An Open Letter to Cyclists in Waterloo Region.
Stop biking. Just quit it.
I’m talking, of course, to the select few who ruin it for the rest of us. You know the ones. They give all of us cyclists a bad name. They galvanize popular opinion against cyclists because they’re the ones, the terrible ones, who stick in peoples’ minds when they think of cyclists. They spoil it for everyone else: For those of us who stick to the rules of the road, who cycle safely and courteously, and who don’t do stupid stuff.
Cycling in this city is pretty safe, but when you mix up a bicycle with fast moving car and truck traffic you’re never going to be guaranteed 100% safety. In the same way that you drive in a car or a truck, you can still get into an accident, you can still be injured or killed because of any number of facts. It’s the same on a bike, only you’re that much more exposed and up against vehicles that are much larger than you are. We aren’t one of those enviably bikeable places like The Netherlands or Sweden, but we’re not doing terrible either.
However, conditions for cyclists are made a great deal less safe but the chosen few who I’m speaking directly to now. Those terrible bikers.
You see, if a select few people choose to break the rules of the road and ride unpredictably and unsafely, they not only enrage drivers (giving the rest of us a bad name) but they make it increasingly difficult for drivers to safely interact with cyclists. Case and point, if I am driving my car and have no clue what you, as a cyclist, are going to do as you approach me at a T-intersection where I have the right of way, something bad is liable to happen.
The rules of the road exist to make driving predictable; cyclists who don’t follow them make it more difficult for drivers to predict the actions of all cyclists.
So my solution, to those cyclists who think the rules don’t apply to them: stop riding your bike.
Here are some of the idiotic infractions I’ve seen:
Cyclists Riding on the Wrong Side of the Road
This one has got to be my favourite. I know your mother told you that if you’re walking on the road you should walk against traffic. This is great advice, that way you can see what’s coming towards you and you can safely avoid it by, say, jumping off to the side of the road if an out of control car is headed straight for you. The same does not apply to biking though and, in fact, it is illegal to ride against traffic. As a bike you’re subject to all the same sorts of laws that apply to motor vehicles on the road and you have to ride with traffic.
It’s dangerous and distracting for drivers to see a bike coming towards them and, in reality, its harder for them to avoid hitting you than it would’ve been if you were going with the flow. Think about how many head-on collisions have occurred on the 400-series highways late at night when the roads are deserted. Even with 3-4 lanes at your disposal it’s incredibly hard to make the mental calculations necessary to avoid something coming towards you.
And it makes you look stupid, why are you riding on the wrong side of the road?
Cyclists Without Bells
This, in fact, is also illegal and ignorance of the law is, legally, no defense against a ticket. If you own a bike it needs to have a bell or a horn attached to it.
Too many times, as a pedestrian and a cyclist, I’ve seen other cyclists fly past a group of pedestrians, passing far too closely, and startling them. Worse, I’ve seen injuries occur this way. Cyclists who are all over the road and the sidewalk and give no warning to the human obstacles they’re trying to dodge are giving the rest of us, who are careful, a very bad name.
Once, on my bike commute to work, I had a fellow cyclist pass me on the outside of the bike lane. He passed so close and so quickly that he nearly startled me off my own bike! A simple bell, a little ring as he’s approaching, and I would’ve moved to the side, avoiding being startled and giving him lots of room. The same applies with pedestrians. Cyclists, especially on paved paths or sidewalks, ought to be courtesy to the people they’re sharing the space with. Know that you’re a lot quicker than someone on foot, and that a collision with a pedestrian is dangerous for everyone involved, and buy a bell.
Cyclists Without Helmets
These next two are certainly more contentious but they’re big beefs of mine.
First, cyclists who don’t wear helmets. It’s stupid, and that’s pretty much the end of the debate. But what really gets me, and I’ve seen this on numerous occasions, are the families of cyclists where only the kids have the wear head protection. You know, because their parents aren’t important or anything. To me, it’s the land version of the idiots who go out boating and make their kids wear life jackets and Dad goes without. Then the boat tips, Dad drowns, and the kids grow up fatherless. Smart. And, sadly, it happens all the time.
If you’re an adult, sure, you get to make your own decisions; I don’t support a Nanny State. But something’s gotta give. If your kids’ brains are important enough to protect what about yours? They don’t need a father?
Cyclists on the Sidewalk
Now I know this is contentious but since this is a letter to all those cyclists who are giving the rest of us a bad name, it needs to be said. Riding on the sidewalk.
In my opinion, the only thing you’re doing by riding your bike on the sidewalk is ticking off pedestrians, and giving all of the other cyclists who follow the proper rules of the road a very bad name. Cycling on the sidewalk is pretty much never OK and I honestly can’t think of a lot of situations when its necessary. If you’re on the road, it’s a little tight and someone honks at you, give them a polite wave (or a rude one, it’s your call!) and keep on going, you’re allowed to be on the road no matter how frustrated drivers get with you. If a driver puts you in an unsafe situation write down their license plate and call it in, it’s your right to be on the road.
