The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

tomwald · 2021-09-11 16:20:15

No injury at all. (Though maybe I wouldn't recall a scratch or minor bruise.) His vehicle hit & broke my rear wheel and that was most of the damage.

It was bumper-to-bumper traffic with a series of traffic lights, and he was driving much too closely to me, so he hit me, but at a fairly low speed, probably under 10 mph, from what I recall.

Jack · 2021-09-14 16:01:39

MichaelBluejay wrote:

I don't know how anyone bikes in this country without becoming misanthropic.

-!-
Sorry to hear that. Cycling has the opposite effect on me. It's driving that makes me hate people.
I'm reminded of an Andy Singer cartoon which illustrates the notion that drivers are enemies and cyclists are friends.
Wish I could locate it. https://politicalcartoons.com/cartoonist/andy_singer

MichaelBluejay · 2021-09-14 21:57:34

I see the same law-breaking when I'm in my car as when I'm on my bike, but when I'm on my bike my life is more frequently threatened, so it angers me more.

I love Andy Singer.

ggw · 2021-09-16 20:20:42

Seeing the 1993+, 40 minute uTube offering, has prompted me to continue the you're "Giving up" thread. I had not seen that. 20+ years evidently goes by quickly!

I wondered awhile back about the observations you made about my post on continuing to enjoy my commute from HydePark to Metric @ Braker. I have been employed in that very small area off and on (more on) since 1986. It seemed confrontational, but is much more understandable given what you have said here.

Living in Hyde Park has offered me all the advantages of biking as mentioned in the uTube documentary. However, I have a couple items of advice for casual readers of this thread for consideration of reducing the threat of severe injury (death) while riding bikes. The mood for jotting these down will dissipate if I give too much attention to pros / cons. With that self apology...

1) At any time there comes something you need .. there will be more than one likely supplier .. located "around" AND there will likely be predictable car traffic flow over the time a bike ride might be used to get the needed thing. I have found that a trade off can be made to choose the supplier that I can get to with the most reasonable safety one can expect ... and I go that supplier.

2) In the same manner if a supplier is *really* the one I want to shop at, then I think "when would a bike trip to it minimize my exposure to worrying traffic?" Then comes all the weighing of this focused on information to see if I can reach an accommodation between fears (pushed to so near zero as to be able to think about the other weights .. phoning ahead for reasonable assurance that the trip even stands a chance of success) and engaging some pleasure otherwise missed .. again. We do this sort of decision making all the time, usually in matters where injury is so close to zero as makes no difference. But with experience I know that over time it rates higher and higher as a chance of getting my attention.

3) You correctly surmised that my commute to work (or anywhere else I go .. your prompt for self evaluation pointed out to me) was probably circuitous. It is! I bike just over 9 miles, but whether I take Lamar or Burnet or MoPac then the car distance is 7 miles. My advice to those getting on bikes to go somewhere is to consider the tradeoffs: You can lower the weight given to reaching a destination in the minimum amount of time and raise the weight of a path that might yield some sort of feeling of pleasure (often that will be to envision lemonade when if I sense that lemons are part of the decision information). I work full time (my embraced choice) and the remaining time in a day is reduced by about 30-40 minutes due to the difference in going and returning by car as opposed to by bike. That time is up for assessment of how to spend one's life. Such assessment fluctuates a lot, even over just a few hours, but DOES HAVE IT LIMITS (one weight -> 0 .. another -> maximum).

4) The last, for now, is keeping a vague list of things that recur. For a trivial instance I have CFMMP memorized to such an extent that in the mornings with a Pavlovian bent, once I am dressed for leaving (e.g. hard soled shoes instead of sandals) when I reach for the exit door handle ... CFMMP will come to mind and I expand it silently by voicing keywords that spark (some) thought: Coffee Food Mask Money Phone. My hand is still on the door knob and I have ticked off a list that "IS PLANNING". All in the space 3 - 5 seconds. If even 1 silent word leads to silent thought of the immediate future ... it won't stop there. It *may* cause me to drive to work so I can attend to a much more diffuse need or at least dramatically increase my options to tack on other small things I have put off for just such an occasion. That is rare enough that it hasn't become an excuse to ignore *all the reasons to NOT get behind the wheel*. The point is I have reason to keep "planning" as a common task. I can remember when our child was still at home, I didn't plan. Get in the car and THEN think "What needs doing first?"; and it hardly mattered .. time between became zero in my mind. Only a hand full of places to go to get "stuff" or attend to rearing's demands or ....
I cannot say when things moved over into the "look ahead" way.

Really, thanks for the uTube reference. I worked on Fred's "newspaper" one summer to track down the buy/sell items that to me were out-of-date. Sometimes 2 were separated on the page with identical info! But, "proof" would really be heeded by Bob Farr when it came time for the layout. And I did get `at-ta-boy's from Fred. That uTube sure mentioned a lot of people I haven't seen in years. For Fred? Well, it is a sad explanation. I almost don't want to know. If serendipity puts me in the presence of one, great. Hmm. Maybe I wish I hadn't had my memory stirred with that video. Too late, now.

MichaelBluejay · 2021-09-16 20:38:41

ggw, did you mean to post this in the other thread?

I'm sorry my earlier comment came off as confrontational. I'm genuinely happy for you that you get pleasure rather than frustration out of cycling. I'm afraid I just don't have the same experience.

