Share the Road

A few weeks ago a woman I know told me her partner didn't do a good job fixing her inner tube, so her ride felt unsteady. I asked her if she knew how to work on her bike herself, she admitted to not knowing -but knew it would be a good idea if she did.

"I don't want to be eight or ten miles out of town with a flat."

I agreed and told her about the biking 101 class given by the city (which I still haven't taken).

The other day she excitingly told me that she signed up for the class this Saturday (yesterday). She was proud and excited as she felt she was doing her part, as a bicyclist, by learning how to navigate the roads and by acquiring the tools to build a good relationship with others who occupy the roads-mainly the vehicles.

It was obvious she was the kind of biker that is concerned not only about her rights and responsibilities, but rights and responsibilities of the ones behind the wheel. During one of our earlier conversations, she told me about being "run off the road" (very similar to my own experience described in an earlier entry.) Like myself, she went on the sidewalk to avoid a run in with some oblivious cars. What she got instead was a run in with a pedestrian who yelled at her for being on the sidewalk.

Now, I understand that the sidewalks can be narrow and that in many cities it is actually illegal to be on the sidewalks. But, it seems here the bike rider is at times in the mercy of the traffic on either form of pavement, and too often has to apologize no matter which she chooses. She told me about the bike/car accident that occurred near Indian School that severely injured the biker. I came home to find out there was yet another accident on Tramway; this time the person was killed. The first accident was due to the driver running a red light, the second was due to some medical issue that caused the driver to lose control of his/her faculties, meander off the road and strike the biker.

It was a bad day for bikers and drivers alike. The first accident was obviously avoidable if the driver had not run the red light. The second, since it was due to some condition that rendered the driver incapable of navigating the car, was just really really bad luck for both biker and driver. I do not know the condition of the biker in the first scenario nor the driver in the second. We do know that the driver in the first scenario will hope that the biker pulls through and that the biker in the second scenario will not have the opportunity to bike on the open road.

The news was a quick flash on the local stations...too quick for us to know anything about any of the individuals in the cars/bikes that day. It was too quick for anyone to consider the larger implications of the relationships being built or destroyed between those who occupy the roads.

No doubt, those who knew each of those individuals are going through their own sort of emotional confusion and pain. For the rest of us, we just know that the "conversation" on the road between the first biker and driver has yet to be resolved. We are wondering if the driver will learn from this episode and whether the biker will feel safe enough to get back on the road again. The conversation between the second set on the road, unfortunately, will not have the opportunity to continue.

Of course, we, as a community of bikers, drivers, pedestrians, can continue the conversation for them. The conversation I speak of is experiential. Meaning, the way in which we approach the road, consider one another, honor the space of the other and recognize the other's rights. This is the give and take that happens each time we all share the roads. Much like cars have been conversing (with the help of traffic signs, lights, signals) with one another, bikes, cars and pedestrians need to continue to learn a common language.

I fear that the frequency of accidents on the road will inhibit bikers from utilizing the roads, especially those who are looking for a different way of traveling. And, as I stated in earlier blogs, this is the most important way of making it safer for everyone on the roads.

I am proud of my acquaintance who is choosing to be a proactive biker. She is interested in learning the language of biking and interacting on the road. I would like to see the same interest on the part of drivers, or, at least start with those who are responsible for teaching us how to drive. Of course, it is the bikers who may feel more pressed to take the class, as they are usually the ones who are more vulnerable on the road. But, lest we forget...

It takes two to be in a relationship.

Biking Drunk

[Note:  after several comments I realized that I didn't really date the below experience.  So I will now.  This post relates an episode that happened over 10 years ago]

It was a long night and  I was drunk.  I don't remember how I exactly got this way (other than just drinking and drinking), but I was.   I was a regular at a bar called Sonny's.   I liked to dance, and it was actually pretty common for me to put my beer down just about anywhere.   Usually the tables were taken, but people shared table space, spots on counters, etc. to deal with the simple fact that not everyone could possibly sit down or want to.

