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SPECIAL EDITION: SHARING THE ROAD
For this reason, flat Prince and Milledge avenues are favored
routes. [KW]
Personally, I ride fast and confidently, and if you come up
behind me on a neighborhood street with a stop sign 50 or a
hundred yards ahead, don't blame me if you try to zoom way
around me and then find yourself in the middle of the street
because we both got to the stop sign at the same time. I'm
not exponentially slower than you are, although that's prob
ably what you think as soon as you see a bike in front of you.
Still, you'll never see me run a red light, and I probably make a
fuller stop than most cyclists do at stop signs. [BE]
On the Culture of It ALU With much less mass compared to
a car, every puddle and pothole in the road has the poten
tial to ruin a cyclist's day, so I will take the lane in order to
avoid these hazards. You drivers may be slowed down for two
seconds, but you can easily make that time up: deal with it.
The next time your day is ruined by this minor inconvenience,
consider that cyclists are contending not only with your big
car, but also with broken glass, grates,
crumbling asphalt, limbs piled on the curb
and any other street garbage. That, of
course, applies when there is a place to
ride at all. Cycling-friendly infrastiucture
is spotty at best, which requires creative
navigation. If there's no room on the road,
and I've got somewhere to be, parking
lots and sidewalks are fair territory to cut
through. [KW]
I have to admit that it's taken me a
while to get to the point where I ride as
aggressively—I'd rather say confidently—
as I do in this town. I almost never ride
on sidewalks, or switch unpredictably
between street and sidewalk, because I'm
comfortable enough in the street. I know
that not everyone who wants to bike is
ready to bike like that, but I think that
however each of us rides, we'll continue to
make the local bike culture better, and the
roads safer, if we keep respect, patience
and the predictability of our behavior in.
mind. At the end of the day, I'm glad that
anybody who's biking—no matter how—
is biking rather than driving. But to me,
Athens is at the place right now where just
a little compromise could go a surprisingly
long way. [BE]
If you're not a cyclist, I hope this conversation of sorts has
provided some insight into the minds of your fellow travelers.
Without getting too sappy, the best thing to remember is that
we're all human, fallibility and fragility applying to everyone
involved. A little patience, civility and compassion could do a
lot to keep everyone safe and happy on the road.
Kevan Williams athensrising@flagpole.com
This is the time of year when traffic returns to Athens life,
and just like last year and the year before, there seem to be
more bicycles on the road here than ever. There are many apho
risms that fit those who would lecture cyclists on their bad
traffic manners; the most appropriate, though, is this: "Let him
who is without a moving violation cast the first stone." I won't
try to defend the bad behavior of every cyclist or denounce the
entire motoring community due to the actions of a few. It's a
tired argument, and it may be better to start the discussion
over from scratch and consider what daily bicycle commuting is
actually like.
This town's driving population turns
over every school year, and the cycling
population does too. There are too many
riding styles to count, which may lead to
some of the unpredictability of cyclists.
But at the very least, it might be time to
restart the conversation. In the interests
of doing so, I've put down on paper my
own approach to certain situations as a
regular bike commuter, and also—because
his approach to biking is a little different
from mine in some ways—solicited some
what different perspectives from Flagpole
City Editor Ben Emanuel, too.
pedestrian or something. But partly due to my assessment of
the current state of bike culture (and road culture as a whole)
in Athens, I'm willing to compromise a good bit—to ride in an
exceedingly predictable, defensive way—if it means that car-
drivers here can get more used to sharing the road with bikes
without getting angry at cyclists. [BE]
On Stop Signs and Intersections: Bikes may be vehicles, but
so are airplanes. Though cars and bicycles operate in a similar
environment, each requires a different way to navigate. Even a
On Being Aggressive: Any aggressive
cycling on my part is the result of aggres
sive and inconsiderate driving going on
around me. I wouldn't take the lane if I
knew people would give me the proper
amount of space as they passed me. If my
unpredictability on a bicycle causes you to
slow down and pay attention to me, then
that seems to be a good thing for me to
do. I have every right to be out there hav
ing fun on my bike, and I shouldn't have
to put on armor every time I want to.
Every day in Europe, well-dressed men and Can’t we all just get along?
women of all ages ride helmet-free and
fearless, listening to music, talking on the phone, and having a
great time. We ought to be able to do that here, too. If making
you see me means moving into your way and out of the gutter,
I'll do it. [KW]
I'll take a whole lane when I need it, and if I need to turn
left, for example, I'm getting out of the bike lane or mov
ing away from the curb and merging into the left-turn lane,
rather than stopping, getting off my bike and crossing like a
cyclist with thunder thighs and calves like tree trunks cannot
overcome physics. It's Newton's laws that govern the move
ment of a human-powered vehicle, trumping local ordinance.
Forgive me for coasting through an empty intersection, but
when stopping and re-acceleration require physical effort,
you'd let momentum do its job, too. Hills in this town can be
menacing, and I'll go the long way around to avoid a punish
ing climb. Gravity is a tough thing to overcome on a bicycle.
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8 FLAGP0LE.C0M • SEPTEMBER 9, 2009