[SDCBC] Pedal Power in the News

[Serge Issakov]

On Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:21 PM, markw <markw at wolfenet.org> wrote:

> I've never taken any of the "cycling" courses, but when I was teaching
> Motorcycle Safety for the Navy, the MSF course started right out by
> saying it's about risk management.  Does the league emphasize risk
> management?


Indirectly, that's what the education program is about.  But I don't believe
any of the material addresses "risk management" literally.


> I actually like some of the "bike paths."   Mainly the
> ones connecting things, since you don't have the pink bicycle problem.
> I've always planned my routes to minimize busy streets, and I drive my
> bike.  Pretty much everything is the same except I can't twist the
> throttle to go faster up hills and I have to stay as far right as
> practicable. :)


Don't forget you only have to "stay as far right as practicable" when faster
same-direction traffic is present and none of the exceptions in
21202<http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21202.htm>apply, which is
pretty rare in most urban and many suburban environments
(mostly because of narrow lanes, poor sight lines, and frequent junctions
with "places where right turns are authorized").  So most of the time I'm
positioned on my bicycle the same as I would be when riding a motorcycle, in
what I call "the driver's position", for the same reasons (vantage and
conspicuousness).  I only move aside "as far right as practicable" when
necessary to allow faster traffic to pass, and only when it is safe and
reasonable to do so.


> The same people that won't get on a motorcycle also generally won't ride
> a bike on the street.


Excellent point.    Societies and cultures in which cycling is more popular
also seem to be more accepting of motorcycling than ours is.

Serge
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