Cycling on the sidewalk, however, is not your right. Bikes don’t belong mixed up with pedestrian traffic and cyclists who insist on riding on the sidewalk, for whatever reason, only give the rest of us a poor reputation with pedestrians.
Of course, this letter wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t at least briefly address the tenfold follies committed by drivers, against cyclists, every day. While I want to make it clear that there are a select few cyclists out there giving the rest of us bad name, there are many more drivers out there who are putting us, all cyclists, in daily peril. You guys aren’t getting off scotch-free.
Motorists Passing Cyclists
My previous bike commute into work took me down some nice stretches of road with great big bike lanes as well as some very narrow strips with nary an inch of road to squish my bike onto. In some cases, on both the wide and narrow sections, motorists were very mindful of me and either made wide passes around me or, if possible, changed lanes to avoid being anywhere near me. I appreciated these motorists, and was particularly amused and appreciative to the ones who would give me a comically large berth as if I were operating one of those “Wide Load” tractor trailers. It was nice a safe.
Still, some motorists were down right ridiculous. What was more scary than the cars and trucks who would pass within inches, accelerating as if to say, “Out of my way!” as they passed, were the huge transport trucks that didn’t even change lanes to get around me. That was more than annoying or frustrating, that was dangerous.
Indeed, on several occasions heading home on a stretch of road that crosses over the 401 highway, I would be nearly blindsided by huge transport trucks who decided not to inconvenience themselves by changing lanes when they passed me. Even though they could see me from at least 300m away and even if the left lane was completely empty. Instead they barrel right by, nearly sweeping me underneath their truck!
Mind you, there were lots of great truck drivers who changed lanes as they approached and gave lots of room before they merged again. I suppose, much like how a select few cyclists can give a poor name to all of us, the same holds true for motorists.
Motorists Not Yielding at Roundabouts
This is probably exclusively a Waterloo Region phenomenon but you’d think with the proliferation of roundabouts in our region over the past ten years drivers would have a better grasp of how to use them. Still, I’ve experienced near-collisions on more than a few occasions even during the brief month and a bit that I commuted into work by bike. Drivers simply don’t understand how to yield at a roundabout and wait their turn, especially when it comes to bike traffic. I’m just as relevant in that traffic circle as a car and if I get there before you then you are going to have to wait, I’m not stopping in the middle of the roundabout to let you in.
Motorists Honking at Cyclists
And this leads me directly into my last gripe: motorists honking at cyclists, because I’ve been honked about before by a driver in a roundabout because I was in his way, I guess.
Honking at a cyclist is just stupid. As a driver and a cyclist I would guess that 9 times out of 10 whatever wrong the driver thinks is being done to them, it’s probably their fault anyway. Honking at a cyclist is just plain bullying. Not only can they not honk back, they often don’t even have time to respond before you’re zooming around them and off. The best you’ll see is probably a wave or another select form of salutation in your rear-view mirror as you speed away. And honking at a cyclist is dangerous. Just like biking past a pedestrian without giving them any warning is dangerous, and you could startle someone into injuring themselves, the same applies to a person on a bike. If you honk and speed around me you’re liable to startle me. Then when I fall off my bike and you run me over it’s on your head the rest of your life that your impatience killed a man. So there!
All in all, it’s a matter of a few bad apples ruining it for the rest of us. For both cyclists and motorists, our cohabitation is being ruined by people who think they’re above the rules or who’ve figured out a better or faster way of doing things. And it’s those unfortunate people who are spoiling it for the rest of us, who are giving us a bad name. My plea is simple, if you’re going to commit these infractions, if you’re going to do stupid things that will make people mad at me when I ride my bike, just quit it. Stop riding your bike. Stop driving your car. Walk, take a bus, or better yet, just stay home.
[...] However Keith’s latest entry hit a topic close to home …. Biking. His latest post is entitled ‘Stop Riding Your Bike‘. [...]
I have an answer to cars that honk at my lawful use of public roads: a 120 dB compressed air horn (http://tinyurl.com/2ttux4) Totally worth the $19.
C’mon dude… bells? The most useless part of any bike. I wouldn’t spend 1 red cent on a bell. If a bike comes with it, I wouldn’t take it off though.
Although, I’ve heard the air horns. Those things rock.
I’d also give cyclists a break on the sidewalk thing. Not all of us have brass nads.
Bells: only inasmuch as the cyclist uses the bell appropriately, or at all. That is, the presence of a bell is neither necessary nor sufficient for safe passing maneuvers.
