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Is Urban Cycling an Extreme Sport?
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October 12, 2015 by Average Joe Cyclist
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Welcome to our blog! I’m Joe Goodwill, an average cyclist,
It seems to take me almost as long to prepare for my bike commute, as it takes me to actually
and I write a blog for people
commute. When I prepare for a bike ride in the city, I remind myself of a medieval knight preparing
like me. People who love
for battle.
cycling but will probably never win any races, and who don’t necessarily look good in Lycra! I also write the Electric Bikes Blog and Average Joe's RV Living Blog. To find our most popular posts, check out our Start Here page. Hi! I'm Maggie Neilson (aka Mrs. Average Joe Cyclist). Joe and I have done a lot of cycling,
Urban cycling can seem like an extreme sport
and we share what we have
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learned on this blog . We also
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write reviews of cycling products and trails! Get to know us better HERE.
High visibility vest? Check! Reflective stripes on jacket and pants? Check! Protective goggles? Check! (see my review on Bolle tactical goggles for cycling here)
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And of course … helmet securely buckled? Check!
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I have taken this for granted for a long time. It’s just the way things are for urban bicycle commuters. Just
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like knights had to defend themselves from men on horses with pointy sticks, we have to protect ourselves from hurtling 5 ton vehicles driven by people who may be distracted by coffee, alcohol, cell phones, breakfast, texting, anger, sorrow, tiredness, or all of the above. Or who may just be recklessly speeding to blow off some excess testosterone (much like the men with pointy sticks).
Am I sending the message that urban cycling is an extreme sport when I dress for protection?
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Recently I have started to question all this. If I prepare for cycling like a knight preparing for mortal combat,
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what kind of message am I sending?
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Do you need to dress like a WARRIOR to survive your bike commute?
Obviously, I am sending the message that urban cycling is a very dangerous, life-threatening activity – an extreme sport, like solo rock climbing without ropes. And if I am sending such a message, what does that mean? Well, for one thing, it means that other people aren’t likely to follow my example. After all, it’s tough enough having to go to work every day, without having to risk your life to get there. I mean, if getting to work involved climbing bare-handed up a cliff (and coming back down the same way at the end of the day), I’m pretty sure most people would opt for welfare. Sending this kind of message is contrary to my mission of encouraging average people to embrace cycling as a viable means of urban transportation.
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On the other hand, cycling in dark clothing without a helmet on the dangerous “cycling routes” of Burnaby is contrary to my mission of staying alive. HOW OUR AFFILIATE LINKS WORK It was in this context that I found Mikael Colville-Andersen’s argument against wearing helmets while cycling very interesting. It’s a fascinating TED talk, and well worth a watch. (Note: if you are in Vancouver
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cycling in Vancouver. Of course, this video is a few years old, so maybe things have changed).
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Mikael argues that modern humans live in a culture of fear – now that we don’t have to worry about being killed by bears at any moment, we spend our energies worrying that we will get sick and die from touching the door handles in public washrooms. Because of this, we have developed what he calls an almost pornographic obsession with safety equipment.
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We live in a BUBBLE WRAP society. And as with almost all things in modern society it all leads back to big business. As he says, “Fear is lucrative. Fear is big business.” If businesses can get people to be afraid, then we will scurry off in our thousands to stores where we can
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buy things that we think will protect us from the perceived danger. (Imagine how many millions of dollars are currently being spent on the smelly bottles of hand sanitizers that have suddenly become ubiquitous.) For example, there’s a company called Thudguard that wants parents to buy infant safety headgear so that children don’t hurt themselves in the course of their normal activities (such as crawling, playing or learning to walk).
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Thudguard infant helmets are marketed as devices to protect the
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delicate brains of crawling and toddling children. Makes you wonder how the human race has survived this far…
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Having raised three children, I am 100% certain that infant helmets are an insane idea (and as an exphilosophy student, I am very seldom 100% certain about anything, so this is saying a lot). Kids fall and hurt themselves, and it’s all part of the normal process of growing and learning. On the other hand, there are things that we do that really are dangerous. For example, 1.2 million people a year are killed driving their cars. However, we don’t acknowledge that driving cars is dangerous, and
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so it doesn’t even cross our minds to dress in safety gear to drive our cars. Even though motorist helmets have been invented.
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of the damaging and fatal impacts associated with car crashes. And of course, as it’s in a neutral colour, it goes with anything.
However, as Mikael points out, motorist helmets are not promoted (let alone mandated by legislation).
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For example, they are not given out free with cars. That’s scarcely surprising – giving out these head bands would mean acknowledging that driving cars is extremely dangerous, and that would undermine the enormously successful job car manufacturers have done of convincing people that driving cars is a safe activity. Even though, based on the stats, driving a car is an incredibly dangerous activity. In fact, if I was sensible, I would prepare for driving my car just as carefully as I do for a bike ride. All lights working? Check
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The point is that car manufacturers don’t promote helmets because they don’t want to put people off buying cars by portraying driving as a dangerous activity. And they’re right to be afraid – the stats show
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unequivocally that the emphasis on bike helmets does in fact put people off cycling. (Optional) Please type your Last Name
The more we promote bike helmets, the less people cycle. Thus, the main problem with promoting bike helmets is that people stop cycling. Especially if you legislate it. This is absolutely proven by research in New Zealand. So people are being scared away from
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a life-sustaining, health-giving, calorie-burning, fun, and environmentally friendly mode of transport. To make things worse, as Mikael points out, the research on whether helmets help in accidents is ambivalent. And, if you are scared off cycling by the emphasis on helmets, you may be setting yourself up for lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
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On the other hand, there is a vast body of anecdotal evidence on the protective effects of helmets in bike accidents – see for example some of the more impassioned comments in the video above. And Mrs. Average Joe Cyclist believes strongly that her helmet protected her from head injury when she had a bike accident. Bottom line for me: I agree that by dressing up as if I expect violent death at any second, I increase the perception that cycling is an extreme sport – and risk scaring other people away from cycling. However, until such time as I can cycle to most places on separated bike lanes, I am going to keep preparing for cycling like a knight setting out for dangerous battle fields where heavily armed enemies will do their level best to kill him. Because even though most motorists emphatically do not want to kill me, the reality is that they could, very easily, kill me accidentally (much like we sometimes step on ants while walking, even though we really have no intent to kill ants).
6 Can’t-Miss Places to Ride Your Bike in Washington If you are lucky enough to be in the area, Washington state offers many excellent opportunities to explore trails and roads. In this
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post we feature six great places to ride your bike in
And if the time ever comes that I am hit by a car and go flying through the air and hit the sidewalk head first, I would very much like my helmet to take the brunt of it, not my comparatively very vulnerable
Washington. We have included three rides on trails, and three rides on roads.
head. This is not an easy issue – think about it and make up your own mind. Unfortunately, for many of us, our own opinions are irrelevant. We have been brainwashed into believing that bike helmets are essential, and we are governed by laws that force us to use them.
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Cycling in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco: Imlil to Imi ‘Oughelad For those of you craving cycling adventure, here is a slice of extreme cycling adventure in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. This account will either
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inspire you to get out there and embrace the unknown on your bike – or make you decide that your morning commute to downtown is enough adventure already!
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Filed Under: Bike Safety, Cycling and Fitness, Cycling Infrastructure Tagged With: Bike Commuting, Bike Safety, Cycling infrastructure, Safe cycling infrastructure, Yeah I wanna cycle without getting killed! Triple Eight Helmet with Sweatsaver Liner, Black Ru…
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