Different Perceptions

It was a sloppy slushy day, just after a storm. The plows had made the rounds on the main streets, but had yet to visit any side streets. Or quiet secondary roads, for that matter. A day where it is easy to justify taking the car, and on many similar days I would have. On this particular day though the car was not an option. A small drawbacks to being a single car family; sometimes the car is unavailable to be parked across town for eight hours. So I rode my bike. The temperature was not to cold and except for the fact that parts of my normal route were impassable, not a bad biking day. An unremarkable winter commute, except this one brief interaction with a driver as I was turning left from Bank St. onto Fifth Ave.

"I'm a cyclist and that's not safe!"

These interactions are so rich, yet completely pointless. So, first: driver, cyclist or "cyclist too" don't scold people on the roadway. Especially if you're not going to stick around for a conversation. If you are planning on a conversation don't expect it to remain polite...
This interaction was so brief, I really have no idea what was so unsafe my fellow cyclist felt he had to tell me from inside of his car. I of course jumped to the conclusion "that's not safe", refereed to my left turn and my (legal and proper) road position preparing for said left turn. I don't know. Maybe he was expressing solidarity as he felt the car in-front of him did not give enough space (as he didn't give me more space... well it is a possibility). That is of course provides the richness of these interactions and the declaration "I'm a cyclist" is the cream that takes the dish over the top. Never will a cyclist say this whilst on an actual bike, that would be redundant. Put a "cyclist" in a car or behind a keyboard and "I'm a cyclist..." is the standard appeal to authority or authenticity, except it always fails.

I was going to go on and on about how "safe" riding was that day, but really that is beside the point. I felt safe, I knew that Bank St. was salted and not icy. Monk St. (a quiet street to the west) was probably not cleared so my choice was obvious. I'm a confident strong cyclist co vehicular left-turns are totally normal, along with the close passes on the right. Obviously the "cyclist" who chose to drive has a different calculation and balance for what is "safe". I'll never really know what "I'm a cyclist" actually objected to, or what would have gotten him out of his car that day. The one thing I am sure of is if "I'm a cyclist" would spend the energy making my choice to cycle more safe instead of scolding me, we'd both be better off.
Yelling at a cyclist through a car window probably takes as much concern and energy as signing an on-line petition: Ottawa Bicycle Lanes Project. Sign it! It is worth while, the political will for complete streets and bicycling is waning in Ottawa. Your voice is important. You may think I'm crazy for cycling on a sloppy slushy day,maybe you wouldn't but there are lots of mild dry days between November and April that it is possible to make a local trip by bike. All you need is cleared routes and places to park. For that simple easy request that would benefit many (not just cyclists or potential cyclists, think strollers, wheelchairs...), a huge amount of political will is required. This is why your voice is important.

Hi-Viz? No Thanks

This comment was posted on Citizen Cycle a local cycling blog sponsored by The Ottawa Citizen:

"I see a lot of cyclists wearing dark outfits. These are even worse at dawn and dusk…there is a reason why construction workers have orange and yellow all over their jackets at intersections. We can learn from that in picking our clothing. Don’t worry about fashion, worry about being seen." 

Sensible advice, surely. Cyclists are always struggling to be seen, what better advice then to dress in violently bright yellows and oranges. Hi-viz as it is known is hugely popular, jackets, vests, helmet covers even thermal booties are available in noxious yellow.

Image lifted without permission from ww.bushtukah.com visit the store relieve my guilt.

Now what is wrong with dressing like a ripe banana, if it improves your safety? Maybe I was just psychologically scared by day-glow in the '80s. Or perhaps just insufferably vain, feeling these shades reflect a slight jaundices in my complexion. Or maybe it is because dressing like a construction worker/crossing guard (love the Britishism "lollipop man" BTW, just doesn't work in North American context) simply doesn't work. As this video shows in low-light or dark conditions white or "bright" colours don't actually help:

Sure, 3M is selling reflective treatments, and the human eye is more sensitive then any camera in low-light conditions...
All the justifications you can think of do not change the fact that human eyes don't see colour very well in low light conditions. Much better then white or yellow at dusk is reflective treatments. Further, better then reflective elements would be active lighting! Or, put another way actual lights, after all reflective elements can only reflect light directed at them. A light shines in all directions.

