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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bicycling / Bad News From the Past / We're Old / Cycling Wheel of Misfortune

Posted by Cliff Doerksen on 02.09.10 at 09:30 AM

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Chicago Tribune, August 1, 1897.[Click on the clipping above if you can't make out the fine print.] A lot of bicyclists today pride themselves on their manifest moral superiority to the benighted "cagers" in their wasteful and dangerous automobiles. This is not unlike the smug glow that warms the hearts of many Canadians when they look south at the barbarians across the border. In both cases, it's largely a rationalization of relative weakness. Of course, it's historically nonsensical to imagine Canada existing in the absence of the U.S., but there was a time when the bicycle was the top predator of the urban traffic food chain. It didn't look so virtuous back then.

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"Runaways" here means runaway horses, and has nothing to do with angry teenagers or Joan Jett.

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"Scorcher" here means a cyclist who goes too fast for safety, and has nothing to do with hot summer days or '80s roots rock bands.*

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"Smartness" here means stupidity, and has nothing to do with being smart.

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"Teamsters" here means guys who drive teams of horses and move heavy loads around the city, and has nothing—absolutely nothing whatsoever— to do with Gary Numan.

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In the spirit of full disclosure, I've excerpted the above passages from a way longer article that spreads the blame around just a little wider than to just the damned scorchers (who must be annihilated!). But you get the general idea from the last paragraph above.
In the spirit of fuller disclosure, I've been bodily struck down by bicycles three times in my life. It hurt— especially the time my leg was broken.

Here's some accompanying art, hand-tinted for your viewing pleasure. Ride carefully, kids.

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*Did you get Ringenrolled? Sorry.

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I would like to go back to 1897 where there were 300 bicycle accidents in 60 days (in Chicago). That beats today's current track record of 100 deaths by automobile each and every day (across the United States).

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Posted by stevevance on 02/09/2010 at 10:00 PM

Of course even accounting for cyclists who ride dangrously, the fact is when Toronto Police recently investigated all the bicycle related accidents, they found the cyclist was only to blame in 10% of them, the other 90% were the driver not paying proper attention. Nothing in that old article shows they even tried to determine who was at fault, just made assumptions as people still do now. But facts are more important than assumptions.

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Posted by cb71 on 02/10/2010 at 2:32 PM

Dear Clifford,

I am sorry you keep getting hit by bicyclists.

But if you ever liken me to a Canadian again, I will box your ears.

Love.

T.C.

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Posted by tcorourke on 02/11/2010 at 9:21 PM

I would like to see the term "wheelmen" revived. Being a "cyclist" or "bike commuter" is ho-hum. I wanna be a "wheelman" ... but not so much a scorcher.

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Posted by Mike Doerksen on 02/23/2010 at 10:37 AM

Speaking of cycling accidents, has anyone else been hit by projectiles thrown from cars by malicious occupants? It's happened to me several times and not just because I'm FGFM!

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Posted by FGFM on 02/23/2010 at 1:39 PM
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