Lane in Vain

I spotted an interesting blog post on the GOOD Magazine site recently that made me chuckle. Evidently, there's a bit of a conflict brewing in Brooklyn between the Williamsburg Hipsters and their neighbors in the Hasidic community (a demographic who handily pre-date the hip invasion of Brooklyn by about a century), oddly over bike lanes and the scantily clad females who peddle in them. While I really don't have a horse in this particular race (being neither Jewish nor especially "hip" anymore), I have to say, I'm kinda siding with the Hasidim on this one, although not for of their reasons. I completely encourage females -- bicyclists or otherwise --  to shed their clothes whenever possible, but I lament the sense of smug entitlement the advent of bike lanes has bestowed upon the bicyclist.

Before you get all uppity about that, let me re-iterate something. I freakin' grew up riding my bike in and around New York City. I routinely rolled the dice by ducking and weaving through traffic and hopping between sidewalk and street on my shitty BMX (a Huffy Pro-Thunder which I won -- no lie -- in a box of Cheerios). I sustained a few scrapes and scratches along the way and even broke my thumb at one point, but was never dealt any serious injury on all the perilously irresponsible missions atop my trusty Huffy. And y'know what? Back then (the early-to-mid 80s, specifically), WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY BIKE LANES! 

Back then, the bicyclist was almost entirely unwelcome on the streets of Manhattan and treated accordingly. A couple of decades later, the streets are now lousy with bike lanes, and the bikers who use them act like they own the damn road. While I love biking in Manhattan virtually more than anything (i've since graduated to an endearingly sturdy Trek), never once have I felt like an equal to the cars I share the road with. As a bicyclist, I am a guest in the realm of the automobile, and I remain respectful of that at all times. These streets were designed for cars, not bicycles.  I don't get to ride my bike nearly as often as I used to, and it breaks my heart. I do, however, drive a car on New York City streets every so often. And when I do, it's the bicyclists who give me the most shit.

I live on a fairly busy byway in the Village, and a bike lane cuts a narrow corridor right down my street, sharing the road with buses, cabs and the odd fire-engine. Every time I pull up in a car to pick up my family, I have no choice but to pull in and obstruct the bike lane. There is no other option. And when I do so, WITHOUT FAIL, some obstreperous bike-dork comes and mouths off at me. I'm already Johnny Stress when I'm behind the wheel of a car, so when some sweaty dink in too-tight bike shorts starts giving me lip, venomous antagonism is usually my response. What am I supposed to do, leave my car in the middle of the street? The bike lane is a privilege, not a damn right. Get over yourselves.

Comments

[Steve H]

"the city changed parking laws in the area, resulting in a lot of fines to members of the Orthodox Jewish community"

The whole scantily-clad bit is just a cover for another complaint, methinks. And having gone through South Williamsburg on a regular basis on my way to work, I have to say, there's more illegal double parking there (bike lanes or not) than anywhere else in the city, even midtown.

[Jill]

Ha, small world alert. My father was VP of marketing for Huffy for many years, and my guess is he was the one responsible for your contest!