{"id":724,"date":"2010-07-27T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/2010\/07\/27\/biking-is-provocative\/"},"modified":"2015-06-19T17:57:26","modified_gmt":"2015-06-20T00:57:26","slug":"biking-is-provocative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/07\/27\/biking-is-provocative\/","title":{"rendered":"Biking is Provocative"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

“Hey you!\u00a0 Get off the road!”<\/b><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sound familiar?\u00a0 Your presence on the street has\u00a0provoked a motorist who shouts this epithet and flips you off as he\u00a0roars by.\u00a0 His behavior provokes feelings in you.\u00a0 Maybe fear if he passed you too closely; maybe anger and indignation because you know have a right to the road.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Biking is provocative.\u00a0 The act of riding a\u00a0bike provokes a spectrum of feelings in us as cyclists.\u00a0 Biking\u00a0can be\u00a0liberating, exhilarating and joyous–bringing out the inner child in us.\u00a0 It’s a simple pleasure that can bring an instant smile to your face.\u00a0 Conversely, navigating an urban arterial at rush hour can make you feel vulnerable and intimidated.\u00a0 Getting buzzed by an oversized pickup truck or chased by a snarling dog\u00a0on an otherwise quiet country road is also unnerving.<\/p>\n

The act of biking can provoke reactions from others, many positive.\u00a0 I was biking home from work recently when a pedestrian yelled “yay, cyclist!” at me.\u00a0 Her cheery response prompted me to smile and wave.\u00a0 I have also been given a “thumbs up” from motorists, and waves of acknowledgement from fellow cyclists and motorcyclists.<\/p>\n

My all time favorite reaction came from a preschooler standing at a street intersection with his mom.\u00a0 As I approached, the boy started doing a happy dance, pointed my direction and said, “Look!\u00a0 That lady is riding a bicycle!”\u00a0 I stopped to share in his delight and learned from his mother that he had just received his very first bike.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Not all reactions are positive, as\u00a0evidenced in the opening example.\u00a0 A Pemco Insurance poll confirmed that most motorists are uneasy drving around cyclists (see previous blog post<\/a><\/b>).\u00a0 They aren’t sure how cyclists should behave and they don’t necessarily know how to share the road with bikes.<\/p>\n

We cyclists can do our part to reduce negative reactions from motorists by riding safely in traffic and following the rules of the road.\u00a0 If you’re new to biking, check the Washington Bikes website for information on bike commuting, bike maps, local clubs and Washington State bike laws.\u00a0 Some bike clubs and bike groups offer classes and rides to help you become comfortable biking in traffic.\u00a0 Contact us if you have need help finding such a class.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Washington Bikes is working to ensure that the next generation of bicyclists will have the proper riding skills through our Safe Routes to School<\/b><\/a> program.\u00a0 We are training middle school teachers around the state to use our bike skills curriculum with their students.<\/p>\n

We are also busy educating motorists on how to share the road with us.\u00a0 Washington Bikes developed a Share the Road curriculum that has been incorporated into drivers education programs in our state.<\/p>\n

I like that biking can be provocative, and I do my best to elicit the positive reactions.\u00a0 What kind of reaction does your riding style provoke?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Hey you!\u00a0 Get off the road!” Sound familiar?\u00a0 Your presence on the street has\u00a0provoked a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[49,27,56,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attitudes","category-education","category-go-by-bike","category-share-the-road"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBiking is Provocative - Washington Bikes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/07\/27\/biking-is-provocative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biking is Provocative - 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