Tulsa, bicycle friendly, and Ozzie someone...

I saw this story early this morning before I left for work at 5:30. At the time, there were no comments. That changed over the day, and as any bicycling story found in the local newspaper, it drew assorted dimbulb comments. Names have been removed to protect the innocent, the guilty, and the real mouth breathers. The level of intellectual discourse is ever-so-slightly above that of a group of school children.

The article highlights Jason Kearney and Gary Parker. A reporter accompanied Jason on his commute to work. Now if only we could get a reporter into a Smart Cycling class. Hint, hint.

First, a brief excerpt from the article:

Tulsa being peddled as 'bicycle friendly'
It's the first city in the state to gain a bronze ranking.

By SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
Published: 5/15/2009 2:20 AM


Tulsa has become the first city in Oklahoma to receive a bronze ranking from the League of American Bicyclists, designating it as a "bicycle friendly community."

That pleases area cyclists and bike club members who have already found cycling to be a healthy, economical and pollution-free way to get to work.

They also find that there are plenty of cycling events, including Friday's Bike-to-Work Day, in which cyclists descend on Williams Green at Third Street and Boston Avenue from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m.

(MORE)

Now, the comments:

If Tulsa didn't have the River Parks bike path, I would not ride my bicycle. Our streets are too narrow, and since Tulsans are not used to sharing the road with a bicyclist, I'd likely end up maimed or dead.

I'd like them to explain "bicycle Friendly" to my husband who has had glass bottles thrown at him numerous times and who was actually hit from behind.

If you can show me a way to SAFELY bicycle from my neighborhood in BA at 91st & 145th to my job on in Tulsa South 46th Street between Memorial and Mingo without getting run over then I'll put my fat hiney on a bike every day. Maybe my hiney wouldn't be so fat if I rode a bike that far every day

Bikes should have to have lights and a license tag if they are traveling on streets and highways,they should also have insurance coverage,and should be required to follow all traffic laws,like not peddling thru red lights and crosswalks.

bicyclists are rude and ride their bikes illegally. they ride in groups that think they own the road. they don't ride single file. they run stop signs and they hender traffic by riding slow. they are not even street legal.

As for those who ride through red lights & signs, HIT EM', that'll teach em' and if you see someone riding with headphones on, go out of your way to teach them a lesson about stupidity....

You may have a guilty conscience later but you'll know in your heart you were right and your bumper may someday become a badge of honor for you....

Share the road with bicyclists, please. You can't be in so much of a hurry that you can't take a few seconds to encourage people who are doing a good thing. A lot of nice people get behind the wheel of a car and turn into jerks. Don't be one of them.

Hard to imagine riding a bicycle on Tulsa streets. It's dangerous being a pedestrian.

Automobile drivers are rude and ride their cars illegally. they ride in groups that think they own the road. they don't ride single file. they run stop signs and they hender (hinder) traffic by riding slow. they are not even street legal.

Tulsa is not bicycle friendly. On of the biggest problems is the bikers themselves. they seem to think they own the road and can get away with anything. The other problem is that bicyclist is Tulsa seem to think that everyone needs to watch out for them, its the other way around. I am not the one with 360 degree viewing range. Here are some of the problems..

No bikes paths on main roads
Roads to narrow
Idiot drivers in Tulsa
Idiot bikers in Tulsa
Bicyclist slow down traffic
They are dangerous on one lane dead man turn roads
Bicyclist can not go 35

Most of the pedestrian and biker deaths in Tulsa have been because of their own stupidity.

and if you see someone riding with headphones on, go out of your way to teach them a lesson about stupidity....

So there you have it. The bike friendly article was fairly standard boilerplate about the award, area cycling conditions, etc. But the comments are sheer lunacy! You know, I've written a couple of zombie apocalypse stories about the walking dead, and while they're the stuff of nightmares, they're still kind of fun to write. Little did I know that they're already among us, but instead of shambling around in the streets shedding body parts as they rot off, they're sitting at home in their shabby pajamas, stabbing grubby fingers into keyboards.

Maybe we should contact the teachers who had these folks as students, and ask them to adopt the line from Shelly's “Ozymandias” as a motto - “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”

While that's meant as sarcasm, it holds an underlying truth. These people are terrified of riding a bicycle in traffic. They can't imagine anyone doing so without becoming a hood ornament on an SUV. They're hopelessly wrong in a multitude of ways, but there really is an antidote to the fear and ignorance so stunningly displayed. That antidote is bicycling education. Not bike lanes. Not multi-use paths. Not cycletracks. People can learn to ride safely and comfortably on area streets. It's not rocket science. It's called vehicular cycling and it's motto is: “Cyclists fare best when they act, and are treated, as drivers of vehicles.”

