Statesman Journal Editorial Blog: Cyclists weigh in on draft

A couple of local cyclists sent these reactions to early drafts of our bike safety editorial: I myself am a cyclist. Overall most motorist have been generally pretty good however a few bad ones spoil the bunch. I commute in on my bike two days a week with my husband. I generally have had good experiences however I have been yelled at to get the F*$& off the road. Where does all the anger come from?

This happened at the intersection of Cherry and the parkway as we were crossing. You have to take the lane on Cherry at the light as there is no bike lane there–after you cross there is a bike lane as you head into Keizer. My husband and I were in the very right hand side of the lane, single file.

When the light turned green we proceeded through the intersection–I moved over a little more to the right to prepare for the bike lane when the car passing at us yelled the above obscenity. We have every right to the road as he does. I’ve also had a truck try to scare me by swerving from the opposite lane at me.

My husband was right behind me at the time. We’ve also had to deal with dogs that are not leashed that come out barking and snapping at you. Please remind people that these are LIVES we are dealing with. You hit a bike with you’re car–no big deal for you–you’re car may have some dents–we get hit by a car and we may end up dead! It irks me that some people can’t take a few seconds to make sure everyone is safe!

*********

Just read the draft of your bicycle editorial… on the point about bicycles rolling through stop signs: It’s not merely that bicyclists have a wider view of the road, it’s also that it takes a ton of effort to regain momentum after coming to a complete stop (not to mention the difficulty of stopping & starting for those of us who have shoes that clip into the pedals). My husband & I have become pretty avid bicyclists in the past year.

For the most part, Salem drivers are courteous. We’ve had a couple of close calls, but they were by far the exception. Surprisingly, pedestrians often cause us more problems- they stand or walk in the bike lanes & don’t move as bicycles come by, or they hang out in the street looking for buses, etc. posted by Barbara Curtin