Thanks! I bought a taillight and a headlight for the bike. Both are flashing lights. The idea is to keep me visible all the time. Both are from Cat Eye and it seens to work well. However, I will avoid night time, since its more dangerous (drunk guys, people with no enough vision, etc). To ride at night I think the best way is to ride together with more bikers, to avoid any trouble.

Alexandre

Not that it did me a whole lot of good last week, but then half the time my rechargeable batteries are dead…

One has to cycle ultra-defensively down here. Unfortunately, the only way we can get drivers used to bicyclists is by getting more bicyclists on the road. I just hope there aren’t a lot of casualties in the meantime.

I would love to see the bike lanes expanded. However, I would like it’s been respected by drivers. Signals must be installed to let them reduce speed and to pay more attention, as in school regions…

Yesterday I decided to go to take a bike lane in Alhambra (Coral Gables). Unfurtunatelly a driver, with a big SUV and talking on the phone decided to not stop completelly on the stop sign. He almost smashed me… I could stop before it… The funny thing was that this guy stop by me and started to say “you should install a headlight!”… Nice, but it happened in a sunny day, 15:30!!!
It makes me thing… Laws dont matter if you are dead.. So I decided to buy a power headlight - for security reasons…

Probably I will use it, together with my helmet, next time I go to the supermarket, walking…

Amazing…

Alexandre

“Dear Alexander Adams,

I would like to see bicycle lanes included on Coral Way, from Southwest 12th Avenue to Southwest 15th Road. Actually I would like to see bike lanes added anywhere possible. A cheaper alternative, signs throughout the city, “Share Road With Bikes… It’s The Law”. And while you’re at it, improve the M-Path in your district, shouldn’t be that difficult, just add some signs, a little bit of asphalt repair, etc. It would also be nice & affordable if a poster/sign was put up at every DMV location in Miami stating that bicycles are allowed on the road, definitely include an illustration for those who can’t read. Maybe a pamphlet given to those obtaining/renewing their drivers license. Anything to get the point across that bikes belong on the road. I’m tired of being threatened by aggressive drivers for riding a bicycle on the road. The higher gas prices get, the more bikes on the road. The more bikes on the road with ignorant drivers, the more problems this city will see. Alternative forms of transportation are the future, when gas goes up to $7 a gallon (2011) less and less people will be driving and we need to be prepared for better bike lanes, bus routes, metro-rail etc. I’ve been all across America, it’s safe to say this city has the worst public system of transportation. And even worse when it comes to bike lanes, I believe there’s only a handful of bike lanes in Miami. The one on S. Miami Avenue (parallel to Brickell) from SW 25 Street to Broadway (15th St) is a very short distance but well done. It has the proper signage, smooth pavement, etc. If you are not interested in any of this then forward it to somebody that is.”

I am going to tell that to any and all politicians.

My duty, as citizen, isn’t to present a comprehensive transportation plan that judiciously takes into account all viewpoints and contingencies.

No, my duty is to present my point-of-view, and my point-of-view will never make for a perfect plan. The balancing of such viewpoints and creation of good policy is for the politician.

So let me say I like to bike and I like bike lanes without being called an idiot.

Furthermore, lack of non-car facilities cannot be blamed on whether today a city or county controls a particular road. Blame must be shared among voters for not making alternative transportation an issue, politicians for not thinking for us, planners at all levels of local government for being unwilling to stick their necks out for good ideas, our parents for not caring about our future, congress for not immediately reversing generations of pro-car policies, and and did I mention fellow citizens for their apathy?

Seriously, this blog can be a blame-first-ask-questions-later screed, or it can be credible, but it can’t be both, unless you are comfortable that your target audience is other members of the choir.