have one more cyclist in the city tonight.

-Dravis

Women and Cycling

I ran across this article today. The article discusses how women in particular respond to cycling infrastructure. Or, more accurately, how they respond to the lack of infrastructure. The article claims that only 25-30% of people who commute on bikes are women. I could be way off, but even that number seems quite high to me. On a typical day only 10% of the cyclists I see are women. That could be a selection bias based on my commute. It could also be a problem of recognizing gender through a rain parka. Any way you slice it though, it appears that less women cycle as their main mode of transportation.

If you go back to the four types of cyclists I feel female cyclists are much less likely to fall into the "Strong and Fearless" camp and more likely to be in the "Enthused and Confident" group. I am not trying to be sexist here. I just think women tend to be more sensible. I asked a male cyclist who was riding the wrong way down the street at night without any lights on if he was concerned about the cars racing towards him at 35 miles per hour. His response was "fuck 'em". I have not seen many women who are that cavalier with their safety.

Strangely enough, this levelheaded style might not be a good thing. Here is a depressing article which claims that women in London are more likely to be hit by a truck because of their responsible behavior. Riding aggressively may not be required to ride on the roads, but it seems to help. I have talked with quite a few women who said they would like to ride more, but they don't feel safe. (This would be the "Interested but Concerned" category.) I wonder how many women feel that way because they aren't comfortable riding aggressively. Maybe that is where better cycling infrastructure could be useful. Fighting with cars just to be safe really shouldn't be something cyclists have to deal with. More cycle paths and protected bike lanes would encourage these more timid cyclists to ride more often.

That isn't the whole equation though. From commuting daily I have noticed that during a cold, pouring rain I don't see many ladies cycling. On sunny days the total number of cyclists increases, which isn't all that surprising. What is interesting is that the proportion of female cyclists increases.  In my estimation inclement weather is at least as important to women as safe paths to cycle on. Now it could be that women are just more squeamish about disagreeable atmospheric conditions, but I seriously doubt it. I know women who are quite capable of taking on even the most miserable weather.

My guess is that most women have different requirements about getting ready for work. There is an expectation that a woman be well groomed at all times. Clean hair, elegant make-up, pristine clothing. Men do tend to get away with a shabby appearance more often (for which I am grateful). I don't think this is fair, but it has as much to do with the pride a woman takes in how she looks as much as what other people think. Showing up all bedraggled to work may bother women more than men. Not to mention trying to put on make up and do your hair in a bathroom stall. Men tend to wear less make-up and have shorter hair, so grooming takes less time. Even so, I would rather shower at home then have to do it at work. So I can understand the current situation. I will not begrudge anyone who doesn't want to get all wet and dirty on the commute.

What I am not saying is that we accept that women can't ride in the rain. Women are no more water soluble than men. Instead what I am suggesting is a change in our culture. Not just that cars shouldn't be seen as the only mode of transportation, but also that women are capable of navigating and being safe no matter how they travel. I wouldn't claim that women can't drive at night. Why should we, men and women, accept that a woman shouldn't cycle at night? Or in the rain? Instead we should be looking for ways to be more inclusive of all cyclists. This blog post gives a bit of advice on that matter. I still think the most encouraging thing we can do is to tell people they are capable, then let them try it.

Then again I am not a woman, so most of this is just guess work. I would love to know more. If there are ladies out there who have insight about this, please feel free to comment. 

-Dravis

Bikes & Pollution

This weekend I have been enjoying this story about Ed Orcutt, a local Washington state lawmaker, who angered much of the nation's cyclists with his comments about how much carbon dioxide they add to the atmosphere. At some point he stated that they pollute more than cars. This was all in relation to the bike tax idea from a week ago.

Today he apologized and retracted some of the statements. I am still not sure he understands how the carbon cycle works. When I read about this though I went and did some basic calculations for my carbon footprint. If I bicycle 18 miles round trip to work each day and use 50 calories a mile the I use 900 "extra" calories. If a more sedentary person makes 2.3 pounds of CO2 with a 2000 calorie diet, then my commute puts an extra pound of CO2 in the air each day. Compare that to 19 pounds created by a gallon of gas, which I would otherwise be adding to the atmosphere in my car. Stating that cyclists pollute more than cars is grossly inaccurate.

There is also a big difference in the how I produce carbon dioxide by breathing and how cars do it. Most of the food that you eat is made up of carbon molecules, just like cars run on hydrocarbon molecules. The difference is the carbon I eat is pulled from the atmosphere by plants. The net carbon in the atmosphere is zero. Cars, factories, and power plants run mostly on fossil fuels. Carbon that was trapped underground is now released into the atmosphere. The net carbon in the atmosphere is increased.

Now, I will say the idea that commuting by bicycle is not "net zero" is absolutely true. The food I eat is trucked to the store. That releases carbon. Often chemical fertilizers are used to grow the food. More carbon. Even my bike took energy to make. Most of that energy comes from fossil fuels. It then had to be shipped to me on trucks, trains, or aircraft, releasing more carbon into the air.

That more than anything proves the point that cyclists do help pay for the roads, even if they don't drive cars on them. Cyclists not paying their fair share is still a claim made by Rep. Orcutt in his apology. Yet, when I buy and apple at the store the truck that brought that apple had to pay gas taxes. That means the very thing that makes me not carbon neutral when I ride also means that I do, in an indirect way, pay for the roads.

