Post by His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser PhilosopherRed Routes in San Diego County
Many streets and highways in San Diego County have bike lanes. There
are also a number of bike paths, which are paved roadways reserved for
non-motorized travel. "red routes",.http://geartopp.blogspot.com/
As you get acquainted with the bicycle groups you'll quickly learned
bike facilities are actually bad for cyclists.
It's something counter intuitive but they cite something about
"ghettos."
How so? I've limited experience with bike facilities but what I have has
been positive.
They claim every form of "segregation" is bad for people. There's a
group dedicated to fight all kinds of bike lanes, bike paths or any
other solution other than the status quo. I understand the cyclist
should not be mandated to be on the bike lane, but mundane cyclists
need some kind of space of their own.
My campaign is now centered around 'LIVING SPACE' rather than bike
lanes and that means you should not not share a traffic lane with
traffic. Either bike lanes or mandating cars to exit the traffic lane
when passing a bike are equally possible. JUST TAKE THE LANE when no
space is provided.
I just went digging for information from the Land of the Sleeping
Dragon:
RIDING A BIKE IN CHINA
I always say that we must learn from each other, and China has a thing
or two to teach us --both good and bad. They invented the gunpowder
and we in the West took it to make deadly weapons. It was meant to be
firecrackers like those in the 4th of July!
Anyway, they also invented the proletarian bike --the Flying Pigeon--
which moved China until the wave of capitalism arrived with the car
and the traffic jam. Where's the Chinese wisdom? We are about to find
out:
How to ride your bike in China…
Well the best way is to push off into the traffic, without looking and
let everyone get out of your way. This is the way most people ride
here. If that does not sound like a good plan, then you can try the
modified plan wherein you push off into traffic and try to keep a look
out in all directions for the impending doom of another vehicle or
pedestrian heading towards you. These are the two approved methods of
bike riding in China. There is no other way. You cannot wait for the
traffic to clear. You might have to wait until midnight. You can’t
wait for someone to yield to you. You will have to wait until hell
freezes over. You just have to forget everything you have ever learned
about how to behave in traffic and set off, hoping for the best. And
it actually does seem to work. People are coming at you from all
directions and at all speeds and most of the time they do not collide.
It is a miracle. Of course, you can’t usually go more than a block or
two without seeing someone exchanging words after a collision or near
miss. Today as I was riding home, a motorcycle pulled right into the
middle of the bike lane and stopped! I guess he was waiting for me to
hit him and that is exactly what I did because although I squeezed my
brakes as hard as I could, it was impossible to stop in time. He just
smiled at me and motioned for me to go ahead. I didn’t say anything to
him because in China there is no road rage. I mean none at all. If
someone cuts you off, you might give him or her a dirty look, but you
never start yelling at him or her and giving him or her a hard time.
If you want to make it, you must force your way, always exercising a
sort of 6th sense about when it is better to give in and when it is
okay to make your move. One strategy is to never look the car drivers
in the eyes. When they know you have seen them, they will never give
you the right of way. If you pretend not to see them, they will
hesitate for a second and you can make your move. But don’t try this
with a huge bus or truck!
There must be some Good News
Now…you may think that I don’t much care for bicycle riding in China,
but actually the opposite is true. It is a great way to get around. I
ride about 15 minutes to my school and I always feel invigorated when
I arrive. It is hard to find an overweight Chinese and part of this
must be due to all of the bicycle riding. The bicycle is a sort of
social instrument for the Chinese. They enjoy riding together and
talking, delightfully unaware of the other riders of course! Children
are free bikes to go anywhere with their bikes.
http://cms.westport.k12.ct.us/cmslmc/mystuff/China/letterstoamerica/bicyclinginchina.htm
***
No road rage, you must be kidding. I was viciously attacked for giving
the finger to a driver blasting the horn at me over a stupid
ordinance. When are the Chinese learning the value of revenge? They
seem to be learning. One Chinese driver recently killed a peasant on a
bike after a minor incident. He stabbed her, I think. Otherwise they
seem pretty casual about respecting bike lanes or sidewalks. No
obesity is a good thing. I think this is the worst plague of the West.
I still think the European have the sane approach to bicycling and
traffic in general. They are our last hope.
ACTUALLY OUR LAST HOPE IS THE REVOLUTION.
"REVOLUTIONS FOR THE PLANET" (motto of Taiwanese bike manufacturer
'Sun')