Waiting Impatiently For Spring

Just an update, Chain Gang Baltimore will start meeting again in March. Suggestions on trails and places to go?

Facebook Page Encourages Violence Against Cyclists

If you’re on Facebook, click here to see the “There’s a Perfectly Good Cycle Path Right Next to the Road…” page set up to advocate intentional violence against cyclists. Probably set up as a joke, it now has over 31,000 fans. There are only four posts, all in November 2009, so my hunch is it’s not an active page, but the number of fans it has is alarming. [Ah but comments on those 4 posts are very active.]

Scroll to the bottom left of the page and click “Report Page” and let Facebook know you think it’s inappropriate content.

Read the full article at http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20100104080615200

Video from London

17 Cycling Safety Tips to Keep You Alive as a London Push Bike Messenger

17 Cycling Safety Tips to Keep You Alive as a London Push Bike Messenger

Posted using ShareThis

Driving me Crazy

Non-cyclists are forever saying that bike riders should be held to the same standards as motorists. Agreed, but turnabout is fair play. Motorists should have to abide by the same behavior expected of cyclists. For instance:

* When drivers arrive at a stop sign or red light, they must open the door and put one foot on the ground to prove they have made a full stop.

* Cyclists who momentarily leave the bike lane to avoid an obstacle always suffer the wrath of motorists. Similarly, cars should not be permitted to change lanes in order to avoid mattresses, ladders, pedestrians and the like.

* Group rides get hassled. So should large groups of motor vehicles. Find yourself driving in a long line of cars on the highway? You're disrupting traffic for everyone behind. The cops should be able to pull you over and even confiscate your vehicle. (Might be hard to get your car in the back seat of the cruiser, but that's a detail to be worked out later.)

* Who always gets blamed in a car-bike crash? You got it. Similarly, if a larger vehicle like a dump truck collides with a car, it must be the car's fault. Because they're operating a smaller class of vehicle, car drivers de facto don't know what they're doing and must be punished.

* Cyclists are constantly being told they don't belong on the road because they don't "pay taxes" by buying gas, paying tolls, etc., even though many riders also drive -- just not at this moment. Likewise, motorists shouldn't have access to public services like police protection on the road unless they are actually paying their taxes while driving.

Which, unfortunately, many drivers probably do.

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/?p=washington

Drivers test; theirs vs ours

Contributed by: The human car

Theirs:


Ours:
If a bicycle rider near you is a child:

* Expect the child to know Maryland’s bicycle laws.
* Expect the child to be in total control of the bicycle.
* Expect anything could happen and adjust your driving.