Twits

In a day and age of instant gratification it never ceases to amaze me how quickly individuals will Tweet or post something to Facebook without thinking first. Worse yet is when an organization or business engages in reacting without thinking. They often fail to understand that by doing this they are giving their approval of the author of anything they repost.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia made a very egregious mistake on Wednesday, August 17, when they re-tweeted a post by Philebrity in which Philebrity posted a column about the recent objections of community leaders in Chinatown regarding the installation of bicycle lanes. They were referred to as Chu Bykofsky's. The membership of the BCGP held the the BCGP management team to task over a post that clearly had racial overtone's, that only inflamed the issue.

While the BCGP did put up a follow up post that apologized for tweeting without thinking, there was one sentence in it that still leaves me wondering if they still don't get it. “Again, we don't imply wholehearted agreement with everything we retweet.” If you don't agree with something you are re-tweeting than why do it? I can only hope that the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia takes a hard look at what they re-tweet to make sure that as an bicycling advocacy organization it represents what they are working towards. But some how I doubt it.

HONK!!!!

If there is one thing I can't is listening to someone complaining about how they honked their horn at a cyclist and the cyclist gave them the finger. Imagine you are walking around your neighborhood and a rock concert starts, 10 feet away from you, with no warning. A rock concert is 120 decibels; a car horn is 110 decibels.

Getting honked at by a car when your driving does not have the same effect, your car, especially with the windows up muffles a lot of the sound. For a cyclist there is no barrier, you get the full impact. You don’t know its coming and since horns are a warning device you can easily startle any cyclist and leave them thinking an accident is going to happen. Inevitability it turns out that you are trying to get us out of your way, which makes it even more frustrating in Philadelphia when we are riding at the same speed as the rest of the traffic.

So why do you inevitably end up getting the finger? Because we can’t honk back and you have scared and/or annoyed us.

So what can you do, especially when you are driving around Philadelphia?

DON'T HONK!

If a cyclist is completely in a traffic lane its because they are moving faster than cars in the slower lanes or changing lanes to make a turn. Also bicycles can legally ride in any traffic lane, not just a bicycle lane. You are not going to get where your going any faster, especially during rush hour. Be patient will be out of your way in a minute.

Philadelphia Bike Culture – A Glimmer in the Dark

There has been another step forward in creating a bicycle culture in Philadelphia, something beyond century rides. On June 25^th Volpe Cycles held a “Mac the Bike” ride, a tour of some of Philadelphia's eateries to sample some unique macaroni and cheese recipes.

I can only hope that this is not a one time only ride. Philadelphia is home to a wide range of food trucks and restaurants of all sizes that serve some very unique recipes. Volpe Cycles is also looking for ideas for other rides and I hope they find them. Because fun, social rides build a community.

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Philadelphia Smug Alert

 

In a recent article in the Daily Inquirer about how the Philadelphia Police Department was stepping up the enforcement side of the “Give Respect, Get Respect”. It stated that 590 cyclists had been issued warnings for violating traffic laws. This has brought on a severe case of smugness from two cycling advocacy groups.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia; in a recent post on their blog took issue that the Philadelphia police had a disproportionate response of cars to bicyclists:

• Bicyclists - 590 warnings issued, 3 moving violations and 7 Code Violation Notices (CVNs) for riding on the sidewalk
• Motorists - 116 warning issued, 37 moving violations and 50 CVS for distracted driving
  

If the BCGP had actually taken the time to read the brochures that were part of the campaign, they would have noticed that the Driver Guide is designed to teach drivers about being alert for bicyclists and pedestrians. Automobile drivers already know what will happen if they run red lights and stop signs. The Bicycle Guide teaches cyclists that they have to follow the same traffic laws as cars and riding on sidewalks or against traffic is illegal.

 

The other case of smugness comes from the soon to be former Executive Director of Neighborhood Bike Works Catherine "Kitty" Heite. Who posted on Monday, July 18 on their Facebook page a response of: “interesting... Glad to know NBW already focuses on teaching the youth what their responsibilities as cyclists are”, to the article in the Daily Inquirer. While ignoring a fundraiser held for NBW, The Works Volume 1, on May 14, 2011. An Alley Cat with prizes based on speed and how many points you accrue on the course. How do you complete an Alley Cat race quickly? By running red lights, stops signs, and breaking any traffic law that comes to mind. This is an oxymoron, raising money by breaking traffic laws to teach children to ride safely. Its moments like this when you understand why Neighborhood Bike Works is looking for a new Executive Director.

 

The Philadelphia Police Department has shown admirable restraint in educating cyclists about traffic laws and how it applies to them. 590 warnings is more than ample and if some cyclists still don’t understand then I am sure a $120.00 ticket will.

Safety first, unless it costs to much - Lights

Over the years as a cyclist I have seen a lot of change, one of the most visible changes has been in lights for riding at night. Gone are the days when you needed bulky battery packs or generators, thanks to LED technology lights can be run on watch batteries for months. You can even get solar powered lights. My personal favorites are Monkey Electric which can create effects as seen in the picture above

Back in the early 90's I was bike commuting in a city that was not used to cyclists on the roads, especially at night. Reflectors and a reflective vest were simply not enough, especially when it came to city buses that would practically blow me off the road. A local bicycle shop had a new product on the market a rear strobing taillight that had three LED lights, ran on two double AA batteries, could clip on to my back pack and could be seen from a half a mile. Immediately after I started using it cars and busses gave me plenty of clearance when they passed and I could ride safer than ever at night.

Today these lights, often referred to as “blinkies” come in a wide range of sizes and prices, you can pick up basic lights on the internet for as a little as $5.00 and for about $20 you can outfit yourself with front and rear lights. On a recent night ride through Philadelphia I found that having front strobe was a big benefit when dealing with cars that were turning into traffic head of me.

Yet when I drive through Philadelphia at night I have to exercise a lot more caution in the areas of the Temple University and Penn. State Campuses. The number of college students who don't use night lights combined with the propensity many of them have for running red lights without even slowing down is staggering. Worse yet is the “I can't afford one” mentality, one student that I spoke told me how they ride day and night but they couldn't afford to by a rear blinky. You can easily one if you’re willing to brown bag your lunch or get coffee instead of cappuccino for a few days.

The twenty dollars you may spend on lights is going to cost you far less money than a trip to an emergency room if a car hits you. Also it’s a lot harder for a driver to claim they couldn't see you with a couple few strobes on your bikes.