Critical Manners in Arkansas

[Tom Ezell]

From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

Bicyclists brush up on safety during Critical Manners ride

BY CELIA STOREY
Posted on Monday, December 17, 2007

The little circle of cyclists shivered as their etiquette instructors
explained what to expect from the Critical Manners ride.

"A lot of group rides are trying to teach us to ride in pace lines or
get us to ride a little bit faster or practice hills or get ready for
the Big Dam Bridge 100," Willa Williams told them as leaves skittered
across the parking lot in Little Rock's Mac-Arthur Park. "This ride is
not as much of a physical ride as a technical ride. We're going to
learn how to be in the streets in traffic just like any other
vehicle."
With the blessing of Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas, Williams
and her fellow League of American Bicyclists-certified instructor Tom
Ezell are conducting Critical Manners bike rides on the first
Wednesday of each month in downtown Little Rock.

"A lot of people don't use their bikes as much as they could or should
because they're scared of cars," Ezell said before the December ride.
"What we're trying to do is show you can do it, you can do it safely
and build people's confidence." Their first outing, held in November,
drew three participants; the second, held Dec. 5, drew six, including
two people who were new to group rides and unfamiliar with riding in
traffic.

You might wonder why anyone would turn out for stop-and-go pedaling on
a gray, windy day with the temperature dropping from the 50s, dusk
coming on and rush-hour traffic picking up.

"I wanted to ride with a group at night instead of just trying it by
myself," said Tracy Tell, as the increasingly sharp wind lifted the
cuffs of her red sweat pants.

Duane McCain showed up with insulated water bottles, which he joked
contained ice. He also had an Energizer LED headlamp from Lowe's or
Home Depot (he didn't recall) stretched around his helmet. He didn't
yet know if it would help him see in the dark while cycling, but he
already knew that the Cateye bike light on his handlebars didn't
provide enough illumination.

Like Tell, he was looking for advice about how to navigate in traffic
without being killed.

"The mantra is that bicyclists fare best when we act and are treated
as drivers of vehicles," Williams said. "So when we're on the road
today and you have a question about what to do, I want you to ask
yourself, 'Would a car do this?' " Do cars stop at stop signs? Do cars
stop at stoplights? Do cars signal?

"We're going to be doing all those things." Before setting out, the
leaders talked about state laws and city ordinances for cyclists.

Ezell told them that to be "street legal," every bicycle needs a white
headlamp and a red taillight or reflector that can be seen from 500
feet away (Little Rock Code 32-495 and Arkansas Code Annotated
27-36-220), and in Little Rock they also need a bell, horn or other
noisemaker to alert pedestrians (Little Rock Code 32-496).

The group would not ride on the sidewalk, which Little Rock prohibits
in business districts (Little Rock Code 32-494).

They would aim to ride in single file to the right of the rightmost
lane going in the direction they needed to go -- while staying out of
gutters and broken pavement and away from the hazard posed by parked
cars -- even if that meant sometimes taking over the lane.

Ezell showed them how to change lanes in two stages, signaling with
their left hands, looking behind to ensure it was safe to move and
yielding to traffic already in the lane.

After quickly checking their air pressure, brakes, chains, quick
release levers and then pedaling briefly in the parking lot, the group
set off into the gathering darkness. In the first minute they
encountered a real challenge: turning left from Commerce Street onto
busy Ninth Street.
One by one they made the crossing and proceeded west on Ninth to Main
Street, where they turned right. Their eventual route took them to the
Clinton Presidential Center and the Little Rock River Market, where
they would stop for dinner before pedaling back to MacArthur Park.

The inexperienced riders "didn't know about dealing with the parked
cars and using the hand signals, but they learned quickly," Williams
said later.

Coreen Frasier, one of the state's most experienced road cyclists, was
also in the group. The retired physical education teacher has not only
pedaled across the United States, from sea to shining sea, she has
done it more than once. She attended the Critical Manners ride because
"I decided I needed to practice my safe-riding skills," she said.

Frasier recently enrolled in a two-day road-safety course Williams
teaches using the League of American Bicyclists' guidelines. "One
thing I learned was at stoplights or stop signs, to roll out by
pushing down on a pedal instead of pushing off from the street," she
said. Using the pedal to start the bicycle rolling gives a rider
momentum so he's balanced and in control faster, she said.

The class also convinced her that many group rides practice dangerous
habits. "They need to stop at stoplights," she said. "The second thing
I noticed when I took this course is how they all say, 'All clear' [as
they roll past a stop sign]. They shouldn't do that. It's up to each
rider to make sure on your very own that it's all clear. Always look
both ways, always check to make sure it's all clear yourself.

"You're safer in a group because you're seen, but if you don't ride in
single file and you don't follow the safety rules, it really sets a
bad example." The next Critical Manners ride will be 4:30 p.m. Jan. 2
on the parking lot at MacArthur Park in Little Rock, weather
permitting. More information is at www.bacar.org.

[Linda Atkins]

Excellent! It looks like you are doing some great work in Arkansas,
Tom.

Linda