Rookie and rusty cyclists hit streets

Tag : Hips Plates

Mike Schatz figured it was the right thing to do.
Horrified by his first $70 trip to the gas station, Schatz drove toa bike shop last month, plunked down $2,500 on a new touringbicycle and began two-wheel commuting from his Grant Park home tohis office in West Midtown.
The pluses included conservation and fitness as well as frugality—- until the morning he went airborne above traffic on WestMarietta Street. Hit by a car, he broke both elbows.
Afterward he asked himself, "This is what I get for trying to savethe environment?"
Cycling advocates say this could be the Summer of Splat on localroads. Take the area's dearth of bike paths, add aggressive Atlantamotorists, then toss in bikers who haven't been on the roads fordecades.
Presto —- the buns are busting all over town.
"We're seeing more people getting hit" by cars, said Dr. JohnXerogeanes, chief of sports medicine at Emory's Orthopedic andSpine Center. "There are people crashing and people having troublebecause they're starting to ride their bike in the city."
"We're seeing more of that [accidents], yes," said Dan Thornton,owner of Free-Flight Bicycles, with three shops across NorthGeorgia. "We're seeing the noncommitted cyclist getting on theroadways. I've even noticed people going the wrong way. It's allhappened so quickly."
Hard data aren't available. No official figures for bike crashesare available since 2006 —- when there were 288 smash-ups inthe four core metro Atlanta counties —- and bike wrecks arehistorically under-reported. Across the state, fatalities haveremained static around 20 per year. But an informal survey ofbikers, bike groups, bike sellers and the medical community pointsto the possibility of a scabby summer.
Ask Schatz, creative director for the Blue Sky ad agency. He wasmaking just his third commute on his new bike when he came to afive-way intersection near the King Plow Arts Center and attemptedto maintain his right-of-way when a car made a left turn in frontof him.
Brakes locked. Cars screeched. Schatz flew over his handlebars.Gravity did the rest.
The driver "never even rolled his window down," Schatz said. "Helearned forward, he looked at me and he mouthed, 'Are you OK?' Itold him, 'I think so.' And he drove off."
Across the city, bike business is booming, not only in sales—- up 30 to 40 percent at some stores —- but inreconditioning older bikes being brought out of storage to combathigh gas prices.
"People are starting to buy bicycles to ride one or two miles.Three is kind of max," said Mike Goodman, owner of Intown Bicycles."It's too short a distance to start your car and try to find aparking place, and yet a little too far to walk. They're alsobuying them to make the Trader Joe's run. We're selling a lot ofbaskets."
But new bikers are being introduced to an antagonism that hassimmered between Atlanta drivers and bicyclists for years.
"There's not a healthy respect, generally, on the part of carstoward bicycles," said Richard Griffiths, a bicycle enthusiast whoworks as editorial director at CNN. "There's also disrespect ofautomotive traffic by cyclists."
Atlanta has been ranked among the least bike-friendly cities byBicyling magazine. That would come as no surprise to Griffiths, whohas survived two broken hips while riding in the last two years—- one after a truck ran a stop sign. While riding in Decaturlast year, he watched as cyclist Ashley Hurst was knocked to thecurb and run over by an inattentive driver as she waited for atraffic light to change.
"It's a perfect storm," said Hurst, an Atlanta attorney who escapedwith a bruised leg. "You're adding a bunch of different variables,all of which are bad, and you're going make a situation that isalready pretty bad to begin with much worse."
Local enthusiasts have long complained about the lack of dedicatedbike lanes. Aside from the Silver Comet Trail through Cobb,Paulding and Polk counties and the Atlanta-Stone Mountain bikeway,recreational bikers are often sent onto surface streets that werenot meant for them.
Portland, with 11,000 bike commuters, has dedicated 160 miles tobike lanes. Houston has a 277 miles of on-street bikeways.Atlanta's bike lanes total 30 miles.
Some inexperienced riders are getting hurt even without a crash.
"What I've seen more often are chronic injuries, and I expect tosee more as people ride more," said David Pasion, an Emory physicaltherapist. "Those injuries are knee pains, neck pains, shoulderpains, just chronic use injuries from perhaps riding a bike that isnot fit for them."
Bike commuters are most at-risk. Buddy Hall, managing director atRiot Atlanta, a Buckhead audio-visual production company, says hesees at least one rider-driver confrontation per week during hisdaily ride to and from Midtown.
"I get yelled at on a semi-regular basis," Hall said. "I've beenphysically threatened. I had a guy jump out of his car at me oneday."
Misinformation abounds. Riders tell stories of how police officershave chided riders to get on the sidewalk, where it is illegal forthem to ride. Cyclists habitually maneuver ahead of standingtraffic at stop lights, which is wrong too.
"My personal opinion is, bicyclists are taking to the road thatdon't have much road experience and haven't bothered to takeclasses in roads riding," said Ken Rosskopf, a Decatur attorney whospecializes in bike issues. Classes are offered by the AtlantaBicycle Campaign (atlantabike2.org).
Schatz's bike, its handlebars now twisted backward, sits in hisoffice, where he stashed it that morning of June 25.
His casts have been removed, replaced with braces he'll wear for afew more weeks. A decision is coming. Is he still a bike commuter?
"The fact that you have to bike back home, it's forced exercisetwice a day," he said. "I really plan on doing it. I can't juststop after three rides."
BICYCLE SAFETY TIPS
Mike Goodman, owner of Intown Bicycles, offers these tips:
1. Dress so drivers can see you. Wear yellow; don't wear gray.You'll be nearly invisible, blending into the street, especially atdusk. At night, use lights and wear reflective gear.
2. Follow the rules of the road. Bicycles are classified asvehicles, thus they are required to follow the same rules of theroad as other vehicles. Ride on the right side of the road; obeysigns and signals; take the left lane when turning left, and signalyour intentions to drivers.
3. Be aware. Watch for cars making left turns in front of you, andlook for cars pulling out from side streets and driveways. Watchfor cars that pass you and then make a right turn in front of you—- prevent this situation by moving to the center of the lanebefore you get to the intersection. Be aware that railroad tracksand steel cover plates are slippery, especially when wet. Signaldrivers, if possible, before making any unexpected moves.
4. Pick good routes. You can find lots of neighborhood streets ormore lightly traveled thoroughfares when you look for them. Askother cyclists about good routes, how bad the hills are and whichtraffic lights don't recognize their presence. A good route is notonly safer because there is less traffic, but because you'll knowwhere the hazards are.