This is the time of year when traffic returns to Athens life, and just like last year and the year before, there seem to be more bicycles on the road here than ever. There are many aphorisms that fit those who would lecture cyclists on their bad traffic manners; the most appropriate, though, is this: “Let him who is without a moving violation cast the first stone.” I won’t try to defend the bad behavior of every cyclist or denounce the entire motoring community due to the actions of a few. It’s a tired argument, and it may be better to start from scratch and consider what daily bicycle commuting is actually like.

This town’s driving population turns over every school year, and the cycling population does too. There are too many riding styles to count, which may lead to some of the unpredictability of cyclists. But at the very least, it might be time to restart the conversation. In the interests of doing so, I've put down on paper my own approach to certain situations as a regular bike commuter, and also—because his approach to biking is a little different from mine in some ways—solicited somewhat different perspectives from Flagpole City Editor Ben Emanuel, too.

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On Being Aggressive

Any aggressive cycling on my part is the result of aggressive and inconsiderate driving going on around me. I wouldn’t take the lane if I knew people would give me the proper amount of space as they passed me. If my unpredictability on a bicycle causes you to slow down and pay attention to me, then that seems to be a good thing for me to do. I have every right to be out there having fun on my bike, and I shouldn’t have to put on armor every time I want to. Every day in Europe, well-dressed men and women of all ages ride helmet-free and fearless, listening to music, talking on the phone, and having a great time. We ought to be able to do that here, too. If making you see me means moving into your way and out of the gutter, I’ll do it. [KW]

I'll take a whole lane when I need it, and if I need to turn left, for example, I'm getting out of the bike lane or moving away from the curb and merging into the left-turn lane, rather than stopping, getting off my bike and crossing like a pedestrian or something. But partly due to my assessment of the current state of bike culture (and road culture as a whole) in Athens, I'm willing to compromise a good bit—to ride in an exceedingly predictable, defensive way—if it means that car-drivers here can get more used to sharing the road with bikes without getting angry at cyclists. [BE]

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On Stop Signs and Intersections

Bikes may be vehicles, but so are airplanes. Though cars and bicycles operate in a similar environment, each requires a different way to navigate. Even a cyclist with thunder thighs and calves like tree trunks cannot overcome physics. It’s Newton’s laws that govern the movement of a human-powered vehicle, trumping local ordinance. Forgive me for coasting through an empty intersection, but when stopping and re-acceleration require physical effort, you’d let momentum do its job, too. Hills in this town can be menacing, and I’ll go the long way around to avoid a punishing climb. Gravity is a tough thing to overcome on a bicycle. For this reason, flat Prince and Milledge avenues are favored routes. [KW]

Personally, I ride fast and confidently, and if you come up behind me on a neighborhood street with a stop sign 50 or a hundred yards ahead, don't blame me if you try to zoom way around me and then find yourself in the middle of the street because we both got to the stop sign at the same time. I'm not exponentially slower than you are, although that's probably what you think as soon as you see a bike in front of you. Still, you'll never see me run a red light, and I probably make a fuller stop than most cyclists do at stop signs. [BE]

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On the Culture of It All

With much less mass compared to a car, every puddle and pothole in the road has the potential to ruin a cyclist’s day, so I will take the lane in order to avoid these hazards. You drivers may be slowed down for two seconds, but you can easily make that time up: deal with it. The next time your day is ruined by this minor inconvenience, consider that cyclists are contending not only with your big car, but also with broken glass, grates, crumbling asphalt, limbs piled on the curb and any other street garbage. That, of course, applies when there is a place to ride at all. Cycling-friendly infrastructure is spotty at best, which requires creative navigation. If there’s no room on the road, and I’ve got somewhere to be, parking lots and sidewalks are fair territory to cut through. [KW]

I have to admit that it's taken me a while to get to the point where I ride as aggressively—I'd rather say confidently—as I do in this town. I almost never ride on sidewalks, or switch unpredictably between street and sidewalk, because I'm comfortable enough in the street. I know that not everyone who wants to bike is ready to bike like that, but I think that however each of us rides, we'll continue to make the local bike culture better, and the roads safer, if we keep respect, patience and the predictability of our behavior in mind. At the end of the day, I'm glad that anybody who's biking—no matter how—is biking rather than driving. But to me, Athens is at the place right now where just a little compromise could go a surprisingly long way. [BE]

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If you're not a cyclist, I hope this conversation of sorts has provided some insight into the minds of your fellow travelers. Without getting too sappy, the best thing to remember is that we’re all human, fallibility and fragility applying to everyone involved. A little patience, civility and compassion could do a lot to keep everyone safe and happy on the road.

Kevan Williams

athensrising@flagpole.com