The night just sort of flipped at about one A.M, and I started throwing up.   This in itself is not that unusual with the consumption of alcohol, but it didn't make sense to me.   I'd been coming almost every week for well over a year and this night seemed about average so why was this episode particularly worse than any other.   As last call came and went, I laid my head down on a table and literally threw up again and again into a variety of empty glasses.  Having stopped drinking about an hour before, I was still very much in trouble.   And as the bar closed, I was in no shape to go home.

As people asked me if I needed a ride, I kept shrugging them off, mumbling, "I'll be okay."  I remember the owner telling one of the cocktail waitresses, "Don't worry about Don.  Let him sober up.  He's not in the way."   The band was still loading out and as the morning wore on the effects diminished, I finally got up stumbled out of the bar and onto my bike. I managed to bike the 2 miles on side streets, weaving in and out but staying on the bike convinced that I'd been drugged (something beyond the alcohol) and slept for most of the next day.

Studies show that a not insignificant amount of bike fatalities are the result of riding while drunk.  Of course, the actually fatalities overall is pretty minimal but then again one death is too many.   Another note, however, that is not mentioned is how many of those bike fatalities resulted in driver fatalities?  That's always been my contention.  If I bike and drink, then the person I am putting most at risk is myself (for the record--don't do it.  Don't bike and drink.).   Instead of stumbling out of the bar and getting behind the wheel of a 2 ton machine, a potentially very deadly weapon, I'm hopping on a machine that weighs about 1/5th of me....something that could certainly traumatize someone, but is very unlikely to kill anyone besides myself.

Ideally, I shouldn't have the impulse to go to a bar, drink to intoxication, and thus ponder my transportation options but that's beyond the scope of this piece.  We all do things we know we shouldn't be doing.

But that is for some other time....

Biking as a Viable Alternative

In my digesting of all things biking, all the time, I've been coming to grips with the sort of schizophrenic messaging we (as a society) engage in when it comes to biking.

Take for example, the basic standards in regards to what exists and what doesn't exist in ABQ.   Recently I was surprised to see a bike box on Martin Luther King at Edith.   What is a bike box?

Bike Box

Yes, we have a bike box in ABQ.   Yet, I'm not even sure cars know its there or even how to use it?   First off, its not painted green like this one pictured above in Long Beach.   And, second, I've yet to see a story about it or any mention on any city website about how its supposed to be used.   Supposedly, based on a forum post I dug up, cars are not supposed to turn right on red at intersections with a bike box.  Perhaps? 

Messaging.  

How do we encourage people to bike?  How do we let people know that not only is it a viable alternative to driving but that its not dangerous, doesn't require all the fancy gear, and depending on the length of your trip and end destination provides amenities that cars can't (like not having to pay for parking and better health)?

Know Your Bike

Let's face it, you're gonna have a flat.

I would hazard a guess that you may go years without having to change a flat tire in a car.  In fact, I took a trip and we got a flat about halfway from our destination.  The driver, a smart, independent 30 year old woman, had never changed a flat tire.  She didn't even know where the jack was or how to operate it.  End of story, we changed it and went on our way.

But biking?   You're gonna change a lot of flats.  Now, this is not some post where I walk  you through the process.  No, there is plenty of help on the net for that.   This is a small post that simply points out one thing.    There are two types of inner tubes for your bike.

Is your tube Presta or Schrader?

Now, most bikes that you'll see on a cost-effective budget will be Schrader.   Almost all pumps can work with both, but most of them will be set up by default to work with Schrader.  To make it work with Presta, you have to do a little adapting on it.   Make sure you know how that works (just ask the local bike shop how-you are buying your bike stuff from a small, local bike shop right?) or else you'll end up like me and wrestle with it and still take your bike to the shop.

Presta valves are apparently more structurally sound, so the pricier bikes will use Presta (funny, I don't really think of my bike as pricey, but it does have a Presta valve).   So before you replace your tube, know what size of tube you need (written on the side of the tire (26 X....or 750C or ?) and whether it is Presta or Schrader.   You can't use one in the other.   But, and this strikes me as a cheap solution, you can add an adapter to a Presta valve so you don't have to futz around with your pump every time you have to pump it up.

The adapter looks like this:

Presta to Schrader Adapter

 And it'll totally save you time if you have more than one bike and don't want to be flipping it around between bikes. Best $1.61 I spent today.