My Bike To Work Day

EDITOR'S NOTE: This has been kicking around my "drafts" folder for more than a week, so here is my rambled thoughts on Bike to Work Day and the state of cycling in Indinaapolis

I'm no stranger to discussing bicycling in Indianapolis, either on this blog or on other sites. I have been critical of some of the bicycling initiatives mainly because I think most of them do little to encourage casual cyclists to use their bike for transit, and therefore all you're really doing is giving the people already dedicated to bicycling more options. This is primarily based on that I once was a casual cyclist, and riding on the road in a traffic lane...with cars!... was once absolutely terrifying to me, and it takes a while before one can make that leap from neighborhood and trail riding to riding on the streets, bike lane or no bike lane.. I think expanding the above options (and well done, regular bike lanes for those already converted) will be a benefit to the entire community, and I think it is kind of re-enforced with my experience today.

Departing from my Pike Township-based home at about 6am and coming back at around 3pm, and using my bike for all transportation during that time, here's what I think could help this city get more people cycling:

Driver education: If you read any IndyStar.com article on bicycling, there are ALWAYS several comments complaining about cyclists. "They need to use the sidewalk" or "Get them off the road" or "They never stop at stop signs/lights/" and on and on and on. But today, a motorist stopped in the middle of the left traffic lane (I was in the right) to tell me "the trail is for bicycles". Bikes, according to Indiana Code, have full rights to the road as long as they are in compliance with the bike code (bell, a light or reflector on both ends, and breaks).

Cyclists should assume all motorists are idiots: When I was learning to drive, I was always taught by my parents to assume that all other drivers are idiots and to avoid getting into situations where an idiot makes a call that could affect my car or my health. Similarly, us cyclists should do the same for the motorists we share the road with.

Why do I say this? When I was turning onto Pennsylvania Street, with all the cars several dozen feet away at a red light, I turn left and all of a sudden see a red car coming right for me. I peddled quickly to the other side of the street to yell at the motorist who just turned the wrong way onto a one way street. While you don't normally think you need to look BOTH ways on a one way street, I might just start doing that. You can't trust other people with your safety.

Cyclists should call out our own: I don't mean go up to the complete stranger who just blew through a red light. But if you're biking in a group, insist that everyone follow the rules of the road. Lead by example.

Also, when the media reports on some jagoff bikers who brag about ignoring the rules of the road, someone from one of the several bicycling organizations needs to contact the media outlet and condemn the aforementioned jagoffs.

Take a friend: I was fortunate enough to often bike with my family or another group of cyclists when I started riding about two years ago. Instead of riding with the same group, invite someone else along. Let them borrow a helmet if they need to, and slow down so they can keep the pace.

Indy Go Involvment: I think downtown Indianapolis being easily navigable by bike is one of this city's best kept secrets. But unfortunately, more casual cyclists who live outside of downtown might find it a bit of a challenge to bike to their job downtown. If Indy Go offered free or reduced rates for one day and promoted certain routes for cyclists to get on board at, I think it could help attract more people to public transit and get more people to bike once they get into the general downtown area.

WNOU/Radio Now 100.9 DJ Allegedly Goes On Anti-Bicyclist Tirade

UPDATE: To be clear, this is all according to one source, who I agreed to give confidentiality to so I could report this. I was not able to confirm this with a second primary source before publishing. What you see after the "banner" is the story as it was originally published.

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Local pop-music radio station WNOU 100.9 (better known as Radio Now) hosts the Scotty Davis Show, which is the station's morning show. A listener of the show e-mailed me concerning some comments Davis made about the bicycling community. In the end portion of a segment called "I Demand an Apology", where callers call in to rant about topics, Davis took to the airwaves to demand an apology from the city's bicyclists.

Davis demanded an apology from the city's bicyclist because they're "riding in the middle of the road, they have trails for that" and that he has "places to be." He goes on to say that he'd like to get behind a bicyclist while on a road, set his cruise control at five miles per hour, and yell at the cyclist such witty comments as "I have air conditioning" and "I spent my money on a car."

While there are some trails around the city, these trails are multi-use trails and only allow travel to certain points around the city. Furthermore, bicyclists and motor vehicles are supposed to share the road and follow all the same rules. This includes traveling in the middle of the lane, which is widely accepted to be the safest way for bicyclists to travel along with the motorists. This practice allows the bicyclists to assertively maintain his or her position, while a motorist can turn into an adjacent lane and pass the bicyclist if the motorist so desires and is able to safely

While there are legitimate complaints against some bicyclists, such as those that don't obey traffic light/sign stops, criticizing them for using the roadways properly is absurd and is not conductive when the city of Indianapolis is attempting to make the city more bicycle friendly.