You know what trumps all of that and makes even the light-less shinobi shozoko (Ninja uniform according to Google) clad cyclist visible on city streets? Street lights! Yes, since roughly 1875 according to Wikipidea, urban streets have been lit enabling citizens to navigate on moonless nights. This if very much appreciated in northern latitudes where the sun sets before four in the afternoon. Really what an urban cyclist needs is well lit infrastructure that limits interaction/conflict with automobiles. Not hideous yellow coats... 

Teaching and Learning

With Darling Daughter's new bike we've been riding together a lot more. These rides haven't gone exactly as I expected, for one thing riding with a nine year old has taught me more then I've managed to teach her. So, while not every ride has been a Great Day, they have all been pretty good.
The first thing I've learned how much I take for granted. There is a lot going on when you are riding a bike; balance, steering, pedalling, control and brakes. On top of this is of course situation awareness and route planning. All of these skills transfer from conscious efforts that require focus and attention to automatic, almost unconscious skills, but it takes time.
When Darling Daughter was riding with the Fast and Female ambassadors, she did great. She was riding smoothly, following instructions and trying new things. Basic skills, like braking, riding with one hand and riding beside another rider. I expected the ride home to be more difficult, on account of distance and her being tired, but it wasn't. Our next outing together wasn't so smooth of course, and I was not sure why.
A little reflectiion on the wrinkles, and I think I know why this other shorter trip was more trouble, it was more complicated. The ride home from the Fast and Female event was almost entirely on multi-use pathways. When we had to leave the pathways the street we joined was closed to cars for Alcatel-Lucent Sunday Bikedays. I also gave clear directions well in advance. The other ride was on local streets, joining a busy MUP and back to local streets. I didn`t give Darling Daughter much notice of route changes. Even when I gave her instructions clearly and in advance, crossing sidewalks or roads was confusing and difficult.
She survived that trip and we`ve had had several successful rides since, I`d love to give her the freedom that I had as a nine year old, unfortunately that is not going to happen. For now we`ll ride together, I`ll keep teaching signals and skills, and we`ll keep to quiet roads and paths for a while longer still.

A Great Day

Sunday May 20 was a bright and sunny day, between two elite cycling races in Gateneau PQ. With several elite level female athletes in town, Fast and Female sponsored an event for girls 9 and up. This was a chance to meet up with some accomplished women athletes hear some inspiring stories. Go for a ride for ride and practice some cycling skills.

I signed Darling Daughter up, and myself as a parent volunteer. We finagled a ride across the river to the event but planned on riding home. The event was very good. We had a bi-lingual introductory presentation. The girls were divided into groups and worked on girl power themed posters, it was very cute, being possibly the only male parent volunteer I did my best to stay out of the way. Then we went out for an hour-long ride. I was very impressed by both of the ambassadors who guided our little group. I was even more impressed with Darling Daughter, she's still not completely comfortable on her new bike, and an hour ride is long, for a nine year old. She did great, riding up and down hills, following instructions and doing drills. The ambassadors had the girls practice changing gears, riding with one hand, emergency stops, riding two abreast and touching the rider beside them. It was fun.

After the ride there were more presentations and a dance (zumba). Darling Daughter really enjoyed then event, Cath and Jenny (our ambassadors) were great and made a positive impression.

When the event finished up we set off for home. It wasn't the most direct route but we were able to take multi-use recreational paths all the way home. It was great.

