how do we teach those who do not go to school?

This post doesn't actually have anything to do with school - or formal education for that matter. But I feel it captures the essence of the question I wish to pose. I think education is key for making cycling safer - safer for cyclists AND drivers. I have read numerous blog posts, essays, etc. that claim that roughly half of bike-car collisions are the cyclist's fault:

In his 2004 book The Art of Urban Cycling, Robert Hurst cites evidence that as many as half of car-bike crashes are the cyclist's fault: the cyclist ran a stop sign, made an illegal turn, rode against traffic, or otherwise broke the law.

And that does not surprise me. While I feel that safe cycling depends on more bikes sharing roads with cars and therefore exposing auto drivers to more cyclists - it also requires that the cyclists know what they are doing. The cyclists themselves have to know how to behave appropriately on the road and not take for granted the privilege of sharing the road.

But one thing that I have noticed, and I assume is similar in other major metropolitan areas: a vast number of cyclists are not the kind of people who are reading blogs like this, or bikecommuters.com, or cicle.org. On any given day, I pass 20-25 cyclists in the 17 miles of biking I do to and from work. Of those, maybe 4 or 5 are what we think of when we hear the term "bike commuters." This term implies a middle-class or above individual who has made a willing choice to drive less and bike more.

But what about those that don't really have a choice - but instead are forced into biking as the only way to get to and from where they need to be due to socio-economic status? These individuals do not necessarily spend much time on the internet - if they even have regular internet access at all! My experience witnessing individuals like this is that they also do not have a very good idea or a desire to be an "upstanding cyclist." I routinely encounter them riding on the same side of the road as me, but going the opposite direction; swerving all over the road and showing complete disregard for others around them; crossing intersections while their direction has a red light; crossing in the middle of the street during times of high traffic.

These individuals rely on their bikes for transport much more than the general population - and I would assume are the victims of bike-car crashes more often than the "wealthy" bike commuters. I think an improvement in the education of this group would show an exponentially greater impact in safe cycling than educating middle-classers.

But how do we do that?

how to bike commute AND enjoy a fresh smoothie

One of the problems I consistently run into while bike commuting revolves around hunger. I have a sizable breakfast every morning before I get ready to leave my place. I pack a good lunch with a few smaller snacks to make sure I have enough to eat during the day. But I always hit a morning snag. I have tried eating a larger breakfast before I leave for work, but then my stomach is way too full and it is uncomfortable while on the bike.

And then I thought of a solution - bring a smoothie. But that brought up a new problem - how to keep it cold. Finally, I feel I have solved this problem.

This morning, I made a smoothie as I prepared my lunch for the day and poured it into one of my many water bottles.



While I finished getting ready for my morning commute, I put the water bottle in the freezer. Once I was ready to go, I grabbed the bottle and dropped it into my insulated water bottle holder that I picked up at a local REI store. These things are a great investment, especially if you spend any amount of time outdoors in the summer - or if you just live in Arizona.



Once I got to work this morning, I pulled out the water bottle, and my smoothie was still frozen like a smoothie should be. It made for a great morning-starter instead of the usual coffee.

the utilitarian concept

I had a nice "taste" of utility cycling this weekend, for almost the first time. I am committed to biking to and from work almost daily, but for things such as grocery shopping, I drive my car. But this past weekend showed us such beautiful weather that I made my best effort to be outside as much as possible, and use my bike as much as I could to get where I needed to go.

On Saturday morning, I decided to go to the Phoenix Public Market, which is a normal Saturday market that features a mix of artisans and local farmer's produce. Unfortunately, since it IS Arizona, the local produce did not offer much. There were two or three stands that had natural produce of any kind - the rest of the vendors were either selling eggs, breads, jams, honeys, prepared food or other artisan products like blankets, ceramic thingies, etc. This was my first time going to this market, so I really did not know what to expect. It was nice, but disappointing. As I mentioned, Arizona just does not offer much in the way of locally grown produce. I envy those who live someplace where they can go to a farmer's market and buy fresh, local produce. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I did buy some fresh veggies, some strawberry-amaretto jam, and a loaf of all-natural bread. So far, I have been extremely pleased with what I purchased. But it was the experience of riding my bike to the market on a gorgeous Saturday morning, and bringing the stuff home in my backpack that makes it taste so good!

Unfortunately, the ride TO the market was a little rough - and by that I mean almost the entire trip was on a construction zone. For those of you in Phoenix, don't take Washington St.! It is still under much construction. I had heard speculation that the construction was completed, but that is a negatory - they have a long way to go until that road is finished.

Granted, I could have turned and gone around the construction, but I was in an unfamiliar part of town, and honestly did not know if any of the other streets nearby would be any better. So I stayed the course...slowed down, stayed alert for potholes, and eventually made it to my destination. Too bad I forgot my camera...

All in all, I had a refreshing taste of how great it is to explore a new area by bike. I got to see another side of Phoenix, get some fresh air and just really enjoy the day. Hooray for that...