Friday Afternoon Commute - regular

Good afternoon

• Clinton Yates does not care for Capital Bikeshare users who are dressed like regular people. "Why? Because most of them all terrible bike-riders that violate the traffic laws even worse than the seasoned vets."  I think Yates will have a hard time proving that when looking at the crash data. 
• The 15th Street cycletrack/sidewalk "experiment" is not working.
• Dr. Gridlock wants to know if cyclists think the police need to be better informed on bike laws. 
• Another benefit of the R Street to MBT bicycle improvements will be that it creates a better connection for kids trying to get to school.
• Apparantly there is nothing criminally negligent about mowing down a pedestrian in a crosswalk. 
• A California man finds a bike that had been left on the sidewalk and thinks it's his friend's bike which was stolen while he was borrowing it a few weeks earlier. So he grabs it and tells people "I'm taking this bike to the police station until I can determine if it's my friends bike or not." But before he could get there he was arrested for stealing a bait bike. Yikes. Originially he was convicted, but the conviction was overturned. 
• Totally OT, but a totally great story. Movie of the week material. 

Comments

[Shannon]

I wrote this directly on the Clinton Yates blog, but it seems unlikely that most of the people in street clothes on bikeshare are a totally different population than "experienced cyclists." I'm experienced and use bikeshare when for a variety of reasons when it's more convenient than my own bike.

[Riley]

As an adult recreational cyclist of 30 years standing and a regular bike commuter of ten years standing who owns not one stitch of spandex, no click-clacking toe clip shoes and routinely rides CaBi bikes in what ever work or casual clothes I happened to be wearing at the moment of needing to be a mile across town at any given time I resemble that remark.

" does not care for Capital Bikeshare users who are dressed like regular people. "

[shiftless]

I've been commuting in my "regular" clothes for years. on a couple of occasions when I needed to be more dressed up I used CaBi because their bikes are better suited for long skirts than my own.

[dynaryder]

I always love the harping on not wearing a helmet. First,it's not illegal;second,they're not motorcycle helmets. I would never get on my Harley without a fullface helmet,because they work. But I would never wear a moto helmet on my bike because it would be extremely uncomfortable,not to mention dangerous in DC summer heat. Also,of all the times I've wiped out on a bicycle,not once have I put a scratch on my helmet. My bike helmets have not prevented a single injury I've incurred while riding.

Also,I love the harping about insurance. I'm sure most folks have home owner's/renter's insurance,which I'm pretty sure would kick in if you hit a ped and were sued.

[oboe]

As an adult recreational cyclist of 30 years standing and a regular bike commuter of ten years standing who owns not one stitch of spandex, no click-clacking toe clip shoes and routinely rides CaBi bikes in what ever work or casual clothes I happened to be wearing at the moment of needing to be a mile across town at any given time I resemble that remark.

I own a 2009 era Brioche la Boulangerie jersey, have owned more than one pair of Assos cycling shorts (granted they were half-shorts rather than bibs) and own a pair of Specialized Pro Carbon shoes in *white*. The saddle on my road bike cost over $120. I own two different sets of wheels.

I've also been a bike commuter for two decades without a single bike-car collision. And when I'm on a CaBi bike, I'm wearing my street clothes. Hell, I don't dress up in a full team kit when I ride the Metro either.

My guess is that the hating on "regular people" who ride CaBi is the quite rational fear--in fact, the realization--that bicycle riding in DC is becoming normative behavior. It's being *legitimized* by bikesharing. It can't be marginalized as something that tattooed couriers and marginal folks do.

Did anyone else catch the special insert in the Washington Post Weekend section outlining various CaBi-based self-guided tours that regular human beings can indulge themselves in?

If that doesn't scare the crap out of anti-cyclist yahoos out there, it should.

[oboe]

@dynarider,

If we ever acheived 100% helmet use among cyclists in the DC area, they'd start to harp on the quality of the helmets. "Lookit all the fancy helmets! Who do they think they are? Lance Armstrong?"

[David R.]

I would like to see team kit for Metro riding.

[NeilB]

The most remarkable thing about the bait bicycle story from California is not that the guy was arrested for stealing a bait bike that he was taking to the police station, nor that he won his appeal, but rather that he was originally sentenced to four years in prison for stealing the bike. I had no idea that a bike theft conviction would get such a long prison term.

[SJE]

Neil: It would appear that you would only get 4 years for stealing a bait bike, but not anyone else's bike.

[JeffB]

The Bait Bike gone wrong reminds me of This American Life story:

Bait and Switch