Part 1: Blame the drivers

So, I was surfing the net, because Benny is doing the programming, and I found a couple of interesting opinions on the L.A. Times website about cyclists vs. automobiles in Southern California. I'll quote the article below, and then throw in my two cents. Tomorrow will be another opinion...

The question: Bike riders and auto drivers frequently come into conflict on L.A.’s roads. Who’s to blame?

Oh, this one's a no-brainer: the drivers. Numbers alone dictate they're to blame. On one of my 13-mile morning commutes to work from Silver Lake to Westchester last week, I encountered hundreds of cars and 14 cyclists. The odds definitely favor the former to be at fault. Certainly poor roadway habits and bad manners are not the sole domain of motorists, but from my obviously biased perspective as a beleaguered bicyclist who's been pelted with pens, cigarettes, coins, beer cans, water bottles, eggs, trash, countless expletives and advice ("Get a car!" is my personal favorite), the city's already daunting streets can be downright inhospitable. There's a reason a canister of pepper spray is mounted to my bike's frame: to defend myself against the rare mad dog and the far more prevalent aggressive, ever-entitled driver. So far, I've never had to use it on either canine or car operator, but on occasions with the latter, I've come close. Let me give you an example from last August. I was on the home stretch of a casual all-day group ride that started in Highland Park and went all the way to Olympic Boulevard and the 405 Freeway in West Los Angeles before coming back to Echo Park. Returning east across town on Pico Boulevard, I wound up out ahead of the pack by a good mile or two. It had been a picture-perfect ride up until a few blocks west of Hoover Street when, while I was riding in the door zone alongside cars parked at the curb, a young man pulled his sedan tight against my left, where he called me an "ass" and flipped me the finger before speeding off — only to have his clean getaway dirtied by a red light at the next intersection.

Rolling up beside him, I inquired what that unprovoked outburst was all about, and in a magnificent display of ignorance, he berated me for riding my bike in the street. His argument was that wherever there isn't a striped bike lane, bikes aren't allowed on the road and must stay on the sidewalk. In my magnificent incredulity, I dropped a few expletives of my own while telling him that of all the idiots I'd encountered in my 20 years of biking L.A.'s mostly bike lane-less streets, he had to be the biggest one ever. Disliking that characterization, he yanked his car out of traffic, ready to escalate matters, at which point I advised him of the pepper spray and my willingness to use it along with my bike pump and my cable lock and whatever other means necessary to subdue him and then to have him arrested for everything I could possibly get him charged with. Somewhat amazingly — and thankfully — common sense prevailed over his belligerent stupidity, and he opted to stay in his vehicle, where I encouraged him to think twice before harassing the next cyclist he encountered and to familiarize himself with California Vehicle Code Section 21202. We parted with him telling me to, yep, "Get a car!"

Point of order, jerk: I have one. But last year, I put fewer miles on its odometer than on my bike's. By choice. Some might see that as a lousy choice because dealing with those motorists whose behavior ranges from inattentive to outright intimidating is a fact of life for urban cyclists on the streets of Southern California. But that's where the numbers come back into play. Because for every bad Acura there are, of course, bunches and bunches of drivers who demonstrate a respectful and considerate willingness to share the road.

What's interesting to me, is that the writer, Will Campbell, is obviously a resident of the L.A. area (he talks about his commute) and his attitude is SO L.A.. "Point of order, jerk," and the fact that he carries pepper spray, "to defend myself against the... the far more prevalent aggressive, ever-entitled driver." Man! This guy is bitter! I can't blame him. I agree that most of the drivers in So Cal are aggressive and feel that the road is theirs for the taking. But to assault them verbally as he does in his story, doesn't solve the problem.

What would solve the problem is to take all the drivers, put them on bikes, and then put on the cyclist in Hummers and let them honk, swerve, curse and throw things at the bike riding drivers. Boxing day on the streets of L.A.. That way drivers know what it's like to try and survive.

But I'm not bitter. I know what it's like to ride in L.A. Probably why I was off the bike for so many years. Didn't want to deal with the hassle defending myself. That's why I ride on tour now.