I want to talk about drivers who use their phones at red lights or when they're stuck in traffic. I know that this behavior is normalized and trivialized but I don't most drivers spent much time pondering why or how it endangers people who are walking or riding a bike. I've never seen data on what drivers know about the laws governing such phone use but guess most drivers know it's illegal yet feel it's about as logical and binding as a 30mph speed limit sign. I think many folks who won't text while driving feel it's fine to do so at red lights

The conversation about trans athletes has really pivoted lately. It's not so much folks saying the rules give trans women an advantage and must be adjusted. It's people saying trans people don't exist, that trans athletes are con men, and it's not bigoted to say this. In all my decades of following sports, I've never seen an issue where suddenly tons of sports fans are loudly in alignment with people like Matt Walsh, Piers Morgan and Megyn Kelly. Most of these folks have nothing to say about women's sports other than obsess on this one thing.

If you hang out on #biketwitter there's a decent chance you've seen it before but thought it might be useful to quickly discuss. The Hierarchy of Controls is one of the more powerful tools to understand why bike helmets are not the safety solution our culture pretends they are. The Hierarchy of Controls is used by governments and industries worldwide. It's a proven, systematic approach to protecting workers by controlling exposures to occupational hazards. This informs how safety is pursued on construction sites, factories, and tons of other situations.

One thing that always mystifies me. I drive an SUV almost every day and no one every tries to hold me responsible for all the weird shit done by other folks who drive SUVS. But as a bike rider, I'm constantly being asked to condemn or answer for naughty riders.

Seriously: Why? I see this every day from people who say they ride. As if it's our job to call out our own if we want a seat at the table. Nearly everything about this point of view is a fallacy.

Don't be dissuaded otherwise: When people make "jokes" about bike riders wanting to act like pedestrians or cars when they feel like it, they are expressing a grievance—that cyclists are naughty and entitled rule breakers. These folks have no idea what it's like to ride a bike on a regular basis in a US city. It often is different in small towns and on quiet roads, but in a big city riders have to act like pedestrians sometimes because they don't feel like dying.

As a handy reference piece, here are the top 10 reasons drivers get angry at bike riders. 1. “I sometimes see them roll through stop signs when the coast is clear.”

I somehow didn't see this until this morning. Man, there's a lot going on here.

https://twitter.com/GordonAChaffin/status/1456347125437112324

I have seen people go BALLISTIC if you touch their car. It does not matter what crime they committed before that, to them a stranger slapping the side of their car is a huge escalation. I think that's ridiculous of course but I don't want to go to the hospital over that.

Why do drivers get so mad about cyclists riding through stop signs? A quick thread. Preamble: I've seen a few good conversations on this topic recently, full of on-point observations, but maybe not hitting the big picture.

It's unfortunately not uncommon these days to see public officials talking about mandating that bike riders get licenses, special insurance, and helmet use. I wanted to write a short thread outlining why they all are horrible bad-faith ideas.
nypost.com/2021/06/06/sim… The first, most obvious reason: They won't work—in fact they'll make things worse by discouraging riding (which is the intent). Don't be fooled that they'd make anyone safer or add a layer of useful personal responsibility; the point is the optics to look tough on naughty riders.

Was thinking this morning about Unbound Gravel and why, exactly, that race and events like it have captured people's imagination—and perhaps what traditional sanctioned racing doesn't provide. People want more than a workout and a competitive environment to test themselves—they want adventure and experiences and self-expression. Whether it translates to good TV is really besides the point because it revolves around immersive participation.

As some of you know, I wrote a bunch of tweets yesterday about wheelie culture (due to the bogus arrest in Perth Amboy). I saw a bunch of replies expressing questions, concern & disapproval about the safety of these kids styling amid traffic on city streets and had some thoughts. The executive summary is that if you see young folks who don't look like you doing sick wheelies on busy city streets and worry or complain about safety, you're missing the point of the culture and likely assessing Bike Life from your POV rather than that of the participants.

