The article is great. Unfortunately,the 50 + comments from readers are majority
anti-bike. I don't get the printed newspaper but assume (hope) printed letters
are more pro-bike. Printed letters are often better written than emailed
comments on-line where people can rant anonymously. The on-line commenters may
be dedicated bike haters who will never accept bikes. I bet the rest of SF is
more understanding; most, of course, have bikes and ride them around the city.

My bike experiences in San Francisco have been great and taking the lane, seem
easy and natural. For Biking Roseville members who have never taken your bikes
on Capitol Corridor to venture into the City, please do! Especially when it's
hot mid-summer! SFBC sells a great bike map which shows the best routes around
the steep hills and the routes are pretty well signed throughout the City. The
bike is a great way to get around town and Cap Corridor is bike friendly.
--Cathy Haagen-Smit


--- In bikingroseville@yahoogroups.com, Bob Shanteau <RMShant@...> wrote:
>
> On SFBike, Bob Sutterfield wrote:
> > <http://tinyurl.com/r5a68k> is
> > <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/03/NSJ517S534.DTL>
> The article is more than nice -- it's a critical read for all bicycling
> advocates and educators. I think it deserves at least statewide
> distribution.
>
> Bob Shanteau
> Transportation Engineering Liaison
> California Association of Bicycling Organizations
>
> _________________
> *Safe streets: Workshops help cyclists trim risk*
> Michael Tanner
> Thursday, June 4, 2009
>
> Upon first glance, the bustle of cars, trucks, taxis, pedestrians and
> even other bicyclists can make the streets of San Francisco seem like a
> place only a gladiatorial thrill-seeker or an insurance salesman could
> love. But the actual danger for cyclists is much less than it seems, and
> experience combined with education can bring the risk factors much more
> within your control.
>
> *Knowledge is pedal power*
>
> When bike-skills instructor Bert Hill quizzes students at the San
> Francisco Bicycle Coalition's ongoing Urban Cycling Workshops about the
> frequency of bicycle fatalities in the city, he says guesses generally
> range from five to 20 a year. In reality the rate is less than two -
> which is two too many, but low in relation to the 40,000 cyclists and
> 128,000 bike trips recorded within San Francisco each day. "I'd rather
> be a bicyclist than a pedestrian in terms of safety," he says. "And the
> dangers are easily predictable. That's why skills are important."
>
> For instance, people tend to ride too far to the right out of fear of
> being run down from behind, but according to national statistics, in
> only 5 percent of crashes are riders hit from the rear. Of far greater
> likelihood, and more easily avoidable, is a collision caused by a
> suddenly opened car door or when passing on the right at an intersection.
>
> Linda Atkins, an everyday bike commuter who hasn't owned a car for 20
> years, was amazed at the difference in perception a little training
> could make. "It was like night and day," she says of her experience with
> the Urban Cycling Workshops. "I felt much safer, much more relaxed, much
> more confident."
>
> *Do the left thing*
>
> Atkins and Hill agree that avoiding the "door zone" is paramount. Atkins
> said she was surprised to discover that, by riding to the extreme right,
> she was not only risking contact with a door, but was also encouraging
> drivers to crowd her, rather than going well around her to pass. She
> says she was terrified of riding out in the lane at first but realized
> that she "was not getting any more flack and was actually not getting so
> many close calls." California law allows bikes use of as much of the
> lane as safety requires.
>
> Hill also recommends using bike lanes where available, but when
> approaching an intersection where a dashed dividing line appears, riders
> should move to the left so that motorists can move in behind and make
> right turns unobstructed, he says. He identifies the most important
> factors in safe riding to be "predictability and visibility, as well as
> courtesy and assertiveness." Unpredictable, inconsistent riding can be
> as frustrating to motorists as lane-sharing, he insists. "Pick a point
> in the lane and stick to that point, and they'll find a way around you."
>
> Likewise, Hill advises never passing large trucks or buses on the right,
> as they generally have multiple blind spots, limited maneuverability and
> a tendency to run over curbs. Another hazard appears around traffic
> lights that have just turned green, especially on down-slopes, where
> fast-moving cyclists can feel "a misguided sense of confidence that the
> light is green" while motorists might still be rushing through the
> intersection.
>
> The issue with bikes running red lights and stop signs, he adds, is not
> so much one of immediate peril to the cyclist as it is "the fact that
> it's discourteous and disrupts respect for the right of way." If bike
> commuting is going to become an activity for the general population,
> Hill says, it has to be welcoming for seniors and for children.
>
> Or, as Atkins puts it, assertion of her rights must remain "united to
> being extra careful of always living up to my responsibilities. ... It's
> a two-way street - literally."
>
> *Skills and drills*
>
> You can join Day 1 of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's free Urban
> Cycling Workshop, on Saturday in the Western Addition for a four-hour
> classroom introduction to cycling in the city. Topics include choosing
> reliable bikes and accessories, mastery of rules of the road and
> techniques for safe riding. (Day 2, offered June 13, comprises a
> six-hour hands-on curriculum in maintenance, emergency maneuvers and
> actual on-the-street practice.) Sign up at <www.sfbike.org/edu>, or drop
> by the SFBC's orange tent on Sunday during this week's Sunday Streets
> car-free celebration in the Mission, where the workshops' instructors
> will present more informal clinics in street skills. See the Sunday
> Street's route at <www. sundaystreetssf.com>.
>
> Bike About Town is presented by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, a
> 10,000-member nonprofit dedicated to creating safer streets and more
> livable communities by promoting the bicycle for everyday
> transportation. For more biking resources, go to <www.sfbike.org>.
>
> - Michael Tanner <96hours@...>
> This article appeared on page F - 32 of the San Francisco Chronicle
>