Today’s Headlines

With regard to the Guardian article: “Ride, hustle, kill, repeat: the underground cycle gangs of Los Angeles” by Rory Carroll…

It is nice to see an article about the positive nature of the night cycling scene. Mr. Carroll did make one false claim. He writes, “…hold races and mass rides on streets originally designed solely for cars.” Unless these races are held on Freeways, this is incorrect statement. The streets may have been “Optimized” for cars, but were “Designed” for all road users, including buses, pedestrians, cyclists, and at one time streetcars.

What I find positive is the fact that these cyclists are taking back the streets from cars. Paved roads in the US were originally lobbied by and built for cyclists. I wish we could tap into this spirit during the day time. Imagine 100’s if not 1,000’s of cyclists exercising their rights to the roads, by traveling in the middle of the general travel lanes. Chanting to repeal the discriminating CVC 21202 and 21208, “We’re here, we use gears, get used to it!” (My apologies to the gay community for hijacking their chant.)

Please keep in mind that this is not a statement against infrastructure. Build the infrastructure for the sub-10 mph cyclists. But at the same time repeal the discriminating laws for the more experienced cyclists. Build the sidepaths, but then add sharrows to the general travel lanes. Paint the bike lanes, but do not issue tickets to cyclists if they travel in the general travel lane. With the fight for infrastructure, it is important to fight for our right to the road. Separate but equal was not acceptable in the 1960’s, it is not acceptable in the 21st century for transportation.