Because They DO Hate Us: Thoughts of a New York Bicyclist

The article in the New York Times begins with memories of cycling in NY, in the 80's.

The 1st inking that the reader gets that Robert Sullivan has something serious on his mind is the next section, describing a moment in time, on one of his rides thru the city:.

.....as the light changed, I began to pedal and a biker went racing by and nearly killed me.

Well, not literally. Literally, he only scared the bejesus out of me and brushed my arm, no big deal. The crossing guard shook her head. “Jerk,” she said.

When I got to Atlantic Avenue, a street I would be nervous about crossing if I were in an armored vehicle, I stopped to wait for the light as a helmetless man, riding with his child on a seat, weaved wobbly between me, the taxi and the pedestrians trying to cross, uttering not even an “on your right.” He pulled silently out into traffic, stopping halfway across the intersection to let a tractor-trailer wail by before he finished crossing against the light, the toddler in back thinking heaven knows what.

Meanwhile, another biker was about to pass him, and pedestrians in the intersection now scattered like deer. And I was thinking, “No wonder they hate us.”

Because they do hate us, they being nonbikers and us being bikers.

He writes that the city is doing more for cyclists, though there are many issues related to this activity, these days, that cars kill more cyclists than we do each other, and that we still live in a world ruled by the car.

He admits to being troubled by seeing cyclists doing things on the road that put them, and others at risk.

Then he gets down to discussing the meat of his piece:

As someone who has been honked and screamed at by drivers when I am proceeding carefully along a wide, bike-friendly street, I acknowledge that my blood boils, just from a public relations standpoint, when I see a guy do that.

Because again, they hate us.

The nature of the hate has changed. Once, they hated us because we were a rarity, like a rat in the kitchen, a pest. Now, they hate us because we are ubiquitous.

When you read the stats he quotes about the increase in cycling in NY, think about how cycling is increasing in your small town, or big city.

Are you seeing more people riding bikes to work?

Are you seeing more cyclists on the Commuter Train, or Bus?

In recent days, thanks to Twitter, I've found clogs, and websites related to Bike Commuting.

That right there should tell you SOMETHING.

He writes about how while cyclists have been on the receving end, he believes we cyclist have some GIVING to do.

He has a modest proposal that cyclists should take the high road.

Now, as much as we would perhaps prefer not to, we must stop to look at ourselves and realize that we have a little giving to do. I am talking about perceptions, about the things we should do outside the letter of the law, like the way we try not to kill the person in front of us in the revolving doors.

Too many cyclists take the "The Car is Our Enemy" credo way to far, and other cyclists, not as knowledgeable in the issues because all they want to do is ride their bike, not change the world, get too angry, or intimidated, by encounters on the road that they stop riding, rather than consider what they can do, thru their behavior, to improve the view of non-cyclists toward the cyclist.

In New York, he says cyclist are, in some ways, losing the Publicity Wars.

He even points out that, as Life is slowly improving for Cyclists, many cyclists are starting to treat pedestrians like motorists treat them.

As the ENEMY.

Is this happening where you live?

Not a good thing, people.

Despite the presence of bike lanes, we see many bikes on the sidewalk, and the bikers riding the wrong way down streets, alarming cabdrivers at the light.

For biking to make it to the next level, for bikes to be completely accepted as the viable form of city transportation that they are, bikers must switch sides.

They must act like people and stop acting like cars.

Acting like people means slowing down.

This includes stopping at traffic lights.

This brings him to his modest proposal, one with 4 parts:

1.  How about we stop at major intersections?

2. How about we ride with traffic as opposed to the wrong way on a one-way street?

3. How about we stay off the sidewalks?

4. How about we signal?

I'd add a 5th: STOP WEARING HEADPHONES!

Oh, and a 6th!: STOP RIDING YOUR BIKE WHILE JABBERING ON YOUR CELL PHONE!

I agree with these sentiments of his:

Bikes don’t kill people; cars kill people.

I know this, I feel this (big scar on head), and when I think of my bike heroes and bike role models, when I imagine the tone of the new bike culture, I think of civility.

I've got scars of my own, from a lifetime of cycling encounters with cars, trucks, and people on foot, but the important thing to remember is that we all share the same space, in one way or another, and it is important to strive for civility in the sharing.

Your can read the whole essay here: The Wild Bunch.

There have been over 300 comments on his essay at the Times, and they are no long accepting any more, but I welcome comments, and debate, here, all the time! (Being a working stiff I will approve comments as soon as I can get to them!)