TAOBIKE planning meeting

(Please note: The date for the proposed BAG meeting is given as 12SEP2008. This is the Friday before the MS150 weekend. I'm trying to find a venue available for Thursday the 11th as it may offer fewer conflicts. Also, as Tim Armer was able to attend, we covered much more than the original agenda. It was a productive meeting....Ed)

TAOBIKE planning meeting

23AUG2008

We had three goals for this meeting:

Set the schedule for BikeEd classes.

Discuss the HUB.

Discuss growing TAOBIKE.

List of attendees:

Tim Armer

Gary Parker

Ren Barger

Mike Schooling

Andy Wheeler

Brian Potter

Richard Hall

Steve (?)

Ed Wagner

INCOG

Tim Armer provided some background on INCOG's role in local planning. He discussed the changes to the EPA dirty air list and mentioned that the changes may bring more than 300 cities into non-compliance where only 80 had been before now. One reason Tulsa was denied BFC status was because it does not have a Comprehensive Bicycle Planning document, a situation we would like to address. As always, pursuing funding is the hard part.

PlaniTulsa

PlaniTulsa is an opportunity for community participation in the city planning. Register on-line to participate in a workshop on September 22 or 23.

http://www.planitulsa.org/node/11

The HUB

The HUB is part of Tulsa's beautification project and will be a central component in BikeEd. Ren has secured a 10,000 sq. ft. facility located near the new stadium. The plan is to offer Road1 classes, bicycle repair classes, a cafe, and much, much more. The Community Cycling Project will be the major agenda item. There is a parking lot adjacent to the facility for Road1 drills. It should be operational by November. There is a possibility that The HUB will be involved in the Tulsa Townie program in the future. (An aside – the Tulsa Townie program sees an average of 200+ bicycles used on an average weekend, and there are 75 bicycles in the fleet.) The HUB has a website and is currently looking for a web designer and content. Note that The HUB will be closed through the months of February and August in order to save energy.

BikeEd

BikeEd – there is some interest in offering a Road1 course through 360 Sports, a local bike shop in Owasso. If this is successful, it may be a blueprint for Road1 in other suburban communities in the region. Tulsa is the biggest market, of course, but a program like this highlights our interest in all area communities. We would like to get some of the BikeEd curriculum into local DUI schools. We need to find contacts at the courthouse or possibly through MADD.

Bike to Work

There was some discussion of Bike to Work events and AA was mentioned specifically. Also, it was pointed out that many bicycle commuters are unable to attend BTW events because they're already at work!

Tulsa Transit

We discussed Tulsa Transit's Rack and Roll program that offers program participants a free bicycle for 24 hours at the Denver Avenue station. (pdf)

LAB News

LAB is looking for Ambassadors. This is from the American Bicyclist Update, 19AUG2008:

We are creating a new volunteer position to provide a stronger link
between our regional directors (who have to serve many states)
and the cycling community in every state – clubs, advocacy groups,
the industry, mountain bike and racing activities, and more. State
ambassadors will work with board members and staff to provide
closer liaison between the regional director and League members,
volunteers and affiliated organizations identify issues, challenges,
and opportunities for the League to address in relation to its
member services and programs; promote member participation in
the League; promote League membership, services and programs
 to people and organizations in their state; and assist their
regional director in recommending regional events and award
recipients for the national office. Appointments will be made
this fall, following the Board of Directors meeting on
September 25. We welcome applications – please send a cover
letter and resume – through September 15; please send
your nomination to bikeleague@bikeleague.org and make
reference to “state ambassador” in the subject line of your
e-mail. Note: technically, we know this isn’t a new position.
We used to have state representatives and state legislative
representatives a while back. We’ve chosen the term
“ambassador” this time as we want people who are
facilitators and connectors, people who can help the
League’s programs come to life, and who can process
valuable feedback on those programs for the board and staff. 


Upcoming events calendar:
 DAM JAM    6SEP
 Bike to Work    12SEP
 BAG & Master Plan Meeting 12SEP
 MS150    13-14SEP
 Road1     20SEP    tentative
 TBC Fall Century   27SEP
 Claremore    4OCT
 Road1 Owasso   20OCT    tentative
 Tulsa Tough Skill Drills (kids) 9MAY2009 and 23MAY2009 tentative


BAG and Comprehensive Bicycling Master Plan meeting
The Bicycling Subcommittee (BAG) at INCOG has had
a problem whenever there's a staff change at the agency. 
We've had to re-organize and start from zero each time.
This is difficult for everyone involved.  So in order to
provide some continuity within the bicycling advisory
group, we are proposing the formation of a permanent
bicycling advocacy group that will provide the same
function as the subcommittee, yet be outside INCOG. 
By necessity, this must be a representative organization. 
There will be a planning meeting on 12SEP2008 to do
the preliminary work.  As yet, the venue has not been
established.  All interested parties are invited to attend.
This message will go out to all current BAG members
as well as area clubs and organizations.