Biking Illinois at CBF Events
Speaking of sponsorships, I am donating books again for numerous Chicagoland Bicycle Federation events. Signed copies of Biking Illinois will be among the raffle prizes at Bike the Drive and the Bicycle Commuter Challenge in the coming weeks.

Labels: bicycle advocacy, Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 12:18 AM 0 comments

 
Tour Da Chicago Death
Last weekend, a cyclist was killed in a notoriously busy and dangerous 6-way intersection while running a red light in an illegal bike race called the Tour Da Chicago. Since everyone else has weighed in on this, I may as well add to the cacophony.

As a bicycling advocate, I have always preached this:


If we cyclists want equal rights on the streets, we must take responsibility for our actions in traffic and follow the same "rules of the road" that motorists should. A bike race on city streets without traffic control is no more responsible than an illegal auto race (with apologies to Brock Yates and Burt Reynolds). While I feel sympathy for the family and friends of the victim, this was an avoidable death. And the often hostile "debate" it has fostered has done little to improve the image or safety of cyclists on Chicago streets.

Labels: bicycle advocacy

- posted by David Johnsen @ 1:35 PM 1 comments

 
Sign Me Up for the "Century"
In their latest membership drive, the League of Illinois Bicyclists is offering an LIB cycling jersey to members who join at the $100 "century" level. I've been eying that jersey for quite some time, long enough that I need to order a larger size than when I first thought about buying it. In the past, I've signed up at the "advocate" level to get a T-shirt , but now I have enough of those. So this year, I'm going for the "century" (yes, I know my advocacy dollars go further if I forgo the premium, but like I said, I really like the jersey).

By the way, I was reading through the membership list in the latest issue of "Illinois Bicyclist," and I was disappointed by how few names I recognized. Either y'all are shy and asked the LIB not to publish your names, or you're a bunch of freeloading bums who are benefiting from the LIB's work without supporting them! Most of you ride a lot more than I do, so what are you waiting for? Join the LIB! And while you're at it, join the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, too. You'll make up the cost with their extensive member discount program at dozens of bike shops, restaurants, etc.

Now the question is, where will I be riding this year with that fancy, new LIB jersey on my back? Stay tuned...

Labels: bicycle advocacy

- posted by David Johnsen @ 1:32 PM 0 comments

 
She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Bike to Ride
You remember that song from the Blues Brothers movie, right? If you don't, go rent or buy it, for goodness' sake. You can see what Chicago was like before Richard M. Daley started sanitizing it with planters in the medians and wrought iron fences everywhere.

The Katy was a railroad, officially the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. Most bicyclists know that much of the Katy right-of-way between St. Louis and Kansas City has been converted into a bike trail. It's probably the most famous rails-to-trails conversion in the country, and perhaps the most popular bicycle touring route in the Midwest.

Now the Katy Trail needs your help, quickly:

Time is short to urge the state of Missouri to extend the Katy trail so that it can be ridden between St. Louis and Kansas City. Comments are due by 12/27. It currently stops about one hundred miles from KC. A recent settlement with a power company provides money and rights to the vacant railroad bed to be used. It may not happen. Some opposition to the Katy Trail portion of the settlement has surfaced--so if riders would like to see the KC connection to the Katy happen, please spend a couple of minutes voicing support.

If the Katy Trail goes to Kansas City, cyclists can more easily connect with Amtrak, including the Southwest Chief. Plus, trails are a lot more useful when they connect major cities. The Missouri Bicycle Federation has set up a page where you can compose a short e-mail supporting the trail extension.

Labels: bicycle advocacy

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:41 AM 0 comments

 
Score One for Cyclists!
Every so often, someone acknowledges the right of cyclists to be on the roads. Hooray for Judge Judy for telling off a couple of rural Minnesotans who thought it was the cyclist's fault that he hit their dog because he shouldn't have been riding on a major highway 35-40 miles from home...

