Recently, I did what I do several times every day: got on my bike and rode down the street, in the middle of the lane. Sure, it was nighttime, but I was prepared with four different LED "twinkle lights," bright and abundant enough to catch the eye of even the most distracted driver. Or so I thought.
Since that night, and since the Star-Telegram published a Friday story about me being taken out by a hit-and-run driver, I have seen an amazing outpouring of sentiment from our community but also quite a few comments, not about whether riding on the street is legal but whether it's safe.It frustrates me to hear that people think it is foolish for cyclists to ride in the street. They paint a portrait of roads being something similar to the ocean, where you should never go for fear of sharks and other sea monsters, that the streets are the realm of giant trucks that will run you down given the chance.I have ridden a bike in the Metroplex for 12 years. When I hear people talking about how cyclists shouldn't ride on the roads because it's too dangerous, I tell them they should have seen it before.Cycling in the past 10 years, in DFW and around the U.S., has grown exponentially. Both the Lycra-clad road cyclists and now the commuting cyclists are becoming ever more frequent road users. Sure, they ride on the trails and paths, but they also ride on the streets in and around our cities and suburbs. It's where they are supposed to ride, by law.When I lived in Arlington, I was part of a group called Bike Friendly Arlington.We were from as vast a span of the cycling culture as could have ever been imagined, yet we all worked together and with the City Council to promote the Hike and Bike Plan that was to include bike lanes throughout Arlington.One thing we were sure to do was include short, easy and fun community rides that would get people on bikes and on the road in a comfortable and easygoing way. This was to make the cyclists comfortable on the street but also get the motorists on those roads more used to the sight of bikes on the streets.Here in Fort Worth you can look to the Night Riders as a similar group. They make it easy for people to get along, be comfortable and efficient on their bicycles -- and once again used to the idea of riding on the street with traffic.It is every cyclist's responsibility to ride correctly and within the laws of the road. It is also every motorist's responsibility to drive correctly, signal properly and, when confronted with the sight of a cyclist in front of their vehicle, to pass properly and safely.We all share these roads, and as the years go on it will only get worse -- or better.We all have to learn how to share the streets. Bike lanes are great, but in a perfect world we wouldn't need them. We could all ride and drive beside each other, safely.I'm going to keep on riding. Nothing, not even getting hit by a car, will stop that. And I know a lot of other cyclists who will be out there on the roads, too.Zachary W. Ford blogs at ThePonderingCyclist.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
