Bicycle Safety: My Perspective

Every so often I am asked to state my views on safety with respect to transportation cycling*. Though reluctant to raise this topic in the past, after more than two years I feel ready to share my perspective. So here it goes, and I ask in advance that you help me keep any ensuing discussion civil:



When it comes to bicycle safety, I draw a categorical distinction between two facets that are often mushed together, but for me areentirely independent: (1) safe behaviour, and (2) protective gear. I believe that safe behaviour is essential and a matter of social responsibility. I believe that protective gear is secondary and a matter of personal choice. This distinction and prioritisation governs (i.e. biases) the views on transportational cycling that are expressed throughout this blog.



To clarify what I mean by "safe behaviour" on a bicycle, here are the points I consider crucial:



Riding a bicycle that is functional and road-ready

Taking reasonable steps to ensure one's bicycle will not fail on the road.This includes making certain that the wheels are secured and that the brakes, lights, and other crucial components are functional. Riding a bike with known mechanical problems, insufficient braking capacity, or any unusual features that make it intentionally difficult to operate, can have disastrous consequences in traffic.



Being in possession of basic bike handling skills

This includes being able to start and stop without faltering, to maintain a line of travel without weaving, to reduce speed when appropriate, and to safely maneuver around obstacles. It helps to ride the type of bike one is comfortable with and in a way they are comfortable with, depending on skill level and personal preference. Those who do not yet possess adequate handling skills should practice on trails and quiet side streets before mixing with traffic.



Adhering to traffic laws

Knowing and following local traffic laws, as they pertain to bicyclists. This includes respecting lane directionality, street lights, stop signs and right of way, signaling turns and intentions to merge, and in general behaving predictably.



Knowing safety maneuvers

Awareness of various crucial safety maneuvers and the ability to execute them. For instance: not positioning oneself in the blind spot of a car that could turn into one's line of travel, not cycling in the door zone of parked cars, and not passing other cyclists on the right.



Being visible

Having sufficient lighting on one's bicycle, so as to be clearly visible to others on the roads in the dark and in inclement weather.



Being vigilant

Paying attention while cycling; being cautious and attentive to what goes on in one's peripheral vision while resisting distractions. This includes not being engrossed in conversation with fellow cyclists, not chatting on one's mobile phone or texting, and otherwise not engaging in activities thatdetract from an awareness of one's surroundings.



You might not agree with me on some aspects of these points, but I believe in them and try to adhere to them to the best of my ability. In my view, this makes me a conservative and safe cyclist.



As for protective gear (helmets, knee pads, steel-toed boots, padded vests, pre-emptive neck and back braces, etc), these things are simply not relevant to the safe operation of a bicycle. We all have the right to expect safe behaviour from each other, when the behaviour impacts other road users. But we do not have the right to decide what each other's personal comfort levels ought to be, when this comfort has no effect on us.



In addition, I think that protective gear - whether we believe it to be useful or not - is secondary to safe behaviour to such an extent, that to stress it above the other stuff (as I feel is routinely done in safety campaigns) is misguided and even, dare I say, dangerous. As I write this, out of the window I can see a helmeted cyclist making a left turn onto a one way street against traffic, riding a bicycle with no handbrakes and no lights. I think this sort of thing is a direct result of promoting protective gear instead of safe behaviour, and I think it's evidence that we have our priorities backwards.I do not find that my views on this matter are radical, although sometimes I am made to feel as if they are. Whether you agree or not is entirely up to you.



--

*a small group of us (Dave from Portlandize, Matt from Bicycles, Books and Bowties, and myself) are working on a transportation cycling brochure, where the topic of safety will be covered. However, I am not the person who is writing that particular section, and the opinions expressed here - though congruent with those in the brochure - are my own.

Floods and Flowers

A ride that starts with mild rain, luring me out, ambushes with a downpour. I am too far out now to turn back. Might as well keep going.



This is all right. My tires slice through puddles.



Rain, rain, pouring rain. Drumming against my helmet. Dripping from my visor. This is okay. This is rather peaceful. The roads are all mine.



Meadow, meadow, forest, farm. Farm, farm, forest.



But darn, what's this. Country road, traffic backed up around the bend. I pedal carefully along the shoulder.



Endless line of cars, deep puddles, feet clipped in, water pouring down my face off the soggy visor,thinking "This is crazy," feeling calm, humming to myself.



A woman driver in a pickup rolls down her window. She points to my bike, then points to the back of her truck. I half-raise my hand in a half-wave like "I'm good, thanks." She shakes her head and smiles. I pass her in traffic.



Pedal, pedal, pedal. Rain, rain, rain. Cars, cars. Honking. Brake lights.



Two teenage boys in a Jeep roll down their window and lean over. "Cool bike! Cool braids!" Thumbs up to me from the teenage boys.



