Excellent post today over at the Star Tribune’s Roadguy Blog about biking on the parkway and the continual struggle between bikers and drivers. I do most of my biking along the Mississippi River Parkway, since it’s a block from my house, and the difference between the two sides of the river couldn’t be more different.
On the Minneapolis side, the parkway is just wide enough for two lanes of car traffic, so any biker on the road is either risking their lives to avoid getting hit, or is holding up traffic. Now, I have no problems with bikers on the roads, especially since the bike paths have a speed limit of 10 mph, and also since the paths are in really bad shape (see the linked article for pictures). But with Minneapolis increasing it’s efforts to become more bike friendly, this is a major obstacle.
The St. Paul side of the river is a completely different story. The paths were recently fixed up and are smooth to ride on if you want to ride on the path. And if you want to ride on the street, they have a bike path their for you as well. It’s a much better system and I wish Minneapolis, if it’s possible, would do something to mimic it.
Minneapolis does have a much better overall bike system than St. Paul. Every summer I am amazed at how brilliant the planners were. The route from the River Rd to the Minnehaha Creek Parkway to the chain of lakes and back to the river is about as good as it gets in any major city, and is one of my primary reasons for living in, and loving south Minneapolis.
With temperatures reaching 80 degrees yesterday, I grabbed my bike right after work and went for a simple 12 mile bike ride around the Mississippi River, from the Ford Bridge to Franklin Ave. For my first ride of the season, it went fairly well, and I hope to do a lot more of that this summer.
Oh, and I did get honked at once, by a lady in a SUV. I was crossing at a crosswalk, from the river road path to get up to the Franklin Ave bridge, when this lady, who I thought was slowing down for me to cross, honked at me. Guess she thought she had the right of way.
Good post. As one who almost exclusively deals with these situations from behind a wheel rather than handlebars (the lovely youth of South Minneapolis having absconded with my bike years ago) I must admit to frequent aggravation with those USPS jersey-clad bikers that refuse to utilize the dedicated bike/pedestrian paths on the Minneapolis side. But, for some reason, I was thinking about it a while ago and actually understand the motivation given the “right of way” mentality of walkers/joggers on the paths, the speed limits, and the trail conditions. My one request would be that bikers acknowledge the presence of cars overtaking them and move over as much as possible (on the MPLS side) instead of insisting on riding a good 5-6 feet from the curb simply because they CAN. That is all.
Exactly. It has to go both ways.
She had to be in an SUV didn’t she?!! ; )
She was, I promise!
My favorite recent biking story: I was riding home from work in the bike lane. As I approached the stoplight near my house, traffic was backed up and I was flying on by. Very nice.
Then, about 20 feet from the light, a Hummer pulled out of a gas station and into the bike lane right in front of me. Now, he didn’t have anywhere to go because all the cars were stacked up for the light.
It was like he was some type of performance artist, trying for the most ridiculously evil thing possible. I mean, almost hitting a bike commuter in a bike lane while you pull your Hummer out of a gas station is definitely up there. I guess he could have run over some cute puppies or a little old lady or smacked into a few trees to make it really over the top
The juxtapositions involved are pretty funny, but also totally predictable. [stereotype] I mean, only someone as self-centered and oblivious as a Hummer-owner would commit such an oblivious and ignorant act. [/stereotype]
And I have just demonstrated my own obliviousness by using “oblivious” twice in the same sentence. I’m an idiot.
I thought I was doing the talking for you and you for me…
Your point is probably an accurate one. Stereotypes arise out of some truth, do they not?
Yeah, so my verbal gaffe was on your account. Now, aren’t you embarrassed? Or should I be? I’m confused.