The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Bike Ride

This past Saturday, my family participated in the second (?) annual, Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Bike Ride, which the City of Bloomington hosted to encourage bicycle riding in all kinds of weather.  I need this encouragement because, even though I spend my free time trying to find inspiration through hardier souls, once the cold hits, I readily admit that I require an additional push to pull the bike out of the garage.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), the weather was beautiful, and nearly perfect for a January day. The good weather produced a good turn-out. I know that I, for one, would have been hesitant to go out in colder or snowier conditions with my toddler. I can (and do!) work up a sweat, but the sedentary kid doesn't generate the heat. Nevertheless, the weather was great, and we had fun.

The ride brought forth a wide variety of riders--the sporty, gear-loving sort, young people, old people, hipsters, parrots, parents and children (including a couple of young kids on their own bikes).  In my snarky moments (which admittedly are many), I wonder if the lycra-clad "got" that their participation in lycra was a bit beside the point.  People who are sport-cyclists aren't the kind of riders the City needs to encourage. They are already out there (on evenings and weekends, but are they riding to work?).  We need more people who use the bicycle as a mode of transportation--and who ride in the same clothes they work in. But maybe they work in lycra?

All snark aside, I really do appreciate that so many lovers of the bike came out to ride. 

So, yeah, lots of riders. And lots of helmets, which means that I can't become a member of the cyclechic group of bike blogs.  But, to each his own, right? Who am I to comment on personal style, or the lack thereof?


The route was around seven miles, and took us East past the mall, then back through the Bryan Park neighborhood.  This is to say that we went up some nice hills. And I once again questioned my decision to ride a 3-speed, Dutch-style bike with a toddler on it (ehem, an extra 40 pounds).

Does a bike meant to ride on the flats of Northern Europe have any place in hilly South-Central Indiana? I ask myself this whenever I ride to the East side of town, but I inevitably come back to the answer yes for these reasons: 1) a Dutch/Danish-style bike is much nicer looking than a racing, touring, mountain, or hybrid bike (and if you don't have talent, you ought to have style); 2) Dutch-style bikes have nice fenders, chain guards, and, often, coat or skirt guards, which let you use a bicycle as a mode of transport; and 3) this style of bike allows you to sit upright, which is not good if you want to go fast, but is likely safer because it provides me more visibility to cars and more stability since the upright position has a center of gravity that is akin to walking. Quick movements are less likely to result in crashes, which is important when riding in my work clothes (or with my son on the bike). Plus, it's more comfortable.


In the end, I was huffing and puffing more than most, and sweating up a storm, in which case the breathable cycling gear would have come in handy.



I may have complained a bit about the hills, but the easterly-ride took me through an area I had yet to see: the bicycle underpass on Seventh Street! (see right; more about that later).


 After returning to City Hall, some of us rode on to Lennie's for brunch. Lennie's, a seriously bike-friendly business, offered 50% off for riders. Chicken and waffles and a persimmon ale hit the spot.

And on the way home, I was able to ride in the new bike lane on Third Street, and use the new bike box (Oh, I am so excited about this bike box, but more on this later, as well).
 

It was a great day, and I am already looking forward to next year.  Thanks to climate change, I expect the weather will be just as nice.

Risky Business

To don, or not to don (helmets), that is the question.

For many people, the instinctive response is to don. And not just to make that personal choice, but to lecture heavily those who do not. But are helmets the ultimate safety gear, or do they offer only the perception of safety? You may be surprised at the answer.

Over the last several years (or 20 or so), helmets have been promoted and in many cases have been mandated. Promotion of helmets has been backed with statistics about the number of head injuries or how many deaths are prevented with the light piece of plastic on one's head or anecdotal evidence of so-and-so who almost died and surely would have had he not been wearing his helmet.

Unfortunately, the data are not that clear. Research has not shown definitively that helmets save lives. The evidence, researchers have found, is inconclusive and contradictory. Part of the problem is the difficulty of doing studies on cyclists. Bicycling, in general, is not a risky endeavor, and very few injuries result, particularly compared to pedestrians and motorists.

Moreover, helmet-related studies have often been "case-controlled" studies, which compare a group of cyclists who had head injuries and one or more groups without head injuries. The problem with these types of studies is that suitable control groups are not always available. Other problems include the difficulty of adjusting for other differences between the head injury group and the non-head injury group (aside from the difference the researchers are looking for: helmet use). Studies have shown that cyclists who wear helmets may be more safety-conscious and follow the rules, which would result in fewer injuries (although, other studies have shown that they also tend to crash more). Also, in one study, helmet-wearers tended to be adult and female (and more responsible) and the non-helmet wearers were children and male (and more likely to take risks).

Another common study, the time-trend analysis, studies injuries over time in places where helmet use is required. The benefit of these types of studies seems to be debatable, as scientists do not agree on the criteria that should be used.

Additionally problematic are the anecdotal evidence ("My life was saved by a bicycle helmet."). Well, it's really quite difficult to say that for sure, isn't it?

In fact, for the casual, commuting or recreational cyclist, the studies do not demonstrate that helmets prevent head injuries. Helmets will, at most, prevent head injuries for high speed crashes of the sort that occur in bike races. At lower speeds, which is the speed most people ride around town, most cyclists will fall and hit their arms or their legs. Furthermore, in an accident with a car, no bicycle helmet will help--they aren't designed to.

