So, to all you motorists out there who are annoyed by cyclists on the road, I’d encourage you to come to one of our meetings.  We are more than happy to talk about how we can better share the limited road resources, but yelling at people out your window as you pass by is not the way to go about having this discussion.  We are also more than welcome to share with you the laws governing cyclist’s rights to ride on the roads and have a discussion of what rules cyclists need to be following.  Whenever possible, RIBike is trying to do our part to educate cyclists about the rules, I’d like to ask whether motoring advocates are doing the same when it comes to their interaction with cyclists and pedestrians.

It’s one thing for me to blow off the overreaction of a slightly inconvenienced motorist, but something entirely different when it affects a child who is just learning his responsibilities when sharing a roadway.  Before you decide to shout at other road users, please do your homework and make sure you have your facts right and actually understand the laws governing the operation of your vehicle!

This morning I just about got plowed over by someone on a nice
internal geared fendered commuter bike at a 4 way stop.

Way back in the dark ages of bike commuting around here, there were
never any other bikes, or so few that you would never see them, and
thus all you had to worry about when coming to a 4 way stop was
something with a big bumper.

I had come to stop, checked, no cars, no bikes, started going and boom
zipp here comes someone going so fast that if there was a car in the
intersection they would have had a hard time stopping.

It is tempting to run stop signs. Esp 4 way stop signs.

Please don’t. Don’t be that jerk. As more and more cyclists come out
and start riding in (yeah!) it is all of our responsibility to ride
appropriately. Stop signs aren’t suggestions. Do a rolling stop if
you want but you should always be able and prepared to stop when you
have a sign. Always.

Obeying the rules of the road also reduce your exposure and chances of
getting nailed by a car.

If this was the first time I’ve almost been creamed by another bike
flying through stop signs, maybe I wouldn’t be so bothered by it. But
it wasn’t. Sadly it might not be the last. I’d hate to see two bikes
get destroyed and people sent to the ER because someone in the cycling
commuter community felt that stop signs only apply to cars.

Geoff offers up a good reminder of why it’s important, both for your saftey and the safety of others to ride respectfully.  It’s not okay, or safe, to blatently disreguard traffic control devices.  If you are in such a rush that you feel the need to blow through these devices, then I suggest perhaps you remember why you are riding a bicycle in the first place.  I for one get on my bicycle, because the journey is part of the joy.  Don’t let your riding sucomb to a motorist mentality, where you allow the sites, sounds, and smells to be ignored.  Instead, take your time and enjoy the journey, there are precious few things left in our hectic lives that you can do this with.

Pamela Reinsel Cotter: Bike to work? I finally did it

05/16/2011 01:00 AM EDT

I used to be jealous of the folks who got to ride their bikes to work. As a suburbanite, and one who used to own only a mountain bike, I never expected to make the 22-mile journey from North Kingstown to Providence and actually perform my job after that.

But I’ve done it. Read the rest of the story here.

Congrats Geoff!

Anyways, I had a great interaction with a school bus driver and monitor this morning.  A bus stopped to drop off some kids and dutifully turned on their flashers.  Two cars stopped momentarily and then decided it was safe to break the law and pass the bus.  I was third in line and decided to put myself and bike in the apposing lane to block any further cars from passing while they were unloading.  A heard a couple of honks, but responded by pointing at the flashing lights… not even looking back at the cars that were honking.  The kids got off the bus and before the driver turned off the lights, I saw the monitor come out to my side of the bus and motion me forward.  She then said, “I can’t believe it was a bike that stopped!”  I had a nice quick chat with the bus monitor and the driver, both of them were very appreciative of the fact that I actually obeyed the law and even stopped more cars from breaking the law.  They told me I would be amazed at how many cars simply disobey the law, especially when dropping off kids, and at the high rate of speed with which they actually pass the bus.

I think I left a favorable impression of cyclists with at least one bus driver and monitor.  I’d like to think they will remember this encounter the next time they are driving and approach a bike on the roads.  Score one for cyclists!

Reading through this article actually gave me an idea of something slightly more practical to try… I’ll follow up after I’ve had a chance to play around and see if my idea really works.

For those who have never tried riding in the snow or are scared to do so, I’d encourage you to give it some serious thought.  A few years back, I invested in some studded tires and I have to say, they are awesome.  I’ve ridden on days where you can barely walk and when riding a bike with studded tires, you wouldn’t know how slick it actually is.  Riding in the snow, particularly if you are on a bike trail or off in the woods is amazing.  Everything sounds different and there are far fewer people, if any.

The biggest challenge I find is when the snow gets deep.  I’ve ridden up to about 6 inches, at this height it is a serious workout.  Smooth packed snow is best, but good luck finding that.  Anything which has been packed down is typically done so with foot traffic.  This means you can be in for a pretty bumpy ride.

So the next time it snows, like tomorrow, and you find yourself with some time… give cycling a thought.   Play it safe though and practice in your driveway, on a bike path, or somewhere deserted until you get a really good feel for how the bike behaves in the snow.

