There isn't a lot to update on.
But I have decided to submit a letter to the editor of the Leader Post, in the hope that some driver's will pay more respect to law-abiding cyclists on the roads just trying to get from point A to point B without dying in this city!
My friends and I were yelled at on the weekend, and I hate to admit to yelling back, but I did. I decided that from now on I wouldn't respond, but that in response to this incident I would write a letter instead. I have found this summer to be extremely bad for driver's yelling at cyclists, and it makes me wonder if it is because there are more on the road or if there is some other underlying reason?
Here is my letter...
I'm not even sure it will get published, since there were apparently 82 others waiting in the hopper. They did say that the short ones get published before longer ones, so that is a plus for me!
Dear drivers of Regina,
Why must responsible, law-abiding cyclists who have chosen to cycle for reasons of health, environmental responsibility or enjoyment have to contend with dangerous drivers who honk and yell at us?I cycle on a frequent basis. I signal. I follow the rules of the road and even wear a helmet. Why am I told that I should "get off the road!" when there is a city bylaw that states that we aren't allowed on the sidewalks? The anger towards cyclists seems to stem, in my opinion, from the entrenched car culture of this city. If gas prices continue to rise, soon you will joining me on the roads. Will we be comrades then?
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4 comments:
Good letter! I've been lucky -- I haven't been honked at or yelled at this year, but I'm certainly seeing more bikes on the streets too. I can see how tempers might be rising.
I walk alot too and bikes on the sidewalk are downright scary to a pedestrian, so it's important to stress that we need to be allowed on the road!
Well done!
Mark
I commute by bike every day and have seen a lot more bikes on the road. I drive a semi and make many deliveries every day. Going in and out of alleys and driveways all day long I end up almost creaming at least one bike every week because they are on the sidewalk. I just can't see around that tree/sign/building until I put my truck's nose out into the sidewalk. The cyclists that ride on the sidewalk are lucky that I am looking so carefully. Many drivers of cars and trucks don't even look for bikes on the sidewalk.
Thanks for the comments - I appreciate them...the support is nice!
Here is an excerpt from a live journal blog I belong to (where i also printed this letter and my post!). I am not sure where this person is from though:
There are a LOT of bikers to be seen all over town, and the roads are decorated with "Shared Roadway" signs.
The other evening, I was biking back from the grocery store. It was almost 9:30 p.m., but I had my front and rear lights on. While biking along a residential neighborhood downtown, I came across a red light. No cars were to be seen, but I chose to abide the law and wait at the light. To be sure that cars approaching behind me would see me, I stopped in the middle of the lane, rather than off to the right corner. I heard a car coming up behind me as I waited, and its headlight beams seemed to be coming alarmingly close. No sooner had the car bumper brushed my leg than the female driver started screaming.
"Get out of the [effing] road!" she screamed. "Get off the road! If I hit you, it's your fault!"
I looked back. The driver had certainly seen me, because the car was straddling the yellow line in order to pull up next to me.
"This is a shared roadway!" I called back. "It's safer for me to be here when the light is red, and it's the law for you to respect that!"
"[Eff] you!" she shouted, over and over and over. She flipped me off. Children sat silently in the back seat.
When the light turned green, I hopped on my peddles quickly as usual. The woman stomped on the gas and I feared for my life until she had passed.
I just don't understand.
and secondly, barely anyone comments, so I thought I was alone on here!
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