Riding on sidewalk: in the winter in Waterloo, bike lanes are used as garbage dumps for snow cleared from the roadway. The sidewalk is empty, and has long stretches without driveways and road intersections. In this case, the balance of safety seems to favour the sidewalk.
Riding without helmets: very debatable.
One you missed: riding without lights. Being visible (and dear god, not those superflash seizurematics, please) contributes to everyone’s safety. The cyclist won’t get rear-ended, and other drivers won’t have to react to the car ahead of them who suddenly laid on the brakes to avoid hitting a ninja cyclist.
When I’m walking down the Laurel Trail or Iron Horse, I really appreciate the very, very few cyclists who use their bell before they cycle past me.
And I’m very tempted to clothesline the ones who barrel by within inches with crunching gravel as the only warning.
When I’m on my bike I ring the bell a good ways back and wave. I feel bad for the peds who panic and jump, but only because so few cyclists signal their approach.
Consider this an “Open letter to sanctimonious bloggers”
Do you wear a helmet when you drive? Do you wear a helmet in the shower? How about just walking around? Do you wear motocross armour when you bike? I mean you could have a tumble and get road rash! I stopped reading at this point in your article. How many head injuries occur every year? How many are from cyclists? Do you even know what the helmet standard is supposed to protect you from? Why isn’t your helmet full-face?
Bells are mostly useless on the iron horse too. Many pedestrians will walk 3 or 4 abreast and ignore the bells. Old folks that are hard of hearing can’t distinguish where it’s coming from. People’s untrained dogs on 25ft leashes don’t listen to the bell either. Many people just don’t give a rip and will “hold the line” forcing you to wait or go around, neither of which bother me too much but to paint all pedestrians as shocked weaklings is a bit much. The path has a “shared” sign posted and that means peds have to be on the lookout and should walk as much to the right as possible. To single out cyclists is really one-sided. (Not that it’s pertinent but I slow to a crawl and just say ‘excuse me’ and go around)
This entire entry reeks of “cyclist self-hate” and spends way too much time slamming people that have likely never read a cycling blog, never heard about the rules of the road in school (hint: poor guy is not riding that old MTB because he likes it). Society as a whole still thinks bikes are mostly toys and treats people that try to use them for anything but recreation as pariahs and weirdos at best, so cut us a little slack. People will be selfish and self-centred regardless of what form of transportation they choose and BS entries like this do nothing but create animosity and foster ill-will between people. Actually, this whole thing reads like troll bait, and I’m sad that I’m responding to it.
@Darcy:
Personally, I would love it if someone clotheslined me because I didn’t ding my little bell. I love internet tough guy talk as much as the next person but c’mon. Unless you knocked the guy out they’d likely get up and have a few swings at you or worse, have a knife on ‘em and stab you. What a stupid thing to say, and I guess that most folks that talk like that have never been in a fistfight.
Add: Cyclists who scream down a line of stopped cars at a light. It is so easy to get doored as one of the cars turn right. I know because it happened to me 16 years ago when I was younger.
I find it interesting that you are so concerned about leaving your children father-less in your helmet topic but not at all for the sidewalk vs dangerous driver topics! I will ride on the sidewalk for the short stretch in my commute that takes me down a busy road were basically every driver on it breaks the law by speeding. Why? Because my children should not grow-up without their mother. Yes, that driver has to live with that but the key is they live.
[...] the weekend I wrote a little article called Stop Riding Your Bike. It was an open letter to cyclists in Waterloo Region. As intended, it was [...]
Reads like a rant of a new cyclist. I was one of those a few months ago and I ranted the same way on bike forums.
Here’s the thing corch, you’re preaching to the choir. The bad bikers and drivers will never take time out of their day to read a blog about how bad they are. So all you achieved is to rehash these gripes that have been around since the bike was invented.
My suggestion is to focus on your riding: be courteous to pedestrians and drivers, observe the rules of the road, yield to drivers sometimes even if it’s well within your right not to, don’t be bullish about taking the lane if traffic is moving smoothly, and don’t think that your rights will protect you from a collision.
Lastly, welcome to cycling. I hope you will have a long, stable relationship with your bike.
One more thing that just occurred to me re: helmet use: don’t call people stupid if they don’t agree with you. That’s the last resort of a man who simply can’t think of a way to create a reasonable argument.
Along the lines of Octavian’s comments, I agree that you are preaching to the choir. As far as I’m concerned education is the only real path forward, but it is a very tall order. I think it must start with our kids, and teaching kids to ride properly and on the street can be tough for any parent, no matter how dedicated to goof cycling…
A couple of links to stuff I’ve written that kind of applies:
http://rantwick.blogspot.com/2009/05/cyclists-are-people-riding-bikes.html
http://rantwick.blogspot.com/2009/05/little-monkey-see-little-monkey-do.html
Hey, wait! I am not dedicated to “goof cycling”! Good, I meant good! I may start using “goof cycling” as a label for what you were describing though…
Sorry, last comment, I promise. I take that back about you preaching to the choir. This is not a cycling-related site as I thought at first… In the main I agree with your points and hope your message about how to improve riding gets out, but not the message to stop.
