Jumpy in the Saddle
This is a bike-friendly workplace. A lot of CP employees bike to work, or at least keep their bikes in the office. And I think it's safe to say we're all pretty freaked out about Alice Swanson's death.
That tragedy has been discussed, with predictable results, on a lot of blogs. The comments tend to break along two lines: 1) cyclists need to obey the rules more; 2) vehicles need to watch out for cyclists more. So what do you do when there's a case where, at the moment, it's not clear that either Swanson or the truck that hit her were necessarily to blame?
Today on my way to work I was crossing the P Street NW bridge. An SUV with Maryland tags was waiting at the egress from the Rock Creek Parkway. The driver waited for me to cross but didn't look the other way and hit a cyclist crossing from the other side. The cyclist shouted "Woah!" and hit the SUV's grille; fortunately it seemed the car had just rocked forward and hadn't gotten going. I called back to the cyclist to see if he was OK, and he said he was. At the next light I had to pull in front of the stopped SUV to turn left when it turned green. I gave him the stinkeye but he was very absorbed in whatever he was drinking through a straw.
I'm jumpy. I think everyone on two wheels is. And I don't think there are any easy answers here.
9:19 am
I was an all-season bike commuter for three years in NOVA. My route extended from Sterling to Merrifield by way of the W&OD Trail. During that time, I had a handful of close calls involving cars. Here's what I learned;
1. Bikers take unnecessary chances for the sake of keeping their momentum and rhythm. I'm approaching a cross walk, there's a car coming, I don't want to stop, I can make it.
2. Wearing an ipod is fine but the volume level should not drown out traffic. What happens behind you can be just as important as what happens in front. You need to be able to hear trouble coming when you can't see it.
3. Always assume that drivers of cars don't see bikers. Bikers are in the minority, and we're a miniscule minority at that. When they were conceived, the streets were built and intended for cars. Us bikers are the intruders. I see bikers riding in altogether inappropriate places.