m-bike.org

Author: Todd Scott

  • Impeding Traffic: Looking at the bigger picture

    Throughout the Detroit suburbs, cyclists can expect to hear the occasional verbal assault from motorists. The typical theme is “you don’t belong on the road” or “you’re in my way.”

    Clearly state law says that cyclists have the same access to all Michigan roads except limited-access highways.

    Some argue that since cyclists can’t travel at the speed limit, they shouldn’t be on the road and that bicycles impede traffic. But courts have dismissed that argument since it would effectively ban bicycles (and pedestrians, pack-animals, farm machinery, Amish wagons, etc.) from all roads.

    But are motorists really that concerned about being occasionally slowed due sharing the road with cyclists? How much time do Metro Detroit motorists “lose” to cyclists on the roads?

    Rather than attempt to answer that question, it’s perhaps more important to step back and judge all the issues that delay motorists.

    How much time do motorists lose to:

    • Road construction
    • Stop lights and stop signs
    • Speed limits
    • Rush hour traffic
    • School buses loading and unloading children
    • At-grade train crossings
    • Inclement weather
    • Emergency vehicles
    • Slow downs due to vehicle crashes
    • Other cars on the road

    Motorists’ time lost to bicyclists is certainly minor compared with most of these. So are these same motorists yelling at school buses and emergency vehicles to get off the road? It seems that if they were so consumed with decreasing their travel delays, they’d focus on the issues causing the biggest delays.

    And speaking of travel delays, this past week an apparently careless driver caused a horrific tanker explosion on I-75 which caused over a $1 million in damage and has left the expressway closed for days. This portion of I-75 carries 160,000 vehicles per day and the closure is causing many minutes of delay per vehicle.

    This single crash has likely caused more motorist delay than all the cyclists in Metro Detroit combined — ever.

    That certainly helps put this all in perspective.

  • One man’s “junk” bicycle is another man’s transportation

    [This article is not intended to slight the Continental Bike Shop. They’re one of the best shops in Metro Detroit and have a long history of supporting the bicycling community.]

    Friends don't let friends ride junkThere is a somewhat popular bumpersticker saying, “Friends don’t let friends ride junk.” It’s intended message is to encourage people to buy higher-quality bikes at independent shops rather than low-cost department stores bikes.

    But that message can reinforce a bit of bicycle snobbiness.

    What about those that can only afford the department store bikes? Or what about those riding the second- and third-hand department store bikes? Or what about those living in cities like Detroit — a bike shop desert — where you can’t even buy a new Trek or Cannondale without heading to a suburban bike shop?

    And what about those living in areas prone to bike theft? Sometimes a junk bike is a better choice.

    This goes beyond road bicycling. Mountain bike festivals sometimes have a Huffy toss where the contest is to throw a Huffy bicycle like a discus. What message does that send to those who can only afford to ride a Huffy?

    It seems we need to encourage all biking, from carbon fiber to high-tensile steel, from 24 speeds to one.

    Perhaps a better bumpsticker message would be “Ride what you got.”

  • Does your commute suck?

    My Commute sucksTom Greenwood wrote a Detroit News column earlier this month that highlighted a new web site called mycommutesucks.org where commuters can report how good or bad their commute is.

    Like most Metro Detroiters, Greenwood is often blinded by auto-centrism. In other words, the transportation options on the other side of the windshield are rarely recognized or understood.

    For example, I don’t think he understands that non-auto commuting can provide additional simultaneous benefits. Sure, the San Francisco woman has a 90 minute round trip commute, however that also includes 40 minutes of exercise, time to relax, grab some food, read the paper, and apparently socialize.

    Another factor rarely considered when compared commute modes is cost. As an example, for me, biking three miles into downtown Royal Oak takes about 5 minutes longer than driving. However, I need to work about 6 minutes to cover the added vehicle and parking costs. In effect, biking is slightly quicker, but especially once I include the time to find a parking space.