Jack · 2021-09-17 11:07:49

"3) You correctly surmised that my commute to work (or anywhere else I go .. your prompt for self evaluation pointed out to me) was probably circuitous. It is! I bike just over 9 miles, but whether I take Lamar or Burnet or MoPac then the car distance is 7 miles. My advice to those getting on bikes to go somewhere is to consider the tradeoffs: You can lower the weight given to reaching a destination in the minimum amount of time and raise the weight of a path that might yield some sort of feeling of pleasure (often that will be to envision lemonade when if I sense that lemons are part of the decision information). I work full time (my embraced choice) and the remaining time in a day is reduced by about 30-40 minutes due to the difference in going and returning by car as opposed to by bike. That time is up for assessment of how to spend one's life. Such assessment fluctuates a lot, even over just a few hours, but DOES HAVE IT LIMITS (one weight -> 0 .. another -> maximum)."

My compliments on how well you put this.

I find my commute to work (done these days far less frequently in the work-from-home era) by car annoying and frustrating--even though it is about 15-20 minutes faster each way than going by bicycle, which I find fun and mostly pleasant. Sometimes (b/c of traffic conditions hard to avoid by car but far easier to avoid bicycling) the driving takes as long as the riding usually does. My biking route is slightly shorter in distance than the fastest driving route and sometimes I go a different way to get in a bit more riding/a bit more exercise, something I'd never do in a car.

I suppose I could choose a drive to work/90 minutes in the gym lifestyle, but . . . yeech.

MichaelBluejay · 2024-04-05 23:56:29

I just came across this again, from the 6/16/2006 Austin Chronicle. I would give up bicycling 7 years later, for similar reasons.

Mike Wainwright wrote:

Dear Editor,
Amy Babich’s letter last week is quite timely
[“Postmarks,” June 9], and should be read with
the gravity it deserves. A close acquaintance of
mine was recently hit by a driver while cycling as
well, breaking both of his legs. The driver drove
on, without stopping. Half an hour later this
individual called the police to inform them that
someone had “thrown a body” at their car. The
cyclist who was killed on Sixth last year moved
within my circle of friends as well.
I, myself, was involved in a bicycle/car
accident last week, destroying my bike in the
process. I was lucky to have not been seriously
injured. That driver, as well, did not stop to
offer assistance.
The lethal combination of poor bicycle/ pedes-
trian infrastructure and poorly trained, careless
drivers has made Austin a quite hostile environ-
ment for those of us who bicycle or walk for
pleasure or necessity. Our lackluster bus system
is woefully downtown-centric, and those who
neither reside or commute to our city’s center
are left with few options, save cabs, long walks
in blistering heat and rain, and cycling.
So that’s it. I give up. I take back what I have
said in these pages previously about cycling
as a viable means of transportation. I’m tak-
ing what little money I have and buying the
cheapest auto I can find, simply so I will not
be murdered by a careless driver on my daily
commute. I spent three years trying to tell
myself that Austin was a sophisticated, forward-
thinking metropolitan area in which one did not
need a vehicle for everyday use. I was wrong.
Any individual who rides a bike or walks as their
primary means of transportation treads a fine,
dangerous line in this city and will find that
there are few sympathetic ears with the power
to help. [Emphasis mine, as it parallels my own experience/feelings.]
Perhaps one day I can move to a more
forward-thinking city and not fear for my life
on a bicycle every morning. Perhaps Austin’s
city government will one day invest in the
infrastructure to protect and foster bicycle
transportationalists. I, for one, cannot wait
that long.
Regretfully yours ,
Mike “Dub" Wain wright

I'm also reminded how in the mid-90s, Roger Baker said to me of my biking radio show on KO.OP, "Bluejay, every week you report on all these cyclists who get magled or killed by drivers, and in the same breath you're telling people that they should ride bikes." That comment was the impetus for my starting BicycleSafe.com, and the flagship article "How to Not Get Hit By Cars" became quite popular, even being the cover story on both Carbusters and Australian Cyclist, but, whatever, it's still dangerous out there. Just this week, a cyclist got mangled by a hit-and-run driver who reportedly hit him intentionally, at 45th and Guadalupe, as reported in another thread.

I was car-free for 27 years, and moved house multiple times entirely by bike, using a big trailer. Biking wasn't just something I did, it was part of my very identity. Probably everyone thought I'd be the last person to give up biking. When we bought the car I joked to my wife that it was such a scandal that the Chronicle would probably do a story about it. In any event, I gave up biking 11 years ago and I don't regret it. I paid my dues, but I'm done being harassed by drivers at best and putting my life on the line at worst.

I've said it ad nauseum: It doesn't matter how many miles of bike lanes we stripe in, until we change drivers' hearts and minds, the streets will never be safe for cyclists. And because of that problem, the streets are just as dangerous today as they were 10, 20, and 30 years ago.

Bicycle Austin forum

#26 2021-09-11 16:20:15

Re: The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

#27 2021-09-14 16:01:39

Re: The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

#28 2021-09-14 21:57:34

Re: The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

#29 2021-09-16 20:20:42

Re: The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

#30 2021-09-16 20:38:41

Re: The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

#31 2021-09-17 11:07:49

Re: The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

#32 2024-04-05 23:56:29

Re: The Bluejays will buy a car and give up bicycling

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