[*BCM*] Electro Bike....Re: Battered Biker Syndrome

[Dave Atkins]

I think the problem is that when you go to stop the bike...the fact that it
has that power assist going on is a surprise...so as you leave the road and
go on to the sidewalk, your normal reaction to stop pedaling doesn't slow
you down in the way you would expect.

On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 11:12 PM, <thom3 at aol.com> wrote:

>  Thanks Dave, it's hard to tell in the context because it says the pedal
> assist made it go too fast...
>
> still motors on the Esplanade (if that is where it was) seems wrong, if
> illegal....
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: Dave Atkins <datkinsg at gmail.com>
> To: Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
> Sent: Mon, Aug 9, 2010 11:07 pm
> Subject: Re: [*BCM*] Electro Bike....Re: Battered Biker Syndrome
>
>  re the electric bikes...I think the reviewer was talking about just riding
> the bike off the street onto the sidewalk to park it--not riding on the
> sidewalk instead of the road. I also wrote about that bike here:
> http://davewrites.com/hybrid-electric-bikes-for-fun-green-commutes/
>   *Dave Atkins*
> Content, Community, and Web Operations Specialist
> datkinsg at gmail.com
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>
>
> On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 10:54 PM, <thom3 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> That's an ongoing situ that will be well, ongoing, I keep trying to think
>> of better ways to approach motorists on this...
>>
>> BUT, BUT,did anyone read this
>>
>>
>> http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2010/08/buzzing_around_boston_on_pietz.html
>>
>> My immediate thoughts were, is it legal to bike on the sidewalk, let along
>> ride a motorized vehicle on it? And a motorized vehicle on the esplanade?
>> This all seems wrong.
>>
>>
>>
>>  -----Original Message-----
>> From: Jym Dyer <jym at econet.org>
>> To: Boston CM <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
>> Sent: Mon, Aug 9, 2010 4:21 pm
>> Subject: [*BCM*] Battered Biker Syndrome
>>
>>  =v= In response to this _Globe_ article:
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/brookline/2010/07/by_jonathan_simmons_guest_colu_2.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sean Roche wrote an astute "Battered Biker Syndrome" blog entry,
>>
>>
>> appended below.
>>
>>
>>     <_Jym_>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> =------------8<-------------Cut-Here-------------8<------------=
>>
>>
>>
>> http://newtonstreets.blogspot.com/2010/08/battered-biker-syndrome.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Battered Biker Syndrome
>>
>>
>>     by Sean Roche
>>
>>
>> Newton Streets and Sidewalks | Tuesday, 03-Aug-2010 at 6:08 AM
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> A driver chatting on a cellphone almost hit Jonathan Simmons,
>>
>>
>> the _Globe_'s On Biking columnist. When confronted, she told him
>>
>>
>> he had no business on the road. His response? He wrote a column
>>
>>
>> wondering how biker behavior has contributed to the "road rage"
>>
>>
>> and proposing a 10-point share-the-road pledge, six of which
>>
>>
>> points apply exclusively to bikes and one of which applies only
>>
>>
>> to pedestrians.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Let's break this down. Biker nearly gets killed. Biker promises
>>
>>
>> to make drivers less angry.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> These are classic symptoms of someone in an abusive
>>
>>
>> relationship. You harm me or threaten to harm me. It must
>>
>>
>> be psomething I'm doing. I'll be a better person. Promise.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Suggesting that there is some causal relationship between
>>
>>
>> cyclists' behavior and the woman's potentially fatal actions
>>
>>
>> is just wrong. Let's be clear. There is absolutely no behavior
>>
>>
>> on the part of a cyclist that excuses or explains a motorist
>>
>>
>> putting a cyclist in jeopardy. There is nothing that cyclists do
>>
>>
>> that excuses or explains a motorist being ignorant of cyclists'
>>
>>
>> right to the road.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Nothing.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Certainly, there are cyclists out there doing things that are
>>
>>
>> wrong and things that are technically illegal. Let's identify
>>
>>
>> and address those behaviors. But let's not even suggest that
>>
>>
>> those behaviors somehow justify the anti-bicycle sentiment
>>
>>
>> that's demonstrably out there on the road. Especially -- and
>>
>>
>> this also reflective of abusive relationships -- because of the
>>
>>
>> inherent power differential in the motorist/biker relationship:
>>
>>
>> motorists' attitudes and behaviors can get a cyclist killed or
>>
>>
>> seriously injured.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Perhaps most importantly, it's foolish to think that drivers are
>>
>>
>> going to respect cyclists and give them plenty of safe cushion
>>
>>
>> if we could just convince those pesky two-wheeled scofflaws to
>>
>>
>> stop at red lights. Dangerous driving, road rage, and rampant
>>
>>
>> violations of the rules of the road pre-date the recent surge in
>>
>>
>> bicycling. Cyclists have just become another target for the bad
>>
>>
>> actors in our car-dominated culture.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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