In the last five years the frequency of harassment of bicyclists in Oregon
has lessened considerably, particularly around metro areas. We can only
speculate about the causes because no epidemiological study exists. Back
in 1997, I wrote an Oregon Cycling article entitled Backlash
Against Bicyclists my view is that the backlash has ended. We are no
longer at a point of extinction (60’s and 70’s) or in a growth spurt (80’s and
90’s). Our mission now is to struggle to maintain our ground, and unite
with other non-motorized roadway users like skateboarders and bladers to improve
our minority share to the traveled portion of the roadway.
If you want to know how far we have come as bicyclists, it helps to put things in perspective by
riding in some areas of the state containing few bicycle riders. My
own riding experiences around Grants Pass and in the rural Willamette valley
come to mind; some motorized roadway users still make it a point to express their
resentment of bicyclists in each contact with us. Tactics usually include
passing slightly too close, unnecessary horn honking, and hard looks.
Eliminating these annoyances is a common goal for bicyclists everywhere. While
we have little control over the reactions of others, there are certain tactics
we usually hear about. Follow the law, ride in a responsible manner, smile
and wave at favors, avoid confrontations… pretty basic stuff, mostly connected
with not being offensive. When I am riding, I long for a more effective
and far reaching approach. I have come up with several poor ideas. One
fantasy was to stencil ARMED AND DANGEROUS on the back of my rain jacket. Another
was to sew lettering saying FROM CORNELIUS onto my jersey so people in
my rural area would recognize that I was one of them, or even give me a break
on the road because I was more country than they were. Other times, particularly
on hills, I have tried gazing in pain at would be harassers, giving them the
suffering Jesus look.
My latest idea is mimicry of respected personages. I
learned about this technique by accident one day, and the fun of it had me chuckling
all the way home. It began one winter weekend afternoon when the sun broke
through the clouds and on impulse I decided to go for a ride and explore a rural
blacktop road that wound up into the coast range behind Gaston, not a place with
many bike riders. Most of my bike stuff had been left at the office so
I pulled some outer gear together from the closet and headed out. As I
got further from those places where I imagined other riders frequently traveled,
a strange new form of hostile driver behavior manifested itself, to my great
delight.
Overtaking drivers would begin to pass too close and then move respectfully
to the middle of the road. Pickup drivers would pass, turn to give me a
hard look, and then suddenly look shamefacedly away. One driver honked
as she approached and then as she went by and raised her right hand to give me
the finger, suddenly stopped with her hand partway up, as if it had lost its
will to insult. After the same behavior repeated itself a few times my mind struggled to understand
what was happening; then I had it, the Eureka moment: By coincidence that
day, I had put together a riding outfit that made me look like I was in uniform.
The jacket I had grabbed was an old windbreaker; yellow with black and
blue trim. It looked a lot like the ones worn by motorcycle policeman. I
didn’t have any tights at home so I had put on a pair of black nylon sweatpants
over an old pair of bike shorts. It was cold so I had a pair of black leather
gloves on. My big old blue and yellow Vetta Corsa helmet looked like a
light infantryman helmet. Around my waist, I wore a fanny pack over my
right kidney with a cell phone on the belt at the side. The combination
was quite official looking. Those would be harassers were tempted to hassle
me when they saw my bicyclist silhouette on the roadway ahead, but as they got
closer there was something odd about my appearance. I looked like a law
enforcement officer or a soldier on a bike mission. After all there is
a war against terrorism right now; I could have been defending our country, patrolling
for rural bomblets along the roadside, combing the valley for suspicious looking
pedestrians. The drivers= instincts were sending them in opposite directions,
and I was the beneficiary of their resulting confusion. Oh glory day!
On the way home I began to grasp the enormity of my discovery. Without
breaking the law or engaging in any immoral act all bicyclists can improve their
resistance to harassment. By using mimicry we can defend ourselves! My
own outfit had been effective, but with a little imagination an even stronger
repellant can be assembled. For example, dress as George Washington; how
many would be intimidaters would dare crowd the father of our country? Or how
about wearing a mask of President Bush; so long as his approval ratings stay
high there is a good chance that you=ll be left alone, or at the worst invited
home for supper. Women can easily dodge the ire of drivers by wearing angel
outfits including halos. Younger riders can dress like large insects or
animals, causing drivers to think they are having visions.
These techniques are legal and safe so long as your disguise does not interfere with pedaling. Football
uniform bike outfits, porpoise-head shaped bike helmets, and other disguises
even create a sales boosting opportunity for the bicycle gear industry. It
is time for all bicyclists to stand tall in their honest Abe outfits and fill
the minds of the perpetrators so full of protected imagery that they are afraid
to make an offensive move. Knowledge is power.