stacking the deck

this is really part two of "okay, why?" i'm going to talk a bit more about why i'm dedicated to getting more people out of their cars and onto safe, comfortable, body-sustaining bikes.

i'll start here: portland, OR has a robust and dedicated cycling community already. in fact you'll find us at or near the top of any list of bike-able cities. a quick websearch even turned this up: #2 for the whole dang world. there are already tons of programs and organizations and things like bike lanes and bus/bike options to make it easy for you to step out of your car.

what i'm adding to the wealth that's already there is information about how upright riding can get you over some barriers to cycling. i guess i should talk about that in another post because i've already gone way off topic.

what i meant to talk about is what i perceive to be the dark side of our flourishing cycling culture. an anecdote: once i was asked to participate in an email interview that was to be published in some online journal. one question posed was: "what’s the one thing Portland drivers should know about bike commuters?" my answer: "don't trust them!" i went on to talk about how portland cyclists often fail to follow traffic rules and more or less dare cars not to hit them. pretty sure the interview was not published...

first, a guess: because cycling is so easy here, many people are only (or at least primarily) cyclists. they may never have passed a driving test and may not know the rules. second, many cyclists i've talked to believe that they are above the law and owed the road. because they're, like, saving the world or whatever.

so, my selfish reason for getting you out of your car and into the bike lane is that i'm trying to stack the deck with riders who know and respect the rules. it's sad and ridiculous that i feel more nervous surrounded by bikes than by cars.