Cycling in Ottawa

Robert Sullivan’s piece in the New York Times is getting a lot of attention from bike blogs for its four suggestions to improve the image of cyclists (it’s also a great description of what it’s like to bike in New York City). They are:

Stop at major intersections.
Don’t go the wrong way on one-way streets.
Stay off sidewalks.
Signal before turning
These suggestions strike me as incredibly modest and probably already followed by everyone who reads this blog. In fact, I’m not sure the bad reputation that cyclists have comes from anybody who is serious enough about cycling to read a blog, join an advocacy group, etc. (although Sullivan does criticize the “Lance Armstong types” in his piece for their poor urban etiquette). That being said, it’s good to remember we are all in this together, as far as reputations go – maybe some more casual cyclists will read this the Times and reform their ways.

Comments are closed.