Bike issues

Biking has become a cost-saving mechanism for me, especially when traveling around a downtown urban area but...

Oh man, so many close calls...
Having experienced near misses with cars as well as seeing other bicyclists hit by vehicles (see photo), I don't like my chances of bicycling as a primary form of transportation.

Bicycling harkens back to my childhood, of ramp construction and subsequent injuries. My desire for speed and "air" has been largely superceded by the need for safety, in addition to a conscious effort to conserve the environment. I'm riding a cruiser now which is meant for a slow, comfortable ride. That's about my speed nowadays. A cruiser allows me to carry more crap with me to and from school or, potentially, to and from the market. The addition of front and rear baskets has allowed for greater carrying capacity. this has allowed me to ride without carrying anything on my person, such as a backpack.

I don't like backpacks, anyway. Using a backpack, as most people have experienced, can generate a great deal of moisture upon one's back. I remember my grade school days of walking home during the afternoon and coming home with a sweatcoated back, showing through my t-shirt. Also, walking all over campus on a clear, sunny day as a university student with a backpack full of biology, chem, physics textbooks resulted in bruises from the straps and backaches. I swear, science majors have the heaviest books.


Combine a backpack full of science-major textbooks and a mountain bike speeding around campus and you will ultimately get a spectacular accident. Mine came in the form of a Braveheart-esque collision (see photo) with a traffic bollard. The backpack full of books increased my momemtum going downhill. The weight of the backpack and its placement on my back elevated my center of gravity. The collision with the traffic bollard and my higher center of gravity sent me head over heels past my handlebars. Luckily, I had just cleared the pavement and landed in a grassy area.

Bicyclists on the road on a busy urban face a similar accident, tempting fate by darting in and between traffic or just riding on the roads. Bicycle versus vehicle is not even close. Bicycles always lose. I have yet to be struck by a car while on my bike, only close calls. When I see a person on a mountain bike or road bike speeding on the road or bike lane, I get a visceral chill, reminiscent of my own abrupt collision against an object of greater mass and velocity. Here's some youtube video (warning: may be disturbing to some viewers):

COPS, Riverside County 9/09/06 Bicycle Accident (~35 sec)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu3oQwllD98

COPS, Riverside County 9/09/06 Bicycle Accident (full version, ~7 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWDE0TKhWOs

In the current movement to increase bicycle awareness, notably, Critical Mass held in downtown San Francisco (see photo), safety is, perhaps, of the utmost concern. I don't think the streets of most cities, particularly charter cities like San Francisco, were ever designed or evolved with bicycle travel as a major form of transportation. They are largely afterthoughts, reconciliations after numerous or severe bicycle-vehicle collisions. I don't feel safe riding my bike in the bike lane next to fast moving traffic, especially in downtown areas. The only protection is a white painted line on the road, which sometimes feels like only a suggestion to some vehicle drivers.

I don't even feel safe riding with fast moving bikes. Pedestrians can be seriously injured by fast moving bicyclists. I've always made it a point to slow down around pedestrians or even dismount in heavy pedestrian traffic. When I don't feel safe in the bike lane, I ride my bike on the sidewalks.



Hey, where do I park my bike?
Eventually, I'll reach my destination and wonder where to lock up my bike. Going to a place like a school campus, there are bike racks throughout but other places, like City Hall or a market, one is hard pressed to find a bike rack. I think bike racks are regarded as unattractive to urban designers. I might have agree with this. Around the MLK library, the bike racks are kept away from the entrances. Bike racks, themselves, are somewhat unattractive. The most utilitarian form of bike racks, usually a serpentine length of metal tubing (see photo), can look like a scrap heap when filled with bikes of all makes and condition. Not only does it scratch off the paint from my bike but I have a hard time getting my bike to fit in the rack with my front and rear baskets. Having front and rear baskets makes it difficult use existing bike facilities.

Bikes and mass transportation
I have yet to try loading my bike on to public transportation, like the buses or BART. My bike's a cruiser, with a relatively heavy steel frame. I would have a hard time carrying it up and down stairs to get to the BART platform, as I have seen others do. There aren't bike escalators (see photo) at BART stations. I've seen escalators created to move shopping carts in department stores. I wish they had that for bikes but it would be difficult to retrofit BART stations. It's probably not cost-efficient, not enough riders bringing bikes to justify the cost. I was considering the purchase of a folding bike before but it would not have allowed for front and rear baskets.

I think dedicated bike paths/corridors, bike escalators, and stacked bike parking lots are something I won't see in the near future. The density, in terms of population and land use, is just not there. The US has the potential for greater expansion, outward past existing city centers and beyond the old suburbs. I believe that vehicular transportation, in particular personal vehicles, will remain the dominant form of transportation. Hopefully, future planning efforts will allow for safer, more convenient bicycle travel. The California Department of Transportation (DOT) has developed some guidelines for bicycle commuting and safety (see below). Some recommendations equally apply to driving vehicles, such as not drinking or wearing headphones, but most are meant to warn against vehicles, the greatest threat to bicyclists.

California Department of Transportation (DOT): Bicycle Commuting & Safety
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/offices/bike/commuting.htm