Revolution Schmevolution

In a previous post I cited a series of articles written by Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly (sheesh, why do I even subscribe to that magazine when Jan puts everything but the ads on his blog..?) about the relative merits of bicycle-specific infrastructure such as separated bike lanes, cycle tracks, etc. The gist was that there is a battle between those who advocate for bikes to have separate-but-equal facilities and those who want bicycles to be treated as vehicles - granted rights on the road equal to cars. I suggested, in my intuitive, non-scientific way, that there was likely some middle ground where bike lanes and cycle tracks would continue to proliferated in densely packed urban cores, bikes would continue to be treated like malformed stepchildren in the suburbs and in the country we would still have to clench our Lycra clad sphincters every time one of those gigantic pickup trucks blows by, but otherwise would still be happiest on such roads with their light traffic.

In his follow-up post on the topic, Jan has done what Jan usually does, which is analyze the options from a rational, statistical perspective aimed at maximizing the safety of cyclists and has recommended almost exactly the opposite of what we seem to actually be doing. He argues that on city streets where automobile traffic is moving slowly, riding in the street is the safest approach. Where the speed picks up a bit (up to 30 MPH), painted bike lanes allow sufficient separation to assure bikes and cars can coexist peaceably. And when cars are flying, he acknowledges that completely separate bike lanes are warranted. He cites the example of Munich, Germany which has engaged in a decade long effort to modernize its infrastructure and has apparently achieved a 70% increase in bicycle mode share in just nine years; 17.4% of all trips in Munich are now made by bicycle.

His key recommendation suggests the creation of Fahrradstraßen, bike boulevards where cyclists have the dominant right-of-way. Personally I have difficulty imagining many American cities will ever consider bicyclists worthy of the top spot on the totem pole. It just seems too European. But the concept is definitely intriguing. Just take a few strategically placed, lightly used side streets and designate them "bike boulevards". Cars can still use them, but bikes have the right-of-way. This would get a lot of bikes off the main arteries and make cyclists feel safer, which would get more people on bikes which would reduce traffic on the main arteries. I just have such a hard time seeing Americans giving priority to bikes over cars.

Maybe if we make it a nationalistic thing. Make it about beating the Germans. You know, Let's get those Krauts before they cover the world in Fahrradbahns! It might work. After all it worked once. I mean we entered WWII to save the English, who we don't much care for (and who, I might add we had to forcibly expel from these beloved shores a mere 158 years prior), and the Jews, who many Americans would probably have liked to exterminate themselves. We could get some awesome propaganda posters made and whip up the anti-Teutonic fervor that's always lurking just below the otherwise quiet exterior of the average American. Nah, it would never work. Or, I guess we'll just keep things just the way they are, which is what I suspect we'll do.

The problem is that the communities with the greatest desire for improved infrastructure, i.e., cities, don't really need much in the way of improvement. And those most in need of improvement, i.e., suburbs, don't want it (meaning don't want to spend money on it). So we'll end up with all kinds of separated lanes in the cities where we don't need it and the suburbs will continue to be soulless, car focused hellscapes populated by Humscalade driving distracto-moms shuttling their obese offspring from one diabetes clinic to the next while shouting at their cell phones over the television in the back seat playing a continuous loop of drool inducing mental pablum. Sorry Jan. We're not in the Old Country anymore...        

Vélo Versitalis

Riding a bike is many things to many people. It is a professional sport, a form of practical transportation and a leisure activity for millions of people around the world. I guess golf and baseball and ice skating and synchronized swimming all double as both sports and leisure time activities… okay, synchronized swimming is really more akin to conceptual art than sport but, you know, tell that to the Olympic Committee… but to my knowledge they aren’t practical forms of transportation. There are sports that share cycling’s versatility, but I maintain that none quite equals the accessibility of cycling. Take cross-country skiing. I presume for the people of Norway, strapping two boards to your feet grabbing some poles and shuffling forward has long constituted a sensible method for getting from Point A to Point B, but you gotta have snow to ski, which will apparently soon be relegated to isolated parts of Great Britain by global climate change. I guess when the snow stops coming you can always roller ski, but I’m going out on a limb and predict that we will not be seeing large numbers of roller ski commuters on the streets of America’s cities any time soon.

Is that you Uncle Bob? 

Likewise, though bobsledding, kayaking, canoeing, sail boating, hang gliding, wind surfing sail boarding may technically qualify as vehicular transportation, none offers quite utility of the simple bicycle. Where, for instance, can you mount panniers on a luge? 

No leisure / sport / transportation type can match cycling for efficiency and convenience; with the possible exception of motor sports, though the internal combustion engine and even electric engines are dependent on large quantities of fuel, whereas the average trip on a bicycle can typically by fueled by an apple and about 16 ounces of water. 

