Trimet Follies

I think Trimet occasionally goes out of their way to hire people whose interpersonal skills may be a little suspect. I will allow that many, many Trimet folks are great, but there are a few that can turn on the "charm" enough to sour one's view of the organization.

This morning as I hopped on the MAX at Goose Hollow a attitude laced voice came over the PA that went something like this (can't remember the actual words):

Hey cyclists make sure you're not in the way of the doors or aisles. If you are, better get yourself right.

The rude was dripping off her tone. The fact that she actually said this seemed pretty rude to me as well. As a cyclist I know where I am allowed to place my bike, I don't need to be chastised. Yes, I was standing holding my bike where it kind of blocked the aisle as all of the hooks on the train were filled. But considering there were less than 15 folks in my care, half with bikes, I didn't see this to be a problem. Was I in the way for anyone getting on or off? No. Just that the operator said this irked me some. Other than that, the ride was uneventul.

What, may I ask, am I to do? Wait for the next train? On a Sunday morning where the trains run with at least a half-hour in between? I think not. Love to see her wait around at the end of her day...y'know it ain't going to happen.

Sunday Mornings

Some mornings getting on the bike to ride home is a monumental task and sort of a drag. Others it is a wonderful commune between rubber and the road. Sunday was one of those mornings. I usually love leaving Good Sam on weekend mornings. There's no traffic, the normally bustling streets of Northwest Portland are near deserted. In short, it's near perfect. And Sunday was the best for some time.

It was cool, not cold, but cool, with a slight nip to the breeze. Just a touch to remind me that fall was not completely banished and keep me awake all at the same time. The sun was out, low in the sky, casting a great golden light on near everything. Instead of the sigh of desperation a I swung a leg over, I got the chill of anticipation. As I rode, I felt the stress of the last 2 nights of work start to melt away. Gone was the tension in my neck brought on by the constantly ringing phone. Gone were the cramps in my hands from entering order after order. Cleared from my mind was the lingering resentment of the resident physicians who couldn't quite seem to see the forest for the trees. But as the rubber hummed along the pavement those thoughts passed away.

When co-workers ask me how I ride home after the night shift, I always extol the virtues of it in its ability to clear my mind. On more than one occasion I have said the even if I have a completely shit night, by the time I have ridden home, it's gone from my thoughts. It gives me the chance to process as needed. Some mornings are better than other but this Sunday was a jewel. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. Wish every morning was like that.

And this isn't helping...

Clued in by my daily look at BikePortland.org, found this website full of vitriol and hate, along with some ideas that actually do make sense: Bike Free Portland.

Somethings I do completely understand, like the idiots running lights, running without lights, entering areas that say, "NO BIKES", but the rest is just hate filled ranting. This is NOT the way to make things better for cyclists (she purports to be a cyclist herself!). Spewing this putrid crap in the name of making things better is a fulfillment of what I keep saying: the few are ruining it for the rest of us.

Is she wrong that there are a multitude of stupid cyclists in Portland? Nope. Is she wrong in saying that the cyclists here in Portland are horrible? Not really - there are good ones and bad ones, but seemingly more bad ones.

But calling them Bikenazis and making your symbol reminiscent of the Swastika makes it even worse. So Myra, stop adding fuel to the fire. If you had constructive things to add, feel free, but c'mon being hateful will make things worse and furthering the whole us v. them mentality adds nothing to the debate.

An Open Letter to the Cyclists of Portland

Dear Fellow Cyclists,

As a dedicated cyclist and resident of our fair city I have a couple of things to say to y'all. Please take this in the manner it is intended: outright and blatant criticism.

Too many of you are giving the rest of us a very, very bad name. You cry and moan that you get no respect, that you are constantly under attack and it's you versus the city. Guess what? You're absolutely correct. And you know what else? You have brought it on yourself. I am so fed up with the entitled attitude y'all bring to the table. Just because you cycle doesn't mean your shit doesn't stink or that you can walk on water. Believe me, your halo, er, aura is pretty much tarnished as well. After seeing my pedestrian friends nearly hit innumerable times yesterday, I almost feel ashamed to call myself a cyclist in this city.

Example 1: Thanks to the wonderful people at Trimet, we were walking across the Willamette via the Steel Bridge. Along with quite a few others. Yet there was a constant stream of cyclists trying to get across that way as well, some at a fair clip. Ringing a bell, shouting, "On your left!" as you zip past does not absolve you of the common courtesy expected of folks sharing the sidewalk. And getting an attitude about it makes it even worse. Either join the flow, get off and walk your bike when there is heavy pedestrian traffic, or, gasp...go another route!. It's not like there isn't any other way across the river.

Example 2: Don't expect to ride fast on the waterfront on a busy Saturday morning. When there is a festical about and thousands of people walking to it, bobbing and weaving in and out of people as you try to get there faster is a recipie for disaster. How about wising up and using the bike lanes on Naito instead? Or if you persist on using the boardwalk, slowing down, or walking like the rest of us?

Basically put, I am so incredibly tired of dealing with this bullshit. In our small group yesterday at the Flugtag, we had 3 near misses from cyclists inthe above examples. I guess the whole "Yield to pedestrians" is only a suggestion. How about thinking about waht may be hapening out in the city when deciding how to get to where you're going and choosing an alternative route to get there? There are more than a few ways to get across the river, other than the Steel Bridge. There are other ways down the waterfront than the boardwalk. If you ask me, there woldn't be such as rising backlash against cyclists if we took it upon ourselves to express the common courtesies of life.

Look, I'm no saint either. I run stop signs, turn without signaling and don't stop for pedestrians crossing my lane of travel. But if I'm headed out by bike to a large event, I'm not going to expect to be given the right-of-way over pedestrians. I'll find an alternative route and when the situation warrants it, walk the bloody bike.

To close this out, let me reiterate: just beacue you're on a bike doesn't make you any better than the next person. We're all in this together and a little bit of courtesy can go a long way to making our great city even better. Or, quit your bitching, you reap what you sow. Take whichever way you want.

What's next?

OK, this article freaks me out.

Like several commenters noted, I too would be scared to stop if someone in black just yelled at me to stop. No identification, no, "Stop, Police!" or anything like that. Hell, I've been yelled at many times and just keep on truckin', more for self-preservation than anything else. So now what? No riding at night? Sure, PDX is a Platinum city, but our cops are not on-board with that.