Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for February 5th
Council OKs safe-passing ordinance
from www.mysanantonio.com
San Antonio’s new rules say drivers must, when possible, change lanes when passing a cyclist.
Bicyclist Ryan Wohlrabe stood in front of the City Council on Thursday, his arm in a sling tucked inside his flannel shirt.
Riding south on Silicon Drive two weeks ago, he was hit by a car as he pedaled through the intersection at De Zavala Road. The northbound driver never saw him. …
A fellow rider for the Jalapeno 100.
What a Week! « Connie’s Bike MS: Sam’s Club 2010 Ride Blog
by connie98
I have a ride in South Texas on the 13th – Jalapeno 100. This ride is something else. The last time I participated in this ride was two years ago. It’s a 50 mile (with other routes of 100 and 63 miles) out and back route. …
San Antonio Cycling Club: Traditional AfterRide Meal
by Pedro
We are one of the newest bicycle clubs in San Antonio Texas. If you would like to ride with a club that focuses on bicycling only and has rides for everyone, come join us. Tired of riding alone? It is safer to ride in a group and much …
Texas Tech Race Info Now Available! Texas High School Cycling …
by League Director
Check out the race flier with all the key information here. And go to the Race Series page (here) for other links about this and upcoming races whose links will be added as soon as I get them and can upload them. -andrew- …
The Accidental Cyclist: Zentriathlon Base Camp 2009: My View
by Dawn
He’d never ridden in central Texas before past cows or horses while I can barely imagine riding in Malibu. Rich emits solid calm strength. He is a wonderful riding. I hope I get to ride with him again. …. The road bike: a most beauteous Bianchi Dama Elle. The Mountain bike: a Schwinn hardtail I picked up for $30.00. I recently attended a triathlon base training camp and this is motivating lifestyle changes. Happy, single, red-headed, dharma friend sharing my home with a …
Even if the Safe Passing Ordonance is a long overdue measure, I really doubt if it’s going to help very much. On the one hand, who’s really going to enforce it? As the Express-News reported the other day, drivers disobeying will not be cited unless there is a law-enforcement officers present watching the incident. And then, three feet is certainly not enough in many circumstances. And considering the overwhelming number of irresponsible comments as to the various reports on this matter in the news, I really don’t think passing this ordinance will change an iota in the behaviour of motorists – and of bicyclist, at that. Let’s face it: there are irresponsible people on either side of the spectrum. But, and that’s the up-beat, the irresponsible drivers and bicyclists are an absolute minority. And what I’m actually really afraid of when I’m on my bike is not those drivers who yell and/or honk at me, because that means they have seen me, but those who – for various reasons [maybe they’re texting or on their cell phones, maybe they’re just having a sip of drink, maybe they’re simply alseep at the wheel or as blind as a bat and still driving] – do not see me at all. What we actually need is better education for both drivers and bicyclists. And, starting with bicyclists, those measures being taken up by schools now to get more children on bikes are excellent as these are the future drivers and hopefully they’ll be more bicyclist-friendly then. But then, also, a real working law enforcement would, of course, help to eliminate the few rotten apples in the barrel of good drivers. The opinion expressed by the SAPD, that relieving officers from issuing tickets would free them for more patrol duty is callous, to say the least. Or would anybody say they should not pursue a burglar, e.g., so as to be able to patrol the streets more?
You bring up a good point about enforcement. The mentality seems to be that passing a law will miraculously cause everyone to be in compliance. Law enforcement already has way too many laws to deal with. Because of this they prioritize the ones they do enforce. Guess which ones get the short end of enforcement