Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Take the I BIKE PHL Pledge

Bicyclists behave badly. That's the perception that many non-bicyclists have of us as a group. Blowing red lights, weaving through traffic and scaring grandma on the sidewalk. We all know that bicyclists are not the lone scofflaws on the street - 37,000 fatalities and 3 million injuries a year are not the result of courteous driving. But we as bicyclists need to set the example to help usher in a new era of safer, saner travel.

We can make bicycling better by demanding better facilities and planning for bicycles. But we can also make Philadelphia, and the entire Delaware Valley, a better place to bike by taking 13 steps to make your ride safer and better.

Take the Pledge

6 comments:

Libby Maxim said...

yeah good luck with that, trouble is the folks doing bad stuff do not think this applies to them, it is always for the other guy, a cyclist was killed this past weekend in a club run ride, this is insane, he got caught on a turn and who knows what happened but the fellow ended up losing his life, this is beyond what is appropriate for cycling on the roads,
libby

http://bikerchickswc.blogspot.com/2009/08/self-centered-mindset-of-cyclist-im.html

Anonymous said...

Libby, the key quote from the blog you referred us to is
"it was rumored that a rider was killed in dangerous riding. We saw the scene but could not confirm the details."

You saw the scene, but you don't know what actually happened. So its just a guess on your part.

Libby Maxim said...

no, it is confirmed, http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/0809/650661.html

lots of places have the news including Philly News online

60 yr old man died, injuries to his head, details are not being reported, police are withholding information according to news reports

Anonymous said...

In rant/blog you seem to be attributing his death to what you term "dangerous riding". You did not see what happened so you have no idea if he was riding in what you consider a dangerous manner or if he crashed due to other causes. Or if he died from a head injury that might have been prevented if he was wearing a helmet. Until you know the full facts this all conjecture on your part.

From your blog you are not comfortable around fast riders. May I suggest that when you are in large organized rides you start from the back of the pack and move forward. Instead of from the front where you will be passed by faster riders.

Libby Maxim said...

no i have no idea what contributed to this man's death, and have no way of knowing

but i did see fast riders in pace lines and i just have to wonder if a ride with over 4000 riders is the best place to do a fast pace line type ride

i myself got caught in a crowd when i took a front flat and managed to fall in front of car, which saw me

i was off to the side but was surrounded by bikers as we were coming to an intersection

and as to starting later and behind, if i got any further behind i woulda been in another county, and i really do not care if you want to bike fast, just do it on your own time, not in a ride with thousands of folks, many of them untalented riders

CJ said...

Another future winner of the Darwin Award: 8/26/09, 4:25PM, 23rd & Spring Garden & Pennsylvania Avenue. Track bicyclist eastbound on Pa. Ave. running a redlight at the intersection. You were almost hit twice, first by a westbound car and then an eastbound car who had the green lights on Spring Garden St. You then came within inches of mother pushing a stroller in the crosswalk, all while doing at least 20 mph. What is with you track bikers and your refusal to stop? Hate to say it, but you need to be hit by a car for that behavior.