This Columnist Needs to Ride a Bike (and get a clue)

As cyclists, we all know there are much needed improvements but this columnist is clueless because he doesn't ride a bike and thinks the big solution to bike safety is to ride on the sidewalks. Don't they have pedestrians in Raleigh? Didn't he have some bike advocates he could interview for the article? Cyclists? How did this get published? And that title... ugh.

Column title, "Bicycles are the worst mode of transportation" 

If it is necessary to ride a bike, it may be a better idea to ride on the sidewalk. If you ride on the sidewalk, then if there is an accident, you are risking hitting people instead of cars. While this is not ideal, riding on the sidewalk significantly reduces the chance of serious injury.

Dangers aside, it seems like riding a bike would be very impractical. I am not trying to deny the benefits of riding a bike, but it seems like a bike is only practical for certain situations. One practical problem with bicycles is the problem of distance. A bicycle is not a convenient way to travel for long distances. In addition to distance, bicycles can’t carry a lot of things like cars or other forms of transportation. Bicycles also don’t protect the rider from extreme temperatures and weather. There are many practical issues with using bicycles.

The combination of practical issues and the danger of riding in the street seems to be enough to validate looking for other options. There is merit in riding a bike for recreation or exercise, in which case the practical problems would not apply, but if you are riding your bike for those reasons then there is no reason to ride in the street. Riding your bike for other reasons, like to get to work or school, may be a bad idea if you have to travel on roads. There are lots of other options for getting from place to place like cars, walking and public transportation. Using a bike for a main source of transportation is too dangerous and impractical.

http://www.technicianonline.com/opinion/article_e68a1ede-0518-11e6-...

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Permalink Reply by Larry Mysz on April 19, 2016 at 7:49am

You can see the comments if you view the article at this URL

http://www.technicianonline.com/opinion/article_e68a1ede-0518-11e6-...

It is encouraging that almost all of of respondents disagree with the author.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on April 19, 2016 at 9:17am

It's a dumb column.  The comments about it are mostly on the mark.  But after reading them, I feel a little sorry for the kid.  We were all freshmen once.  I am fortunate that my freshman dopiness was not memorialized forever on the internet.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on April 19, 2016 at 9:31am

I agree, he is young. I think the aspect that bothers me is that he didn't really do his job - do a little research before sounding off about a subject he is clearly unfamiliar with. And that's something we've seen other columnists do (in Chicago too) as well as lawmakers. It's irresponsible on both counts and the column is about as ridiculous as the 15-foot bike flags proposed in Missouri.

Sure he is young but I hope the comments will provide him with an experience he can learn from so that next time he does his homework and becomes more familiar with his topic before he writes a column declaring anything as "the worst".

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on April 20, 2016 at 4:44pm

Kass was the first person I thought of when I read the title to this post. I wanted to throw in a John Kass reference somewhere in this thread but you beat me to it.

A couple years ago the worlds coolest bike was sold on Ebay* for a whopping $36,000. I proposed we start up a Kickstarter project to raise the money, buy it and present it to John Kass but the idea never gained any traction.

Oh well.

* I didn't add that Ebay link, it was auto generated.

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