Wrote a Reply
05-30-10, 04:29 PM
#1
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Wrote a Reply
Hi,
I wrote a reply today to some newpaper website, out in the sticks of Alaska. It went like this:
"Some cyclists can ride faster than others. You have to realize the limits of human legs. Some people are stronger than others, sometimes a cyclist is tired or having a bad day. The cyclist who can attain the speed limit gets little or no thanks for the effort. As a cyclist myself, I've had motorists come up behind me, even when I was doing the speed limit. You motorists have got to check your actual speedometer, and know your actual speed, before you attempt to pass a bicycle. Someone's been driving around with a pre-conceived notion in his head that bicycles don't go any faster than a person walking. Bicycles can indeed do the speed limit, but no one wants to be run into a ditch at that speed. Let's divide the bicyclers into two categories ; those who ride bicycles because it's easier than walking, and those who ride bicycles because it's faster than running. It makes a world of difference, you can't lump all cyclists into the same category. The slower bicyclers can ride closer to the edge of the road without danger of going off the edge of that road. The faster cyclists take the same line as a motorcycle, at or near the speed limit, or even faster. Stay 200 feet back of the cyclist, let him accelerate through his 27 gears and reach the speed limit.( It may take a minute or 90 seconds, we have human legs, not motors). The issue is broad, and the speed limit needs to be remembered... this also involves the safety of motorcyclists. When the speed limit is 100% percent enforced, then we can start worrying about bicycle infractions.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903
https://newsminer.com/pages/full_stor...rue&id=7739698
The Original:
"Letter to the Editor
May 25, 2010
To the editor:
As we know, summer is here and the usual summer problems are back, right on cue, like the fires and mosquitoes. Another perennial problem is bicycles and their operators.
The issue is that there are no rules for a bicycle. Cars and trucks have rules regarding speed and operation, as does nearly every other means of transit we have here. I think there are even rules for skaters and runners.
They ride the bike trails (where no machines are allowed), the sidewalks (with the pedestrians), and all over the streets expecting the same rights as a car but don’t follow them. Let’s put our heads together and make some fair rules and enforce them. Then maybe we can keep them around for another year to chuckle at their riding outfits and help keep the kids safer, too.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903"
I wrote a reply today to some newpaper website, out in the sticks of Alaska. It went like this:
"Some cyclists can ride faster than others. You have to realize the limits of human legs. Some people are stronger than others, sometimes a cyclist is tired or having a bad day. The cyclist who can attain the speed limit gets little or no thanks for the effort. As a cyclist myself, I've had motorists come up behind me, even when I was doing the speed limit. You motorists have got to check your actual speedometer, and know your actual speed, before you attempt to pass a bicycle. Someone's been driving around with a pre-conceived notion in his head that bicycles don't go any faster than a person walking. Bicycles can indeed do the speed limit, but no one wants to be run into a ditch at that speed. Let's divide the bicyclers into two categories ; those who ride bicycles because it's easier than walking, and those who ride bicycles because it's faster than running. It makes a world of difference, you can't lump all cyclists into the same category. The slower bicyclers can ride closer to the edge of the road without danger of going off the edge of that road. The faster cyclists take the same line as a motorcycle, at or near the speed limit, or even faster. Stay 200 feet back of the cyclist, let him accelerate through his 27 gears and reach the speed limit.( It may take a minute or 90 seconds, we have human legs, not motors). The issue is broad, and the speed limit needs to be remembered... this also involves the safety of motorcyclists. When the speed limit is 100% percent enforced, then we can start worrying about bicycle infractions.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903
https://newsminer.com/pages/full_stor...rue&id=7739698
The Original:
"Letter to the Editor
May 25, 2010
To the editor:
As we know, summer is here and the usual summer problems are back, right on cue, like the fires and mosquitoes. Another perennial problem is bicycles and their operators.
The issue is that there are no rules for a bicycle. Cars and trucks have rules regarding speed and operation, as does nearly every other means of transit we have here. I think there are even rules for skaters and runners.
They ride the bike trails (where no machines are allowed), the sidewalks (with the pedestrians), and all over the streets expecting the same rights as a car but don’t follow them. Let’s put our heads together and make some fair rules and enforce them. Then maybe we can keep them around for another year to chuckle at their riding outfits and help keep the kids safer, too.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903"
05-30-10, 08:59 PM
#3
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Why not also point out that there actually ARE fair rules for bicycles, since that was the original point.
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