This is by no means a perfect expression of my feelings or views on the topic. It is a stream of consciousness response to a hate-filled thread of 120+ comments (view here) regarding the Texas Governor’s recent veto of Senate Bill 488, otherwise known as the “Safe Passing Bill.” Without even diverging into whether or not that was the “right” decision, the level of vitriol and misinformation evident in the responses set me off. HOW can people be SO hateful and vengeful to utter strangers? I celebrate much of what the Internet and other online communication channels have brought us, but I will forever cringe at some of the horrific worldviews and mindsets I’ve been exposed to online. I truly hope they represent nothing more than a very vocal, if not always coherent, minority. Why, all these years later, do I still feel the need to step into the fray when I know those to whom my comments are directed will simply ignore them, or worse, twist them into an unrecognizable shape…?
Anyway… it’s 2:45 AM and I just posted my comments to the tread. Comments are (surprisingly, given what still gets published!) moderated so it could be some time before these appear in the thread under my screen name (“wildtexas”; I have no regrets to tying my Wild Texas: Parks, Travel & Recreation website to these comments, by the way–it’s 100% in line with the site’s purpose, enjoying the Texas outdoors.)
–START full text copy of my response to the hateful comments–
“The people who cycle on our public roadways are working men and women,
high school and college students, veterans, teachers, CEOs, and
everything in between. They are your co-workers, your neighbors, your
kids’ teachers and professors, retirees and in time, perhaps
even your sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, son- or
daughter-in-law. Cyclists are not (any moreso than motorists–every
group has its bad apples) morons, suicidal, arrogant or trying to
“teach” you anything, and they don’t need you passing closely, swerving
into their path as you pass, throwing things out your window, honking
or yelling to “teach them a lesson.” Passing a cyclist is simple. Just
as you do when approaching any other slower moving vehicle, you wait
until it is safe and legal to overtake that vehicle and you go into the
oncoming lane far enough to pass the slower-moving vehicle safely. You
do this without honking, gesturing, yelling or otherwise making an ass
out of yourself. You just do it and move on.
Each and every bicyclist on the roadways is MORE than well aware of
the risks of riding near inattentive drivers; after all, most of us
are drivers of motor vehicles as well as cyclists. We do everything in
our power to make our bicycle-based travels to our workplaces,
schools, errands and exercise as safe as possible by following traffic
laws, maintaining our bicycles, equipping them as required for
nighttime riding, and yes, wearing flashy clothing so we are more
visible to drivers and other cyclists. We are not trying to prove
anything to you and we are not all on expensive bicycles… although
the cost of the vehicle should not have any bearing on the rights
incurred imparted to the vehicle operator.
Almost every single time I’ve had a motorist close swipe me (while I
was riding in a bike lane, single-file, in broad daylight, with
another cyclist for visibility) there has been NO ONCOMING TRAFFIC
WHATSOEVER. Your vehicle will not blow up if two of your tires touch
or cross the lane line for the .5 to 2 seconds it takes you to pass a
cyclist. You spend more time parked at red lights than you will lose
waiting for a safe passing zone to pass cyclists.
I am a woman. I am a mother. I am a motorist. I am a cyclist. I have
no delusions of being anything other than myself. I ride to get fit
and to get outside. I used to ride a mountain bike on trails until I
became a mother, and I will always prefer trail riding even though it
has its own disadvantages (dodging headphone-wearing dog walkers,
joggers, walkers, hikers, people on horseback, etc.) I switched to
road bike riding because I can ride longer and further with less
travel time from my home if I road bike. Even though San Antonio is
making progress by adding trails bicyclists can use (Leon Creek
Greenway, Salado Creek Greenway, extending the Mission Trail, etc.) it
still takes far longer to get myself and my bike to one of those
locations to exercise than it does to get myself and my bike to a
suitable road bike start point.
I don’t tell you how to exercise or where to do it. I don’t tell you
what type of motor vehicle you “should be driving”. I don’t tell you
when you should stay off a particular road because it’s already
over-crowded with other motor vehicles.
If I rode in my neighborhood I’d have to do hundreds of laps and I’d
have a far higher likelihood of being hit by a motorist or hitting a
child or pet because, just as cars aren’t expected to do laps at speed
in a neighborhood, neither are bicycles. I have an indoor bike trainer
I use occasionally. It’s about as fun and challenging as jogging in
place inside your house is, and I have no desire for a gym membership
where I can add to the road congestion and pollution with every single
workout (I’d have to drive much further than I do to start my road
bike rides; yes, I still pollute. My “stuff” still stinks like everyone
else’s.)
All this vitriol is disheartening to me. Most of you wouldn’t own up
to these feelings or comments if we were standing face-to-face. In a
way I am glad you feel comfortable enough to do that here so we are
all reminded of the anger stewing in some of our fellow citizens
heads. Road rage among motor vehicle drivers is on the rise here in
San Antonio, and we all need to be mindful of that the next time our
lesser selves think, “That person needs to be taught a lesson!” There
is no telling what that other person might do… THAT is the true
danger on our roadways and it affects ALL of us, no matter what our
mode of transport.”
–END full text copy–
Any typos or logic errors are my own doing and the result of thoughts allowed to pour from brain to keyboard without (much) editing but with a lot of thought and consideration. Any discrepancies between the quoted text above and what’s printed on the linked MySA thread are due either to my editing (I repeated veterans twice; a worthy group to accidentally repeat, but I only meant to include them once) or due to any editing MySA’s web folk might do…
ADDENDUM at 11:34 AM on June 23: I was apparently too wordy for the MySA comments block (understandable; I just expected to receive an error informing me of that fact). I just reposted my intro paragraph as an excerpt, with a link to this blog entry for the remainder of my comments, and it posted almost immediately. Thanks, MySA, for the public forum… frustrating or no, it gets thoughts out in the open where they can begin to be addressed.
