Bryan W. Alaspa 1Chicago: city of bicycles
July 2nd 2009 13:36
Chicago has tried in the past few years to become a city for bicycles. Reportedly the mayor is a big fan of riding bikes and he wanted to make the city more bike-friendly. So, he began encouraging Chicagoans, notoriously out of shape, to start riding bikes more. He had bicycle lanes painted on most city streets, thus confusing more motorists as they wonder if they are allowed to drive in those lanes to get around the slow-moving idiots on their cell phones or not.
I don’t know what vision the good Mayor had in mind when he decided to make the city more bike friendly. Did he look out his window at City Hall and imagine a major city like something out of mainland China? Did he envision thousands upon thousands of people moving up and down Michigan Avenue on their ten speeds?
With the economy tanking, however, his vision has moved just a bit closer to reality. You see men and women of all sizes and shapes and ages riding bikes these days. Far too many of them have no concept of what to wear when they ride their bikes. You see guys in business suits as much as you see the guys who think they are Lance Armstrong and wear the silly little shorts and the tight shirt and the helmet. Far too many of them wear the helmets, too. I know, I know, it’s a safety thing, but it also looks galactically stupid unless you’re in a bike race.
There was a time in my life when I would have joined them. Throughout most of my life and right through high school when spring and summer came I was glues to the 12-speed my parents had gotten me once I reached my teen years. Even after I got my drivers license I still loved riding that thing. I was never truly in shape, but there was a time when I could ride a bike many, many miles all over the place. Not so much these days.
Bicyclists are a strange breed. They often show up and demand that motorists treat them like other vehicles on the road. They want you to stop for them when they are at a stop sign. They want to have the right-of-way at intersections. The problem is that they often do not follow the rules themselves. What was that just blowing right through the stop sign or stoplight? Why, it was your friendly neighborhood biker, that’s who.
Bikers also, despite thinking they are cruising at supersonic speeds, are a lot slower than your average SUV. So, they are a pain to run across in the narrow Chicago streets. We do not have an abundance of four-lane streets in the city and there are often cars parked on the side of even the busiest streets. This means that, even with bike lanes, bikers are drifting out into the main flow of car traffic.
It would be one thing if the bikers would get over and let you pass. No, they want you to think that they are as legit as a car so they just keep riding along. Can’t get past them because of traffic in the oncoming lane? They don’t care. If you dare get a little to close to them, be prepared to be yelled and glared at.
Don’t even get me started on bike messengers. Those people aren’t even human.
For those who do love riding bikes, though, this is a great city to visit. I hear the bike paths right along Lake Michigan are fantastic. I don’t know because I don’t live near Lake Michigan and I am far too fat these days to ride a bike anyway. I’m a Chicagoan, remember.
I don’t know what vision the good Mayor had in mind when he decided to make the city more bike friendly. Did he look out his window at City Hall and imagine a major city like something out of mainland China? Did he envision thousands upon thousands of people moving up and down Michigan Avenue on their ten speeds?
With the economy tanking, however, his vision has moved just a bit closer to reality. You see men and women of all sizes and shapes and ages riding bikes these days. Far too many of them have no concept of what to wear when they ride their bikes. You see guys in business suits as much as you see the guys who think they are Lance Armstrong and wear the silly little shorts and the tight shirt and the helmet. Far too many of them wear the helmets, too. I know, I know, it’s a safety thing, but it also looks galactically stupid unless you’re in a bike race.
There was a time in my life when I would have joined them. Throughout most of my life and right through high school when spring and summer came I was glues to the 12-speed my parents had gotten me once I reached my teen years. Even after I got my drivers license I still loved riding that thing. I was never truly in shape, but there was a time when I could ride a bike many, many miles all over the place. Not so much these days.
Bicyclists are a strange breed. They often show up and demand that motorists treat them like other vehicles on the road. They want you to stop for them when they are at a stop sign. They want to have the right-of-way at intersections. The problem is that they often do not follow the rules themselves. What was that just blowing right through the stop sign or stoplight? Why, it was your friendly neighborhood biker, that’s who.
Bikers also, despite thinking they are cruising at supersonic speeds, are a lot slower than your average SUV. So, they are a pain to run across in the narrow Chicago streets. We do not have an abundance of four-lane streets in the city and there are often cars parked on the side of even the busiest streets. This means that, even with bike lanes, bikers are drifting out into the main flow of car traffic.
It would be one thing if the bikers would get over and let you pass. No, they want you to think that they are as legit as a car so they just keep riding along. Can’t get past them because of traffic in the oncoming lane? They don’t care. If you dare get a little to close to them, be prepared to be yelled and glared at.
Don’t even get me started on bike messengers. Those people aren’t even human.
For those who do love riding bikes, though, this is a great city to visit. I hear the bike paths right along Lake Michigan are fantastic. I don’t know because I don’t live near Lake Michigan and I am far too fat these days to ride a bike anyway. I’m a Chicagoan, remember.
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