hillary dixon rust

So, I've been biking in Los Angeles for fun and as a commuter for over a year now and I've been blogging about it at clogla.com for about as long. But now that I have this little slice of the web pie I figured I'd do a one stop shop for myself. 


Clogla.com is sort of an ironic concept. Here is a quick recap of all things clog so you don't have to go back and scroll through a year's worth of posts.


Biking in Los Angeles is supposed to be a good thing but there is a lot of evidence that because motor vehicle operators don't know what to do when they encounter a cyclist they often make poor decisions which causes all sorts of issues.


But it's not just drivers doing dumb stuff. A big part of the issue with cyclists is that people don't ride enough to be confident on the road and so they do things that make them feel more safe but actually put them in more danger. Like riding on the sidewalks. 


Humans are also very unpredictable in general and it is never more obvious in large crowds. Just try to walk in a purposeful straight line at a fair or busy shopping mall. People stop out of nowhere and change direction and pace at random intervals. It's chaos. 


Almost as obvious as that is when people who don't ride often get on bicycles. I'm not sure if they just assume that everyone in the world is always looking right at them but...the only safe way to ride anywhere is to assume that no one, absolutely no one, is paying any attention to you.  


That being said, people in cars should learn to treat people on bikes like slow cars for the most part. Or maybe motorcycles. Cyclists have all the same rights as motor vehicles on any road where bicycles are allowed.  I understand it is annoying when you have the ability to accelerate rapidly and maintain a high rate of speed just by moving your foot 1 inch and then there is some yahoo on a bike in "your " lane going 14 mph but you can pass them or e patient like you would have to be for a big truck or an old lady. Trust me, cyclists do not want you driving right behind them, or next to them, or trying to be courteous and let them go first at a stop sign even though you got there first. 


Then there's the "expert" bikers that think that just because they can handle their bike willy nilly it gives them free reign in the streets to do whatever they want. They weave in and out of traffic and don't care if cars know they are there or if they are causing people to slow down or swerve. They get to where they are going very quickly by riding like a bad driver. Which is selfishly and thoughtlessly. 


I won't lie, I slow down and stop as little as possible. That means I treat stop signs like yield signs and stop lights like stops signs. But I only do what is safe. If I can't see around a corner, I stop. I act exactly like a car in every way shape and form when there is traffic around. But I don't necessarily sit at a red light when I can clearly see that there are no cars coming.


I've probably ridden 8,000 miles in the last year and I feel as safe on my bike in Los Angeles traffic as I do in a car. 


I hope you enjoy all of this because I do.


Chirp,
hillary