Drivers not only problem
Being of the country persuasion, I've long been disgusted by city bike riders coming onto our narrow country roads and making nuisances of themselves. Yes, they have a legal right to be there. However, in the days before cute little spandex outfits for aging athletes, most people on bicycles realized that they were a safety hazard in their own right and made at least some effort to cooperate with automobile drivers. Many would move near the edge to allow drivers to pass more easily, or slow down slightly and motion those behind them around.
Today, too many seem to prefer to ride on the center-line and dare anyone to hit them. Rarely do you see one deliberately yield part of their lane to let a car around, and the only place that most slow down is where they know auto drivers can't pass anyway. As soon as you get to a safe place to pass, they take off like the proverbial bat out of Hades. Few women bicyclists seem to behave that way, so I guess it must to be a testosterone thing.
In town, some of them dart between lanes of stopped traffic to crowd ahead in line, run stop signs and switch on and off the sidewalk at will. During the publicized ride for awareness the other day, my wife and I stepped out the door of the bookstore by the mall and were nearly run down by what appeared to be a bicycle club member who was riding on the sidewalk to avoid the speed-bumps in the street. While I realize that there are plenty of rude and careless drivers out there, it seems to me that rude auto drivers aren't the only problem on the highways (and sidewalks).
Steve Dye
Parkersburg
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KimBroughton
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11-20-08 8:47 AM
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Because the issues we are working to fix in our 2 communities are the same issues that need to be fixed to bike and walk safely in the Mid-Ohio Valley a council was formed to deal with the communities knowing our work could be extended to anywhere. There is no doubt the Rail Trail is a project of great interest and it comes up frequently and since the WV State Trail coordinator is on the bike council he has heard these questions and is working with us on that issue as well but it has not been our focus. There have been a couple alarming studies done that have highlighted the dangers of being a pedestrian and cyclist in the city. We have had 3 cyclists hit in Pburg in the last 45 days. WV was just voted the worst state in the Bicycle Friendly state rankings put out by the League of American Bicyclist meaning we are the most hostile state in the nation towards cyclist. Enough is enough. The ranking has spurred interest in forming a statewide cycling advocacy group! Yea
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KimBroughton
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11-20-08 8:29 AM
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Hey lookin4truth. I am boiling the spaghetti now :). We have not looked at signs of 47. This gets complicated so let me try to explain in the 1000 characters I have. The council was formed because it was needed to implement to goals of the PARK program, a community activity program sponsored by Adventure Pursuit in 2 Parkersburg communities. I taught 6000 Wood County school children over a 3 year period a special physical education class known as Fit Kids. We took "toys" into the school with other community partners and showed the children how much fun exercise can be. Teachers would call us 3 months later and tell us the students were still excited about the message we brought them. For 3 years I was told by these children that they want to ride their bikes and go outside to play. I was also told that they were too scared to play outside because of the drivers in our community. Our focus are these 2 communities. Out of space...I'll continue in a followup mesage
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nonesuch
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11-20-08 2:21 AM
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The existing State right-of-way is sufficient, with perhaps a few easements. . As far as 47 goes, it's due for modification as this is also a congestion and safety issue. BUT, don't worry, there's no plan to do anything out there thru 2013 the WVDOT's own project forecast (essentially will unlikely never happen). As usual, day late and a dollar short around here, but ya never know?
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wildbill
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11-19-08 4:12 PM
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thatsjustme, That's what sidewalks are for.
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thatsjustme
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11-19-08 3:14 PM
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wildbill, following your line of logic a person would not be allowed to walk on a road.
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wildbill
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11-19-08 1:47 PM
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I've always wondered WHY bike riders had the legal right to use the road? If you think about it, why should they? They pay no road taxes, they purchase no type of license to operate a vehicle on the road so they aren't pulling their weight financially. Why are they allowed to use the road for free?
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Lookin4truth
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11-19-08 10:28 AM
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KimBroughton....Has your organization inquired as to the cost of obtaining "right-of_ways" alongside RT#47 out to the rail to trail? BTW....my first post was meant as a sarcastic joke. Poor taste I know....so beat me with spaghetti. ;)
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KimBroughton
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11-18-08 9:56 AM
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Hey nonesuch, Actually there has been some exciting developments on the Rail Trail in the past few months. Ann, the city's development director has discussed the project with us on a few occasions. The city has been amazing in their interest and support of the work we are doing. We went to the city and said, "We want to make it safer and pleasant to ride our bikes as transportation in the Mid-Ohio Valley. We have raised $42,000 in grant funding and have 2 full-time AmeriCorps volunteers for the project. We cannot do this without the city's support. Will you help us?" Their answer was and is yes. They have been with us every step of the way. The more we pull together the more we can accomplish. The City has so many priorities. We want to make it as easy as we can to make progress on this one. You can follow the council by going to ***********iplayoutside****/oPam/providers/21. We would welcome your time and attention.
