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I participate in an internet forum of cyclists which spreads across the country and around the world. On these forums, we discuss any and all issues relating to cycling, from equipment to fitness to weight loss. There are forums, with associated FAQs, on the subjects of Bicycle Commuting; living Car-Free; Cargo Cycling; BMX; Cruisers; Vintage Bikes; and about 30 other subjects. It's all there. At any one time, there are anywhere between 2,000 and 4,000 people posting/reading on these forums. Right now (Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 10:40am) there are 2,212 people logged in at the site. The URL is http://www.bikeforums.net, and I participate under the screen name "tractorlegs".
My favorite sub-forum there is called "Advocacy and Safety". We call it A&S for short. I like it because we discuss a lot of important safety issues and legal issues as well. The liveliest "thread" is on helmet use, and this discussion can get quite colorful at times. Sometimes people get sensitive and name-calling and mud-slinging ensues, but moderators generally keep the peace effectively.
In A&S, there is a lot of debate on which cities are the safest for bicycling. Of course, everybody from Seattle says Seattle is safest; people from Denver claim their city is the safest; you get the picture. People generally equate cycling safety in a city to the level of "awareness". If a city takes the time to nurture its cycling community, by building bike paths and putting bike racks on buses and having safety classes and things like that, then the city is considered "safe" for cycling.
In the early 1990s, my family and I lived in Denver, one of the so-called safe cycling cities. The infrastructure there is completely bike-friendly. The system of bike paths there is very well developed, utilizing the creeks and rivers that cut across town and the "greenbelts" as they call it. My favorite route through town was a series of paths that I used to commute from Golden to a hotel in Lakewood that I worked at. One of them was the Bear Creek path from Kipling down Bear Creek, paralleling Hampdon Avenue; and the Kipling Blvd. path from Bear Creek to Alameda.
The problem in Denver, and in other large bike-conscious cities, is that when a large bicycle community forms, so does a large anti-bicycle community. I enjoyed riding the paths, for the most part, but it is impossible to get to every destination without riding on city streets or roads from time to time. That's where I discovered the "anti" crowd. Aggressiveness towards cyclists in cities like Denver is pronounced. There were always people that would drive aggressively and dangerously to make some kind of point against cyclists using "their" roads. People would "buzz" me (which means they drive as closely to me as possible at full speed, barely missing me, just to make their point) regularly. They would yell, pull out in front of me on purpose, honk, etc. When the issue of bicycling is politicized and brought into public consciousness, then there seems to be a backlash against cycling that is just as large.
When my family and I moved to El Paso in 1995, I continued to ride. However, I noticed something radically different: Drivers were not mean to me as much. Occasionally, a hot-headed son of a skunk came along, but with refreshing infrequency. In Denver, I would get "buzzed" almost daily, and yelled at/cursed almost daily. In El Paso it would happen only once every few months, even a year or longer between incidences sometimes. I don't think it's exaggeration to say that in the 19 years since we moved here from Denver, I've encountered aggressive, mean, anti-bicycle motorists the same amount of times as an average month in Denver.
Why is my experience in El Paso, a city that is never on anyone's "bike friendly" list, so much better? Why does it seem so much safer here than in Denver? I think the answer lies in a couple of my comments above. When there is not a large bicycling culture, or movement, then there is no backlash against it. Bicycling in El Paso is largely un-politicized. Sure, there's an "El Paso Bicycle Club", and a few pro-level bike shops. Yes, "Critical Mass" has an annual event here, too, and we always have a Bike Month. But it's always page two news, not considered that important to the general population.
When I ride here, people look at me as a curiosity and are just as likely to wave and smile as they pass. They don't seem offended that my bike and I are out on the street – perhaps because they haven't been thinking about cyclists on the street at all. People are rarely rude.
I have thought about bicycle advocacy here in El Paso. I've thought about becoming an active member of the El Paso Bicycle Club, and attending City Council meetings, and starting to make a political statement about cyclist's rights and safety. But why? If we spend our time nurturing a political and confrontational agenda, will we not also create our own backlash? Right now, I can ride nearly everywhere in this city fearlessly, and people don't even turn their heads. I believe that's the way I'd like it to remain.
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