Bicycle Talk Episode 72
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Ron’s Rant: Cowards who hide behind the wheel’s of motorized vehicles. NYC Terror attack. Positive side, Bikewalkct.org annual dinner. Helmet maintenance and inspection. More road booty! 2018 TDF. Cyclocross calendar.
Ron, vehicular cycling is asinine. Yes, it is the law here in the U.S., and it is also what keeps people from riding. Would you ride out into traffic to “take the lane” with your family? Or do you expect a person who just started bicycling to work to ride out into 50+ MPH traffic to prove the point that bicycles belong?
Though this is the law it must change to grow bicycling as a viable means of transport. What we need instead is separate and protected bicycle infrastructure that does not intermingle with automobiles. American roads are designed for cars to travel fast. They are not life-sized for people on bikes, or walking for that matter. It’s scary, especially for someone who would otherwise ride if we had appropriate infrastructure designed specifically for bikes.
By building protected and separate bike infrastructure that is designed specifically for the size of people and not cars we would see a large percentage of bicycle user growth. The data from cities in Europe that have done so shows this to be true.
You state that your show promotes bicycle advocacy, but this philosophy fits instead into the car centric model that the auto industry would have you promote as it keeps people off of bikes and in cars. This is similar to the reason jay walking is still a crime. It keeps the squishy soft obstacles out of the way so cars can freely move.
MAMIL’s seem to be the only bicycle sect that prefers vehicular cycling as bicycle commuters travel too slow and are in the way.
That is not bike advocacy nor is it human centered advocacy. As a bicycle podcaster I find it odd that you are not familiar with Copenhagen’s bicycle infrastructure. I recommend googling Mikael Colville Andersen and watch some of his YouTube videos and read his blog post on the subject of vehicular cycling: http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/07/vehicular-cyclists-secret-sect.html
Other than your opinion on this subject I do enjoy your show.
Kind regards,
-Jim