Bike Talks in the Wild - November 28, 2023
Safety in Numbers
Today I was riding home from Aldi and noticed a woman in her mid-twenties riding a bicycle along my route.
I happened to pull up next to her at the next intersection, and gave her a friendly wave when she noticed me. When the light turned green, we both set off through the intersection.
Now, my machine of choice for short errands is my RadRunner Plus. It’s a mid-tier e-bike capable of going 20mph. On this route, I tend to rely heavily on the electric assist and maintain my travel lane, staying smack in the middle to prevent the “close pass” drivers tend to use if you give them the room. Staying right in the middle of the lane forces drivers to move completely over to the left lane to pass legally.
However, I only feel safe enough doing this when I’m cruising along at full speed. The woman I encountered was pedaling along on a cruiser-style standard bicycle, with no e-assist. So I understand her staying as far to the right side of the lane as possible; you’d have to be crazy to commandeer the full lane going only 10mph.
So when we got through the intersection, I paced her. Turned off the electric assist and went on my own power. Not wanting to be creepy, I asked loud enough to be heard, “Mind if I ride with you for a bit?” She answered in the affirmative and seemed not to mind at all. “Safety in numbers,” I called back, and she nodded.
Two options had occurred to me as we both waited for the light to change a moment ago. One, I could continue using the electric assist, ignore my fellow traveler, and make it home just a little bit earlier. Or two, I could provide some safer passage to this person just trying to get to where they’re going.
You see, one person on a bike, riding up against the curb or in the shoulder, is an afterthought to most drivers. Something to get around as soon as possible so they aren’t stuck going slow. As a result, drivers often take risks around the more vulnerable road users, seeking the reward of that ten-second improvement to their commute.
But add another bicycle, and suddenly the risky pass isn’t even feasible. Two bicycles, riding safely side-by-side in a lane, take up the same amount of space as a car. For that time, the lane has been claimed for the bicycle, and the speed of traffic behind them slows to a sane figure.
One impossibility when driving a car is conversing with other road users. Sure, you can roll down your window and shout at a cyclist or pedestrian, but that’s not a conversation, and you’ll probably be incoherent anyway.
On bicycles, two people can chat while still remaining safely in control. And that’s what we did. The conversation went something like this:
Her: “Where are you headed?”
Me: “Oh, I’m headed home from Aldi. You?”
Her: “Going home, just got off work.”
Me: “Do you ride your bike most everywhere?”
Her: “Yeah. How far do you usually ride in a day?”
Me: “Oh, about as far as Aldi and back most days.”
Her: *nods*
Me: “I have it pretty easy with this electric assist though. I can’t imagine riding this road without it.”
Her: *nods*
We make it to the section of road that has an actual shoulder. She moves over into the shoulder and I ride along the white line. Cars begin passing us now that they have room. A pickup with what must surely be an illegal muffler mod roars by too close and the vibrations from the noise just about give me an arrhythmia. I give him a wave and say loudly “Thank you!”, as I’ve begun doing in lieu of something more antagonistic.
Me: “One thing I’m trying to do is raise more awareness that people are out here biking, and hopefully get some infrastructure added for bicycling so it’s safer and we’re not forced to use the shoulder or ride against the curb.”
Her: “I know! I can’t tell you how many flat tires I’ve gotten from running over things in the shoulder.”
I nod back. We’ve made it to the next intersection and it’s clear we’re going opposite directions from here.
Me: “Well, I’m headed this direction. It was nice meeting you!”
Her: “Nice to meet you too!”
Immediately after this I realized we didn’t exchange names, and I forgot to ask where she works. I was just so excited to actually overlap with another person on a bicycle that I forgot these normal social snippets. It doesn’t help that I’m not extroverted.
I’d really like to know more about the people who bike for transportation in Ada, so I need to get better at being intentional with these opportunities. But I hope someday there will be so many people biking for transportation that it will be physically impossible to converse with everyone I come across. Part of that becoming a reality will be adding infrastructure, but a larger part is being seen.
The more that people ride bicycles for their everyday trips, the more others will realize they are here. Maybe drivers will start to anticipate bicycles along their route and be cautious and even drive a little slower. Maybe the drivers behind them will add their voices in and ask for infrastructure on their behalf (even if the intention is to get bicycles out of their way).
I was glad to have this conversation with my impromptu riding companion, and will continue to pursue every opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and talk with fellow pedestrians and people on bikes in my city.
However you get around your town, I hope you start to notice and have respectful conversations with those traveling alongside you. Ultimately, transportation is all about the people.
Thumbnail photo by Adrian Williams on Unsplash