The Summer of Bicycle Love

Yes indeed. The Summer of ’08 was the Summer of Bicycle Love here in Washington.

The number of bicyclists out and about seemed to double or triple, pedaled by the good freewheeling men and women of D.C. and its suburbs. I would stop at a red light and there they would be, pulling up beside me and saying hey. I would take a shortcut down an alley and they would be right behind me. I would go on the bike path and it would be packed. I wasn’t the only one who noticed a difference. As Gwadzilla recently noted: “The percentage is still small but I am seeing more bikes.”

Bicycling went mainstream as a mode of transportation and its significance was reported on not just by bike bloggers, but also by the mainstream press. A wonderfully written Washington Post article began: “This is the summer of women on bicycles riding around town free as anything...”.

Free as anything.

In June, a co-worker and I, both regular bike commuters, gave a talk on the basics of bike commuting and how easy it really is. We weren’t surprised that people showed up to listen. But I have been pleasantly surprised as participants have approached me during the course of the summer to tell me how much they enjoy riding their bike to work. They’re actually doing it!

We finally learned what it would take to see more bicyclists on the streets: Four dollar gas + hard economic times. I’m not sure that so-called “bike facilities” played any role at all. It was great to see so many cyclists in the streets and not just hovering curbside out of fear of be run down by motorists.

In fact, one of the worst tragedies of the summer occurred in a bike lane. In July, young Alice Swanson was riding in the bike lane when she came upon the intersection of R and 20th. A garbage truck driver, who must have passed her at some point on R Street, took a right turn and crushed her. Blacknell has the facts. Two and a half months later, there still are no charges against the garbage truck driver. As KMAX asked, how could there be no criminal liability? The garbage truck driver was at least criminally negligent.

Another memorable, but fortunately not fatal, incident occurred when Bob Novak, columnist, curmudgeon, pedestrian-hater, hit a homeless man in a crosswalk and then kept driving. He was quickly chased down by a K Street lawyer on a bicycle. The lawyer put his bicycle in from of Novak’s car so that Novak could not continue to flee the scene. On the Daily Show, Jon Stewart joked: “You know what Washington needs? More vigilante bicyclists!” True, Novak was later diagnosed with a brain tumor. In a recent column, Novak cast himself as the victim (as opposed to the man “of no fixed address” who toppled off his hood) and accused the cyclists and “other bystanders” of “taking on aspects of a mob.” Sorry, Novak. This was the summer of bicycle love, not the summer of the flashy sports car. The lawyer-cyclist was the courageous hero. He put himself in danger to stop a criminal from fleeing the scene of a crime. (Too bad Novak got off with a fine).

Summer is over. Gas prices are dropping.

Is this the end of bicycle love in Washington, D.C.?