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nonesuch
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11-18-08 8:09 AM
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Kim, there's been an effort to get a bike lane out 47 to the Rail Trail for over 10 years. The downtown portion has been stalled for 7 years. There is no solid community support in Wood County for these projects or they would have been completed by now. Yesterdays headline regarding Huntington as the WORST health and apathetic attitude in the nation, equally applies here. Our local representatives have sat on their posterior's and consistently voted for millions of state dollars to fund ATV trails in 6 southern counties, while we sit here in the third largest Metro area with with ZERO amenities and facilities. Everybody continually wonders why nothing moves here, this is an excellent example.
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KimBroughton
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11-17-08 7:27 PM
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Thanks Shelia :) ladynoogs there are certainly things some cyclists can do to make interactions with them more pleasant. A lot of them are unaware of how to behave and do what they think is best even though it may not be. Some are just rude. The Mid-Ohio Bicycle Council is working to address education and awareness issues for individuals whether they are cyclists and/or motorists. Our first awareness piece is targeted at both. This is about creating an environment where we can all learn together and giving each other the benefit of the doubt when the other does something that seems mean spirited. The best solution is to have a bike path separate from cars when possible. That is a solution that requires funding and community support. If it is something you would like to see develop in the area, please let the local government know. It would help a great deal. Thanks! Kim
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Lookin4truth
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11-17-08 4:20 PM
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Door em!!!! They'll get out of the way!!! LMAO!!!!
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ladynoogs
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11-17-08 1:23 PM
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ms broughton.. i understand that.. and i'm not talking about those who cant pull over for safety reason.. i'm a reasonable and logical person. I'm talking about when they CAN pull over safely to let traffic pass.. some wont. You cant tell me ALL cyclists are good cyclists and follow the rules. One day not to long ago there were two cyclists (they even had numbers on thier backs) and they were holding up at least 4 cars in a flat area with no oncoming traffic in an area that would be safe to pull over.. they were riding in the middle of the road. my mom was in her car behind me and was late to work that day (and she always leaves early enough incase she gets caught at a train track or other obstacle that could make her late). This is NOT rare in our area.. it was on muskingum river road that runs between marietta and lowell.
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KimBroughton
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11-17-08 11:03 AM
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Hi, My name is Kim Broughton and I am coordinator of the Mid-Ohio Valley Bicycle Council, the group who organized the Critical Mass ride. ladynoogs, your comment about cyclists not moving over and being disrespectful is one I have heard often. In most cases, there are legitimate safety reasons for it that are not obvious to us when we are motorists on the same road. I have found when you are able to explain specific behaviors folks understand why cyclists act the way they do and it removes the hostility that tends to occur. Our awareness piece for the ride states "Treat bicycles like the vehicles they are." That is a message for cyclists and motorists. We are working on a systematic awareness and training program to help folks understand each other more. I would like to invite you and the others participating in this discussion to help us. We have a long road ahead of us and it would be nice to share it :).
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ladynoogs
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11-16-08 10:58 PM
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i've seen it... i live on a country road as well... and while most do yeild to traffic.. there are alot who do not, i understand mr Dye's perspective and his weight has nothing to do with it. i dont care if they are being slow.. its when they are being disrespectful that it bothers me. KNowing someone is behind you and NOT moving over is disrespectful.
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bassman
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11-16-08 10:38 PM
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nice canniballoe Hobiedan, you must be one of those blind bicyclists I've heard so much about. Only someone who's blind would not have witnessed such behavior.
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nonesuch
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11-16-08 9:52 PM
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It's so inconvenient for you race drivers in a big hurry to get home to the couch I'm sure.
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canniballoe
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11-16-08 9:35 PM
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you'll know how much his car weighs if you don't get out of the road...
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Hobiedan
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11-16-08 1:58 PM
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And , I might point out , I am 57 years old.
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nonesuch
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11-16-08 9:12 AM
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Good point Hobiedan! The fact that we're 40 years behind in anything resembling balanced transportation and recreation development in WV is part of the reason we lead the nation in a widespread medical phenomenon known as CSAA (Car Seat Ass Affliction). It's also a leading indicator of our basement position of no development and jobs.
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Hobiedan
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11-16-08 8:45 AM
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I am a Road Cyclists, right at 10,000 miles on in 4 years .I have ridden club rides and with small groups, and I have not witnessed any behavior that you have described. By the way , how much do you weigh?
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