Hey Richard, I don't think your comments and thoughts are outrageous and hopefully no one throws any bombs...
I do think there's value in not unnecessarily irritating people in cars, although I also think it's a bit of a trap to put too much energy into having them "like" or even tolerate people on bikes that share their space. Driving a car (I still do it once in a while) makes people tense. There's an incredible amount of power underfoot and it makes you feel like you should be taking advantage of it (going fast). It's very hard not to feel like people (or things) are in your way and it is normal for drivers to feel irritated if they have to slow their progress due to another person in a car or on a bike. I'm a very empathetic person generally and hate bothering people. I try and go out of my way to not put anyone else out, including while on my bike. But the reality of sharing road spaces that aren't always designed to effectively accommodate cars and bikes together, means sometimes needing to take the lane. It's probably my least favorite thing to do as a cyclist, but I do it as needed and not infrequently. It is just too unsafe to try and hug the curb when there's not enough space. People in cars will too often try and squeeze by when they can't safely or legally pass. It's really an important principal for people on bikes to understand and practice and it's what I'm teaching my boys. I get that people in cars may not understand the rationale and it may irritate them, but it's the right thing to do. http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/vehicle/bicycle/rules.htm Regarding general road maintenance, it's really an issue of money. The more roads we build, the more roads we have to maintain (or let decay). Suburban development has created a lot more roadway than we need and your high taxes are not enough to cover it. We either need to remove some pavement or pay more money to fix and replace it. The Strong Towns movement has a lot of good info on this concept. And you're right about some of the really bad roadways, especially in the country. I'd actually be interested to get a better understanding of the relative maintenance costs of paved vs. gravel roads. If gravel roads are cheaper to maintain, maybe we should consider converting some of our worst paved roads to gravel. I'd rather bike on a poorly maintained gravel road than on a poorly maintained paved road. Grant On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 11:44 AM, Richard Schifreen <[email protected]> wrote: > Here are my certain to be unpopular observations and suggestions on our > current situation and how we might shift gears to accomplish some important > objectives. These are entirely my own, please be merciful with your > comments. > > First off, I'm a 60+ year old who has been cycling to both get to work and > for fun for about 40 years. I've lived in Madison for the last 16 years. > I'm a fair weather commuter as long as there isn't ice on the road and > temperature is over about 25 degrees. My commute is from the far west side > to campus about 8.5 miles each way - 90% on the road with a short run on a > bike trail. Recreationally, I do mostly road riding but my wife and I have > taken an increasing interest in exploring the gravel trails around > Wisconsin. My wife and I own and use two automobiles. We pay an obscene > amount of taxes. We buy State trail passes every year. > > As a visible bicycle commuter I seem to be a magnet for comments of my > colleagues at work. The most frequent negative comments are complaints that > one or more cyclists ride in the middle of the road and are insensitive or > oblivious to the drivers that are backed up behind them. I've seen this > both as a driver and cyclist too many times. We are a minority and the rude > jerks among us are antagonizing those in the majority that might otherwise > support us. I appreciate there is no bicycling czar to enforce bicycling > etiquette - but we need to realize that every driver/voter that we > antagonize makes it less likely for us to advance our agenda. > > Most of my riding is on the road. The roads, including designated bike > lanes and routes, are in horrible condition. I mean horrible and dangerous. > This is also true of the rural roads we enjoy for recreational riding. The > potholes, ruts, cracks, debris, etc. are dangerous for cyclists and merely > inconvenient for drivers. I do my best to call, report and ask for these > problems to be repaired. Sometimes I can get a positive response, > sometimes not. While I support new bike paths I see the infrastructure I > depend on for cycling deteriorating with no improvements in site. We are > falling behind, not even close to maintaining the status quo. My point - > we as cyclists are hurt by the deterioration of our roads far more than > drivers. I am in favor of road maintenance/improvement and I wish the > bicycling "powers that be" would support me. So far, I have yet to hear > our Bike Fed or any other bicycling organization focusing on road > maintenance. I brought it up once and was told it > simply isn't a priority. > > Maybe we could generate more support lobbying for infrastructure > maintenance that benefits both cyclists and drivers. We need good roads as > much, or more, than the drivers. > > Let the bombs fly!! > > > Richard Schifreen > [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org >
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