The terms "Cooperative Cycling," and "Advanced Traffic-Bicycling," better fit into my thoughts of what we should be doing than does the term "Vehicular Cycling." Vehicular Cycling goes by the acronym of "VC," and to me, being a Vietnam Veteran, the term "VC" is an automatic turn-off. It conjures up too many very nasty images in my brain, and this is something I cannot get rid of. I can say that this is another generation, unemcumbered by these images from the Vietnam War, but that still doesn't help me and that term. I simply do not like it, and I never will. So if you are willing to write off the Baby Boom Generation from the VC (Vehicular Cyciling) movement, keep using the term.

Cooperative cycling is much more what I do, and how I go about my cycling. I cooperate with the traffic, signal my intentions, use the bike lane when it's available and when it's going where I want to go, slow down to find traffic gaps to get into when I need to take the lane, etc. I cannot, at my age, maintain a 20-25 mph pace on level ground. So I find the gaps to get into a lane, signal my intent, then positon myself in the lane where I will be noticed, but not necessarily take up the whole lane. This is not "The Gap Effect," that Robert Hurst discusses, but rather looking at traffic waves, or surges, that are produced by the stop lights. I will wait until a surge of traffic is past before taking the lane at times. I'm not "type AAA," in that I don't push time limits. If I'm slightly later to work, or somewhere else, it really doesn't matter that much. At times, I will signal my intent, and I will stop people who are trying to either pass unsafely. For instance, if I'm going downhill at 40 mph, and there's a bridge coming up which narrows the lane, and there is opposing traffic, I'll stick my hand out and down and motion for a car not to pass. This type of communication between the bicyclist and a vehicle is the type of cooperation that is necessary for us to share the road as equals. I will not hog the lane simple to make a statement, but will take the lane if passing is hazardous for a vehicle.

I think this is part of "Advanced Traffic-Bicycling," or "Cooperative Bicycling" which is not the ego approach that the VC advacotes seem to promote.

John