Revelations of a curb-hopper

Washington, D.C. A bicycle rental shop on 22nd street near Virginia Avenue, N.W. on Sunday. Collins, Marjory, photographer. CREATED 1942 June-July. Office of War Information. Library of Congress.

In this op-ed in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Albert Howell outlines pretty well the thinking and approach of urban cyclists. From the piece:

Now that spring is here I'll be riding my bike more. I want to explain my bike-riding habits: I am a curb-hopper, which means I occasionally ride my bike on the sidewalk or travel the wrong way on one-way streets -- I've even run red lights. I don't like doing these things but as long as current traffic laws put cyclists in harm's way, I'll do whatever I need to so I don't end up crushed under a truck by a driver who didn't see me.

No cyclist wants to ride on the sidewalk; it's slow and full of obstacles but when the alternative is being injured or killed by a car, I go where I have to. And to those who yell at me "It's called a sidewalk!" let me say this: if you have ever jaywalked you've given up your right to be upset. Nine times out of 10 a cyclist is on the sidewalk to avoid danger but all jaywalkers knowingly put themselves in danger for the sake of convenience (I have yet to see a cyclist yell at a jaywalker "It's called a road!"). I've even had pedestrians stand in front of me on the road, not moving, looking for a break in traffic and forcing me to swerve deeper into that traffic just to avoid them...

One of my stories along these lines is being cut off by a small pickup truck. On the back bumper was this sticker: "I'd rather be biking."

Alas, our behavior on the streets is too often situational. When we drive, we curse the other people on the road (hopefully just under our breath). When we walk we don't like cars and obstructions. When we bike we don't care that car drivers see us as interlopers on "their" streets. E.g., beep all you want, I won't get out of the lane. And if I am in the right lane, I'll happily move out of the way at a red light so a car can turn right on red. But if you don't have your turn signal on, don't expect me to move. Etc.
From St. Bart's School website.

Index Keywords: bicycling