Do we have good Cycling Routes already?

There are many dimensions for judging a route's suitability for cycling, but I want to focus on a single dimension that sums up a number of factors: car-oriented vs. pedestrian-oriented. Bicycle-oriented falls between these two extremes as shown below.

This list progresses from car-oriented to pedestrian-oriented:

• Expressways and controlled-access highways - non-motorized traffic is prohibited and minimum speeds are enforced.
  
• Busy full-speed 4-lane - cycling permitted, but cycling here isn't pleasant. Dangerous for pedestrians.
  
• Busy Street - Cycling is fine if traffic is moving around 30MPH, experienced cyclists have no issues, pedestrians may venture into the street when it is quiet.
  
• Low-traffic, Neighborhood Streets - Cycling with kids is fine, pedestrians are commonly seen on the street.
  
• Multi-use Trails - Cars prohibited, cyclists and pedestrians share space, youngest pedestrians and cyclists still need to be careful.
  
• Sidewalks - Bicycles prohibited (typically), pedestrians need to be careful at intersections
  
• Shopping Malls - pedestrians only, no threats of collision with any vehicles.
  

I do admire the efficiency of putting a Mall next to an interstate highway. This encourages us however, to live either as a motorist or a pedestrian while squeezing out the middle.

What can be done to encourage more cyclists?

I sometimes hear would-be cyclists lament that car-restricted facilities "don't go anywhere". What I think this means is the cyclist is unwilling to consider sharing the road with traffic. Certainly experience helps us feel more comfortable with a given route, so perception does affect route suitability.

We could expand the car-free facilities so multi-use trails go places. This would be sweet, but this would effectively duplicate the existing network of streets and roads.

An alternative is to encourage cyclists to take advantage of the existing road system. In that case, we already have cycling routes. We just need practice taking advantage of this resource.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 12.7
Number of Cyclists seen: 8
In-bound Route: Goofin' 9.6
Out-bound Route: Swung by Home Depot to run some errands
Weather: A little below freezing on the way in, no need for gloves on the way home but I did turn on my lights.

Confident Road Cycling

There are lots of good websites out there for how to ride in traffic. I've tried to boil this down to a few essentials and have posted them in the Skills section of my Resources page.

Riding confidently in traffic has both a book-knowledge side and a putting-it-into-practice side. To address both the lecture and the lab, I've reviewed a "how-to" site and recommended a class where you can practice these skills.

The "how" site is from BC Canada. Bike Sense has great graphics and sound suggestions. In between the detailed explanations are bullet points such as "Never make a left turn from the right side of the road, even if you are in a bike lane." This page is easy to follow and has lots of great suggestions for riding more confidently.

The class is something I've probably posted on and on about: ABC's Effective Cycling Classes. These classes normally cost $60 but are offered by ABC at $35. Deeper discounts are available for certain groups. Check out the website to see if you can take advantage of a further discount.

I've also added BRAG's Safety Pledge (scroll to the bottom of this page) which is a great 16-point summary of good things to do when on the road, and particularly on the road with cars and other bikes. The etiquette it suggests is simply another way of telling cyclists how to be safe.

In future posts, I'd like to share some of my personal experiences with "Keeping a Straight Line", "Stealth Flamboyancy" (making myself obvious while pretending I'm invisible), and maybe stir something up with "Wearing a Helmet".