Two Wheeling

Why Can't I Be More Like Gandhi?

I've been riding High Street to work the last couple weeks--the new pavement north of the University is beautiful. I was enjoying the smooth ride and the brisk morning air when my good humor was rudely interrupted by a blaring truck horn! I turned around in time to see a pick up truck speeding up to pass me.......I could see the driver rolling his window down to say something to me. "Get the hell off the road, you a__hole!" he yelled as he passed me. My first reaction was shock. I was riding to the right hand side of the lane, obeying all the traffic laws.

I've often wondered what Ganhdi, or MLK, would do in this situation? I envision them smiling gently, nodding their heads softly, perhaps even waving and saying a silent prayer for the truck driver as he sped out of view. That's what I've always wanted to do, too. I've played this scene over and over in my mind so that I would be ready when the opportunity arose, and this was it.......my big chance to shine. But instead of elevating my game, turning the other cheek and taking civilization to another level, I blew it.

"F__K YOU, YOU  A__HOLE, I HAVE JUST AS MUCH RIGHT TO BE ON THE ROAD AS YOU DO!" I yelled at the driver and, in case he couldn't hear me, I flipped him the bird.

I immediately felt terrible. Not only is this an unacceptable way for a 53 year-old man to behave, but my rude temper tantrum will only fuel that driver's disdain for bicyclists. Hell, the next time he may not even blow his horn--he'll just run someone over. 

I mentally "spanked" myself all the way down High Street. When I started down the hill into the University district I was heartened to see 3 bicycles ahead of me. I rode up behind, and then passed, them. "Hell, for a minute I thought I was in Portland," I said to the OSU students and they smiled back.

I stopped at a red light at King and High and pulled up next to a middle aged cyclist who I've seen before. "Thank God.....there IS other intelligent life in the universe!" I exclaimed to him. He smiled, too.

Unfortunately, my two positive interactions this morning can't outweigh my negative encounter with the truck driver, and my own bad behavior. I hope that if this happens again (and I'm pretty confident it will), I will have the self control to smile and wave and in that way help create peaceful coexistence on the roads for "boxes" and bikes.

Where Am I?

Thursday, October 8, 10:15 pm.............I just arrived home. After dinner with my family in the Short North for Kate's 23rd birthday, I rode home through a light rain. I'm disoriented by the day's events and trying to get my bearings.

I spent the afternoon at the Greater Ohio/Brookings Institute "Restoring Prosperity to Ohio" Steering Committee Meeting. As usual, I showed up in spandex to a meeting with 30+ suits and knew immediately I was out of place. I had reviewed the white papers that had been circulated in advance of the meeting and I figured this would be another "blah blah, blah blah, blah" discussion of how we might possibly reinvent and save Ohio. The white papers were sobering.......6 of the 7 largest cities in Ohio have lost significant population over the past 3 or 4 decades, e.g. Cleveland had 950,000 in 1950 and has 395,000 today (and Cuyahoga County has lost 19% of its population since 1970). The median sales price of a home in Cleveland has declined from $62,000 in 2007 to $15,500 in 2008.

Greater Ohio/Brookings is recommending that our 6 great, declining cities adopt a "shrinking city" strategy to "right size" these cities for their declining populations. This involves demolishing homes and neighborhoods and creating green space and urban farms and community gardens to take up the vacant space. This is probably the right, and perhaps only, thing we can do but it is very sad.

At the beginning of the meeting, everyone stood and introduced him/herself. When it was my turn I stood and said, "I'm Doug Morgan, an attorney with Calfee Halter. I've been car free for 7 years and believe that if we all still lived within biking or walking distance of where we worked and went to school and the market we wouldn't be here today."  There were lots of good "practical", "finger in the dike" ideas at the meeting, but no bold ideas that might get us back on track. My suggestion for a constitutional convention to  eliminate the multiplicity of governmental and pseudo-governmental subdivisions and thereby save money which could be spent on fixing our urban schools and/or lowering our taxes did not get a helluva lot of support.

After the meeting, I joined Beth, Brandon, Kate and Corey at a local restaurant for Kate's 23rd birthday. Looking at my kids, I felt for the first time that I couldn't in good conscience ask them to  "take one for the team" and remain in Ohio. I have little confidence that our political system is capable of providing the leadership to move our state forward. And I am at a loss to find this leadership anywhere else. I hate to say it because I love Ohio, but i wouldn't blame my kids for leaving for greener pastures.

Maybe when I get on my bike tomorrow I'll feel better........I usually do.   

2009 Biking Season Comes to a Close

This has been another outstanding year for twowheeling in CBus! With the support of lots of folks like the Mayor, Consider Biking, MORPC, Yay Bikes, Battelle, the Corporate Cycling Caucus, and others we're moving the dial. Our 2009 accomplishments included: the inaugural Peletonia ride with Lance Armstrong, a bigger and better "Bike to Work Week" in May (Thanks, Matt Young and Battelle!), the creation and printing of the first ever central Ohio Bike Map (color coding the roads for their "bikeability"), the launch of the Columbus Corporate Cycling Caucus and the creation of the "Corporate TwoWheel Toolkit" (this toolkit explains to companies why encouraging employees to bike and walk to work is good for their bottom line and how they can facilitate and encourage biking to work--we're aiming to have bike ambassadors at every central Ohio workplace), the Pedal Instead folks are setting up bike corals at major area events (like OSU football games) and making it easy for folks to bike instead of drive to these events (Thanks Catherine Girves!), the City continues to improve the bikeway system (e.g. the newly reconstructed Henderson Road bridge is now a model of bikeability), Dublin created a new bicycle advisory committee (80 Dublin citizens applied for the 16 positions) to help make Dublin more bikeable and vibrant (City Manager Terry Foegler understands that this is what new economy workers want---go for it Dublin!), and with the income tax increase we should be poised to build the first phase of the Bicentennial Bikeway Plan. In short, lots of great things are HAPPENING to make it easier and safer for you to bike around CBus. (I'm sure my twowheelling friends will let me know if I missed any other great accomplishments this year.)

If you want a good read, check out "Pedaling Revolution" by Jeff Mapes (Oregon State University Press). A reporter for the Oregonian in Portland, Jeff traces the pedaling revolution going on in cities across America. This book confirms that we are RIGHT ON TRACK with our efforts in CBus and provides a road map and inspiration for where we need to move our community. I'd encourage you to buy this book, read it and pass it on to other CBus thought leaders. It can help us create the "right" new vision for our city.

I have to call out Mayor "Bikin Mike" Coleman. His leadership on our cycling initiatives has been OUTSTANDING! I have seen the Mayor at countless biking events, ON HIS BIKE!, and he has become a tireless advocate for the pedaling revolution in CBus. Mike, you're great! and we owe you big!

As has become our custom in CBUS, please join me on Friday, October 30, for the 2009 Closing Day ride and Happy Hour. We're gonna skip the morning ride, but will meet at "Bill's Feet" at 5 pm and ride to the Pig Iron BBQ on N. High (just north of Graceland Shopping Center). For those of you riding from other parts of the City, we should arrive at the Pig by 6 pm, so plan to meet us there............and as always the beers are on me!