There is a soggy book on the grassy side of the road. Tossed by a kid out of a car window? Kittens on the cover. Bloated, wet kittens.



Let's see, what is going on at the front of all this backed up traffic...



A broken light. A ditch at the intersection filled with deep water. The bigger cars rolling though it slowly. The smaller cars frantically flashing their signals, making U-turns.



I pass them all and turn right. No one else wants to go there. What's wrong with right?



No matter. An end to the chaos. A silent empty road. Trees, trees. Darkness at noon. Streams of water across the pavement. Rain.



This is okay. This is all right. This is rather peaceful. The road is all mine. My shoe touches water on the downstroke.



And then I smell the flowers. A deep, heavy scent, almost an odor. The raindrops carry it, like perfume oil. A low-hanging branch of blossoms. I grab it and pedal home.



My bike is upside down in the kitchen. My flower, my prize is on the table. The rain has stopped, like none of it had ever happened. But water droplets glisten on the petals. And on the pedals.

"Urban" Girls.

Fourhigh poweredgirls from Urban Climbtake on the weekendhigh traffic area of"Has it got a Chevy Motor?" 24 at Coolum Cave.



















On any Sunday, "Chevy Motorists" arebumper to bumpercruising their way slowly up,

and taking the fast lane down,Coolum's Route No. "1"

More punters have run out of fuel, pulled over for a break,or just crashed and burned on this popular tourist drive than anywhere up and down this sunny coast.

jjobrienclimbing was there to get the traffic report.



Danger - steep grade ahead-45 degrees.









Flaming redhead Bochere Rand stops the weekend traffic in layered pea green and fuchsia.







Searching for the road ahead.





 Bo wasn't always an Urban Girl.

Here's the dirt:

Self confessed Country music tragic and equestrian, her home town of Bellingin NSW is equally famous for dairy and hippies.







History note: The jjobrienclimbing Kombi (not real name) could often be found parked by the Bellingin River in the early eighties,

and not for the dairy.











Tara puts her foot down andlays some rubberfor the sloper. This sloper has sent more people flying than ...





Ontarian Tara Davidson fesses up tohaving a shoe thing. Me too. Is it Volleys for you too?

She'sbackand energised from a tour of Rocklands Sth. Africa. Fav Oz crag: Frog.

Drum and Bass and Jazz, hey lets compare notes. I'm still loving Thomas Marriott















Huong Nguyen is famous fora high voltagesmile that could power an electric car.





There's the smile.













Quietly ferociousHigh torque - high traction.

Trina Lat: Drum and Bass follower,cook, chocolate lover. Sounds familiar, me, me, me again.Look out for the Trina Lat - Physiotherapist shingle coming soon.Senior beat consultants from jjobrienclimbing recommend KongkastHong Kong's Drum and Bass Podcast to all climbers who like their beats hard and complex.



Climbers, this is why I never let Trina climb on my rope.Teeth alert.

Started climbing in the Philippines, I must go someday, now her fav crags are Brooyar and Coolum Cave.









Weekend Chevy Motorists.

jj

Illuminated Camellia

A camellia flower at the UC Berkeley Garden.

Vermont and New Hampshire Barns From My Window

And my favorite barn that we've seen so far. It wasn't the prettiest, but I loved its endurance and character!

And while I'm writing, can I say how good it is to be back? When we were in PA, we had no cell phone service and very limited internet. As in, I could not even read Pioneer Woman's blog. So I didn't bother doing much posting there. I'll have to see if I can go back and cover what we did see and do there sometime.



I have missed blogging so much though. I told Nathan tonight that it truly helps to cultivate gratitude for my life when I blog. When I'm going throughout the day, I can easily fall into a mindlessness about what we are doing. When I look at the pictures and write the words to capture the day, it makes me stop and be very mindful of this wonderful life we are living right now and all of the neat things we see each day. It's good for my soul!



Living the life in Vermont!

More Ohio From My Window

One nice thing about the new job we are doing is that we drive around and see even more of a local area than we did before. And if I tag along and help Nathan out, then that means I can take pictures while we drive around. I really love that!

I'm really enjoying being in this area during the summer months. With all the fields full of growing corn, it just feels like summer to me when I look around. Is it weird that I keep wanting to stop, take my shoes off and lie down in one of these fields and smell and feel the earthiness there? Because that is what I keep finding myself thinking when I do look at the life that is so abundant in the fields. After years of living in Florida, it's kind of nice to have this season feel special rather than having what feels like year round summer until you don't appreciate it so much.



On the other hand, I do love winters in Florida so while I love this area right now...not so much in the winter. Because it is just not quite the same taking your shoes off and lying down in the fields then. Unless you are making snow angels that is.



It really is some beautiful landscape to look at while driving and the people are just wonderful here.



Living the life in Ohio!

