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Image: Adobe Tour Tracker
Pro cyclist and former San Francisco resident David Zabriskie (shown above leading the chase in today's stage of the Tour of California) has announced Yield to Life, a non-profit dedicated to making roads safer for cyclists.
This is good news for San Francisco: the most recent issue of the SF Bike Coalition's newsletter, the Tube Times, revealed to us that Bay Area cyclists feel that roads should be safer! The #1 reason folks don't ride their bikes more often: "Feeling threatened by cars."
Zabriskie has some experience in this area: he says he has been hit by cars on three occasions (like so many amateurs who can never equal the pros in their achievements, we've only managed to be hit twice).
After the jump: it's possible to fall down even if there are no cars in sight.
Zabriskie made big waves in the racing world when he snatched the yellow jersey from Lance Armstrong on the first day of the 2005 Tour de France, only to lose it three days later when he crashed in the team time trial. Like nearly every other unfortunate event in recent human history, this moment is preserved on YouTube:
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Dave really should start a protect pro cyclists from his crashes foundation. And yes, bikes should be scared of cars.
But bikes should also learn that there are streets in San Francisco where they shouldn't ride. Fell, Oak, Army, Lincoln, 19th Ave (have seen a hip fixie doin' that), Sunset, Sloat. These are de facto freeways. We didn't build freeways but we have 'em anyways. Stay off of these streets and we won't accidentally kill you because you are stupid enough to ride on these streets.
Imagine that, an anti-bike rant by someone who still calls it Army Street.
Very impressive takedown of Cranky's argument, manys.
if you admit you might accidentally kill a cyclist, you don't deserve a drivers license. You are just as likely - in fact more likely to kill yourself, your passengers, or the drivers of other cars.
If you can't manage to keep from hitting something that is 4 feet long and 12 inches across, how can you be trusted not to careen into a motor vehicle, a tree, or drive safely into a parking garage.
Army Street is still a valid name for the road, at least according to the US Postal Service, Google Maps and Yahoo Maps.
Maybe the best thing they could do would be to teach traffic regulations to cyclists. As a pedestrian, I get nearly run over almost daily by cyclists who don't see any need to stop at stoplights or ride in the street or follow any other traffic regulation that doesn't suit them.
were you Jaywalking Joe? no fibbin now...
I have to agree with cranky on this one. There are simply some roads you shouldn't ride a bike on. It would be NICE to be able to ride safely anywhere. It would be nice to be able to go for a nice jog through the Tenderloin at night. You CAN, if you want. But should you? No. Is it safe? No.
I'd rather just use that common sense than wind up as a hood ornament just to make a statement.
As a pedestrian, I have nearly been hit by a cyclist in this city far more times than I have nearly been hit by a car. The signal turns green, I take a step or two onto the crosswalk, and I'm a hair's breadth from having a concussion, broken glasses, broken ribs, cuts, etc, delivered to me by an indifferent, non-apologetic cyclist.
I would run after one and beat the hell out of him if they bothered to obey any stoplights.
I ride a bike every day and agree that there are streets that aren't safe for cyclists. I'm always amazed that a cyclist would dare to ride on 25th Ave in the Richmond, especially when all the parallel streets are much safer.
Of course, riding on the side streets means bikes must run stop signs. Sorry cars, but it seems like a fair trade off. Let's all agree: Bikes will stay off major thoroughfares that aren't meant for us, and cars won't get pissed when bikes run stop signs on side streets. Agreed? Good.
Your anecdotes prove nothing. Cars killed many pedestrians last year in SF - bikes none. Usually because both driver AND ped were ignoring the law.
I hit one ped a month while riding. Always on Valencia. Some hipster headed for Casanova or Marina girl late for her reservation at Limon. Their parents never taught them not to run into the middle of the street between 2 parked cars. Usually I spot them and let them off with a love tap on their Jimmy Chus or Doc Martens.
Just kidding - fortunately I am not that subversive. But don't think I don't dream of it ...
If you get hit by a bike within 2 steps of taking off on a green as a ped, the resulting collision is probably your fault under CA law. Strange but true. Green doesn't mean go, it means go only after letting cross traffic that's legally in the intersection out of the intersection.
i call 26th Navy Street, if that helps.
I don't think motorists should drive on these streets either, because they get in my way.
murphstahoe: blah blah blah. Spandex clad scourge and stupid hipsters on two wheels don't kill pedestrians? Is that supposed to make getting (nearly) run over by things on two wheels better?
It's definitely better than getting clipped by things on four wheels...
Death Machines!!! Death Machines!!!
It's telling that the cyclists automatically assume that a pedestrian getting hit by a cyclist is automatically the pedestrian's fault. The arrogance of the bike crowd is off-putting to say the least.
It can take a long time for traffic legally in an intersection to clear out.
Green does not mean go in CA. It means go if traffic legally in the intersection has cleared out.
If you see green and then just start walking, you could very easily be the party at fault in a resulting bike/ped accident.
You seem to not know this. But of course, do as you wish. Ain't that America?
Spandex clad scourge and stupid hipsters on two wheels don't kill pedestrians?
Amusingly, I got hit by a "biker" while on the sidewalk today fixing a flat tire.
I am part of the Spandex clad scourge. I was not hit by either one of my brethren or a stupid hipster. I was hit by a decidedly non-hip resident of the mission, who simply said "Lo Siento" after rolling over my foot. I think his cousin was the one who almost took me out on 14th St riding the wrong way in the bike lane.
The sidewalk bike/wrong way bike mafia is dominated by recent immigrants (culturally trained to ride on the sidewalk and the wrong way) and crackheads. I don't have anything against recent immigrants, the crackheads I don't care if the cars run them over. But don't run me over because of them.
This announcement from Zabriskie is exciting because the racing cycling community has a huge untapped potential to bring some focus to safety. It's fantastic to see them step up and figure out how to do this work.
This announcement from Zabriskie is exciting because the racing cycling community has a huge untapped potential to bring some focus to safety. It's fantastic to see them step up and figure out how to do this work.
This announcement from Zabriskie is exciting because the racing cycling community has a huge untapped potential to bring some focus to safety. It's fantastic to see them step up and figure out how to do this work.