A campaign to educate bicyclists?
I just returned from Hanley and Wydown in Clayton, where I interviewed a bicyclist for a story I’m working on. He said something that made me think. More than anything, more than dedicated bike lanes and more share-the-road signs, he said he’d like to see a public campaign to educate other bicyclists.
As we were talking, a man rode up the wrong side of Wydown, with no helmet on. He started pedaling on the sidewalk along Hanley, against traffic. If there’d been a red light there, he’d probably have riden through it, aggravating the war between wheels. “Bicyclists have to be congnizant of these things,” the man I was interviewing told me.
Bicycle retailers say they’re selling bikes like gangbusters these days, and there certainly appear to be more new cyclists on the road. Many of them ride safely and responsibly, but too many of them don’t. What do you think? Should there be a public education campaign?
Great idea for both sides–bicyclists and auto drivers.
Not a day goes by that I don’t see one or two cyclists running a stop sign or light. But, then again, I usually also see at least 20 traffic laws broken by those behind the wheel of a vehicle.
A little patience, along with education, on both sides will also go along way.
That’s a noble thought…cyclist and motorist observing rules of the rode. Excuse my sarcasm. At least there’s a ‘test’ for motorist to pass in order to get a license to drive, one for cyclist should be considered as well. I’m willing to bet there aren’t many of either camp that know what hand signals are much less what they mean. There’s a reason for 3 brake lights on vehicles.
I am a bicyclist and thank you for denoting the difference from a cyclist who is one that rides motorcycles. The last time I checked the Missouri Drivers Guide, bicyclists were required to follow the same rules of the road as motorized vehicles. The most important of these is the fact we ride with the flow of traffic. Think about the next time you are in your car and make a right hand turn. You do not think about a car direcly in your lane that you are turning into, however this is were a bicyclist is when they are riding into oncoming traffic and by the way illegally. Bicyclists do not belong on sidewalks and should ride as far right as possible on the roadway. Yes there are inconsiderate and just plain stupid bicyclists as there are licensed drivers in motor vehicles. Let us all try to be more attentive and considerate of everyone sharing our congested roadways.
I just happened to have an e-mail exchange on Friday (Aug. 29) about this very topic with folks from the Great Rivers Greenway group (they are in part responsible for the Bike St. Louis bike routes) and the St. Louis Bike Federation (an advocacy/awareness group). (Unless included in their signatures, I removed e-mail addresses and full names, but the full content of the exchange is below.)
************
Re: Bike workshop
From: Patty Vinyard
Sent: Fri 8/29/08 9:41 PM
To: Todd Antoine
Cc: Glenna
Hi Beth,
We have a couple of LCIs around town here. Several bike shops hold
workshops for people to learn specific skills. REI sometimes has bike
commuting workshops. The Alpine Shop as well as the Trek Store have had
bike classes just for women, hosted by Carrie Cash Wooten, a pro racer
and founder of Team Revolution bike club and race team. Bicycle Works
is beginning to talk about holding Road I for adults when they get
their space issues worked out.
We have been trying to get some Road I courses going this year through
the Bike Fed, but have not quite gotten the coordination down. Right
now only Martin Pion has a class scheduled, but it would be good to get
some others going. It’s a matter of coordination of several things -
instructor, space (classroom and dedicated parking lot), and publicity
as well as dealing with facility managers concerns about liability.
Making all that happen has proven to be quite a challenge for me. But
I’ll get there yet!
I’m hoping we can still hold at least a couple Road I courses this fall
for those who would like to learn to ride in traffic. There is a wealth
of information on our website, and when people have specific requests
we try to connect them with the people who can deliver. Karen Karabell
is now an LCI and is offering private tutoring for those who need to
learn how to ride a bike - balancing and everything. We have a rough
plan for some riding workshops for women at our new offices at 21
O’Fallon St. and at some spots on S. Grand in anticipation of the next
South Grand Bike Tour St. Louis on Mother’s Day next. Those on S Grand
will be next spring.
I hope that answers it.
Patty
Patty Vinyard
Executive Director
St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation
P.O. Box 23086
St. Louis, MO 63156
http://stlbikefed.org/
pvinyard@sbcglobal.net
(314) 707-5001
Roads are for people.
