Shek's Footprint

Laws governing cyclists are sometimes loosely imposed. We see a lot of cyclists riding in the dark with no reflectors or lights. We see well dressed cyclists with headphones or riding against the flow of traffic or both! These are just some examples where a cyclist is being inconsiderate of the law and safety. When a cyclist does follow the law, occasionally, a law enforcement officer questions the interpretation of the law. This leads to unnecessary agony and irritation on the part of the cyclist.

For example, Fredrick Ungewitter (link), has a very well documented saga of mishaps faced due to police officers misinterpreting the law. He was riding his velomobile on a road of substandard width and was pulled over for impeding traffic. He was controlling the lane.

Read the excruciating debate that followed the traffic stop here: http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2009/02/17/impeding-traffic-the-audio/

Further,

I have a fan club. Well, the fan club is actually a hate club and it has only one member. Having waited till 8:30 PM to avoid traffic, I was riding my bike back from the grocery store at 9:15 PM. Most of the ride is on this service road (see picture below).

As you can see by the footprint of the blue sedan, the road is barely 8 feet wide. This is the southbound lane and has over twelve driveways entering or leaving it, making the already dangerous sidewalk riding even more scary. In the northbound lane on my return journey, Xtracycle fully laden with grocery bags, I had stopped at the traffic light. From the traffic turning left across the intersection from me, a car while turning into Southside Blvd, rolled down their window and yelled, "Use the sidewalk. I see you every time …". I wasn’t even in his direction of traffic.

I have repeatedly managed to anger somebody while just riding my bike. I have been promoted from a ‘murderer’ status to that of a ‘serial killer’!

Having done recent discussions on Carbon Trace and Commute Orlando about harassment to bicyclists, I have come to the following conclusions:

This is a story on a section of two lane road on Deerwood Park Blvd between Gate Parkway and Centurion Parkway. It is about 796 yards long. I usually ride my vintage Dutch bike at 14 miles per hour lending me to finish that section at a little less than two minutes. This excruciatingly lengthy period of time is apparently too much for a motorist to yield.

After a year of staying on the right of the very narrow lane and getting shouted at, honked at and spat at and almost tackled down, I decided to send a stronger message. Invoking traffic law 316.2065(5) exception 3, I decided to control the lane on that section. I ride on that path usually four times a day which ensures a daily doze of 1.67 honks and 1.55 abuses shouted out to my honor (these stats are not accurate but very close). I get anxious and nervous while taking the lane.

This afternoon, Jose Falqez, a fellow commuter shared an alternate route with me.

The red line is the section of road which is a narrow two lane. The blue pin denotes my work place. The blue line is the route I usually take to go home. I tried out the alternate route in green today. It adds another 796 yards to my trip and an extra two minutes. This alternate route allows me to leave work at around 5 PM without having to wait any longer for traffic to clear. I usually wait till 5:30 PM to be courteous to the motorists. This way, I can leave on time, keep motorists happier, add two minutes to my trip and a few more years to my heart.

This is how they roll in The Netherlands: Directness 

The red rectangle along the road is a construction zone. They are widening the two lane section to a four lane road. I hope they put in some kind of a bicycle facility along that road. There are five right turns on the west bound lane: two hotels and the South East Library which post a hazard for cyclists by motorists negotiating a right turn. This makes the outer lane of the newly widened road an appropriate venue for Sharrows. See Sharrows in LA here: Link.

A proper two lane road with adequate signage for bicycles will add much needed Actual Safety and Subjective Safety (definitions) to the trip.

Since the week of excruciating encounters of the motorist kind, I have taken a step back to evaluate my position. I traveled all of last week and effectively stayed off the bicycle since the evening of 12 June till this morning when I rode to work. I pumped through a small hill outside my apartment breathing in a high humidity sauna aired morning glow. The effort required was more than usual. I was undecided if my breathless lungs were signaling me to ride more often or confirming a well deserved hiatus from bicycling.

