October 9, 2015
The seasons have changed and so too have the outlook of many
motorists. Impatience, I sense. Annoyance with my slowness and use of
multi-use trails crossing streets they feel.
Bicycle commuting to and from your daily destination and home
is generally a delightful experience.
Now, I don’t know about you, because it seems like we never really talk
the way we used to, but for me it helps get going and feeling good about my
day. The morning ride in to the
inspector general’s office is unfailingly invigorating and enjoyable. However, on my homeward leg things
occasionally get a bit hectic. Motorists
may be inattentive and rushed. These are
things we have to work through together.
I have recently tried modifying my route somewhat to avoid crossing an
intersection (near several bars and a gym) on the multi-use trail. The multi-use trail is kind of a mixed
blessing because it makes me feel calmer not being close to many whizzing motor
vehicles, but you are also not quite as visible to them as you are on the
road. I’ve had a few close calls there,
and, recently, one that was a bit closer than most. I took a day off and decided to try a new
route home that keeps me on the street through a busy intersection. So far I think it’s better and I feel more
comfortable and visible.
There is no doubt that bicycle commuting has its risks. Whenever I am discussing bicycle commuting
with others, danger is their primary concern.
I think it is generally considered less safe than getting drunk on your
couch, but safer than BASE jumping.
Omaha is generally considered a moderately good to moderately bad city
for bicycle commuting. Here are a few viewpoints:
Omaha motorists
are, well, assholes. The mentality here is that streets were designed for cars
and cars alone, and if you’re not in one, then get the hell out of the way.
Despite the city’s recent investment in creating “sharrows” and pseudo bike
lanes, even the most hardcore bicycle enthusiasts admit riding a bike on Omaha
city streets is dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before a careless driver
comes a bit to close and sends you ass over teakettle — or worse, pulls right
in front of you, launching you like a fragile paper doll over your handlebars
and the hood of their SUV.
If you haven’t
heard, Omaha, Nebraska, is now a hotbed of bicycle commuting, with a bike-share
program and an elegant cycling/pedestrian bridge spanning the Missouri River.
On the UNO
website there is a page dedicated to how the university won honorable mention
in 2012 for cyclist friendly universities. The page also mentions that UNO is
supposedly now a bicycle friendly city. This is simply not the case. Cyclist
from outside of the Omaha area would quickly find that unless you know the city
like the back of your hand it is very difficult to travel via bike paths. There
are simply not enough of them. There are several main bike paths that take a
cyclist east and west and north and south, but what is lost is everything in
the middle.
In addition,
cyclists are still plagued with bad attitudes from inconsiderate motorists.
Often cyclists are honked at, yelled at, and are bombarded with other rude
gestures. This comes from a lack of awareness about the benefits of cycling and
shows that Omaha has so far not done enough to foster an eco-friendly, carbon
footprint reducing community.
What the city
has done for cyclists has been a good start, but we need a much stronger bike
path infrastructure and to change a lot of attitudes before Omaha or UNO can
proudly brandish any kind of award for being cyclist friendly.
I have heard that conflict creates
interest. However, when it comes to my
bicycle commuting I am naturally interested in avoiding conflict! As a bicyclist, I rely on motorists to stay
back. I have heard bicyclists say that
you can’t count on motorists seeing you.
Well, I do count on that. I
generally wear bright clothing and use 2-5 lights. I also try to ride cautiously yet assertively
(more the former than the latter lately).
As far as the two perspectives on
bicycle commuting in Omaha, I think things are have generally improved since
the 80s.
There will always be some
disagreements. Here in the US we have an
income gap. This causes some
disagreements. Some think a lot of
people should own guns, some think only a few should. Some think bicycles can safely traverse the
city streets with motor vehicles in relative harmony. Others feel we should be segregated to
recreational trails to enjoy some heart-rate-related wankery in relative
privacy, typically observed only by other wanking bicyclers and skittish
pedestrians/runners.
Well, the Live Well Omaha Commuter Challenge has been completed. It was an
enjoyable experience and allowed me, and probably many others, to feel like I
was earning imaginary credit for my bicycling activities. For those of you who may not be acquainted
with the LWOCC, if you ride a bicycle you get a certain amount of points for
each ride and also for each mile ridden.
