Caroline Griffith, NEC Executive Director
Whether it’s the harsh realities of climate change, the rising price of gas, or a realization that fossil fuel extraction fuels global conflict, more and more people are looking for less resource-intensive ways to get around. As the days get longer and warmer, traveling by bike is an easier choice to make for those of us who aren’t already getting around on two wheels. May is also Bike Month, which, according to the League of American Bicyclists, was founded in 1956 as a way to showcase the many benefits of bicycling and encourage those who are bike-curious to give it a try. Here in Humboldt County, there are plenty of opportunities to get on (or back on) your bicycle and experience the joys of human-powered transportation. Doing so is also a form of direct-action activism that can help improve the safety of our roads for everyone who gets around by bike, regardless of why they do so.
According to Wikipedia, the first bicycle, basically a wooden frame with two wheels called “the dandy horse” that the rider propelled using their feet, was introduced in Mannheim, Germany in 1818. Innovations on this model soon abounded as pedals, chain-drives, more comfortable seats and all sorts of variations on wheel size and geometry were introduced, and the 1890’s were considered the Golden Age of Bicycles. In the era before cars were invented, bicycles were an incredibly popular mode of transportation and cycling clubs formed all over the world. In fact, bicycles were credited by many early feminists as contributing to emancipation because of the personal liberty and freedom of movement that bicycles provided, not to mention the liberating modifications to dress (Goodbye corsets, hello bloomers!) that bicycle travel inspired.
Since the advent of the internal combustion engine and rise to dominance of the personal vehicle, the nature of transportation and the rules of the road have changed to favor cars and trucks over human-powered transportation. Anyone who has ever walked or biked along Broadway in Eureka knows that the road is not designed for their safety, but rather to facilitate movement of vehicles. Safety concerns are a common reason that aspiring cyclists feel uncomfortable taking to the roads, specifically due to the lack of bike lanes and cycling infrastructure.
Olympic cyclist, bicycle attorney and author of Bicycling and the Law: Your Rights as a Cyclist, Bob Mionske has proposed a Cyclist’s Bill of Rights, the first tenet of which is that cyclists have the right to equality of infrastructure. Although in the state of California cyclists have the right to take the lane of traffic if there is no established bike lane, this right doesn’t help new cyclists or those who are not confident or comfortable enough to exercise this right; having the right to do it doesn’t mean it’s safe. However, if cities and counties recognized cyclists’ right to equality of infrastructure by establishing protected bike lanes and by prioritizing other non-vehicular infrastructure, our roadways would become safer and more welcoming to those who are trying to get where they are going via bicycle.
Stevie Luther works on transportation infrastructure planning with the Humboldt County Association of Governments, and backs up this need for infrastructure change. “The goal of our regional bicycle planning is to create multimodal transportation networks that give people convenient and comfortable access to the places they want to go. With e-bikes becoming more popular, it’s easier than ever to swap out the car for a bicycle. It’s important to build the infrastructure separating bikes and cars, and to educate everyone, including youth, on how to share the roads safely,” said Luther. Despite this support, there is still a need to show local governments that these changes are necessary and that they are wanted.
One effort to bring awareness to cyclists’ right to share the road is Critical Mass, an organized bike ride that happens around the world. Here in Humboldt we are lucky to have two Critical Mass rides, one in Eureka on the first Friday of the month and the other in Arcata on the last Friday. Information about meeting times and places for both can be found on Instagram. Critical Mass rides started in San Francisco in the early 90’s to build awareness of cyclists’ rights and to challenge the domination of cars and oil in our transportation system. They now happen in hundreds of cities around the world and are fun, music-filled rides in which cyclists take a lane and collectively exercise their right to the road. As Misael Ramos, organizer of Eureka Critical Mass said, “I wanted to organize a Eureka ride to provide people with a safe environment to comfortably experience the ease and joy of traveling around town on a bicycle or PEV (personal electric vehicle).” The safety and visibility of riding with a group can help cyclists build confidence. It’s also a great opportunity to share stories and ideas about how to make our roads safer for non-vehicular travel and strategize about how to bring about those changes.
An important part of safely getting to where you are going is route-finding. Because our road systems are designed for cars, many of us are habituated to using routes that are best for vehicular travel, and it’s easy to forget that there may be better ways to get where we need to go on a bike. You can find both a pdf and an online bike map for Humboldt County at hcaog.net/documents/humboldt-bay-area-bike-map. And when in doubt, take a side street. These generally have lower levels of traffic, which will reduce your interactions with cars and increase your cycling pleasure.
No matter why you are riding a bicycle, you have a right to safely get where you are going. Bike Month is a great opportunity to join a group ride or hit the streets solo and exercise your right to the road. More cyclists on the road means more visibility and more legitimacy for cycling as a serious form of transportation, which is exactly what we need in order to advocate for the changes that will make us all safer. So get out there and have fun. And don’t forget your helmet.