That is just the gas tax, too. I also pay Federal, state, and local taxes that go to roads. I also pay excise taxes on my car, no matter how many miles I drive it.

While I am happy for the apology, I still wonder how much Rep. Orcutt actually understands what he is talking about. He is making several very basic mistakes in science, economics and tax policy. Hopefully he will use this as an opportunity to understand things before speaking about them publicly.

-Dravis

In defense of DFL

Dead Fucking Last. In the cycling community this is a general term of derision. It implies that you are the slowest most unworthy cyclist at the event. You will hear about it at every race. You are sure to hear about it if you are that guy. Even at the Greenlake races there was a prize for DFL. I always thought of this as a booby prize. But maybe that is the wrong way to think about it.

Last we at the FHR we had one rider who arrived late. Way late. About two hours after the first riders finished. After the prizes were handed out. When there was just about no chili left. It wasn't a mechanical issue, or a flat tire. The guy was just slow.

At the same time I think he put in a harder race than anyone else that day. Trust me, if you had seen the guy you would know. Isn't that what we are looking for in sporting? What makes the Tour De France or the Iditarod so amazing is people pushing themselves to their limits. (Maybe that is what offends everyone about doping in sport. If you use performance enhancing drugs, you aren't truly pushing yourself to your limit.) This is why we are excited about people climbing the highest mountains, or diving deeper than anyone else. We talk about the people who ran the four minute mile, or a 2 hour marathon.

While we are always going to look for the person who is fastest or goes farthest, we shouldn't look down on anyone for not coming in first. Frankly, I have more respect for the guy who went gave everything they had to come in last than someone for whom winning was easy. For all of the guys and girls out there who came in exhausted, weary, and in last place, my hat is off to you.

-Dravis

FHR - 2013

Distance: 32 miles
Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Average Speed: 18mph
Max Speed: 40mph
Song of the Day: Knock Knock - Band of Horses

It is that time of year again. The FHR was last Sunday. This one one of the reasons I love my bike club. This year was especially good because it didn't rain. It wasn't sunny exactly, but no rain is good. I also perfected my calorie intake a bit. Last year I ran out of energy towards the end. This year, that wasn't a problem. My solution? Donuts.

The race itself didn't have that much drama to it. I rode pretty well, except for dropping my chain. There were a number of people who would draft off of me, but I didn't find myself behind anyone else almost the whole race. The one time I did get stuck behind a clot of Cascade riders I had to pass them again once the line of guys hit a hill.

One change this year was the vodka stop had become a whiskey stop. It is still a performance reducing drug. I only wanted a little bit, so I pulled the cup away before Scott had finished filling it. He was kind enough to throw the rest at me any way. Thanks Scott!

After the whiskey (yuck), Baker Hill didn't seem that bad. I wasn't amazingly fast, but I wasn't running out of energy. From there it was just a rush to the finish. I was a little tired coming up the last couple of hills. I could still push myself a bit to get up them. I passed one rider on the last hill. I ended up coming in 6th, which I thought was pretty good all considered. (We had about 120 riders all told.) Then again, that is the unofficial number. I asked Derrick and he said "You weren't top three, so I stopped counting."

I also heard the police had been by to say no alcohol was allowed. The keg of beer had to remain in the back of the truck. Not that I minded, I don't drink beer. Even worse though the whiskey stop had been shut down by the police not long after I had been through. While in retrospect I can understand that announcing free liquor with a megaphone may not have been a good or even legal idea, it was all part of the tomfoolery that makes the race so fun. Not vomiting while going up the biggest hill of the race is part of the challenge. I realize this is not a solid legal defense, but there is a difference between illegal and doing harm. Really the worst harm to come from this was to my sense of taste. I hope we can work something out for next year because I would hate to loose the tradition.

Thanks to Derrick and all the sponsors for putting this on. I had a great time, and I look forward to next year.

-Dravis

Friday Tune, Saturday Race

I received the shifter for my commuter bike back on Friday. I guess they just sent me a whole new one instead of a refurbished copy. No complaints from me on that. Thanks Shimano.

After work on Friday I headed over to Back Alley Bike Repair. They were having a Derrick from Point83 had arranged for "wrench party" there. That was great. I got my new shifter installed. That was the easy part actually. I also got my cable housing replaced. I probably should have done that a while ago. The inner sheath that holds the cable was coming out. I got those changed out and re-wrapped my bars. Now it shifts like a dream.

This is good because I hit up the Up & Down alley cat on Saturday. It wasn't a long race, but fun. The haul up Yestler was a bear. I saw a number of the fixed gear riders just walking their bikes up it. Frankly, I wasn't that much faster even in my lowest gear. At one of the other stops we had to ride off a stone bench. It was only a foot and half off the ground. I got up there, rode off and over the handle bars. There wasn't enough space to build up any speed. I heard later that only a couple of the riders actually landed that jump. The lame thing was that my shifting was all messed up after that. I just got it working! At least I made it through the rest of the race okay. Came in 8th place, which was about the middle of the pack. In all it was about 10 miles in less than an hour. Though when I got home I spent another hour fiddling with my shifting. I did get that tuned up again, no harm done.

Good way to start the weekend.

-Dravis