Bike CofC bike share is about more than adding bikes to the roads.

I have always been an avid biker. Ever since I was a kid, terrorizing suburban Georgia on my mountain bike, biking has always been my preferred mode of transportation. I have always tried to bike as much as possible, and since moving to Charleston from Atlanta, where biking is a little less safe due to busier roads and the lack of a prominent bike culture, biking has become my go to method of movement.

Since joining the ranks of bikers in the Lowcountry, I have been greatly impressed with what I have seen. Aside from a few malcontents on both sides, I have noticed a general willingness to share the roads and to let each and all transport themselves as they wish. However, I have noticed a few issues with how bikers comport themselves en route to their destination. Speeding through red lights, weaving around traffic, passing cars on the right, not properly signaling turns, and careening recklessly in the opposite direction of a one way street are some of the most frequent examples of bad biking behavior. I’m no hypocrite. I have been guilty of some of these at various times for various reasons. Sometimes it’s just too tempting on a not so crowded intersection to blow through a red light, but I know it’s wrong and something I need to work on in order to set a good example for my companions that choose two wheels instead of four.

Sometimes it’s hard for bikers to realize that we don’t get special privileges because we didn’t hop in a car that morning. I believe that often times, bikers either forget, or don’t realize, that while on the road we have to behave like we also have four wheels. I feel like this is a necessary step in raising awareness for bikers in the area and helping to increase accessibility. As a biker, I know we must look at ourselves as well as others because being a predictable biker is not only safer, but gives a better impression of bikers, and makes drivers more willing to share the road.  It only takes one biker with improper road etiquette to set a bad example and leave a lasting impression. For example, take this comment from a reader responding to a recent Charleston City Paper article,

“I will never yield to a cyclist until they follow the same traffic laws as the rest of us… Which is, by the way, the LAW! If I see you run a red light because it’s just too much effort to stop, I’ll go out of my way to crowd you, and, I could care less if you scream and yell. As a matter of fact, that makes it more fun!”

This is obviously on the extreme side of the biker/driver divide. But it’s this attitude, and the bad biking behavior that fuels it, which must be addressed. I personally feel that the onus is on us as bikers to follow the rules of the road, and show drivers that we can commute safely and responsibly.

This is one of the hopes of the Bike CofC bike share program, and one of the many reasons that I’m so proud to be working on it as we prepare for a Fall 2013 launch. To not only provide biking opportunities to students, staff, and faculty, but also to educate them on proper biking and bike safety. Learning how to ride properly is almost as important as having the opportunity itself and in doing so it can only increase the accessibility of bikers everywhere.

We live in such a great city for biking, and hopefully the Bike CofC bike share program is a small step towards a safer, more accessible city for anyone who wishes to bike and share the roads with our four wheeled brethren.