Why do you race and commute by bike?

Wow, why do I commute to work by bike? Strangely enough, that seemed like an odd question to me. I'm really abouth the opposite of what you'd envision when someone says they ride their bike to work. You either think tree-huggin' planet activist or someone who does it because they can't afford to commute by car. I'm neither of those, but after having done it awhile, I have to admit both stereotypes deserve more credit than people give them.

Upon crossing the bridge into Louisville from Southern Indiana, I get on Main Street in downtown and mix it up with the heavy traffic of rush hour. However, being able to cruise at 25mph and the carefully timed traffic lights make for a pretty safe lane of traffic. I immediately took to riding as fast or faster than the traffic around me, taking the whole lane and watching out for people parked on the side who don't look before opening their car doors. I really only compete with motorists for about 5 blocks, then most traffic turns off and when I make a left on 15th street, I have a bike lane for 20 blocks. Wearing my Indiana Master's bright orange uniform sure helps with visibility too. My job is only 9mi each way and most of it is pretty tame surface streets with moderate traffic and since my training calls for 150 to 200mi of training each week in race season, this is actually my easy ride. Coming home is probably more risky, but again I make sure people see me and ride predictably. On the upside, I get fresh air, save about $60 a month when riding to work 3x per week and sav the wear and tear on my car. Yes, I'll also list that I'm doing something to lower my carbon footprint and feel good about that too.

Now, the question about why I race is harder to explain and impossible to express. No one riding a bike with someone, anyone else, ever rides without some form of competition between them. I enjoy racing because it is a reward to training so hard and the excitement of winning a high profile race and getting the pics to prove it are so over the top that I can't tell you what it compares to in its own place. However, I will tell you that it is nowhere nearly as great as the love of my wife and two daughters. Fortunately, when they come to my races it is so cool to hear them creaming go daddy go!

Another day another scare!

Riding to work this morning, a guy on a motorcycle yelled obscenities at me for being on the road. Dude, motorcyclists and bicyclists can share the road, there is literally room for both! The fact that he buzzed me real close as he yelled at me had my adrenaline going and I hit 33mph lickety-split. Scared the crap out of the guy when I was on him that quick.

I asked him what the problem was. He just said f-you - you shouldn't be on the road. I smiled and told him the law says otherwise and I was as far to the side as I could get safely. I also told him there would be more and more bikes on the road. His wife who was sitting on the back of the notorcycle said "Shut up Dave", to which I replied "Yeah Dave, shut up, you don't know what you are talking about!" (Clever, I know) Needless to say, I regretted my verbal lob, but I can tell you one thing, that guy will think twice before starting something like that with the next cyclist which was exactly my intenet.

As I should state, I'm not your average commuting cyclist. Cars are constantly buzzing, honking cursing or throwing things at cyclists, thinking they are slow. As a racer, I can exceed 40mph when in a race or in cases like this that I'm scared and adrenalized. They usually can't believe their eyes when they see me. I usually give them a chance to backpedal, but sometimes when they really put me or others in danger, I'll make sure they know it. Some motorists need that reality check, because otherwise we are just speedbumps on their way to wherever.

I've had some good experiences with people who were initially hostile with their cars. More than once, after the verbal barrage they threw, I'll explain the law to them and they just didn't know. Thats what I'm after 9/10ths of the time. The exception to that is the guy out in the country near Henryville, IN that threw a Subway Cups full of soda and the remnants of his trash into my back. Pure redneck, driving a Poweder Blue 72 Chevy Nova that was totally rusted out. It hit me square in the back and helmet and nearly knocked the wind out of me as he was going at least 45mph. I of course, yelled at him and as I climbed the hill, was really hoping he'd be there, but no such luck...coward. I still keep my eyes peeled whenever I'm out that way and wish I could have seen his license plate number.

What has to happen is a fundamental change in the public's knowledge and attitude about pedestrians and cyclists. Most of the public has no idea that cyclists are a legal part of traffic and have the same rights and responsibilities as motorists. I rode up to and spoke to a gentleman who lives in my neighbrhood because he drives a vehicle that says Drivers Education. I asked him what the courses teach about motorist's and cyclists. He simply said that the course teaches that the motorist has to treat the cyclist as a vehicle. Thats good, but not good enough. The road rage problem is more along the ages of 30+ based on my experience, so drivers education misses the mark there. We need to start public service announcements on TV, have posters at the BMV, ads in the newspaper, signs on the streets and most importantly, stop letting motorists kill cyclists with no penalty. Too many exxamples of this even on a local level here around Louisville, KY.

Tell me what you think!