First World Problems
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Shame and sharrows
It is no secret that urban infrastructure takes generations to be implemented city wide. Thus, if you want to correct a big mistake now the changes won’t be happening any time soon. That is why everywhere in the US you see lots of sharrows and only a few segregated bikeways.
If you pay attention you’ll notice that in the previous decades driving was THE mean of transportation. That’s why you see highways going through downtown and dividing cities, streets without sidewalks, and a shamefully low number of segregated bikeways that provide for an equally low percentage of bikers.
But going back to the 50s, 60s and 70s, when politicians and people only cared about cars, some urban designers tried hard to provide even a minimum cycling infrastructure. I can imagine how hard urban designers had to fight in order to get sharrows approved when everybody was crazy about oil and cars.
That’s why I really despise new sharrows being installed instead of segregated bikeways, but I’d like to praise the few great designers who envisioned a multimodal world half a century ago.
The Bike Shredder
The Bike Shredder is how i call this piece of urban design I use most days. Well, I shall say I don’t use it any day. Actually, most bicyclist just don’t. I tried it once and it is just scary because it offers a false sense of security, while exposing you to drivers with a very narrow field of view.
As you can see, the bike way detaches from the road where bicycles and cars are about to turn right. I’m sure most drivers who don’t use this intersection frequently think that a bicycle is turning right as the bike way detaches, but then, we actually turn left and join the road again on the traffic light, where most cars turn right. Also, notice there is neither protection nor paint by the traffic light.
It’s a crying shame that such a dangerous design was installed. but hey, I think it can be very easily fixed!. Here are my five cents: All we need to do is extend the bike way until it joins the sidewalk and merge both bikeways past the crosswalk but installing signals so bikers give priority to pedestrians. So simple, yet so easy to make secure!.
Sport and urban cyclists
There is almost a unique way of biking as bikers are. Each person has its own riding style. Some people prefer doing it slowly while enjoying the travel. Others are in favor of speed and adrenaline, and do not hesitate in counting how many time they spend on the streets without paying any attention in what surrounds them. This points is the main source in distinguishing cyclists in broad strokes.
We have sport cycling as a valid exercise which can be done within a city or a village. These cyclists are dressed in highly colored, fashion maillots, commonly in accordance with the official strip of a particular cyclist team. They also wear helmet even in places where it is not compulsory and ride so fast that can overtake cars. In front of this view, we see the urban bikers.
There is a myriad of them who are characterized by riding not so fast and most of the time in a friendly way. They use the bike to go to work, carry children to school, go out with friends, etc. Similarly as pedestrians, the garment they wear is variate. It does not matter whether you wear jeans, smart dresses, scarfs, tracksuits, you name it. Usually the bikes are not so expensive as in the case of sport cyclists and the bikes they use can be more than 30, 40 or 50 years old. The natural place of sport cyclists are the streets whereas urban cyclists prefer bike lines or also streets. I will talk more about this point in the future.
Public bikes vs Public infrastructure
Madrid’s public bicycles are great: they include fenders, front and rear lights, they are electric, they have gears, a chain saver and even a front basket. There are plenty of them throughout the city and they aren’t expensive to use.
However, this doesn’t mean it is widely used. As a matter of fact, Madrid has 3+ million inhabitants but BiciMAD is only used about 150.000 times a day.
But why?. Well, on the one hand Madrid is quite a walkable city, but it’s also true that there are a lot of drivers which increase pollution way too much. The main reason, I think, is because the lack of bike related infrastructure. I had a really hard time finding bike ways, and even when I did, they were often blocked by tables, chairs or people because they weren’t properly differentiated. Additionally, most people will find frightening having a bike way you have to share with cars, which is what Madrid does on big avenues.
Therefore, I’d love politicians all around the globe not to think about public bicycles as an easy way to appear in the media, but to think about it in a global and organic way: Create a bike culture, provide good and safe facilities, and people will forever love you. Like the lads of en bici por Madrid ask.
Things are changing
Moving on a bike is beneficial to you and people around you. It enhances your mood and indirectly your neighbors’ health since you do not produce pollution. These statements seem quite clear but incorporating them is quite difficult. This change can be produced by social pressure as it was done in the Netherlands in the 70’s, or by selecting the right persons in key positions. Some people were surprised in seeing the former London mayor Boris Johnson in the city metro some years ago. It appeared to them a leading figure could not use the public transport. Obviously, this is wrong. Going a step further, putting elected urban cyclists in the public institutions is specially advantageous. In Valencia both, the mayor and the sustainable mobility city councilman, have been practicing cycling for ages and even participating in demonstrations against deaths in car accidents. The new point of view regarding biking has allowed the city to overcome the pig-headedness of the former government and implemented mobility changes from the biker perspective, producing a tangible progress in sustainability. Although there is a way to achieve the total sustainability, a lot of cities and villages around the world are moving in the right direction step by step.
Suburban arrogance
I always believed living in the city was better for the community, but I never imagined how wasteful it is to live in suburban environments until I saw this image in paisajetransversal.org
Guess which color are bikeways in Seattle
Patterns are used all around public infrastructure to help us remembering what should we do. Therefore, using different materials, colors and designs prevents drivers from remembering to look for bikes. The Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands know this well, that’s why they always use the same color and shade, and they have a very limited number of designs. However, consistency seems to be impossible to find in Seattle because the city is rather focusing on expanding its cycling facilities instead.
Bicycle innovations
Although we don’t know for sure when the first ever bicycle was designed, it clearly goes back hundreds of years. Since its invention, the bicycle has undergone massive innovation yet there’s more on its way. Here are some of the new things you may find the next time you go to the store, but be careful, some of these new innovations may not be ideal:
The shaft-driven bicycle
Shaft drives operate at a very consistent rate of efficiency and performance, without adjustments or maintenance, though lower than that of a properly adjusted and lubricated chain.
The belt-driven bicycle
A belt-driven bicycle is a chainless bicycle that uses a toothed synchronous belt to transmit power from the pedals to the wheel. The application of belt drives to bicycles is growing due to the low maintenance and lubrication-free benefits.
The hub gear
Hub gears are sealed within the hub, which protects them from water, grit, and impacts. Thus hub gears usually require less maintenance. Additionally, Hub gears can change gear ratios when the rear wheel is not rotating.
Airless bicycle tires
You’ll never have a flat tire if you use airless bicycle tires. Also, whether solid or not, they obviously require less maintenance.
Bikes and obesity
Biking has been define as a good way of practicing aerobic sport. This type of exercise allows burning calories and avoids what the WHO has defined as the pandemic of the XXI century: Obesity. This disease provokes a lot of cardiovascular problems, among others. Its mechanism is simple, if you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Conversely, if you burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight. The fact of riding helps you to lose weight as well as to enjoy the environment and relax yourself. It also avoids injuries which can be produced in other aerobic sports like running. So it makes up for the sedentary life we live, the TV, seated or playing video games hours we spend.