A New Experience :: Kayaking!

Friday afternoon I took my first ride in a kayak! Wonderful. The day was cloudy and overcast but there was very little wind and the waters were calm. It was an amazing feeling gliding so easily over the surface of the water. It was quiet. The beaches were empty and no one else was around. Serene.

In Belfast Harbor. Getting ready to head out.

Looking out into the open ocean. Islands off in the distance.

Lobster trap buoys and the kayak paddle.

Two hours later, heading back towards the harbor.

Me and my cousin!

Beaver Cuttings

We found a couple of trees along Jemez Creek where at least one beaver had been busy cutting down trees. In this photo is where it had worked on a tree with all the woodchips around the tree.

Mt. Shasta, Avalanche Gulch

Mt. Shasta had been on our radar for a while and since northern California had a good forecast, we decided to head south. It is the second highest volcano in the lower 48 (Rainier is the highest). This is the view from the trailhead at Bunny Flat (6,900'). The huge valley in this photo is Avalanche Gulch. The route starts up the left side, goes around Helen Lake (10,400') and ends up on the right side.We seem to spend a lot of time standing still and looking up. The snow was firm and allowed us to make good time. We made it above the Red Banks in time to see the sunrise. There is nothing like watching a sunrise from high up on a mountain. It was starting to get cold and windy.The shadow of Shasta is projected onto the countryside as the sun comes up. Next, we had to climb a feature called Misery Hill and a few false summits. We finally made it to the true summit.Doug and Dave on the summit. You would think that northern California would be warmer on June 25th, but it was cold at 14,162'!When the conditions are good, you can glissade about 3,000' down this route. The snow was still too firm, so we had to walk down. There were still a lot of climbers heading up.

All that was left was the long drive home. We got to see a bunch of deer, antelope, turkey vultures and about 10 more snow covered volcanoes.

It was fun to take a road trip to a new area and finally climb this giant.

Goodbye Camaguey and off to Bayamo!

We slept very well in Camaguey. We liked our room, colonial styled yet simple, and I made sure that the air-conditioning is blowing on my side of the bed and not on Blondine’s. She cannot handle the air-conditioning while I cannot sleep without it. This is the dilemma we always have when travelling together which is quite odd.

Blondine, who is born in the Netherlands have low tolerance with the cold weather. She is always bundled up at 15C when we go out and cannot handle too much air-conditioning otherwise she will get sick. While I, born and bred in the tropics prefer to go out at 15C (as long as it’s not too windy) without a coat and will not survive the night if it’s too warm in the bedroom. I prefer the air-conditioning blowing on my face and body. Odd, I know.

Breakfast at Camino de Hierro Hotel in Camaguey consists of papaya shake and fresh tropical fruits: guava, pineapple and mango. Then we had some omelette as well.

Across the hotel we saw young students waiting for the rain to stop.

We woke up quite early the next day and had our breakfast before 8 in the morning. We were first served with fruits and a papaya fruit shake. Then we had omelette and some bread. Healthy start for the day I must say.

After breakfast we went to the bank and withdrew money against our Mastercard credit cards. The transaction went smooth and quick. We were actually a bit worried that the same problem at Sancti Spiritus will occur (no connection with Havana), but everything went on as planned.

Funnily, the cashier at the bank asked Blondine to sign on the paper several times because her signature varies greatly from her other signatures. This is (backward) banking in Cuba which means lots of paper trail and signature samples matching each other. Reminds me of the Philippines 15 years ago when I worked at a large IT multinational there. I was managing the payment solutions product line and my customers are the top 20 banks of the country. Back then, there were more banks and mergers are not heard of. I used to sit down with managers and executives discussing about paper trail and how to eliminate this through digitalization. It was a difficult and tedious subject because many banks then were not ready. I am sure the situation in the Philippines now has changed. Here in the Netherlands banking has become teller-less and paperless, and I love it.

Our next main destination is Santiago de Cuba located at the southern tip of the country, and is the second largest city of Cuba. However, we will have a stopover at Bayamo for lunch and a quick city tour.

Click here to check our route: Cuban Road Trip

Manuevering our way around Camaguey. Finding our way out of the city to the main road without a street-detailed map is always a challenge.

Finally, we are on the main road to Bayamo!

While on the way to Bayamo, we encountered this charming Paladar Paraiso 672 along the highway. Here, we stopped for some coffee break. Camaguey to Bayamo is about 3 hours so this was a timely break in our journey.

I ordered the usual black Cuban coffee while Blondine had hers with some milk. She did not like the milk in it. I think in Cuba you better stick to drinking pure coffee with a bit of sugar. You can get good coffee in Cuba almost everywhere. And do trust me because I know good coffee.

This is one of the few nice pitstops in Cuba. CUC$1 for coffee. Take note this is between Camaguey and Bayamo.