When I came into this forum I was very anti-VC. My posts were
flippant and bordering on rude. After reading intelligent and weighty
ponderings from intelligent, well ridden people I changed my thought process.
Im not totally on board yet but I have had an eye opening. The main
lesson I have learned is that it is not all about "Me". One of the things I
would like to remind the more "A" typish people in this forum of is even it
is not strictly VC or even cycling related is that as a life long bicyclist and
motorcyclist sometimes cars really didnt see you.
You are small and usually travelling at a different pace than the cars.
You might be filtering out of a space that is too small for a car so a driver
isnt conditioned to look there.....You have unlimited vision, a more acute
sense of awareness than someone encased in a huge, steel crypt. Sometimes
you really are in a blind spot. Or, that old lady who just hastened
to pull out of her spot has something very urgent on her mind......Have you
never had a lapse in concentration in your whole life ?? Before you respond in
a manner you see befitting to the vehicular affront, try to make the correct
determination if it is warranted.
One time an old lady dinged my brand new, black Dodge Stealth. It was my first 'nice'
car (last too :p )I was very upset. When I saw her she could have been my Mom.
Would I want someone yelling at my Mom the way I was almost going to yell at her ???
I let it go and actually felt better because of it. You are soon to be pedaling down
the road enjoying a beautiful day and feeling great...They are only going to be stuck
in traffic amounst similarly angry people. Try to let it go. :D :)
Roody
03-15-06, 01:35 PM
Yes, I think you're right, at least to a point. Yelling and screaming is not admirable or useful, although I'll admit that I occasionally allow myself to get to that point, then feel bad later. :o I wish I was closer to perfection, but in my case it's a goal, not a present reality. . . .
On the other hand:
I do not believe in allowing bullies, jerks and creeps to push me around or try to deprive me of my rights. That goes on the road as well as anyplace else. Of course there are many recourses other than rudeness and violence. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do, but I sure don't want to let anybody think that a cyclist deserves anything less than full rights to share the road.
genec
03-15-06, 03:20 PM
Regarding the visibility issue... I have noticed that cyclists can at times, in the wrong lighting, appear as narrow as a typical 4x4 sign post... it is an optical illusion, upon seeing a cyclist directly headon and with the wrong lighting... but we can truly dissapear at times.
On the commuting thread I noticed a couple theads there from time to time touch on the issue of riding with the sun at your back... where motorists are looking at the sun to try to see you... again, you can be quite invisible at those times too.
AndrewP
03-15-06, 09:26 PM
I agree that many cars dont see cyclists. Car drivers are looking for vehicles in the middle of the lane. When cyclists ride at the outside edge of the lane they are beyond the driver's field of attention.
huhenio
03-16-06, 12:13 AM
My 5 $ high visibility vest hopefully helps a little. Drivers are used to spot those vests right the way, since road construction crews sport similar ones.
There is something about the human brain that really dislikes change; thus, inability to recognize new cues in the monotonous driving routine for most drivers.
Always bear in mind that most drivers consider themselves above average; that cannot statistically be possible by any means.
Bikepacker67
03-16-06, 05:25 AM
Spineless Peacenik offers ToFu for thought....
LOL!
Ya know £em, most BF members don't even realize that P&R exists, so if you'd have just kept your mouth shut, no one would have known you were a friend of those "long-haired, hippy-type, pinko-f@gs"
Peace, Brother.
DCCommuter
03-16-06, 07:08 AM
A nice post. It can get real discouraging hanging out in A&S, sometimes I just feel we're a bunch of blathering idiots ranting at each other. A post like this makes me realize that there is some positive impact, changing the world one cyclist at a time.
Now back to our regularly scheduled mud-slinging.
slagjumper
03-16-06, 08:12 AM
Lem,
I agree with you and have had a similar transformation. For example I had at one point early in my BFs life, argued that it was better to ride the sidewalk, then take some stairs to avoid going up a 300 foot ramp that ended in a 4 lane traffic circle. I was convinced by HH that by using timing, I could do the ramp. Now I ride the ramp, everyday.
However I am not completely VC. Sometimes for enjoyment, I ride in areas where cars are not permitted. I ride my bike on park paths in Frick (http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/cp/maps/images/map_gifs/Frick_park.gif) and Schenley (http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/cp/maps/images/map_gifs/schenley_park.gif) parks; I ride the single-track in these parks as well. I ride on a sidewalk for about a mile on my 11 mile commute. That particular sidewalk is bordered by a cemetery with only 1 driveway, and the 4 lane, 45mph plus Forbes Ave, (see Frick Park map if you care.). I have even ridden in a giant fountain.
I believe that bikes are not cars, in much the same way that rafts and surfboards are not yachts, and because the bicycle is a multi-function machine, the rider can transcend many of the limitations associated with motor vehicles.
For the part of cycling that entails riding the roads however you really do have to think like a car driver, know the rules of the road and know the risks associated with sidewalk use.
One interesting point of the VC proponents is that we as cyclists are public figures and that our behavior on the roads significantly influences what motorists think of us. I do care about how others see me as an individual, troupe and member of the cycling whole. So when I do something like blow off an intersection during a 4-way walk light, I overemphasize looking each way so that no motorist could mentally accuse me of blindly zipping through a light.
I know that driving a car sucks. I try to go easy on the fools who are playing with the gas, brake, steering wheels, signal levers and even cell phones in their often imperfect attempts to guide their cages to their destinations. Sure from time to time I go intolerant and yell, or “air zound” them, when I think that my life was endangered through carelessness, inattentiveness or stupidity, but how else can you get their attention when they have been grossly negligent?
scarry
03-16-06, 09:42 AM
Good one. ;)
Cycliste
03-16-06, 10:43 AM
Great post, £em! :beer:
While I am also uncomfortable with the “Vehicular” (as VC) label and would rather refer to “Effectiveness”, I truly consider myself on a bicycle as a vehicle with the same rights and responsibility as others with the addition of a need for special skills to compensate for the vulnerability cyclists inherit by nature.
These skills build assertiveness and predictability, two most important elements that make a safer rider.
Part of these skills are acquired by experience while others need to be learned and thought through education and advocacy programs, and while they may seem irrelevant in some extremely unsafe environments, they are proved to be highly efficient in the most common ones
dogsridewith
03-17-06, 08:27 AM
What is "VC"? Vehicle Culture? I thought VC was Viet Cong.
ken cummings
03-17-06, 09:11 AM
My 5 $ high visibility vest hopefully helps a little. Drivers are used to spot those vests right the way, since road construction crews sport similar ones.
Always bear in mind that most drivers consider themselves above average; that cannot statistically be possible by any means.
I also wear a high Viz vest on more dangerous roads also when it it too hot to wear anything else above the waist.
Statistically most drivers COULD be above average. It just takes a few very very bad drivers to skew the bell curve of all drivers.
DataJunkie
03-17-06, 09:52 AM
What is "VC"? Vehicle Culture? I thought VC was Viet Cong.
vehicular cycling
nick burns
03-17-06, 11:15 AM
Good post, Lem. Your first couple of sentences sum up nicely why I've pretty much stopped posting here at all.
As far as visibility goes, sometimes car drivers don't even notice other cars, let alone bicycles or motorcycles! I've been guilt of it myself.
oilfreeandhappy
03-18-06, 11:37 PM
I recall my mother-in-law getting her DL and first car around age 55. A "friend" sold her a Lincoln. After her first few days driving, she related a story to me. She was driving down a narrow street with cars on both sides, and she "touched" one of the parked cars. She just drove on. I asked no more questions...