I occupied my week long business trip to ponder over my position on bicycle advocacy. Lately, I have felt like a martyr when advocating for bicycles, I hadn’t seen any difference made both in the minds of bicyclists and motorists. I have strongly considered moving out of this bicycle hating neighborhood and moving to the urban core where bicycles are more readily accepted. My views about pushing pedals in this part of town have been more and more pessimistic.

I have been commuting on my bicycle for a year. Over this year, I have evolved as a bicyclist, in both range of trips and attitude. During my beginning months, I had a lot more gumption that masked a significant volume of incoming motorist harassment. The gumption to ride is still alive, proven by the fact that I am not tempted to buy a motor vehicle to alleviate the pain. The masking powers of gumption has dwindled. There are stretches of road in which I feel nervous when controlling the lane. To some extent, rage has taken over and I have been known to flip a bird when honked at, yelled at, spat at and lit cigarettes thrown at. The reaction portraying a higher quality would be to ignore but is easier said than done. A bird-flip has more instantaneous fulfillment. I am working on a non-reactionary attitude.

The uncomfortable encounter with a police officer left a foul taste in my mouth about the protectors and upholders of law that I pay taxes to protect and uphold. Unfortunately, some police uniforms come with a cape and an external underwear. They are the unnecessary evils similar to belligerent motorists, except they are armed with mace, tasers and citation tickets.

Bikejax has successfully managed to influence people to ride their bikes, which in return makes more motorists aware. Starting off with the volunteer support at the Jazz Festival, we have uncovered a few people that deserve a mention. My goal would be to bring more people under the spot light for commuting in this part of town. In the form of commuter profiles on Bikejax, we will introduce Rebekah Wallis, Jose Falqez, Jonathan, Matt Bishop and Matt Martin. They have an infectious gumption which inspires me. I also noticed an older gentleman riding his bike on the dreaded service road; not on the sidewalk but the actual road! Kudos to you sir.

As I type the last paragraph and get ready to bike home for lunch, I can not ignore the tiny knot in my stomach from nervousness and anxiety. Some scars heal with time and patience used to be a strong virtue. The days do look brighter after the brief hiatus.

The harrowing experience of the insolent and un-uniformed policeman in patrol car 818 is still fresh in my mind as I write this post. I was riding up a bridge over I95 hauling Laya in her trailer on a narrow road with no room to pass and a policeman commanded me to ride on the sidewalk. There was no room left for legitimate and gentlemanly talk regarding his decision. My innocent pleas about cyclist rights and safety were taken as argument.

Later that day, a motorist barreling down my neck honked at me in an abusive and threatening manner to which I politely gave the finger. The passenger later was in my face ready to pick a fight.

Today, I returned home from the grocery store after numerous honks and abuses by inconsiderate pricks of motorists. I am usually good at letting their rude and abusive behavior pass as immaturity and lack of general intelligence quotient but my patience may have plateaued. I do not want to encourage anyone to be subjected to this kind of behavior on the road.

I started this website to log my efforts of being more environmentally conscious. My one large decision was to take up bicycling. It has rewarded me immensely, health and financially. So huge were the improvements to my quality of living that I decided to use this website as a part time advocacy channel for bicycles. Not any more. This city cares a fuck about bicycles. One council man with one plan on one road is a good start but does not even begin to change the face of bicycling. Jacksonville Florida is in the bicycling Paleolithic age, complete with square wheels and no fire, when compared to only a few more cities in USA. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has been disbanded and the citizens are in charge of three thousand pounds of steel and maybe have an equally plateauing patience for me slowing their arses down from getting to their cul de sac turd holes.

I hereby stop advocating for bicycles as transportation in any part of a city other than its urban core. I will be involved with the bike valet service with bikejax only because it successfully continues to encourage more people to ride their bikes to events that usually occur in neighborhoods of a higher polupation density. I will respond to questions as a moderator on Bikejax forums.

Disclaimer: the comments stated above reflect the voice of the writer and are in no way influenced by any other source. It does not reflect the intentions and interests of Bikejax.org.