There are other ways to earn credit, via lesser other forms of
commuting, such as walking or busing or carpooling. Anyway, I always believed these points were
basically imaginary, much like my ongoing imaginary ascent to the rank of archbishop of archery tag. But recently I was
reminded that, while these points are indeed imaginary, participation can be
rewarded.
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| Low resolution, grainy, and low-key, like my thought processing. |
That’s right, I again was awarded
for participating in an event! Thanks! All I had to do was drive my car downtown (not enough time/energy/motivation to bicycle) and pick it up from the Live Well Omaha office. They had a B-cycle station that was apparently popular.
As far as danger and bicycle commuting go, many of these concerns come down to
a feeling that we are living in a dangerous world and we need to be
protected. Many feel guns are nice and/or quaint. However, as I believe one Dr.Mysterian might predict, guns will soon be replaced by personal armed drones (my-PADs) that follow us about wherever we deign to travel. Oh sure there might be a few fatalities as we
work out some kinks, but soon their programming will allow them to protect us
as well as many overworked guardian angels are able.
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| http://www.cbs.com/shows/angel-from-hell/ |
They will probably soon develop their own "artificial" intelligence to save us the trouble of having to update them on what constitutes a tangible threat to our or their personal safety. Gun violence will be drastically reduced
as we entrust our safety to our electronic protectors. These protectors/gods will be especially
useful to bicyclers who may rely on them to keep us safe with blinking lights,
sirens, alarms, lasers, and electrical system disrupting detonators. As a last resort, micro-missiles will be armed
and launched within milliseconds of recognizing an imminent threat of death/dismemberment while a protective polycarbonate egg will simultaneously protectively encase the endangered
protectee.
Here is an article about how we need a beautiful young celebrity to lead a bicycle commuting movement to allow USians to embrace, respect, and notice the bicycle as a legitimate means of transport in our urban areas. Maybe even a few highways. Cars can have the interstates, as far as I'm concerned.
Until one or more of these events occur; however, we must may choose to all
ponder the risks involved in bicycle commuting.
I have to admit that I don’t generally encourage people to commute by
bicycle (other than offering them maps and suggestions as to safer routes) because I would feel really bad if they suffered a debilitating injury
or death while bicycling at my suggestion (not that anyone would be so gullible
as to follow a suggestion of mine without the usual dose of hypnotic
hallucinogens,
chocolate Gu, and cheap wine).
One reason I commute vi-uh bicycle is that I love to ride my bike and without
bicycle commuting I would feel like I wasn’t riding enough (even with commuting it ain't that much). Another is that I think bicycling is a good
thing for communities and the world in general.
As Mohandas Gandhi allegedly intoned, “Be the change you want to see in
the world.” Speaking of MG, who, like
Jesus Christ, I understand, loved to tell fun stories, here is a fun story,
allegedly originated by one Charleston Darwin and aided in its evolution by the redoubtable Thomas Huxley. To paraphrase/plagiarize one John H. Vandermeer:
Bumblebees nest in abandoned mouse nests, which are made available when domestic cats prey on those mice. The pollinating service the bees offer to the clover is thus ultimately provided by the cats, thus providing an indirect facilitation of clover by cats. Cows eat the clover and provide beef to power the British navy which extended the British empire to its former colonial glory. Cats were cared for by elderly, unmarried women, formerly known as “spinsters.”
And, of course as an insightful
member of an Idaho trail maintenance crew I once co-"led" humourously pointed out to us after
I didactically recited this series of causalities - without the British empire
as an antagonist, MG would not have become the protagonist of the Indian
revolution and an inspiration to so many of us as we become moderately
interested in passive resistance/civil disobedience/moral development. Hence, cats (or spinsters, if you prefer) led
to Gandhi. And so I would like to thank the cats
and spinsters for their contribution towards my bicycle commuting
habits/enthusiasm.
Speaking of cats, I noticed a dead
one on the side of the road as I bicycled along my newly chosen everyday
route. It was one I had seen before, alive and lively scavenging through some garbage cans outside an apartment complex. It had a raccoon/coati-like tail and wore a
striking, rusty coat with a cocky swagger that would make Mick Jagger
blush. It lay near the cans that sustained it. Death by car. It can kill you from the inside or the
outside. Pick your poison people, and
happy Halloween!
Let’s all cautiously charge forward towards glory!
