Memo to: my fellow cyclists
OK, I get that St. Clair is not, in its current condition, a very bike-friendly street. Really, it wasn't to start with, any more that any other busy street with no bike lanes. And even less so now that construction has narrowed it to one lane on each side that is the exact width of a TTC bus and maybe 6" wider than a car, plus tearing up various bits of pavement at random intervals.
Considering my own attempt to ride just a short distance on St. Clair today lasted all of half a block before my front wheel hit a sharp groove where the pavement had been cut and very nearly pitched me off my bike, I really get it.
HOWEVER... what many of you seem to be unaware of is that St. Clair has, for much of its length, one or more perfectly good side streets running parallel to it. Nice, quiet, side streets, devoid of construction or random sliced-pavement death-traps. It takes all of 30 seconds to cut down to Benson/Rosemount, and maybe a full 60 seconds to get up to Maplewood. Trust me on this. I do both, quite regularly.
And what that means is that there is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for making the SIDEWALK your surrogate bike lane.
Riding on the sidewalk for 20 or 30 feet to get from where you just unlocked your bike to a corner where you can turn down toward Benson? Fine, as long as there's no one walking there, and/or you're slow and careful.
Riding full-speed down the sidewalk for blocks at a time, when it is full of pedestrians, and leaning on your horn, bell or weird electronic noisemaker every time you come up behind people in the apparent expectation that they will then dive out of your way so that you do not have to swerve or slow down? NOT fine.
Since you probably don't care how many pedestrians you traumatize doing this, maybe care about this instead: the faster you go, the harder you will hit the ground should you happen to fall. And while the sidewalks on St. Clair are not in as bad shape right now as the road itself, they are not without obstacles that could throw a bike.
Such as, say, pissed-off pedestrians with murder on their minds...
. . .
Oh, and just to be even-handed about things:
Memo to: drivers
This may come as a shock to some of you, but it is, strictly speaking, not necessary to blast your horn every time you approach a cyclist, even though they are riding off to the side exactly where they are supposed to be and are in no way in your path.
I can only assume this behavior is similar to the way dogs sometimes feel the need to bark at the top of their lungs every time they see another dog: a way of saying "LOOK LOOK HERE I AM I'M RIGHT HERE LOOK AT ME PLZ!!!" The difference being, the other dog being barked at is only likely to maybe bark back or pull on the leash or something, while the cyclist being suddenly honked at from behind is likely to have a heart attack look back to see what the hell is wrong and nearly plough into a parked car ahead of them, before realizing that there is no problem other than your passionate love of the sound of your own damn horn.
Memo to: pedestrians
No, a bike is not as big as a car, nor (usually) as fast. Yes, it can probably stop a little more quickly. And it is probably somewhat less likely to kill you if it hits you.
But none of the above is any excuse for strolling casually out in front of an oncoming bike, in the middle of the block, on a busy street, while looking in the direction the bike is coming from (in a casual, unconcerned, admiring-the-view sort of way) such that it's kind of hard to believe you didn't see said bike coming.
Your faith in the ability of cyclists to stop instantly just by thinking about it is charming in its naiveté, but I suspect if you keep doing this you will one day discover it is also misplaced.
. . .
Really, I like cycling. Also, walking. Just not some of the things I encounter when doing either of the above.
Considering my own attempt to ride just a short distance on St. Clair today lasted all of half a block before my front wheel hit a sharp groove where the pavement had been cut and very nearly pitched me off my bike, I really get it.
HOWEVER... what many of you seem to be unaware of is that St. Clair has, for much of its length, one or more perfectly good side streets running parallel to it. Nice, quiet, side streets, devoid of construction or random sliced-pavement death-traps. It takes all of 30 seconds to cut down to Benson/Rosemount, and maybe a full 60 seconds to get up to Maplewood. Trust me on this. I do both, quite regularly.
And what that means is that there is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for making the SIDEWALK your surrogate bike lane.
Riding on the sidewalk for 20 or 30 feet to get from where you just unlocked your bike to a corner where you can turn down toward Benson? Fine, as long as there's no one walking there, and/or you're slow and careful.
Riding full-speed down the sidewalk for blocks at a time, when it is full of pedestrians, and leaning on your horn, bell or weird electronic noisemaker every time you come up behind people in the apparent expectation that they will then dive out of your way so that you do not have to swerve or slow down? NOT fine.
Since you probably don't care how many pedestrians you traumatize doing this, maybe care about this instead: the faster you go, the harder you will hit the ground should you happen to fall. And while the sidewalks on St. Clair are not in as bad shape right now as the road itself, they are not without obstacles that could throw a bike.
Such as, say, pissed-off pedestrians with murder on their minds...
. . .
Oh, and just to be even-handed about things:
Memo to: drivers
This may come as a shock to some of you, but it is, strictly speaking, not necessary to blast your horn every time you approach a cyclist, even though they are riding off to the side exactly where they are supposed to be and are in no way in your path.
I can only assume this behavior is similar to the way dogs sometimes feel the need to bark at the top of their lungs every time they see another dog: a way of saying "LOOK LOOK HERE I AM I'M RIGHT HERE LOOK AT ME PLZ!!!" The difference being, the other dog being barked at is only likely to maybe bark back or pull on the leash or something, while the cyclist being suddenly honked at from behind is likely to have a heart attack look back to see what the hell is wrong and nearly plough into a parked car ahead of them, before realizing that there is no problem other than your passionate love of the sound of your own damn horn.
Memo to: pedestrians
No, a bike is not as big as a car, nor (usually) as fast. Yes, it can probably stop a little more quickly. And it is probably somewhat less likely to kill you if it hits you.
But none of the above is any excuse for strolling casually out in front of an oncoming bike, in the middle of the block, on a busy street, while looking in the direction the bike is coming from (in a casual, unconcerned, admiring-the-view sort of way) such that it's kind of hard to believe you didn't see said bike coming.
Your faith in the ability of cyclists to stop instantly just by thinking about it is charming in its naiveté, but I suspect if you keep doing this you will one day discover it is also misplaced.
. . .
Really, I like cycling. Also, walking. Just not some of the things I encounter when doing either of the above.