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Ditch The Car and Grab Your Bike
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More and more commuters are riding their bikes to work. It’s a great way to save money, get in some exercise and it’s good for our planet!
“I always feel great when I’ve commuted on my bike and didn’t have to crank my car,” says Katie Overcash who works at Bicycle Sport in Charlotte. She suggests starting with the right bike. There are dozens of options depending on how far you have to go. But before you take off, cyclists must know the rules of the road.
“They have every right to be on the road. Not the sidewalk, the road.”, says police officer Jason Hooven of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. It doesn’t matter if you are riding a bike or driving a car, you must obey the same traffic laws. And, people in cars need to give cyclists a little more room. “They have to give the cyclists two feet when they pass them,” reminds Hooven.
Bicycle Sport also educates its customers about biking to work. Overcash says, “We have a lot of customers who are commuters so I can hook them up with other commuters. We have commuter sessions here at the store and you can learn tips and tricks.”
There are a few essential accessories you’ll need. First a helmet. Make sure the straps are comfortable below your ears – not too tight underneath your chin but not too loose where it comes off. Lights – if you’re riding dusk to dawn. A “flat pack” has everything you need to fix a flat. And don’t forget about securing your bike! “Cyclists should definitely lock up their bikes,” says Officer Hooven.
Biking to work can be a fun way to tread lightly on our planet. “Think of them as someone who is helping the environment, getting exercise and doing the right thing,” says Overcash.
If there is anything that makes me angry on the road, it is a bicycle. I TOTALLY disagree with them being allowed on the road instead of the sidewalk. There is barely enough room for the cars let alone leaving several feet between you and the bike. They are a hazard on the road. I am all into recycling, reusing,etc and taking care of the planet that we have been blessed with, but I draw the line with bikes on the road to save fuel(or whatever other reason people have). I know I will get blasted on here for this, but this is something I feel VERY strongly about and teach my kids to be the same way.
Well, I guess the next time that there is a hit and run involving a bike, the authorities will know who to add to their list of suspects.
Bicyclists pay taxes just like you do. They have the same rights to the road as you do. There is no law that gives cars exclusive rights to the road, except on US Interstate roads.
There are clearly a lot of bicyclists who should do a better job of being more considerate on the roads. The same holds true for drivers.
The big exception is that drivers have a vehicle that weighs between 2000 -3500 lbs. If you get a cyclist and their bike that weigh more than 300 lbs, then you’ve got a fat cyclist.
So – slow down, taker a deep breath and think about the risk you run the next time you gun it to get past that biker to make the light 100 feet ahead.
Instead, you gun it, hit the bike and change your life and the bikers forever.
Over what? Being the first to the stoplight?
Two years ago on Father’s Day weekend, a friend of mine was biking on a 4 lane road with very wide lanes (on a ten-mile loop bikers use very frequently for exercise) and hit by a driver because the driver was trying to pass another car doing the speed limit. Reason to be in a hurry or not, there is absolutely no reason more valuable than someones life to make an excuse to drive faster or disrespect someone on a bike. Because that driver didn’t pay attention for just one second and got in a hurry, he changed many lives forever.
My friend lived. But after months in a coma and serious brain damage, he can no longer walk or talk. So much was taken away that day from so many people because of one careless move by a motorist. You can ONLY imagine how that changed his life, his wife’s life and how it devastated his 6-year-old son, not to mention his parents and siblings.
So maybe when you’re teaching your children about respecting bikers on the road, you could share this story and let them make a decision for themselves. What if your children are the ones on the bikes one day?
I was a person who used to get so aggravated by bicyclists on the road until recently. It’s only upon reading about the push several decades ago by parties who benefited by making this country a car-only one that I started to change my mind. People should be free to get to work and other places on bike. It’s better healthwise and better for the planet. But our laws make it virtually impossible. The only legal way is to share the road. Bicyclists DO have the same rights car drivers do to be on the road. We just need to make sure everyone is safe at the same time.