On Aug 29, 2008, at 4:36 PM, Todd Antoine wrote:
Hi Beth–Todd Antoine here at GRG and Glenna forwarded your question
regarding bicycle training. Bike St. Louis doesn’t offer training for
novice bicyclists but it is an excellent idea. I’ve read recently where
other cities are participating in such efforts given the rise in
bicycle use
for commuting purposes over the last few months.
I’ve copied Patty Vinyard on this email. Patty is the Executive
Director of
the St. Louis Bicycle Federation and I believe that they have conducted
training courses before but I’m not 100% sure.
There are several St. Louis bicyclists accredited through the League of
American Cyclists who have offered classes for various skill levels.
Hopefully Patty may know more details on upcoming courses.
Thanks again for your email and I’m glad you’re enjoying the routes.
Todd
Todd Antoine, AICP
Deputy Director for Planning
Great Rivers Greenway District
1000 St. Louis Union Station, Suite 102
St. Louis, MO 63103
314.436.7009 Office
314.436.8004 Fax
http://www.greatrivers.info
—–Original Message—–
From: E
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 8:16 AM
To: info@greatrivers.info
Subject: Bike workshop
Hi there. I am a regular bike commuter and am glad to see lots of other
people riding their bikes for errands and transportation, but there
seems to
be a dearth of knowledge about how to ride in traffic, among other
things.
Does Bike St. Louis have any plans to hold an event or campaign to help
novice riders learn how to ride with traffic?
Thanks for the good work in helping keep motorists aware of us
cyclists.
- Beth
Patty Vinyard, Executive Director of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation [Bike Fed.], of which I’m also a board member, was good enough to mention the League of American Bicyclists-approved bike education course I offer, for which I am currently recruiting students. Please e-mail me at or call 314/524-8029 for more information. Note that the Bike Fed. encourages its members to take an approved LAB Road I Bike Ed. course by offering them a $10 refund on proof of completion.
On Saturday, August 30, I taught a nominally 9 hour one-day LAB Road I course with four students. The fee per student was $40 plus $12 for the Student Notebook. Road I is LAB’s foundation course, designed primarily for adult cyclists but I’ve occasionally had mature children attend who surprisingly do better than some adults because adults are overly fearful of bicycling on the road in traffic.
LAB stipulates 9 hours for Road I, but over the 11 years of teaching vehicular on-road cycling as a League Cycling Instructor I’ve found that more time is necessary, and I now typically offer a three-session course of 5-6 hours per session. The 9 hour course just completed confirmed my view that that is not enough time: I had to skip some classroom material I normally present, and also truncated the on-road instruction, with less individual mentoring than normal.
The cost of the full 18 hour course is $80 plus the Student Notebook. Given the small class size I believe this to be very reasonable. We are talking about acquiring a skill which not only can lead to many additional healthy years of life but is also enormously beneficial for our planet. The skills you learn could also, incidentally, save you from serious injury or worse.
Martin
Martin Pion, B.Sc.
Conservion - “Think Bicycling!”
League Cycling Instructor #625
6 Manor Lane, Ferguson, MO 63135
Mapquest location URL: http://tinyurl.com/5wmvks
314/524-8029 home office
314/524-8129 fax
http://www.thinkbicycling.com [page may not be up-to-date]
http://www.conservion.com
steve robine,
You say:
“we ride with the flow of traffic. Think about the next time you are in your car and make a right hand turn. You do not think about a car direcly in your lane that you are turning into”
Then you go on to say:
Bicyclists do not belong on sidewalks and should ride as far right as possible on the roadway.
Um, maybe if you stuck to the sidewalk WHERE YOU BELONG, you would be far less likely to be in an accident with a motorized vehicle. A bicycle and its rider much more closely resemble a pedestrian than a motorized vehicle with respect to a). weight and b). speed, two very critical factors in accidents.
sej,
Most municipalities technically have ordinances against riding bicycles on sidewalks. That’s not to say these are actually enforced, but I know my hometown has these ordinances.
jimbob (from the Waltons??),
I don’t doubt most municipalities have ordinances banning bikes on sidewalks. That doesn’t mean they’ve chosen the best option, though.