Biker hostility: What's the source?

There's no better way to get around the U-District than walking in the summer sun. But my favorite mode of transportation is less appealing because of my close encounters with bicyclists.

Seattle is launching a new pedestrian-safety campaign that focuses on cars. I'm not suggesting a 180-pound person on two wheels causes the same amount of damage as a ton of steal.

Unsafe automobile driving can result in death. Rude cyclists can result in a scraped knee or a scratched arm.

Maybe it's the spandex. I find it funny that riders race around in head-to-toe black spandex, goggle sunglasses with rearview mirrors stuck to their heads. They resemble special-ops soldiers rather than commuters.

I can get past the fashion. But what I can't get past is the attitude that they'll ride where they want to, when they want to.

I referenced the dog-eared pages of my driver's education manual. It confirmed what I thought.

A bicyclist can choose to be a pedestrian or a car; "both" is not a third option.

It's impossible to escape them, no matter what mode of transportation I choose. If I walk, I risk injury. If I get on my bike, I risk a nasty encounter with blackberry bushes on the side of the Burke-Gilman trail.

Driving is no better. I understand some drivers are unwilling to share the road; I am not one of them.

Nothing frustrates me more than a cyclist riding on the sidewalk, darting into traffic, cutting across a crosswalk at a red light, and then shooting me a dirty look as they cut back into traffic.

Hey, I'm not confused. I know where the road is.

Obeying signs also appears problematic. Those big red octagons where the Burke crosses Pend Oreille Road or Brooklyn Avenue mean "stop." And where it says: "No riding between class breaks" on campus, don't weave in and out of pedestrians like a skier on a slalom course.

The advantages of pedaling are many. It's a cheap and environmentally friendly way to get around and avoid traffic as well as an enjoyable pastime.

But how enjoyable is cycling if it comes at the expense of others?

Think of how a pedestrian feels. When I was walking at Green Lake last summer, two cyclists were racing around the lake, weaving in and out of five-year-olds tottering on training wheels, like they were finishing a stage of the Tour de France.

"Hey!" yelled one mom. "What are you, crazy?"

What I find unfortunate about this situation is a minority of riders create the problem.

Many bikers will say hello and nod or ring their bells as they pass me. Most wait to see if a car will stop before they plunge into traffic.

I'm not suggesting we close the Burke to two-wheelers, but just that riders obey the rules. Seattle Parks and Recreation suggests advanced riders who exceed the trail's speed limit try traveling on roads. Check out their etiquette tips on their bicycle trail Web site at http://www.cityofseattle.net/transportation/biketrail1.htm. Pedestrians who could use a refresher can brush up on how to use the trails without inconveniencing cyclists.

Pedestrians love a beautiful Seattle day as much as cyclists. Let's share the trail.

--Sarah Carr

There is a blatant hostility toward bicyclists among many Seattle natives that I cannot quite grasp. Given the relatively high concentration of bikes in this city, it is perplexing that proper Halliburton-hating liberals could so openly despise such a culture.

A few days ago I saw a shirt with a silhouette of a bike brazenly captioned "the vehicle of the revolution." I pointed it out to a co-worker and car enthusiast. He shook his head in disgust and later revealed his hatred for both bicyclists and communists.

While I spoke to him about my upcoming bike camping trip, one Ballard native informed me of his own objections to bikers and told of his proudly-liberal Democrat friend's habit of yelling out his car window, "Get off the road!"

In spite of so many of its denizens being openly unsympathetic, Seattle is considered one of the most bike-friendly large cities in the nation. And indeed, Burke-Gilman is a blessing uncounted. It is, however, still impassable at night except in groups with lights (and even then, rather hazardously) and functionally useful only through Ballard, Fremont and the U-District.

What fascinates me about this is that these are the same Michael Moore "no blood for oil!" voters that elected Greg Nickels and applauded his work in bringing the Council of Mayors and Seattle into line with Kyoto. For this, The Nation's John Nichols wrote that "not just the phrase but the reality of the urban archipelago begins in Seattle," referring to the Dan Savage term for progressive cities.

For being so hip on global warming and peak oil, Seattle has largely failed to implement a network of bike paths for use as an inexpensive mode of transportation. The best the city can show on its biking map of Seattle is that 45th Street is "frequently used by cyclists." Just two days ago, I came across a ghostly whitewashed bike on that very street marking the spot where another cyclist was hit by a car.

This city, as all are in this country, are designed for cars. As such, it is not an engineering marvel to close or narrow some streets to convert them to protected biking paths. On the other hand, not only is a monorail complex and mechanically beautiful, it would also be quite interesting to see.

Unfortunately, $11 billion is hard to come by and reality does not care in the slightest how nice the idea is.

So, as the monorail implodes, where does the urban archipelago begin its work?

The Seattle P-I failed to take the lead and instead spoke of the just-passed energy bill's up-to-$300 tax rebate homeowners can get if they buy double-paned windows. On the third page they tucked away the billions of dollars in subsidies to oil companies such as Exxon (which just posted a quarterly profit in excess of $7.6 billion) and Shell (which has seen its annual income climb 88 percent and production fall 4 percent since 2003).

Opensecrets.org reports from oil and gas $114.5 million in campaign contributions to Republicans and $34.3 million to Democrats in the past five elections.

And so I feel the need to flee this city, if just for one night. I will take off on my bike to the sound of automobiles and the curses of their drivers and ride as far away as I can with little more than a sleeping bag, bug spray and fresh underwear. I have little reason to believe that the clash between bikes and cars will be resolved when I return, but I will at least get some fresh air for a while.

--Travis Thomas