I was exchanging tweets about bike helmets with someone I admire and they made a sort of joke equating my position about bike helmets, about people making choices about what's right for them, with masks. If I'm going to be truly honest, this bugs the shit out of me. I think the root of the problem is that tons of people, even really smart people & folks who ride, have a simplistic perception of what helmets can do. They are like seat belts or condoms for bike riders and everyone should wear one. They surely do something so why not wear one?

OK I'm mad at Apple. Yesterday I did a hike with my iPhone in my pocket. I guess it jostled around a bit and registered as 10+ login attempts. Phone was disabled. Even though I never even tried to enter a password and had all credentials, Apple's only fix was a complete data wipe The patchwork of what is and isn't saved from the cloud is not encouraging. And I'm in password hell.

OK, I'm going to tweet about step-though bikes. As I said last night, I'm kind of lusting for one. So I spent some time perusing bikes and I'm prepared to share highlights. Let's do this. As a preliminary let me say something that's obvious to some and news to others. Though they've often been categorized this way in the US, step-through bikes are NOT lady's bikes. This is absurd. Everyone rides what they want, end of story. I am willing to die on this hill.

Each time I dunk on some extravagantly sized & overpowered truck, like I did last night w/the Dodge Durango Hellcat SUV, I hear from folks who politely argue that they could drive such a vehicle responsibly or that their desires for big/fast motor vehicles aren't inherently bad. To be blunt: With the Hellcat, we're talking about a 5800lb, 710 hp SUV that does 0-60 in 3.5 sec & hits 180 mph. Dodge will sell it for one year only because they know it violates 2022 emission standards. Think how deeply Americans must love trucks to feel defensive about that.

This tweet yielded some really interesting comments and side-conversations and just wanted to articulate a few thoughts about direct-to-consumer e-bikes.

https://twitter.com/Pflax1/status/1274422663855800320

The executive summary of comments from folks from the bike-shop universe was that DTC e-bikes are risky, scary, often hard to service. Also, they rightly point out how they need to prioritize customers who buy from their bike shop. And the liability risks seem real.

Since quarantine began (what 3 years ago?) I have been very contentious to exercise and try to take care of myself. It's not exactly going well, at least by the metrics I'd normally rely on. I've been jogging. I've been doing long dog walks. I have been lifting weights. I have been eating better. I have been drinking less alcohol. Three months later I weigh 10 pounds more and feel destroyed after jogging an hour.

Possibly against my better judgment, I want to express my feelings about the Trek situation in just a few tweets. 15-20 years ago, high-end Madones were designed and optimized for what Lance wanted. It wasn't a great bike for enthusiasts but Trek marketed it to them anyway. For me, it's a metaphor of how I see Trek in that era—100% unapologically behind one guy. Y'all know how it turned out.

If I were the CEO or PR director of a big bike company that supplies bikes to police department—and sadly it is most of them—I'd release a statement that specifically addresses a feeling of remorse that their products are being used to terrorize and put down peaceful protesters. Trek makes police bikes. Specialized makes police bikes. Cannondale makes police bikes. Fuji makes police bikes. Haro makes police bikes. KHS makes police bikes. Making and marketing bikes to police doesn't mean a company supports police violence but now is a time to speak up.

You ever notice how news reporters for TV and newspaper outlets go to AAA for comments when they're writing a story about bicycle safety? That's an organization with an agenda—and it's agenda is not helping bike riders stay alive. What put the topic in my head this morning was this news story out of Tampa. The lede is about another cyclists getting hit by a hit and run and how statistically the Tampa area may be the most dangerous in the nation.
wfla.com/mobile/hundred…

I really needed some time to put this in perspective, but wanted to recount what happened a few weeks ago when I had a head-on collision with a young man riding on a Bird scooter. I love the electric scooters so this incident was not easy to process. I think the electric scooters have the potential to reshape transportation in cities. I love them. It's not the mode I'll chose, but I see how they work brilliantly for a huge group of people who probably won't ride bikes in same way.