Tuesday morning means a bicycle ride to the farmer’s market at the Battlefield Mall for fresh fruits and vegetables. Two years ago, I would make that ride and see no bicyclists on the road. These days I’ll see five or more in the 2.5 miles between my house and the mall. It’s great to see more bicyclists. I’m looking forward to our advocacy committee making a formal count. I think the increase is going to be huge.
(If that doesn’t sound like much, consider that this is a thin slice of Springfield transportation reality. I make that trip one-way in about 15 minutes.)
I take Fremont south to East Sunset and enter the Mall from the north.
That jog you see on the map reflects the road work on Fremont south of Sunshine. The road is closed.
This is a very smooth ride. Fremont north of Sunshine is part of the Springfield Bicycle Route system — two wide lanes. Fremont south of Sunshine is two lanes with a center turn lane — one of my favorite types of roads. Sunset is four narrow lanes. So taking the middle of the right lane is appropriate.
Now I’ll tell you what the headline means. What I’m seeing are bicyclists like I used to be. When I first started riding my bicycle as basic transportation a little more than five years ago, I was a total sidewalk shark and gutter monkey. Stop signs? Fphittt. Those were for cars. The whole world was a surface for me the ride on! Those were the days.
And those days quickly faded. There’s nothing like sticking to utility bicycling to begin the learning process. After about two years, I was no longer a sidewalk shark or a gutter monkey. I was getting it.
So, yes, I saw many bicyclists on my ride to the mall this morning. All except one were all like me in those early days.
And I was happy to wave or nod to them as I cruised along on the road in the lane. OK, this will sound egotistical, but I don’t mean it that way: I was glad they got to see me 
I hope they stick with it long enough to get it.
Comments 1
All we can do is offer a friendly demonstration. Occasionally I have the opportunity to demonstrate how much easier it is to be in the lane. I had one Saturday. I was claiming the lane on a quiet 4-lane. Passed a guy on the sidewalk just as we approached an intersection. Behind me was a car with its right turn signal on. I was riding a bike with a mirror and couldn’t resist watching the predictable scene behind me after I passed easily through the intersection. Perhaps even that motorists recognized the demonstration of why it’s better to ride in the lane than on the sidewalk.
I can only hope.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 4:38 pm ¶