Two Wheeled Mayhem

Summer here in Portland usually means warm weather, Rose Festival, swimming in the river (always without a life jacket of course) and the Waterfront Blues Festival. This year, however, is different. This summer there is a war brewing on the streets of Portland. Don't bother calling 911 either. You see, the Portland Police have drawn a line in the sand by gently persuading our local bike riding crowd to please obey the laws. You see, not too long ago the Police had conducted a sting in Portland to catch a few law breaking cyclists in the act. The only catch was, the local bike crowd was tipped off to the sting before it happened. So, on the day of said sting, the Police found a few law breaking cyclists and dished out what can only be described as a brush of a feather on the wrist. Wouldn't that be nice the next time you were pulled over for speeding or some other infraction?
This is a serious issue here in Portland. So far this year we have had a few bike vs. car accident fatalities as well as a few bike vs. car road rage incidents. With the Rose City becoming one of the most bike accessable cities in the nation, we will only see more bikes on the road in the future. I have personally witnessed more than a few cyclists blowing stop signs and disrupting traffic around town. On the other hand, I have also been privy to more than a few motorists behaving badly as well. Who can forget the loon who sped down a local roadway while a dismounted cyclist clung for dear life by the cars windshield wipers? The trouble with this example is that the driver of a car has got a 99% chance of surviving a crash with a bicycle. So, we as responsible motorists realize that we need to share the road. In fact, a lot of motorists may have even set a personal goal to spend more time on their bikes. Another issue rears its ugly head when a small collection of local cyclists stick to their guns and flip the bird at the local state laws of the road. These militant cyclists would do well in a local Hells Angels chapter. They refuse to acknowledge that they are subject to the very same rules of the road that protect them and see themselves as local elite. Granted, I like to pedal the roadways as well. I realize that a collision between my car and a bicycle would be tragic...something I'm not sure I could live with. On the other hand, having a bunch of radical, militant cyclists on our streets is something I don't feel we can live with either.