League of American Bicyclists

A common topic kept coming up during our rides this week: cyclists know the law better than cops. This, of course, is a general statement, but it is unfortunately true in many cases. The rider who kept bringing this into discussion was stopped by a Michigan state cop while riding two abreast with a friend. They were told that they should be riding single file. He later took a copy of the law into the state police post and had the issue corrected. This is not an uncommon occurrence.

Fortunately, there are advocacy groups at work influencing the law in relation to cycling and sharing the road with motorists and working towards educating the public. Take action and support your advocacy groups by becoming a member and getting actively involved. The League of American Bicyclists is a good place to start.

Stick It to the Oil Companies

Surfing through the MMBA forum, I found myself admiring those who regularly made their commute by bike in the Greater Detroit Area. It's not like anyone got online and said, "I commuted, today." My knowledge of these commuters came from their stories of bike-car collisions.

When money got tight for my student-self this spring, I realized that bicycle commuting was going to be my savior. I could no longer afford several $60 fill-ups per month for my Pathfinder. Actually, I really could never afford that. This year, I chose to do something about it.

I grabbed my backpack and removed the unnecessary books that I normally carried to class and replaced them with clothes, shoes, and snacks, hopped on the bike, and used that as my main mode of transportation. Suddenly, I found myself buying only one tank of gas for the month. It is simply amazing how cycling can cause such a savings in your life.

I recently put a little over a half tank of gas in my Pathfinder in case I get called into work for an emergency. My goal is to make this half tank last until June 11 – one month. One-half tank of gas for one month. How many people can honestly say that is all they use? With a bike, it is entirely possible.

Let's do the math. Say I fill up with $60 once a week. That isn't all that unusual for the average American. Now, if we cut that back to one-half tank of gas per month, that would be a total of $30 instead of $120 per month. In my case, the oil companies are actually losing money by raising the gas prices so high. Now, imagine what would happen if everyone did what I did. The oil companies wouldn't fare well at all. That would be a huge financial loss on their part.

Do you want to stick it to the oil companies? Commute by bike, and get your friends to do so as well.


Unfortunately, my one day of work this week started at 7 am this morning. I had my backpack filled but I just couldn't get ready fast enough to allow time to ride the bike in. So, I spent my Bike-to-Work Week (day) driving my SUV in. I decided to make good use of the driving and pick up some groceries I wouldn't be able to carry by bike due to weight. I'm looking forward to riding my bike tomorrow. I won't be working anymore this week, but I will surely play.

Comment on The Shoot Out

Sunday, I gave you some information about a ride called "The Shoot Out". Click here to read it.

As part of the cycling community, it is easy to get caught up in protecting our rights. We have a right to riding peacefully and without harassment from motorists and police. This isn't occurring in Pima County. In fact, the right to ride through the local reservation might be taken away.

Cyclists, like motorists, have laws to follow. We are to follow all the basic traffic laws and some additional laws that pertain only to bicycles, like riding as far to the right as practicable, and riding no more than two abreast. Taking the lane is only to be done when moving at the speed of traffic, or the speed limit. I personally think these are reasonable. These laws are necessary to create harmony among motorists and cyclists. If everyone follows their own rule, we have a problem.


Motorists can't share the road if we don't share as well. Sharing is not one-sided.

In the VeloNews article, it is brought to our attention that riders are riding more than two abreast, even through the reservation where the law is single file. Complaints have been made about indecent exposure when cyclists relieve themselves in not very discreet places (not just number one, but number two as well). They offend others and impede traffic.

On the flip side, these cyclists have been harassed by drivers and police. Accidents were caused by police, one case being when the cop swerved his vehicle into the lane of the cyclists (oncoming) causing the front cyclists to brake hard resulting in the middle of the peloton to go down. Bad injuries were incurred. The cop showed no remorse, and reprimand from the police department is unlikely. Motorist's behavior is encouraged by the police with a pat on the back.

I was disappointed in the VeloNews article in the respect that, although the offenses of the cyclists were outlined, the police and motorists seemed to be more to blame. I agree that what they are doing is very dangerous and quite unacceptable, and the job of the police is to, well, police. They are to be the mediators between the offenders and the victims. What I don't like is how my viewpoint never really came up.

I believe that both parties are wrong. We know that the motorists and police simply have to quit harassing the cyclists. It's not just an irritating game, it's a potential death sentence for the cyclists. None of this is important enough to incur a death.

What many cyclists fail to do when they are facing a situation such as the Pima County conflict is look at what they can do to change the behavior toward them. Many residents don't like the cyclists, police included. There have been many complaints about the cyclists, complaints for behavior that I believe is completely unacceptable (read the VeloNews article for a nice survey of the offenses). These cyclists continue to break several laws and have no regard for other traffic on the road, yet they want respect. They want people to like them.

If we, as cyclists, want others to respect our right to share the road, we have to be willing to respectfully share as well. This is something of great importance to consider as we head into National Bike Month.

Bike Culture vs. Bike Advocacy

As a member of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, the concept of bicycle advocacy is in my face every day. I’m an active member on the MMBA forums and I’ve learned a lot about bike culture from them. As a blogger, I picked up the term bike culture from one of my favorite blogs: Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

As an advocate of bike culture in a country where the automobile rules and some drivers purposely try to injure cyclists, some successfully do, I was quite unhappy to view some of the comments from Americans in the following thread: Take Back the Bike Culture! Some of the commentaries seem to truly be anti-spandex. They hate their fellow cyclists who don cycling clothes for a training ride or a ride through the woods and place blame on them for whatever and wherever.

I think what fascinates me about Bike Culture is that it is culture. It is not innate. It is learned. It differs from region to region and is influenced by what is readily available to the citizens of any given area. In the United States, our urban bike culture isn’t as rich as it is in cities such as Copenhagen. It’s not about style. Bikes are toys. Some of are desperately searching for ways to turn bikes into transportation while allowing us to look normal.

The fashionable urban cyclists and spandex-clad sport cyclists need to quit bickering and realize that they need each other. We are all cyclists and we all want to be treated as we should by drivers. Fighting amongst ourselves divides us and makes us a weaker advocacy group. Sure, there will be differences among us, but no group is in complete agreement. If we can’t learn to share the roads with each other, how can we expect automobiles to share them with us?