Why don’t you guys stop your whining,get more involved- join your local cycling committee and try and make cycling better for everyone.
I agree 150%.
One area that was not mentioned is no lights on bikes and well working reflectors on the back of bikes for night riding. When will bikers learn that if they are visible, other vehicles will have a better chance of missing them as they drive by. On top of poor lighting and reflection devices, bikers will wear all black and wonder why no one sees them. I thought it was mandatory to have lights and reflection on the bicycles.
I pretty well agree with all the points made in the article.
-Helmets, Don’t leave home on your bike without one.
-Bells, Use them respectfully, Don’t wait till the last minute and cause the pedestrians ahead to jump out of their skin.
-Say thankyou to pedestrians who do give way after being alerted.
-Air horns? Hmm? Ok for motorist that honk at you, Not for alerting pedestrians to your presence. (unless of course they’re wearing earbuds and are oblivious to whats happening around them.)
-Lights, a given when riding at night or in poor visibility.
-Riding on the sidewalk. There are spots in the city that at certain times of day, It’s downright dangerous to be on the road. (Northfield Drive between Weber & King for instance.)
Happy Trails!!
Oh lordy. Is this the summer of people bitching about cyclists and vice versa? How many more of these preachy open letters to misbehaving cyclists written by a “fellow cyclist” do I have to endure. This shit is so tired. People on bikes and in cars are always going to do dumb stuff on the road. Stay alert and ride safe.
A bell? C’mon get real.
I find bells to be useless. I ride on the road exclusively and give pedestrians a wide berth when required. I’ve considered an airhorn for commuting but have not found a need overall.
I’ve found I get better courtesy overall from everyone else when I ride with courtesy myself. I don’t let boneheads get to me.
Bells should be a non-issue. Unless the rider is mute, that is, in which case a bell would be a good idea. A friendly holler of, “Excuse me” or “Behind you” or whatnot is clear and unambiguous. It works perfectly well, has volume and signal control, and is free. Bells belong on the novelty/joke shelf at bike shops. If you have a voice, a bell is vestigial.
I’m positively stunned that you failed to address cyclists blowing red lights and stop signs. (I’m not talking about long light cycles on empty rural roads, either; I’m talking about busy roads in urban areas). And, as others have pointed out, you missed lights on bikes at twilight and at night. I’d also suggest other poor behaviours are not holding one’s line in traffic, failing to make eye contact with drivers when approaching intersections, and riding in the door zone. Or cowering on the edge of the pavement, practically begging drivers to try to squeeze past.
I find the helmet debate tiring. I’ve had enough spectacularly hard crashes training and racing over the last 30 years to know I’d be either disabled or dead by now if I didn’t *always* wear a helmet (getting rear-ended by a speeding car and getting knocked more than 10 feet into the air to land upside-down on my head behind the car was a particular doozie, but there have been plenty of others); however, I’m not going to moralize someone’s choice to ride helmetless–that’s for them to decide and face the consequences should they draw the short straw.
I respect a cyclists use of the road, however when you are physically inable to cycle at a safe speed please do not be in front on me on a one lane road when there is enough room at the side of the road at which your could safely cycle. If I were driving 15 km/hr down a 60 km/hr road for an hour, I would likely get a ticket, so why do you think you can do so? Also, if you think you are a road vehicle, then follow the rules of the road. The light is red….I don’t get to go right on through so why do you? You are about to turn left onto a side road crossing in front of oncoming traffic? YIELD to oncoming traffic. You cannot pick and choose which road rules apply to you as a cyclist. But, if you are a considerate cyclist, by all means.
I am not a cyclist – I drive only. Today I had a situation where I was turning left after facing opposing traffic off a red light. I advanced to the appropriate position in the intersection and waited for the traffic to pass. I checked my blind spot and the crosswalk, corner, etc. was empty. No one had crossed the street. As I began to make the turn, a cyclist riding on the sidewalk flew across the street at the crosswalk. It was only during a third look-back that I saw him. That is, I looked, started to turn, looked again, commited to the turn, looked again, and then barely hit this helmetless university student flying full tilt across.
How can I anticipate this? I guess the same can be said for turning right… but as I go in to a left turn I have the additional consideration of opposing traffic so it strikes me as being even more dangerous.
Is it just stupid to ride your bike on the “wrong side” of the road across the sidewalk crosswak?
cheap indoor cycling bike…
[...]thecorch.com » Stop Riding Your Bike[...]…