Hat tip to the National Center for Bicycling and Walking's CenterLines e-mail.

Labels: bicycle advocacy

- posted by David Johnsen @ 3:59 PM 0 comments

 
Kalamazoo Gazette Misses The Point Completely
An editorial in the June 14 Kalamazoo Gazette bears the encouraging headline "Make the roads safer for bicyclists." Upon closer inspection, however, the article supports something quite different. After discussing the benefits of bicycling and the Ride for Awareness, which was inspired by an incident that injured two cyclists, the Gazette suggests

In addition to making motorists more aware of the cyclists at the side of the road, we hope the Ride for Awareness will give those who spend transportation dollars renewed interest in finding more ways to segregate bicycle and motorized traffic.

Wait a minute! How exactly does segregation make the roads safer for bicyclists? The editorial should have been titled "Get those #$%^&* bikes off our roads" because that is what they are really proposing. Here is what they should have said:

In addition to making motorists more aware of the cyclists at the side of the road, we hope the Ride for Awareness will give those who spend transportation dollars renewed interest in finding better ways to accommodate bicycles on new and existing roadways. Toward those ends, the "Complete Streets" program promoted by bicycling and walking advocates should be adopted as part of the new transportation bill working its way through Congress.

Doesn't that make more sense?

Labels: bicycle advocacy

- posted by David Johnsen @ 8:07 AM 0 comments

 
The Bike Path Trojan Horse
In a recent issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine, editor Mike Deme described the construction of bike paths as "heartening" news. This seems rather naive coming from the editor of a magazine devoted to bicycle touring, published by an organization that has been mapping road routes across America for almost 30 years. Bike paths can be used to undermine the rights of cyclists to use the roads.

Some bike paths are fun to ride. They carry riders on scenic routes away from "civilization," often along rivers or through forests. My upcoming book, Biking Illinois, will have a 50-50 split between road and trail rides, focusing on such scenic paths. But too many "bike paths" are just glorified sidewalks, particularly in urban and suburban areas. They are neither safe nor fun to ride. Their only purpose is to get bikes off the roads.

Many cyclists and cycling lobbyists reason that new bike paths are good because roads are "too dangerous" and more paths will get more people on bikes. But a lot of motorists like them, too. They see bike paths as a way to get bikes off "their" roads. As a cynical cyclist, I view bike paths as nothing less than a trojan horse offered to the pro-bike movement. Once these "separate but equal" facilities are constructed, it will be easy to pass laws forcing cyclists to use them. And once cyclists accept those laws, the next round of legislation may very well declare that bikes are only allowed on off-road paths or trails.

It is already happening. Lake Bluff, an upscale Chicago suburb, is crossed by several paths. The roads are as wide as or wider than those in neighboring towns, traffic is not particularly heavy, and the speed limits are 45 mph at most. Although these would be good roads for cycling, bicyclists can't use them. When a road rider reaches the village limits, he encounters "no bikes" signs that force him off the road and onto a parallel bike path.

But bike paths are not ideal for many riders. Cyclists who cruise the streets at 15-25 mph cannot ride nearly as fast on paths without endangering themselves and others. Paths are full of walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and children, and many have sharp curves with limited visibility. Sidepath users are less visible at intersections than road users, which makes every street crossing inherently more dangerous on a path. Forcing cyclists onto paths in essence makes them second class citizens by denying them access to the roads their taxes have paid for (it is a common misconception that gas taxes fund all highways; a large portion comes out of the general fund).

I can't see why more people in the cycling community, particularly lobbyists, do not recognize the danger of bike path proliferation. Paths turn bikes into mere recreational vehicles or toys, when instead we should be looking at bicycling as a viable, healthy means of transportation that doesn't depend on fighting wars in the Middle East. We should be putting our efforts into programs like Complete Streets that strive to accommodate rather than segregate bicyclists (and pedestrians) with better roadway designs.

Labels: bicycle advocacy

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:35 AM 0 comments