    Also, based on his column, I don’t think Mr. Greenwood realizes that the group behind this web site, Transportation for America, is pushing for a new federal transportation bill that reduces auto dependence while increasing other options such as biking and mass transit.

    Our congested roads have lanes added to them – yet promptly fill up again. More and more people are riding the train and bus, yet service is being cut. Biking has never been more popular, but it seems our streets have never been more difficult or dangerous to use.

    I think that just put a crack in the windshield…

  • Doctor drives head on into cyclist on Hines

    Click on Detroit is reporting that a doctor after working a 24 hour shift, got into her car, and hit an experienced cyclist on Hines Drive.

    Police said the female driver crashed head on into a 60-year-old man riding his bicycle with a group of friends. The impact left a large dent in the hood of the car. The cyclist was seriously hurt and is being treated at University of Michigan Hospital.

    As of Friday night, no decision had been made whether or not the driver would be charged.

    Click on Detroit also has video coverage of the crash.

    It would be interesting to hear the eyewitness accounts from the others cycling in the group.

    Apparently only Click on Detroit has covered this story so far.

  • Cycling’s gender gap in Metro Detroit

    The Detroit Free Press recently ran an article about an o2WomensRide for novice women cyclists in suburban Detroit.

    E.J. Levy, 56, of Bloomfield Hills noticed that the local cycling community didn’t offer many group rides for novice women, [so] he started one.

    The cycling community tends to cater to a hard-core, competitive crowd. Often, that’s guys who enjoy going fast, Levy says.

    That’s great. Oakland County needs more slower rides and not just for novice women.

    But perhaps what’s most striking about Levy’s comments is they are not accurate within the city of Detroit.
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    The cycling community in Detroit offers many rides for novice women and does not cater to the competitive, lycra crowd.

    In fact Detroit rides are far more inclusive of all types of riders when compared with the suburbs. The speeds of the Detroit Synergy, Tour de Troit, and Wheelhouse Detroit rides are slower than the o2WomensRide. Normal cotton clothing is almost de rigueur on Detroit rides, and on some, helmets are optional.

    And you can ride a old Huffy on a Detroit ride without fear of a snarky comment.

    The result is there’s a seemingly higher percentage of women on the Detroit rides.

    [In fairness, we must add that Defying the Law, a Ferndale-based ride also caters to novices, as did Royal Oak’s now-defunct Motor City Motorless ride.]

    Similar Gender Gap across the U.S.

    Metro Detroit’s gender gap is not alone. This New York Times article discusses the gender gap on rides in the Big Apple.

    In the article, John Pucher, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers, notes the lack of a gender gap among European nations.

    “Someone was telling me, maybe American woman don’t like to sweat as much as European women. Maybe that’s why American women don’t cycle to work, but Dutch women do,” Mr. Pucher said. “But I think that’s a bunch of baloney.”

    “I think the No. 1 reason you have so few women cycling in New York City is because it’s seen as a dangerous activity,” Mr. Pucher said.

    With the exception of areas like Central Park and designated bike trails (which female cyclists populate almost as zealously as their male counterparts) bike riding in most parts of the city is hardly leisurely. “It’s like going into battle,” Mr. Pucher said. “You need a helmet and gloves.”

    Certainly safety is a determining factor in Metro Detroit’s gender gap as well. And studies show that women have greater concerns about perceived bicycling safety than men.

    While rides catering to women are a start, to truly close the gender gap, we need to continue pushing Metro Detroit governments for bike lanes and other safe bicycling facilities.

    Jackie Phelan in Detroit

    Speaking of women bicycle advocates, Jackie Phelan was recently in Detroit. Among other things, she’s the founder of WOMBATS (Women’s Mountain Bike and Tea Society). There’s more information on her visit on the Wheelhouse Detroit blog — one of Metro Detroit’s few if not only women-owned and managed bike shops.