What a wonderful ride!!!

Our entire family (2 parents, 2 kids and 2 dogs) participated in the 2010 Challenge Bicycle Ride today -- 24 miles of quiet residential street bicycling on a beautiful Sunday morning through Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. While the ride is over for this year, I hope more from our community will participate at next year's event.

For more please see:
http://www.challengebicycleride.org/

Compromise Can Be Difficult

There is an interesting discussion occurring about the League of American Bicyclists at:
http://mighkwilson.com/2010/02/loyalty-matters/

Here is what I think:

Often the closer you get to an organization, the uglier it's complexion -- the warts and blemishes become more visible. Nonetheless, it is important to take the whole into account and decide whether overall the organization is moving the cause forward even though it may not be specifically moving the parts some individuals want.

Regarding bike lanes, while sometimes their design is not the best, they do attract more cyclists and give them a degree of safety (or at least the perception). After getting more cyclists on the roads, more will realize that bike lanes need to be designed better and hopefully that will have an impact. Often we need to take imperfect steps on our hike toward overall improvement. It's a bit Machiavellian but it is practical. Additionally, to make progress in this area we often must make political compromises.

Yes having everyone become a well educated effective cyclist would be best, but unfortunately this is highly unlikely. The barriers are too high for most people. Conversely the barriers to bike lanes are relatively low and bike lanes are very visible, relatively long lasting, and highly attractive to most normal cyclists.

So while hard core utility cyclists see no need for bike lanes, and they would be right if we could educate all motorists and cyclists, the hurdle is too high to educate the vast majority of normal people whereas these normal people see the immediate advantage of bicycle lanes. And eventually those bicycle lanes can be made safe too.

Sometimes it is the best course of action to make progress where it is easiest rather than fighting the tide.

I've chosen to become a lifetime member of some national organizations (LAB & Adventure Cycling) as well as a local organization (Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition). I do what I am able to advocate for better education, helmet use and well designed bicycle facilities. I continue to believe it is worth supporting the LAB in addition to state and local organizations.

(BTW, I greatly admire what John Schubert, John Forester, and John Allen have accomplished.)

(BTW2, what I say above applies in a general way to all organizations with which I've been involved, some ended up on the net plus side, some on the net negative side.)

The Amazing Mary Ave Bike/Ped Bridge!

The new Sunnyvale-Cupertino bicycle-pedestrian bridge at Mary Avenue is wonderful and beautiful night and day. This is one amazing bridge!




However there are at least 3 issues that need correction to let this masterpiece achieve perfection:

1) The bollards at each end of the bridge are a bit hazardous to bicyclists.
2) The main approach paths to the bridge are a bit narrow leading to more conflict than necessary between bicyclists and pedestrians.
3) The Sunnyvale intersection at Mary and Homestead has a problem because there is no safe and natural way for bicyclists traveling north bound onto Mary to get across this intersection.

#1 & #2 could be solved simply by making the approach paths wider:
The extra width would allow both bicyclists and wheelchair users to go to the right of each bollard in their direction without catching a wheel on the edge of the path in the dirt.

As for #3, the Mary and Homestead intersection in Sunnyvale, I think the easiest solution is to open the gate to allow northbound cyclists to pass through the Homestead High School parking lot and into the right lane heading north on Mary.

Cheers,
Tim

Sheldon Brown R.I.P (1944-2008)

Sheldon Brown, a legend in the bicycling community, passed away on February 3, 2008. He was a friend and will be greatly missed.

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