This is going to be a very bike-rich weekend with the Tour de Nez running on July 27-28, www.tourdenez.com, the Reno Bike Project’s Bike Swap being held on July 28 at Barbara Bennett Park, http://tinyurl.com/ko8astp, and Cyclectric’s block party on July 27 (see 15 Minutes, page 35). There are going to be more bicycles on the street than usual, so drivers, please keep your eyes open for bike riders.
This newspaper has supported creating a better and safer bike culture in Reno for going on two decades. The efforts of more people than can be mentioned in one editorial—including volunteers, elected officials and bureaucrats—have resulted in huge improvements. Frankly, it’s hard to believe how far this city has come in these last 18 years. There is still, it does need to be said, a long way to go.
We’re going to keep pounding on officials to further enhance the bike-riding environment in the Truckee Meadows, and we have no reason to believe those interested parties like the Regional Transportation Commission and the Reno Bike Project won’t continue their good work. We owe thanks and congratulations to everyone who’s worked to make this city safer.
We would like to see a service that is available in other cities come to Reno: a bicycle registration site. On this wish list item, someone, possibly the University of Nevada, Reno, which already has a large collection of serial numbers, or the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, would create a web database in which people could register their name and the description and serial number of their bicycle. The idea is to prevent theft, the sale of stolen property, and to give people the ability to tell if a used bicycle they’re buying is stolen. It would be an additional tool for police to use against criminals.
While some registration programs like this have met with failure, it’s generally because the entity tries to make money off the registrations. For example, the National Bike Registry charges about a dollar per year per registration. San Jose charged $3 per registration. What we’re picturing would be a database created and maintained by either government or a non-profit because everyone in the community benefits by less theft and by putting thieves out of business. The entire bike-riding community would be grateful.
And finally, every time we write one of these pro-bicycle editorials, we end up coming back to the riders. The vast majority of bicycle riders ride safely and follow the rules of the road, but there are those who don’t pay attention to stop signs or exhibit common courtesy.
Until the day that every road has a bike lane, automobiles and bicycles are going to have friction. As everyone who’s ever been run into loose gravel or narrowly missed a collision with a clueless driver can attest, it’s incumbent upon the bicycle rider to always be aware of his or her surroundings. Yes, the law says cars must give bike riders three feet clearance, but the bottom line is every time an automobile and a bicycle tangle, the four-wheeler wins. A defensive attitude and helmet are a bike rider’s best hope against a major injury.