I had the unfortunate luck to come in contact with a roadsign post, strewn across the breakdown lane and into the travel lane this morning.  I suspect some motorist managed to run over the sign post, requiring them to drive quite a ways up onto the curb, and most likely being pissed left the mess for someone else to clean up.  The end result was to toss me off my bike, past the handlebars, and squarely onto the pavement… I don’t even think I scored well with my landing.  Yes, it was ultimately my fault for not watching more closely, my focus at the time was the cars around me and I don’t think I should have to worry about random signposts lying in the road.

The request here… if you are involved in someway creating a mess on our public infrastructure… CLEAN IT UP!  It would have taken about one minute to drag this signpost off the road, past the sidewalk, and onto the grass where it would have caused no harm to any public infrastrcuture user.  I took care of cleaning up the mess for this motorist and I hope they are eternally greatful.

Back to licking my wounds… mainly my pride.

Me: Hi, I’m calling to report that there is a traffic light sensor at the corner of Chestnut and 114 that I can’t trigger with my bicycle.

Call Center: So you can’t trigger it with your motorcycle

Me: No, I can’t trigger it with my bicycle

Call Center: Well, the sensors don’t work with bicycles

Me: Actually they do, there are plenty of sensors that I trigger all the time. I’ve been told that they can be adjusted so that they will respond to bicycles.

Call Center: They can’t be triggered by a bicycle, it doesn’t weigh enough

Me: Actually, the sensors work by means of magnetic induction. I ride a full steel bicycle that has plenty of metal and it should be able to trigger a properly tuned sensor

Call Center: Okay, what town was that again… I’ll send out a crew

… and there ended the conversation. I frequently ride by this intersection and I’ll be sure to check on it during upcoming weeks. It’s unfortunate that I seemed to know more about how these light sensors work than someone who is answering the phone at the maintenance division. Regardless, I thought I would share my experience and some wisdom about how such a conversation can go, giving others enough information to combat any sort of challenge that it should be possible for bicycles to trigger a light sensor.

A 21-year-old Brown University student riding across the country to raise money for affordable housing was killed Tuesday in South Dakota after she was struck by a semi-trailer truck’s wide load as she checked phone messages on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 18.

I’ve read a number of accounts of this accident now and they all seem to tell the same story, the cyclist was doing everything right.  She was on the side of the road and was struck by a passing truck.   I’m sure this was an accident, the driver said he saw the cyclists and even tried to swerve to avoid them.  However, the fact remains that he killed someone and I don’t believe it is right that he should be able to walk away from this accident without any sort of repercussion.  He destroyed a young persons life, just starting to sprout wings and fly free.  What do you believe is a reasonable punishment?

We’ve tried for two legislative sessions now, and plan to continue this work, to get a vulnerable roadway user bill passed in Rhode Island.  This past legislative session, we were successful in getting a more traditional 3-foot bill passed, but it still doesn’t go far enough.  While we understand that accidents do happen, it is not right to let this person just walk away.  Our legislation proposed requiring mandatory driver re-education, community service, and for cases where there was negligence, license suspension.

In this case, this person involved in the accident is a truck driver, traveling across the US.  Wouldn’t it be something to require him to perform his community service by stopping across the US and lecturing to driver’s education classes about what he did and why it’s crucial that all drivers take responsibility and remain alert when they are behind the wheel.  No, this wouldn’t bring Paige back and there is likely nothing this truck driver could do to repair the damage he inflicted upon her family and friends, but at least this would be something.  Everyone knowing that he must attend mandatory re-education and tell others about his story and the dangers of driving, would seem to provide some benefit for society.

The Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition tries to stand up and remind cyclists that they are subject to vehicular code under current Rhode Island law, which means we must obey traffic control devices.  I’m sometimes able to catch a motorist off guard, by asking them who on the automobile side of the fence is doing the same thing?  Aside from the police, what organization dedicated to motoring rights, stands up and reminds motorists that they shouldn’t be running stop signs, blowing through red lights, they legally have to use turn indicators, they can’t park wherever they want, that they must yield for pedestrians in crosswalks, etc.  More often than not, this line of reasoning is met with some sort shrug and a comment that there are just too many motorists to control.  This isn’t a valid explanation, it just means the need is even more pressing.

Over the past few weeks, as I’ve been walking around work, I’ve managed to snap the photos you see on this post.  In every case, these are emergency personnel, not responding to a call, breaking the law.  No, they aren’t major violations, but any normal citizen would at least get a ticket for doing the exact same thing.  For me, the real crux of the situation is that these people are the ones who should be setting the example.  If regular people see our emergency personal parking illegally, rolling through stop signs, failing to use turn indicators, etc. what message does this send?  Shouldn’t they be leading by example?

In the case of the RISD officers, they noticed me taking a picture of their vehicle.  One officer went back to the car while the other, after taking a picture of me, came over to talk.  He asked me what I was doing and I explained I was getting a picture of an illegally parked car.  He tried to convince me that it was within the law for them to park as such, to which I asked him to show me where in RI law it states this?  I also added that I drove an ambulance for 4.5 years, granted not in RI, so I had a pretty good handle on what was legal for an emergency vehicle to do when not responding to an incident.  We finished the conversation peacefully and I couldn’t help but notice that the other officer had returned to the vehicle and moved it to a legal spot while we were having our little discussion.  They, or at least the officer who was driving, knew they had parked illegally, they were just being lazy.

Just as I try to remind cyclists both verbally and through my actions that we are required to ride within the law, I think it’s high time drivers do the same.