I hear that, and variations of it far too often.
Before I go any farther, let me clarify something. We are talking about road cyclists here. The complaint usually goes on to list a host of grievances. No shoulders. No bike lanes. Insane drivers. Too much traffic.
So? Okay, this isn’t southern California or upstate New York, or downtown Chicago. And thankful we are for that! We have to admit that conditions could be better for us here. We have to work to make that happen. Some of us are doing that.
I’d like to make an a few observations. In over 20 years, I’ve heard the “no place to ride” complaint many times. Not once, have I heard the complainer then say anything like, “I live here now. I want to help fix this. What can I do?” For that matter, during a lot of these conversations, I’ve suggested that the complainer could join the work of improving our area for cyclists. I don’t recall even one occasion when I received a positive response.
But lte us consider the complaint. Usually, immediately after issuing the “no place to ride” statement, the speaker will start running down a litany of issues. Close to the top of the list will be the terrible drivers.
Let’s face it friends, we live and ride in the United States of America. We are not world renowned for the skill of our diving public. Here, in Georgia, we get the rap of being pretty bad behind the wheel. Now I’ve been around, and ridden in a lot of places. Objectively, I’ll say that Georgia in general, and the Atlanta area in particular are not all that bad. We are a bit worse than the best the country has to offer, Ill admit that. But for lousy drivers, we are not on a par with such places as south Florida, central New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, or Houston. And you know what? Each of those places has a large and thriving cycling community.
To hear the “no place to ride” complainers talk, one would think that every driver in the state is a homicidal maniac, with a psychotic need to slaughter cyclists. Obviously this is not the case. If it were, the death or injury of cyclists would be something that occurred on a daily basis. Yes, we do have more than our fair share of the stupid and the rude, but it just ain’t all that bad.
I will offer myself as an example. I ride a bicycle a lot. The majority of my riding is on the road. While I do encounter a fair number of ignorant and mean drivers, I am seldom put in fear for my safety. My observations are that cyclists are generally a larger hazard to themselves. I see and hear of a lot of single bicycle accidents, and way too many multiple bicycle accidents.
We are blessed with a couple of things. We have a lot of roads, and most of them are in good repair. Our state laws recognize bicycles as vehicles. That gives us the same rights and privileges as any other operator on the road.
What to do: The “no place to ride” complaint is motivated by two things. One is fear. The other is a lack of skill on the part of the complainer. These two things go hand in hand. If you are in that category, or if you know someone who is, here are some positive suggestions.
Improve your skills while “facility riding”: That’s right. There are places where you can ride a road bike without venturing onto the road.
Other Atlanta Trails: Check out the Path Foundation site. There are seveal really good facilities in Atlanta. Click here for more info.
Peachtree City: Surprise! There are over 100 miles of multiuse recreational trail in Peachtree City, and YES you can ride a bike on them! For more information, you can pick up a map of the trail network at the Peachtree City Hall, or the Library, both located at 151 Wilowbend Rd. Peachtree City, GA 30269 Or find info here Path info Or here Map instructions Or go direct to a pdf download of the city street and trail map here Path Map
Learn to ride on the road safely: You are strongly encouraged to contact the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition at their website, here. http://www.atlantabike.org/ If you go to the home page you will find a navigator tab for “Classes.” Click it and you will find info on their “Confident City Cycling” classes. These are extremely reasonable, no more than $20.00, and will teach you how to operate in traffic in a safe and sane manner.
Join the CLUB!!: If you are a resident of the southern Atlanta area, you should really join Southside Cycling Club. You can join up directly on the club’s website at. Click here. In so doing you will gain access to a wide variety of rides and events, and you will be able to go out on the road with experienced cyclists, who will (many of them) be more than willing to help you learn to ride and live on our roads.
Believe it! Knowledge is power. If you will just learn to use the road safely, it opens a huge vista of road riding, in one of the country’s most beautiful and gracious states.
Cars are traps. Bicycles are the key to freedom.
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