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the original, complete with bubb rubb & lil sis

Column: Have no fear, cyclists, Officer BMX is on the job

The Herald-Sun
April 27, 2005

DURHAM — Riding along the American Tobacco Trail on my way home from work, I come up behind another bicyclist. I slow down to say hello, as I always do.

My fellow biker assertively tells me to slow down, to pull over and that he is a cop.

“Of course, Officer,” I say, unlocking my shoe from the pedal and squeezing the brakes a little harder. When we both stop conveniently at an intersection, I look more closely at the arresting officer: a young boy, no more than 9 years old.

“I read in the paper that the Durham police are putting more cops on bikes this year,” I say.

Reading either the skeptical look on my face or my willingness to play along, he shows off his radio, which validates his ability to protect and serve. It’s the hand-held mouthpiece to a CB radio with its coiled wire tied to the handlebars of his BMX bike.

“Seen any trouble on your ride today?” he asks me.

“No, not yet, but I could use some help crossing this intersection.” Riding his own bike nearby, the cop’s older brother — I mean superior officer — smiles at the two of us.

Like cops in the movies do, Officer BMX is eyeballing me — with a squint no less. Kids are fascinated by gadgets, and he’s taking in the utilitarian nature of my gear: shoes that lock into the pedals, a rubber band around my right ankle to keep my pants cuffs out of the greasy crank, a rack holding my sandals and blinking tail light, a brightly colored shoulder bag with reflective tape and most importantly, my helmet.

Officer BMX happily complies, escorting me through the intersection once he determines the coast is clear.

“Did you respond to any calls today, any trouble in the neighborhood?” I ask him.

“Yeah, a girl had a bike accident earlier. I had to help her fix her bike. It’s been quiet since then,” he replied.

On the other side of the road, I thank him for helping me across the street and for keeping this route safe for me and for other cyclists.

As I click into my pedals and begin to pull away, I think he might ride with me. Instead, he turns around and rides back through the intersection. I guess he can’t stray too far from home, I mean, outside his jurisdiction.

YouTube: Durham Bike Polo

Found on YouTube… Durham Bike Polo in a parking garage. Film credit goes to lubes17319

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Column: An inconsistent road is no road at all

Phillip Barron
The Herald Sun
April 7, 2005

DURHAM — Imagine driving along when without signage, without warning, and without anywhere else to go, your lane ends. You stop, baffled, climb out of your car and look around. About 50 yards ahead you see where the road continues. Between here and there is an unpaved, patchy mix of grass, gravel, mounds of unused asphalt, and murky puddles from last night’s rain. Even if you wanted to drive through this gap in the road, you’re not sure you should since the ground is also littered with rusty car parts left by the last person who tried to traverse the stretch.

A motorist would immediately report the gap in the road to the local public works department. Such a gap would fail every known traffic engineering standard. Really, it’s a lawsuit waiting to be filed.

Cyclists, however, know this scenario all too well. One minute we’re riding comfortably on the 3 ft. shoulder of a wide outer lane. The next minute, we have to make a split-second decision: we can stop, jump off a six-inch ledge into the sandy grass just off the road (which is also usually filled with broken glass and empty fast-food bags), or suddenly merge with the automobile traffic.

Riding a bike in traffic isn’t necessarily dangerous. Merging with automobile traffic without warning, however, is pretty scary.

The inconsistency of the shoulder, the width of pavement just outside the line marking the limit of the lane, is just one of the reasons why state law says that cyclists should ride in the travel lane, as part of traffic. Under state law, a bicycle is considered a vehicle, just like any car, motorcycle, or truck. Not only do bicyclists have the right to ride in traffic, it’s also the safest place on the road to ride. Sometimes, though, uncooperative or unaware motorists or even just a steady stream of automobile traffic can marginalize bikers, pushing us to the shoulder.

Relegated to the margins of the roads, we often ride in that inconsistent, crumbling, glass-strewn space that may end abruptly. When the shoulder extends a foot or more in width, a cyclist can be tricked into thinking that the shoulder is a safe place to ride.

Old Erwin Rd. and Ephesus Church Rd. are case studies in varying shoulder widths and bottle-necking narrow bridges. At times, a cyclist can ride down Erwin on a width of pavement wide enough to be a bike lane. At the bottom of a hill, the “lane” may end without warning.

Roads with inconsistent shoulders are dangerous in their deception. They appear to offer bicyclists space to ride. On your bicycle, that car-free zone just outside the outer lane entices you. Then, you’re forced to think quickly about how best to avoid an accident. Neither merging nor stopping are ideal.

What would be ideal? What if civil engineers and transportation planners thought about bicycles with every road designed and built? What if bike lanes on urban streets and wide outer lanes on rural roads were the rule rather than the exception? Then the problem of the inconsistent shoulder would be a thing of the past.

We don’t accept this kind of dangerous inconsistency for our automobiles. Why do we accept it for our bikes?