Monday, August 31, 2009

On Being Obvious & Oblivious

Just look at me and you'll know I'm no weekend warrior. My bicycles are an old English three-speed, complete with the white patch on the rear fender, and an American-made three-speed outfitted as a grocery bike.  Both bicycles demand an upright riding posture that screams "vehicular bicyclist." I ride in street clothes, which usually consists of a button-up shirt and trousers with cuffs turned up to mid-calf. I almost always ride with a bag or two (more depending on what errand I'm running and which bike I'm on), my bell is quite loud and frequently used, and I've recently taken to wearing a helmet (not one of those silly racing jobs, either, but a proper Nutcase). I don't flinch in traffic, but I also don't take any risks. I'm out there, traveling by bicycle, not deluding myself into thinking I'm going to race in the Olympics, and not running lights or dodging across crosswalks like some reckless kid.

So why, with all this obvious effort to be a vehicle, and to be recognized as such, did a completely oblivous driver making a left turn almost run me down just now as I passed legally through a green light? The answer, quite simply, is that if I'm going to be a vehicle, I'm going to get treated like one, including being subjected to all the stupidity, ignorance, and arrogance of every other vehicle operator on the road. The more I ride and the more I think about it, the more I realize that we need to stop thinking about cars versus bicycles, and start thinking more broadly about what it means for us all to be vehicles moving through space, sharing the road, and just simply trying not to bash into each other. I'll do my part, will you?

6 comments:

  1. You know, you're rather brilliant in your cycling outlook. Well said!

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  2. It is never about cars vs. bicycles. It is only ever about people and the question is "Can we see each other as humans or only as machines?". We could also ask "Can we see each other as participants or just as competitors?"

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  3. An even more interesting question is "Can we see each other at all?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

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  4. AJ, as usual, you've hit the nail squarely. Let me pose it differently: do we even *care* to see each other? Or are we only concerned with going on our way without interruption? And this brings in Adrienne's point: are other people in our thoughts when we're moving through space, or just in our way?

    The first thing I saw, reasonably I think, when the driver cut me off was the side of her car. My thought was "oh hell, that CAR is going to hit me." As we passed each other, I saw that the driver was a young woman, either lost or looking intently for a parking space. She was so fixated on her task of getting somewhere, the fact that she was piloting a 4,000 lbs. car didn't seem to enter the equation. Even more, the task of making sure she didn't run over someone was temporarily suspended. I don't think she ever saw ME, but I saw HER, and when I did, I was no longer almost hit by a CAR, I was almost hit by a PERSON, who would have absolutely felt terrible if she had hit me.

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  5. This is a very good point and I have been thinking about it often since I started to cycle again. When I get cut off, honked at because I am blocking someone's way, etc., my first impulse it to get angry. Then I remember that the same things used to happen to me as a driver.

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  6. Yup. Riding a bike does not give you immunity against other people on the streets doing stupid stuff. Ride defensively!

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