If you think driving in Sac is risky
Try riding your bike to work. I did just that this morning. For the most part I have an easy route: I ride on the Sacramento River Trail plus a few off road trails that are pleasant and smooth. Once I get downtown, though, it’s like leaping into arctic waters. Wake up call!
I got a little afraid over on Broadway when a big rig and I were side by side, neck and neck. If you feel small in your car next to these big trucks…being on a bicycle takes you down to molecular size. Really.
One good thing about biking through Midtown, though, is how many people were on bikes! What a great sight. Almost thought I was in Davis, except that many of the bicyclists in the grid were not following traffic laws. (Of course my assumption is that most bicyclists in Davis do follow the laws, or else they’ll be tracked down by the bicyclofascists–all of whom I respect and admire greatly.)
Most grid cyclers were without helmets, which is a dangerous and foolish thing to do. A helmet might be all the difference you need. And since you’ll be smart by riding your bike, relying less on foreign oil and more on your own body mass, you wouldn’t want to spoil it all by becoming a road pancake, would you?
This morning I pulled up to a stop sign heading north on 18th Street. It’s a 4 way stop at the intersection with Capitol. I had come to a full stop, checked all the directions, and was about to proceed to L Street when a cyclist came whizzing across the crosswalk, having come down off the sidewalk, against traffic, and not having stopped at the stop sign.
On certain streets, I totally understand riding against the flow of traffic. I think it makes visibility sense. But for f*ck’s sake, STOP FOR THE STOP SIGNS.
That woman was wearing a helmet, but head protection isn’t an excuse for idiotic cycling. She was a jerk. I hope she made it work in one piece.
I DID see a lot of blatant disregard for the rules of traffic from other bicyclists. It sets a bad scene, really.
I had a bicyclist actually hit the side of my car because he came zooming off the sidewalk through the intersection. I’m glad he was all right, but I’m not a fish and I don’t have eyes on the side of my head, esp. when he was going against the light!
I try to keep an extra eye out for cyclists when driving in midtown, specifically because I don’t want one of the ones who ignore traffic laws bouncing off my car. When I bike (not often, but it happens) I don’t blast through stoplights because I know most drivers aren’t expecting to have anything (least of all me) run through the intersection when they have a green.
I think a lot of folks downtown don’t wear helmets because they don’t want to disrupt their hairdos. Not having a hairdo to disrupt, or hair to help discourage a nasty scalp wound, motivates me to wear a helmet.
All things considered, I’d rather walk. No helmets needed, nor a bike lock.