<br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 2/12/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">John Forester</b> <<a href="mailto:forester@johnforester.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">forester@johnforester.com
</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<br>We have plenty of evidence of both the power of the public emotion<br>against vehicular cycling and of the means of overcoming that emotion<br>in individuals. The means of overcoming that cyclist inferiority<br>phobia are repeated successful exposure to real traffic of gradually
<br>increasing intensity. A useful first step in such acclimatization is<br>the video work of Dan and Brian, which can be viewed in a<br>non-threatening environment, but it has to be followed by success in<br>cycling in real traffic.
</blockquote><div><br>
There are plenty of cyclists who cycle successfully, relatively speaking,<br>
in real traffic, but still don't seem to be "acclimatized". As an example,<br>
consider Michael Clarke, the KFI manager recently featured in the NBC<br>
news story,<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbeDxOHfT68">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbeDxOHfT68</a><br>
<br>
This guy commutes some 34 miles per day in LA traffic. By<br>
most any reasonable measure, he is an "experienced" traffic cyclist.<br>
But the clips show him riding far to the right (certainly as compared to the<br>
clips shown by Dan and Brian), we know he has been hit at least once,<br>
and his words reveal a strong sense of inferiority while he is out there.<br>
<br>
I don't mean to pick on Mr. Clarke, but I believe he is a fairly typical example<br>
of a very common type of cyclist: he doesn't make the gross errors of riding on<br>
the wrong side, riding at night without proper lights and reflectors, riding on sidewalks,<br>
blowing through red lights, etc., but he still doesn't act like a (slow moving) vehicle driver<br>
when he is out there, particularly not in terms of negotiating for ROW and controlling<br>
lanes when they are too narrow to be shared, when approaching intersections, etc. <br>
In fact, very few cyclists seem to do that. How do we popularize this more assertive,<br>
safer and more rewarding form of "integrated cycling", as exemplified by the work of<br>
Dan and Brian, within the community of "experienced" cyclists? As far as I can tell,<br>
for the most part, these are not the folks signing up for LAB courses, and, much of what<br>
is covered in those classes they already know. Plus, they think doing anything much<br>
different from what they already do is "crazy" and/or "asking for it". They believe<br>
the problem is the motorists and favor bike lanes as reprieve that gives them space<br>
that they don't have to fight for. They believe most if not all of the problems that they<br>
have, be they close calls or actual hits, are par for the course, something that is<br>
inevitable. How to reach them? How to get through to them?<br>
<br>
Serge<br>
<br>
</div></div>