Jackson — An advocacy bicyclist group recently named Mackinac Island the best place to bike in the world. It should be noted that the island doesn’t have a single bike lane.
As you know, motorized vehicles are not allowed on Mackinac Island. And that would make it the only place in this state I’d feel safe riding my bike on a road. As someone who has biked at least 20,000 miles on the Falling Waters Trail in Jackson over the past 16 years, I don’t think people on bikes should be on the road.
The most recent data from the Michigan State Police shows bicycling deaths have spiked over the past few years. When I am off my bike and in my car, I rarely see people in bike lanes. I believe that’s because—like me—they know riding a bike on a road is a recipe for severe injury or worse.
We won’t see the end of bike lanes anytime soon. The federal government has mandated that bicyclists and pedestrians be given “due consideration” under surface transportation law. That means every community will have to plan for more and more bike lanes.
To me, it’s madness.
The idea that bikes can replace cars as a dependable mode of transportation outside of a major metropolitan city is a liberal delusion, especially in this state. The weather allows for comfortable biking just half the year. I define “comfortable biking” conditions as temperatures above 60 degrees. After that, it’s hit or miss.
And then there’s the rain and insects. Who would show up to work in a rain-soaked suit or covered in gnats?
I resent bike lanes, but not because they annoy motorists. I resent them because I feel they try to guilt me onto the road and put me at risk. In Jackson, motorists treat bike lanes as a right-turn lane.
To me, it’s not a debate over whether cyclists deserve a spot on the road. To anyone who argues that bicyclists should be able to be on the road, my rebuttal is: “You are dead right.”
I stay off the main roads whenever possible on my bike, because I’ve had too many near-miss experiences. I stick to sidewalks and trails. When I am biking on roads, I have one golden rule: Treat every car as if it is trying to hit you.
That has saved my life. Every year, I have a brush with death due to an inattentive motorist almost hitting me and then blaming me.
I’ve had cars zoom by me so fast that the side-view mirror almost brushed my shoulder. I’ve had to jump off my bike to avoid getting hit because people pull out of driveways without even thinking a bicyclist could be passing.
The last time I was in downtown Jackson on my bike, I was crossing the street at the crosswalk. I saw a woman with her head down messing with the radio in her car as she was approaching the intersection. She would have plowed right into me had I not stopped one step onto the crosswalk.
When I said, “Hey!” she looked up startled and then threw a fit. It was pure nonsense. But that’s what cyclists face every day.
There are groups of avid cyclists who will disagree with me. I see them on my trail. They are wearing their race badges from some Mackinac Island event and all the top-end cycling clothes and shoes. Every ride is treated like the final leg of the Tour de France and they are trying for their personal best.
They believe they have a right to bike on roads. But they are the very small segment of society for whom bike lanes are built.
The rest of us know better.
Tom Gantert is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer.