I'll certainly let some of the bike friendly businesses I frequent know about this on-air tirade, and would appreciate them not advertising on WNOU.

Is Indianapolis a Bicycle Friendly City? A Different Angle

While browsing through the blog at The Indy Cog, I came across this entry dated March 29, 2010:

Dear Mayor Ballard,

I was extremely excited and grateful to be invited, along with the rest of the INDYCOG staff and other regional cycling organization officials, to a meeting with representatives from your office last Friday at the City-County Building to discuss a future proposition for cycling in Indianapolis. This effort, along with the Indy BikeWays efforts by yourself and Andy Lutz at the DPW, have shown great promise and support for cycling in the city.

I wanted to discuss something else that might be beneficial to the recognition of cycling as a viable form of transportation in Indianapolis. Along with my materials for the meeting, I brought with me standard bike tools (bike pump, multi-tool, wrench) carried by most commuters in the case they might need to make a minor repair on their ride. While packing for the meeting, I even thought to leave my pocket knife at home, as I knew for a fact this would not be allowed inside the City-County Building.

At the security gate, I passed my messenger bag and jacket through the X-ray as instructed, and was immediately put on alarm. The security personnel had me explain to them each item in my bag, passed my bag through again, then told me that to be admitted to the building I would have to leave my bag out with my bike because my bike pump, multi-tool, wrench, and even my red tail light was not allowed inside the building. I was told that if I didn’t leave them outside with my bike, they would be confiscated and not returned to me. Because these items are valuable, I wasn’t about to leave them outside on my bike, as there would be no way to secure them; I had to ride to a friend’s house and stash these items there, making me almost 30 minutes late to the meeting. Another member of INDYCOG had a similar incident, and took the chance to leave his gear outside in an inconspicuous place (luckily, it was where he left it upon return).

You can read the full entry here.

While this isn't the most pressing issue our city faces, it does bring up how bicycle friendly our city really is if our city government won't even accommodate bikers so they can do business at the City-County Building. The re-modeling of the City Market might give some solutions to bike storage, but I don't think people should have to shell out bucks just to go in and attend a council meeting or pay a parking citation. They should be able to chain it to a fence or tree, bring their non-weaponry in, do their business, and leave.

Is Indianapolis a Bicycle Friendly City?

Recently, fellow blogger Paul Ogden has taken some heat in his multiple posts (here, here, and here) on bike lanes and the dangers of them from what seems like posters from The Indy Cog. The Indy Cog is a popular web site for cyclist enthusiasts of the Indianapolis area, a website I first found by visiting the link via Bart Lies!

You can decide if bike lanes are beneficial or not for yourself. Personally, the "dooring" brings me some concern, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt for now that it won't be a concern.

My thoughts on the matter is that while these bike lanes are a good start, there is still plenty of work to be done. I understand that not every road can be expanded, but many of the roads with bike lanes really feel like they were put in without much thought. In places like downtown and the cultural districts (Broad Ripple, Mass Ave, Fountain Square, etc...), motorists are already accommodating of cyclists. Especially in downtown, where speeds rarely go over 30mph due to frequent stop lights and signs, pedestrians, and the wonders of traffic.

But bike lanes outside of these areas, or even biking on the roads, is a different story.

Many roads outside of the cultural areas and downtown are just not accustomed to having bikes share the roads. Fortunately, I think there is a solution.

In Marion County-Indianapolis, it is not illegal for bicycles to be on sidewalks. As I've mentioned earlier, cultural areas and downtown have relatively few problems with motorists sharing the road with bicycles. These are also the places where the sidewalks are utilized by pedestrians.

But on roads that aren't bike friendly, they might have some sidewalks, which aren't often used. I like to point to the sidewalk that circles around the Georgetown and 56th St. area. It is not heavily used by pedestrians, and is relatively new. It's smooth, and isn't littered with potholes like the street sometimes is (which is a whole OTHER problem about riding on the streets, but I digress). In lieu of cultural trails going up around the city, extending sidewalks on Michigan/MLK Roadd, 38th Street, Fall Creek Boulevard, and other areas will make it easy for cyclists and motorists to co-exist. And for people like myself who want to commute with our bicycles but are still nervous about riding on the roads, it gives us a good way to get used to the environment.

See, I think a bicycle friendly city shouldn't just be friendly for the cyclists already doing it, but for people who want to do it but haven't done it yet. Extending sidewalks on these busy streets would go a long way to accomplishing that.