(Here is a piece of anecdotal evidence. In the years I raced competitively--not including triathlons--1993-1999, I went to the hospital 3 times for bike wrecks, including a high speed wreck in a race where I slid across the road and hit the opposite curb with my back. I also had many, many other additional crashes. Not once did I have a head injury. But both my hips and knees still carry remnants of asphalt)

The thing we have learned is that mandating helmet use seems to make cycling safer in one way: it discourages people from riding their bikes. If you don't ride your bike, you can't hurt your head in a bike wreck. At least one study (pdf) has found that when helmet laws were mandated in Australia, a significant number of people stopped riding.

Studies of other mandated helmet laws found similar trends--that the number of head injuries declined, but so did the number of other non-head injuries, meaning that the reduction of head injuries was probably related to a reduction in bicyclists. Teenagers, in particular, were more apt to abandon the bike. Helmets are hot and sticky, and they are difficult to secure to a bicycle when the bicycle is parked (the other, more annoying, option being hauling the helmet with you). These are disincentives to wearing a helmet, and, when helmets are mandated, a disincentive to riding a bike.

AND fewer people on the roads actually make it more dangerous for others, as there is safety in numbers.

As the helmet debate probably will not provide a conclusive answer anytime soon, advocates of safe cycling need to focus on the real dangers cyclist face: the automobile. Instead of requiring cyclists to don a helmet, cities should provide the infrastructure to protect cyclists from cars and to make cars aware of cyclists' presence. This includes providing more and better bike lanes that are segregated from traffic; painting those lanes that cross intersections bright, bold colors so drivers can see bike lanes and cyclists; and creating separate turning lanes for cyclists. Additional education for young riders on safety rules would help them protect themselves in traffic.

Bicycling is a healthy mode of transportation. Getting more people on bikes could help clear the air of pollution and minimize our ever-expanding waistlines. Preaching about helmet usage, however, has the opposite effect. It makes cycling seem dangerous when it really isn't. Helmets have not been found to provide the safety that their promoters declare, and such preachiness will only serve to reduce the numbers of people getting out on their bikes. Helmet usage should remain a personal decision (so thank you for no longer preaching to me).

Some additional reads:
Dutch Cycling Union's Position
Icelandic Cycling Union's Position
European Cycling Federation's Position
Helmet use for Pedestrians
Seat Belts vs. Helmets

Parents and children

Bloomington parents enjoy taking rides with their children. Our bike culture is not as developed as certain Northern European countries, but we're getting there.


And this is the goal. I first saw this video on Copenhagenize. This is a typical morning in the Netherlands--parents dropping their kids off at school. As Copenhagenize says: normal people in normal clothes doing normal things on their bikes. Enjoy!

A Bike Culture Should be Slow and Chic: Style Over Speed

When most people think of bicycling, they think "helmets" and "ten-speeds." The bicycle has become, in American-think, a tool of sport and exercise. To ride, in other words, one must slide into spandex, throw on a helmet, hunch uncomfortably over the handlebars, and move at a pace fast enough to raise one's heart rate to within 60% of one's lactic-acid threshold so as to burn the premium amount of calories and fat.

This phenomenon is especially intense in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University's Little 500, and the setting for Breaking Away. Every spring, the roads around here are full of eager and healthy, spandex-clad college age racers training for their big day on the track.

I fear that one of the limitations on building a bike culture in Bloomington is this ingrained belief that a bicycle is left to training and exercise and not to commuting. If our collective image of the proper use of a bicycle involves spandex and helmets and not suits and high heels, then how can we ever form a culture where the average citizen rides to work on an average day?

But this is not the way it has to be. A true bicycle culture--the one of my dreams, where the first choice of transportation is the rusted 5 speed out back--should be one that emphasizes the joy of slow riding and the joy of riding chic. We have no need for shoes that clip to pedals; stilettos are so much more stylish (and ladies, you need not worry about walking in those uncomfortable stilettos, when you can ride right up to your destination).

Out of the fog of the dream comes two sources of inspiration for bike culture day dreamers everywhere. A society has formed out of the ether devoted to riding slowly (so as not to sweat, of course) and chicly. Now, we have the Slow Bicycle Movement and a manifesto to cycling chic. Indulge in the dream!

The Copenhagen Cycle Chic Manifesto.

- I choose to cycle chic and, at every opportunity, I will choose Style over Speed.

- I embrace my responsibility to contribute visually to a more aesthetically pleasing urban landscape.

- I am aware that my mere prescence in said urban landscape will inspire others without me being labelled as a 'bicycle activist'.

- I will ride with grace, elegance and dignity.

- I will choose a bicycle that reflects my personality and style.

- I will, however, regard my bicycle as transport and as a mere supplement to my own personal style. Allowing my bike to upstage me is unacceptable.

- I will endeavour to ensure that the total value of my clothes always exceeds that of my bicycle.

- I will accessorize in accordance with the standards of a bicycle culture and acquire, where possible, a chain guard, kickstand, skirt guard, fenders, bell and basket.

- I will respect the traffic laws.

- I will refrain from wearing and owning any form of 'cycle wear'. The only exception being a bicycle helmet - if I choose to exercise my freedom of personal choice and wear one.