The Cycliste Moderne, April 6, 2005

Random Thoughts on Bikes

Rednecks and Sidewalks

Saturday, Andrew and I rode our new Raleigh Pursuit tandem to his soccer game. First time we have gone uphill or downhill on it. As we were riding up Americana Boulevard after his game, a guy in a pickup truck with the requisite shell slowed to inform us, in no uncertain terms, that we belonged on the sidewalk. As he drove off, I raised my hand (not a finger, not a fist, rather an open hand, European-style) to show him my disapproval (with my son on board, I consciously elected not to give him the gesture I was sure to get back) and sure enough – I was greeted with multiple single-fingered salutes and brake lights.

At that point I realized that people on tandems, with eight-year-old stokers, riding up hill, people who do not have frame pumps, are sorely lacking in political capital to spend when it comes to addressing perceived slights from rednecks. In my younger, brasher, more militant days there was nothing more gratifying than chasing down obnoxious drivers in your biggest gear, pulling alongside at the stop light, and in your best Joe Pesci voice asking “You talkin’ to me? I don’t gotta problem wit’ you, you gotta problem wit’ me?”

Now, I must concede that I usually only chased down teenage girls and grandmothers in small American cars. I am neither stupid enough nor fast enough to chase down anyone else, especially rednecks in pickup trucks.

The Idaho Legislature

The legislative session is just about over and an important piece of cycling legislation was passed in Idaho. In Idaho, cyclists only have to slow at stop signs and treat them like yields, proceeding through if the intersection was clear. There has been some ambiguity, however, regarding what cyclists had to do at red lights. Senate Bill 1131 has been signed into law amending Idaho Code Section 49-720 to eliminate that ambiguity. Effective July 1, 2005, cyclists in Idaho will be required to stop at a red signal and yield to all other traffic. However, once the cyclist has yielded, he may proceed through the steady red light. So, do not blow through red lights. You can be ticketed. Stop and put your foot down or if you are really good, then do a track stand, and then go. Senate Bill 1131 was adopted after a prior bill, Senate Bill 1058 was introduced this session that would have prohibited cyclists from proceed through a signalized intersection until the light turned green. It just goes to show that the efforts of cyclists occasionally will be rewarded if they just stand up and take a stand. After the Idaho Statesman reported the effect that cyclists had in testifying before the Senate Transportation committee in killing Senate Bill 1058, one disgruntled local citizen wrote to the Idaho Statesman to complain about the “pseudo eco-friendly Spandex brigade.” I bet you the guy drives a pickup truck with a shell.

Public Resources?

While working offsite on a project for a client last Fall, I would show up at my office early to go through my mail, e-mail, and voice mail. After taking time to review all the cycling news outlets, I would walk over to the client’s office for the rest of the day. Many days I would send an e-mail update to a friend at the client’s office about “The Bikes That I Saw on Bannock Street.”

The day that sticks out the most vividly was the day I encountered the city parking meter guy on his suspension Gary Fisher with disc brakes. The only parking meters in Boise are the downtown ones. There are no hills downtown, there is no singletrack downtown, the roads and sidewalks are generally all paved downtown and there are rarely, if ever, any puddles downtown. Moreover, most of the time the parking meter guy never leaves the sidewalk (which would make the pickup-with-a-shell guy happy, I’m sure.). Therefore, I am puzzled as to how the parking enforcement department managed to convince Boise City that suspension and disc brakes were necessary for effective parking enforcement. That one probably got past former Mayor Brent Coles.