“You look thin. Have you been eating well?” my mother asked after I had put away maybe six
thousand calories of Thanksgiving dinner. But her perception was correct. I was
missing the little slab o’ flab that customarily migrates to my waistline as
the days grow shorter, the little blubber bear that curls up under my belt for
the winter.
“I’ve been overeating as much as ever,” I told my Mom. Wife
Karen said, “It must be the bicycling.” Since my precious little ‘83 Accord
went underpan-up in early August, I’ve been logging
over 70 miles per week to work, shopping, and community meetings. Because I did
it to save resources (including Karen’s chauffer time), I didn’t think of it as
extra exercise. But calories were burned nonetheless.
Speaking of “wait” gain, what do you think about the
rush-hour, cross-town mass bike rides? Mixed feelings for me, at least as
they’re currently being conducted. Most of the participants are high-schoolers, and most of those don’t appear to be regular
riders. These mass rides, on the first Monday of the last three months, are a
good thing to the extent they give students the skill and social confidence
(i.e. coolness) to start riding to school. But I think they do little to
promote cycling among those whose car commutes are interrupted by the rides. I’ve
encouraged the riders to try alternatives, like mass rides to school, or mass
rides exploring (and subsequently promoting) the City’s network of off road
bike paths.
Safety is my biggest concern; these riders are setting a bad
example. Most have no helmets or lights, and they are riding too close
together. However, when it comes to safety, everyone could use an education,
even the experienced riders. I just completed a four-hour class on Street
Skills for cyclists, developed by the League of American Bicyclists presented
by Martin Simpson of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition (bikesonoma.org). If
we are serious about moving people from cars to bikes, we should be integrating
the LAB curricula into elementary and adult education (check out bikeleague.org/educenter),.
Here’s my poetic and extremely short summary of what I
learned: “Ride on the right, be bright day and night. Wide can be wise. Look in
their eyes.” Riding on the right, *with* the traffic, gives passing drivers
more reaction time, and won’t surprise cross traffic drivers who are looking to
their left. Bright solid colors (like the “hi-viz”
fluorescent lime green) in daylight; and light colors with reflective fabrics
and electric tail and head lights at night keep you visible to motorists. “Wide
can be wise” means don’t be afraid to get out in the traffic lane to avoid
hazards. After looking back for an opening and pointing your destination with
your pointer finger, you can shift to the left, to avoid potholes or debris, or
to avoid being cutoff by cars turning right. Finally, making eye contact with
motorists when you are navigating intersections or lane changes assures they
are not surprised by your movements. Head nods and smiles are excellent
supplements to the destination finger point. Share your joy!
Street skills are essential, no matter how good a city’s
system of off-street paths, because there will never be paths everywhere you
need to go. But getting more paths sure helps, and I’m pleased to report
Petaluma is making as much progress in this area as we are with re-paving the
streets. It would take another entire column to describe it all. But I don’t
need to, because Petaluma Green Lane has developed a full-color map showing the
off-street paths, on-street lanes, and other routes, along with popular destinations.
Download a copy from www.healthycommunity.info
(click on the Petaluma Green Lane map link.)
Here’s some holiday high-tech gift advice for the friends of
us low-fashion cyclists (“we’d rather be seen than hurt”). The TranZwick hi-viz long sleeve
jersey sells for $28 at nashbar.com. Illuminite.com’s
“Eclipse Vest” is bright yellow for day, ultra-reflective at night. $70 isn’t
cheap, but it pays for itself in a few weeks of gasoline and health club expenses.