Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 22, 2020

How about SUVs?

You can outrun mean dogs on a bike…

The problem with road bikes is that most of what you see is your front wheel.

Drivers come in several categories.

A few of them are alert, looking around and thinking about options. They know where they are and where the nearest vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists etc. are in relation to their vehicle.

Some of them are reasonably alert, reasonably aware, and have good habits for avoiding trouble.

A lot of them are distracted and running on habit alone.

Some of them are barely making it: Sleepy or seriously distracted, trying to multi-task and not doing any task well.

And a few of them are mean or angry.

Beware of those last two categories!

Cell phones are new but I know mean drivers have always been there. The only difference is that back then they thought cyclists didn’t belong on the road and acted it out. I’ve had cigarette butts, pop cans and other stuff thrown at me. I’ve been yelled at and flipped the proverbial bird. The only difference between now and then, is that now most driver know that cycling in traffic is legal and that it’s not socially acceptable to teach cyclists a lesson by threatening their lives, in my experience.

There are also mean cyclists. Cars and bikes aren’t designed for each other to meet on the roadways.

As long as cyclists are treated as insignificant second or third class taffic by planners and authorities motorists won’t feel any necessity to be bothered to take them serious either.

Cyclists are made to wait at every traffic light where cars are lead through with priority. Bike lanes exist only where drivers convenience is not touched. Space is reserved for cars while there are no secure places to park a bike. Bridges are build and tunnels dug for cars with hundreds of millions public funds while the 1-5% extra to accommodate bikes or even walking paths are considered unreasonable. That precedent tells the people behind the wheel that bikes are subordinate and may be neglected.

It is possible to do better than that and have non polluting, healthy human traffic with less accidents and almost no casualities. Not only as it’s done in the ever praised Netherlands: The capital of Norway and the capital of Finland follow a set of rules in the design of public space called “Vision Zero” and had zero deaths last year. Not only is that admirable from a safety point of view, it also means less cost for health insurances, the authorities and in property value – and the more pleasant stay in the city also boosted local economy.

Great comic drawing and journalism

If i was a biker, I’d stick to the bike paths.

Well, before drivers, you just had those old bikes with the big front wheel and no gears, which were a whole lot harder to ride. And getting off them was a problem, too.

Less mean than unthinking, for the most part. but the effect is the same.

I don’t know about riding but driving was more fun before entitled cyclists.

When I was a regular cyclist – my problem wasn’t mean dogs it was inner city traffic. I can’t count how many times cars tried to edge me off the street. I got pretty adept at “hopping” my bike onto the sidewalk.

Far more haughty and careless cyclers.

Don’t get me started on cyclers! PLEASE!!!

Cell phones are the reason I gave up cycling, both pedal and motor. It’s just not worth dying stuck in the grille of a CRV under the “control” of somebody with their nose buried in a phone.

“Though on a bike you’re even more aware.” But aware of what? More aware of road hazards and traffic, less of scenery.