On April 28th, women across the nation are
gathering to enjoy a ride together on their local
streets and trails to celebrate women in cycling.

Saturday 2pm-5 starting at Geoff’s Bike and Ski. Website for more details.

Whether you’re an accomplished rider or first-
timer, Women’s Ride Day events will help you
strengthen your relationship with your bike and
with other women in your area who ride!

Post ride refreshments and prizes will be
provided.

A few weeks back my Mother told to me my little brother Timmy, a senior at Ames High School, had started riding his bike to school. “Yeah, right. I don’t believe you,” was my response.  I’d been pestering him about it for a while, and probably more than he cares to listen to; but hey, what are siblings for (I’ve got three little bros) if I can’t nag them about riding bikes more?  A week later Mom informs me that a car hit Tim while riding home from school. My second question after asking if he was all right, of course, was if he was riding on the sidewalk or in the street. Not to my surprise, he was riding in the sidewalk, and got hit riding in the crosswalk by a motorist who was turning right.

He was riding the same route he would of taken by car, and on the sidewalk because Lincoln Way is a busy main arterial street. I can’t blame the kid for not feeling safe and opting for the sidewalk instead, but from my experience it’s one of the most unsafe places to be on a bike. He was right hooked, a likely collision when riding through crosswalks. (see collision type # 6). That same day he called to ask me how much a new rear wheel would cost him. I was surprised and proud that the first thing he wanted to do was fix his ride and get rollin’ again. It’s been my experience that even the smallest accidents can be traumatizing but, getting hit in a crosswalk is an easy accident to prevent. Bicyclists have the right to the road and car are more likely to see them there.

Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of people riding on the sidewalks around Iowa City. Not that this is a horrible thing, but I can’t help but cringe watching accidents waiting to happen as bicyclists roll through crosswalks. Not only is it unsafe, but the law doesn’t protect bicyclists in the event of a collision. They are not considered vehicle or pedestrian so there is no fault for hitting a bicyclist in a crosswalk. Additionally, biking on downtown sidewalks is illegal.

As a professional bike mechanic Michael Chamberlin, owner of The Broken Spoke, knows first hand the dangers of sidewalk riding. In 2011 he surveyed each customer who brought their bike in for repairs after being in a collision with a motorist, and asked where they were hit when the collision occurred- street or sidewalk.  Eleven out of 13 people were riding on the sidewalk. Urban landscapes and facilities differ, and solutions are unique to each community. Michael’s local account of bike/car collisions, and other “official” studies point out that on-street bicycling is safer even when roadways lack bicycle facilities. This fact sheet points out that bicycling on the street is 2-3 times safer than riding on multi-use paths, and 20 times safer than riding on the sidewalk. Below are the results of The Broken Spoke survey.