I talked my friend Mark into taking a leisurely ride around the Burgh yesterday. He doesn’t bicycle much, but when he does he puts the bike on the car and then rides on the GAP or Montour trail. We started in Southside at the 18th st. park where he had never been to before (despite having lived in Overbrook for 47 years!). We took the trail to Station Sq., then over the fort Pitt and Duquesne bridges, down the Ohio trial to the penitentiary and back to the point. I had kept our pace very slow so we could talk the entire time, and he was quite comfortable other than he would occasionally not know which direction to go.
I suggested we go back to the Southside via the jail trail since he has never been on it, and I was feeling my inner tour guide. He said ok, but was leery of riding on the road to get there. I commented that it would be just a few blocks up the blvd of the allies and that I would sherpa him. We had a good laugh at that and he started calling me Sherpa Tenzing.
Now to the point of this – He was terrified! It was still rushour and I had instructed him to stay in the lane slightly in front of me. Traffic was moving slow, and I tried to explain how hugging the curb is way more dangerious than staying in the lane. We had to stop five or six times headed up the blvd. and every single time he would jump over to the curb, depite the fact that I was firmly planted in the center of the lane telling him to just stop behind the car as if he were in a car. We made it to firstside and the trail, but that quarter mile was pure white-knuckle for him. I tend to forget how intimidating and terrifing some of our riding is to someone who has never done it. I’m going to try and drag Mark out for one of the flock rides and see if being in a larger group helps, but that will have its own newness and intimidations I think.
Anyhow, I just wanted to share this observation because it’s easy to forget how intimidating riding a bike in the city can be.
The first Team DeCaf ride I did last summer took us across the West End Bridge. At the time, I thought Holy Sh*t! That was hairy. I've done it since, and although I don't freak out as much, it's still a big bridge and a lot of cars and a lot could go sideways really easily. It's one of those risks I might take because that's me, but I'd be reluctant to expose someone new to.
That's pretty good. What was his response to the white-knuckle part? I think there are 2 typical responses to things like that: some people say "whoo, I did it!", and want to do it again; other people just decide "I never *#$!@! want to do that again".
Well at the end he said he enjoyed the ride and he didn't comment on the white-knuckle part, so I guess it didn't completly frizz him out. To be honest, it was a complete non-issue for me, which is why I brought this up.
Yeah, a lot of it is figuring out what's the least scary way to go. When we were first figuring out the bike-pool thing a couple years ago, I knew that taking Perry & Perrysville in from West View would be really hairy for new on-road cyclists, and not because of the big hill on 19. Going through Bellevue would be much more pleasant, but even then, that merge point on California by PA65 and Marshall can scare the crap out of me. Thus I sought out the little bypass via Shadeland that Swalfoort had mentioned.
Just knowing that there *are* alternatives to the well known routes can make all the difference, I think.
When I was getting back into cycling a couple years ago after not really riding on the road for a few years, I definitely remember that first (short) ride on the road, thinking "wtf? i didn't *really* used to do this, did i? this is insane!" that was despite having ridden unknown thousands of miles on city streets in college. it definitely took a while, maybe a week or two, to be even remotely comfortable about it, and probably months to get back to my previous level.
I was thinking about this when we were discussing BTWD. Jane mentioned the idea of FOC having a "buddy" program which I think is a great idea. I think it's a HUGE obstacle to getting people commuting - if people are uncomfortable riding in traffic even with someone who "knows what they're doing", there's not much chance they'd be willing to try it alone. it probably takes more than once to get people to any sort of comfort level where they would go out on their own, so i really like this idea of adopting/mentoring someone on a 1:1 basis.
PS: does your friend Mark go by "Johno"?
When I started to ride in the city, my husband (who i was dating at the time) took a trip with me to the south side from the strip through downtown. Looking back at it, I was pissed and scared because I thought he was riding like he probably did when he was a messenger, quickly changing lanes without signaling and weaving in and out of traffic. That may not be totally accurate but I just remember being scared. We did go through the Armstrong tunnel and he wanted me to follow him up through the center of stopped traffic when my bike handling skills were pretty bad, and i remember whacking my bag off of someone's side view mirror. No damage or anything, but it was not fun.
I am a lot more comfortable now in traffic. Going from the point in rush hour on the blvd of the allies, I take the right hand lane until i turn to get to the jail trail. I have given up staying over to the righthand side of the righthand lane, because I hate getting buzzed. I just tell myself that it is too bad for the cars behind me, and they can go fudge themselves if they have a problem with me taking a lane. I think it is safer.
Thank you Marko for sharing your story. These ideas have been on my mind a lot over the past week, since my husband now has a bike of his own and I want to ride with him...
when I started biking in traffic last year, I was convinced I would die. Did it anyway because I'm "contrarian" like that, only took a couple trips to... I won't say kill the fear, but push it out of the way so it doesn't really factor in to whether I bike or not. Sort of. Winter scared me, the fear has now thawed.
Shortly after I started biking, hubby and I were going to dinner about an inner city mile from where he wanted to "pick me up" in his car. I didn't let him put my bike in the trunk (that was a fun argument), and got him to follow me (he didn't know how to get there but desperately wanted to go). He's refused to do it again, apparently it was the scariest thing in the world.
Now he has a shiny bike of his own (yay birthdays!), and the plan is to start with the neighborhood, then going to move to trails, then a flock (maybe next month, this month is too soon). He comes from an entirely suburban/exurban background where bikes are for kids in cul de sacs. His dad still tries to "talk sense in to me" about this "dangerous game" I play on the roads. He's confessed that the only reason he doesn't have a heart attack when I leave is because he can see how much good it does me mentally and physically, and so pretends it's not happening.
Not sure how to delicately play with that balance between pushing limits and removing the self delusion that keeps him sane while I bike. One ride at a time, I guess.
