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America needs to build its peloton
America already has a peloton. But in this time of acute alternative energy awareness, now more than ever it needs to be expanded, it needs to be refined, but most of all, it needs to be provided with a certain measure of safety. In order to do so, it needs to be given a safe lane of passage, right-of-way laws, respect, and an infrastructure to support and encourage its growth. American’s have been shocked at the pump into realizing that we are facing a serious energy problem, and that we must not only begin conserving gas, but we must also find viable alternative methods of operating our homes, alternative styles of living, and perhaps most importantly, alternative methods of getting from Point A to Point B. This is where building on America’s Peloton comes into play. What is a peloton? In the simplest terms, it is a group of bicycle riders. In the terms of this article, it is a group of citizens who recognize and employ the bicycle as a vehicle of recreation, utility, and transportation. Bicycle fanatics are generally addicted to the speed of motion the bicycle provides, and rely on this addiction to satisfy a strong need for recreational activity. Another type of cyclist is the enthusiast. This person uses the bicycle as a means of recreation, but also chooses a two-wheeled, human-propelled vehicle as a viable means of transportation to get to and from work, the store, or anywhere else. Then you have the other type of person, who uses the bike as their sole means of transportation because that is all they can afford. What makes up the “non-peloton”? There are those who feel the bicycle is a toy, and is designed to be used only by children who are too young to get a driver’s license. Some people don’t feel they could and never would even consider exerting the energy needed to push a bike forward. “It’s too far”, “it’s to steep”, “it’s too cold”, “it’s too hot”, “it’s too windy”, “it’s raining”, “it’s snowing”, or the wimpiest of all “there are tornado warnings in effect”. As Senator Phil Gramm would say “Stop Whining!” There are some other valid reasons why you might be reluctant to use a bicycle as a means of transportation and those reasons revolve around the issue of safety. As mentioned above if the American Peloton is to grow and thrive, we need a well-thought out infrastructure planned and built in order to offer cyclists a safe lane of passage. Strict right-of-way laws also need to be implemented to support the new infrastructure of roadways and signalization, and finally drivers and cyclists alike must be educated on the proper use of, and the laws of the new system. This system of infrastructure, laws and the accompanying education process is the only way that one day cyclists will begin to receive the respect they deserve and must have in order to ride safely. The Dutch infrastructure of roadways is a model worth paying attention to. Sitting in a sidewalk café in Amsterdam at rush hour, is like watching a well-rehearsed ballet of trams, buses, cars and bicycles, thousands of bicycles flowing everywhere, weaving in and out of each other, in the graceful, and relatively polite dance of the daily commute. Motor vehicle lanes are usually in the center, then the trams, then the bicycle lanes, and finally the sidewalks. Each lane has its own right-of-way, its own signalization system, and its own laws of use. The Dutch have strict laws which require motorists to respect and cohabitate with cyclists and small engine vehicles like scooters and mopeds. Another important feature that the Dutch have built into their infrastructure is a place to lock your bike. Scattered throughout every street of the city there are sturdy bike stands filled with bikes locked to them. Just outside of Amsterdam’s Central train station is a multilevel bike parking garage with thousands of bikes parked and locked just a few steps from the train platforms, and a short ride from most commercial and residential neighborhoods of the city. Thousands of Dutch commuters, men and women of the workforce, take the trains from the suburbs into the Center, and then bike to their place of work. But could it work here? Why not? If the local, state and federal governments worked together, and developed the proper combination of mass transit and bicycle infrastructure, more and more people could and would take advantage of this often neglected form of transportation. Its effect on decreasing America’s consumption of gas would be realized as quickly as it was promoted and popularized. As a pleasant side effect of this country’s real commitment to alternative methods of transportation, we might even loose some of the flab that plagues this nation’s mid-section, and maybe, just maybe, some of the whiners might even shut-up a little bit. I know that would make Senator Gramm happy. William S. James, Saddle sore |
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www.fz2878.com
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