All of which is by way of saying that in these days in which it seems the professional sport of cycling is hell bent on self destruction, we need to remember that the profession of cycling, the sport of cycling, the industry of cycle racing is but the smallest, least consequential aspect of the bicycle. I am a fan of the sport and am deeply troubled by the devastation currently being wreaked on the sport; a sport about which most Americans will never know anything other than what they are reading in the current headlines. The association most people will derive from the current state of the sport is Cycling = Doping. What a shame.

And more’s the shame because the wounds now being suffered are entirely self inflicted. But I take some comfort in the idea that maybe now that professional cycling has decided to debase and demoralize itself and its fans, now that cycling is seen by the general public as the strict province of degenerates and reprobates, maybe the industry that underwrites it, the manufacturers and the cycling press and the event organizers will take the opportunity to reorient away from their intense focus on super humans performing impossible feats toward regular people having fun on bikes and using them for practical purposes.

La Vida Vélo

I never meant to own an ‘86 Fuji. In 1986 I didn’t even own a bike. I didn’t know anything about bikes. Like many of us I left bicycles back in childhood, thinking of them as mere toys. In my case, most of the childhood bikes had been cobbled together from junk, collected at the local auction held periodically by the police to clear out their storage space. Rust was all that held most of them together. We favored Stingray-ish models with ape hangers, banana seats and sissy bars. Cards were mounted on the forks or seat stays so as to emulate the sound of a throaty unmuffled motor (or so we thought). We hardly ever actually rode the things. Mostly we idled around the courtyard practicing wheelies, skids and jumps. Our image of bikes came from a combination of Evel Knievel  and Easy Rider. What we dreamed of was motorcycles and more or less as soon as we could get them we dumped the bicycles unceremoniously like yesterday’s newspaper.

Mountain bikes came along and hybrids and somewhere in my adulthood a Specialized Crossroads showed up. A TIG-welded Cromoly frame with low gearing and a comfortable upright position. At first just to amble around the neighborhood as I pretended to “get in shape” but then later, during a long stretch of time in which I have nothing really better to do, the rides started getting longer and more frequent. I very slowly found myself wearing lycra shorts with chamois and spending hours studying maps of the rural roads nearby. Then Lance came along and like so many of my generation I had to have a road bike. At the time TIG-welded aluminum held the sweet spot for mid-range racing style bikes and I still have and love my Trek 2000 with its forgiving gearing and dependable Shimano 105 shifters. 

The years rolled by and slowly I became obsessed with bicycles. In addition to actually riding them I became a passionate fan of the sport. Though not a racer myself I never miss an opportunity to watch all the action from Europe I can squeeze out of my cable subscription and I try to get to most of the big races in my immediate vicinity. And I started to read every book and magazine I could get about bikes. I became, and remain one of those interminable bike people, excelled in tediousness only by hemp advocates and martial arts movie fans. And of course the madness culminated in the purchase of a ludicrously expensive carbon fiber trophy bike, hand-made in Waterloo, Wisconsin.  Oh brother. I had it bad.   

But just as I had gradually become engulfed in Euro race culture over time, I have since begun a transition to a more practical; you might say a more sensible, approach to cycling. I have begun to wean myself from the influence of the magazines with their advertisements and annual Why You Need a New Bike articles. I have tried to stop feeling anxiety when the skinny kid with the shaved legs blows by me. I have resolved to obey the laws when practicable (which is not always the case!) and to ride safely rather than in the barnstorming style of yesteryear. Perhaps most importantly, I have given up caring about my stats. I still set goals for the number of miles I ride in a given calendar year, in order to motivate me when I would rather lie on the sofa watching television. But I have stopped worrying about average MPH, high speeds and all that nonsense.

I still love to watch racing, and still think Jens Voigt rocks; I still love to get spandexed up and indulge my inner racer but I no longer fantasize that every ride is a chance to improve my times. I no longer believe in “junk” miles. I try to enjoy being on a bike just for fun; running down to the farmers market on the weekend or just around the neighborhood to blow the stink off me. And that's where the Fuji comes in.

As I've read and thought more about what is really important to me I have concluded that what I long for is real, lasting value in life. Real long-term relationships, deep interactions with art and culture, daily contact with well made, durable items crafted with pride for lasting utility and beauty. And nothing really symbolizes that longing for permanence, for dependability like a bike that has been around for 26 years. So, off to Craigslist I went and in fairly short order found a very typical Bike Boom bike for a very reasonable price.   

Maybe I have just been co-opted by the new fashion, simply replacing the old. Maybe I’m just preparing for early retirement to the bikey utopia that is Portland, Oregon.Whatever the case, I seem to be enjoying the ride more than ever, looking forward to the day, hopefully in very old age, when my corpse is found lying in a ditch with a smile on my face.