Posts from — April 2008

Ah, springtime. There’s nothing quite like April showers, chirping birds, and lame ‘exposes’ by local news channels on scofflaw bicyclists.

More troubling than the pure gooey grah of such exposes is the viewer feedback on such hard-hitting journalistic glories. Skimming the comments, we have the usual cast of characters:

• Cyclists don’t pay for roads and facilities and should show more gratitude to all those people who do pay for them by using them and staying out of the way. I’ve commented on this previously. Hey, the 7 bikes in our garage weren’t free, and we didn’t steal them either.
• Related silliness: It would be so much safer if we had mandatory sidepath rules or allowed sidewalk riding. (Note: commenter doesn’t call it a mandatory sidepath rule, but that’s what a cycling advocate would call several of the commenter proposals).
• Usual insertion of rants that cyclists ‘obstruct’ vehicular traffic. Bicycles ARE vehicles under state code! The interpretation being given by the intrepid commenter on said statute is that even when following the rules, bicycles impede traffic and thus are in violation of 169.222, section 4c.

There are a number of quality comments, such as the observation that Minneapolis bicycle paths are 10mph zones (and in mostly dreadful shape), and pointing out that while ignoring signals is both illegal and dumb, use of a lane and use of a road is fully legal in Minnesota. Even some of the cyclists, though, are espousing the bicycle as chiefly a toy that should be used in ‘play areas’ (aka paths), rather than considering steps towards traffic calming and vehicular cycling.

Many League Cycling Instructors discuss the need not just for cyclist education, but for better education for ALL road users. Comments like the ones on the ‘news’ story cited above emphasize it. The only question I have is if there’s an openness to learning, or if an attempt to teach will just drive these people to further bile?

Spring is here. High gas prices are here, too.

With that comes a deluge of people asking: “What bike should I buy?” I end up answering that a lot for friends, relatives, random co-workers who see the picture of me and my husband on bikes I have in my office and who have heard rumors that I’m some sort of biker person.

I think my answers frustrate some, because they want me to tell them to go to a specific place, and buy a specific brand and model. Of course, it’s not that easy. Questions need to be answered.

What kind of riding do you intend to do? Be honest with yourself.

• Are you looking to do short bike commutes to work?
• Paved street and trail riding?
• Charity events?
• Off-road and unpaved journeys?
• Do you want to be able to haul a Burley? A trail-a-bike?

Figuring out HOW you plan to use the bike is key. A few years ago, I helped a friend find a bike. He saw the sort of riding my club did, and wanted to join in. He liked the idea of a fitness activity that wasn’t murder on the knees. So we found him a good road bike, suitable for group rides, with the best possible frame that would fit him, and components worth using… but easily upgraded. Six years later, he’s still riding that frame, and has rebuilt most of the bike several times.

A lot of people get hung up on brand. Brand is irrelevant. If the frame doesn’t fit, the brand won’t matter. Every brand has its own merits and geometry. Pick one that fits your body and budget.

As a rule of thumb, the frame is going to be what makes or breaks the whole bicycle purchase experience. if you buy a frame that sucks or doesn’t fit, you won’t ride the bike. Period. Getting good components is a nice plus, but on most bikes, you can upgrade them later. If you use the bike enough, they’ll need replacement someday anyway - parts wear out on bikes, just like they do on cars.

Depending on your intended use, you’ll need different features of the frame and components. The second biggest mistake I see people make, after getting a frame that doesn’t fit, is getting the wrong wheels/tires. Most people are using their bikes on paved streets and trails. They will want a smoother tire. However, many get big knobby mountain-style tires thinking they’ll be better. Actually, on pavement, they slow you down a lot. Other people get sleek race-style wheels because they ‘look cool,’ but may be meaning to use their bike much more casually, and have little experience in wheel maintenance. Low-spoke, sleek race wheels require more care and maintenance than many are going to want to put in or learn.

Another thing I see is people messing up seat choice. The seat on a bike at purchase is always negotiable. However, it’s not always true that the biggest, plushest seat will be the most comfortable. Seat choice is going to depend a lot on your riding position (upright? traditional road?) and your actual tuckus. Many people are awfully surprised when they find that something without massive padding makes their butt happiest. (And early on, ANY seat is going to create a bit of post-ride ow - you have to break in both your butt and your seat!)

Fox9 News reports that a bicycle-pedestrian bridge over Minnehaha Creek near Bryant Avenue is being closed due to potential safety concerns. Cited are the bridge’s age, rust, and footing erosion.

Welcome to Minnesota, where bridge inspection and closure doesn’t just hit the highways, it hits the trails too!

The City of Minneapolis has received a $900,000 grant to improve cycling facilities in the city. They don’t plan to blow it all in one place, however. Highlights include:

• A new (or improved?) bridge to the new Gophers Stadium. (The question mark is because I thought Bridge #9 was behind the hospital, which is a fair hike from the new stadium location.)
• Finally finishing the Hiawatha Connection to downtown.
• Finishing the Cedar Lake Trail to the River.
• Adding a posse of bike racks.
• A new bike depot near the Greenway.

In somewhat more dubious excitement, they plan to re-stripe many existing bike lanes. Several of Minneapolis’ designated routes need more than paint to make them meet a standard of ‘not ridiculous relative to common rules of traffic.’ I’m thinking the downtown Hennepin Avenue lane, which goes through the CENTER of the road and thus is head-on to buses in both directions, and the Portland/Park lanes, which have bicycles - the slowest moving vehicles on the road - in the left-hand part of the one-way street, cutting across 3 lanes to make right turns. But, hey, the lanes will have fresh paint!

News from lots of spots:

• Despite many line-item vetoes, the state budget retains funding for work on Minnesota’s Heartland, Gitchi Gamee, Paul Bunyan, and Gateway Trails
• The City of Minneapolis will be closing the westbound bike lane on the 10th Avenue Bridge every Saturday from 11AM-noon to allow for tours and gaping at the I35W bridge project
• Nicollet Mall starts getting ripped up on April 21

Bob Mionske, author of the excellent and invaluable Bicycling & the Law, has highlighted the issue of media bias in bicycle-vehicle accidents in his newest VeloNews column.

I would be the first to agree with his assertion that cyclists who blow stop signs or disrespect the rules of traffic “(provide) the ammunition to those who want to restrict our rights to the road.” In fact, I regularly rant about that very issue. At the same time, something he doesn’t mention in this column is that we might expect a city like San Francisco, known as a progressive city, to have somewhat more enlightened views of a green, low-pollution transport method such as cycling. However, that’s not reflected in the recent Chronicle coverage of a pair of cyclists killed by a law enforcement official who CROSSED THE CENTER LINE of the roadway. It is difficult to argue that their deaths were provoked by their legal use of their own through lane.

This is why bike education is important - and not merely for cyclists, but for law enforcement, legislators, and drivers. Aggression by cyclists and drivers creates mutual escalation, when the goal should be to work together as road users. Many law enforcement officers have little training in bicycle statutes and rules for road use, resulting in some ridiculous situations - I’ve personally experienced such a situation, in which the citation against me was laughed out of court by the county prosecutor as ‘completely without legal basis.’

We all need to work together. Unfortunately, there’s a long way to go there.