Another Coroners Report, Waiting on the Shelf

In 1998 the chief Coroner of Toronto wrote a report "Recommendations for reducing cycling injuries and death". This report detailed cyclist deaths and injuries over an 11 year period with an aim to enhance cyclist safety going forward. The report made 15 recommendations in five broad areas:

• Better bicycle collision data collection and analysis
• Education programs and enforcement for both motorists and cyclists
• A review of the Highway Traffic Act sections affecting bicycles
• Roadway engineering design improvements for bicycles
• Investigation of design modifications for large vehicles to reduce injury severity

What happened when this report was released? Well, like most Coroners reports it looks like it was shelved. I can say for sure that in the last 15 years any review of the Highway Traffic Act has not produced any of the recommended changes. Design modifications for large vehicles to reduce injury severity? Moved forward in Europe, DOA here. It was revived as an issue in the federal Parliament by Opposition MP as a Private Members Bill, of course Private Members Bills never go anywhere in Canadian Parliament. Toronto's police may have acted upon the recommendations to improve collision data collection and analysis. Unfortunately, I can't judge as this is not open or available data. This leaves two recommendations that may have been acted upon: Education and Engineering.

Most serious cyclists know where the political effort and attention has been placed. Infrastructure, has been a political hot button. The rhetoric has been mighty, the results tepid. That leaves Education as the only area that may have been addressed. For cyclists the city of Toronto offers a large selection of Can-Bike courses. Online videos and tips, as well as other resources. Nothing for other road users...

Still the call is to educate cyclists before other road users, instead of other road improvements. Proven strategies are ignored and fantasies are indulged.

Cycling Education. Who could be against that?

Recently the Office of the Chief Coroner set about to conduct a review of cycling deaths across the province. This was in response to the deaths of two young women in the space of a couple of weeks. These deaths and a spat of other incidents, aroused public concern over the safety of cyclists. Corner's reports are long processes and the report will not be released before spring 2012, so I can't really talk to the report. Although, the Chief Coroner did allow for public input as part of the review and that has sparked a reoccurring debate in the cycling community; Infrastructure vs. Education.

The Education Activists are an interesting bunch, they don't like being called activists. They usually portray themselves as "Responsible Cyclists". They are scandalized by the behaviour of cyclists they see every day (or think they see) they know that cyclist safety is suffering because of this poor behaviour. They think Infrastructure Activists are irresponsible for advocating for policies that will attract more people to cycling. These new cyclists will, by definition, be "poorly trained and unskilled", and inevitably the victim of some horrible tragedy as they transition from protected cycle-track to regular streets. The solution to these problems is Cycling Education and if the there is no money left over for infrastructure, so much the better. Of course this is nonsense. Cycling fatalities and injuries have been on a bumpy downward trend for nearly 20 years. This is at the same time that cycling is increasing, so these poorly trained and unskilled (new) cyclists are not being killed off in number. Adult returning cyclists are most often licensed drivers, who should know the rules of the road. Convincing large numbers of them to take a Can-Bike course, devoting an entire weekend (or several) to being lectured about “cyclist inferiority complex”. Well, lets just say I wouldn't want that marketing job. Ah, what about the children? Surely there is value for Cycling Education in the schools? After all "cycling education has entirely disappeared from the public education system". Maybe, but probably not. This is a bit of a good news/bad news story. School age children are not being killed on bikes. This is most likely because school age children are not riding bikes. At least not to school, shops or even friends houses. I'm a parent of two elementary school kids, the bike racks are mighty bare. Besides, traffic safety is taught. Kindergartners know stop-signs, and red-lights.  They know to look both ways before crossing the road. Every year they get a school-bus safety refresher. These kids know safe, a specific cycling program, while maybe nice, is not necessary. 
Let's be clear calls for Cycling Education as a safety program, are really calls to not spend money on other programs or infrastructure. They ignore the real dangers of our streets and the real actions that can make cycling safer objectively and subjectively. Calls for Cycling Education are obstructionist strategies, and should be seen as such.
*Update 2011-12-16*
Kathleen Wilker's blog FamiliesonBikes has some relevant information on this issue. The City of Ottawa offers Can-Bike courses through City Wide Sports a division of Ottawa's Parks, Recreation and Culture Department. Not only is the city already delivering cycling education, they piloted a program that offered free cycling education to Ottawa schools: "All told, 2000 kids received some kind of free bike education at their schools in Ottawa last spring". Further according to Kathleen's blog Gord MacGregor, who leads the program is planning to expand the schools cycling education program for next spring. 
So the Cycling Education is there. Will this make the "Responsible Cyclists" happy? Probably not, and that is sad.