This Sunday was the first Bloomington Open Streets event, in which a few blocks of Kirkwood between College and Rogers were blocked off and given over to the people for fun. This is an idea that has been catching on around the world. In some places much more than a few blocks are closed to car traffic. You can read more about the broader Open Streets movement at this link.
The view of Bloomington’s Open Street looking west. Yes, that’s a portable climbing wall down the way!
The BBC had a table at the eastern end of event:
Thanks to Advocacy Chair Ron Brown for arranging our table. And thanks to Jim and Sylvia Schroeder and John Bassett for setting up and managing the BBC table throughout the day.
One of the big questions that comes up is how can the BBC be a group for “ordinary” cyclists who only want to ride around town, to work, to shop, or for relaxed enjoyment, without big expense and funny clothes and weird shoes, etc. As Jim has noted, the more cyclists there are of all types the better off we all are. Let’s all be thinking about things we can do to promote cycling for all.
Here are club president Jim Schroeder’s observations, sent to the club email list. His words are worth reading again.
“As a biking community, any time a new person gets on a bike, we need to celebrate that,” says Veronica O. Davis of DC’s Black Women Bike organization…”
Sylvia and I just got done spending most of Sunday at the Open Streets on West Kirkwood between College Ave and Rogers St. Make sure to thank Ron Brown for organizing this grand opportunity to inform like-minded people about our Bloomington Bicycle Club. Also, John Bassett for loading the big table and being there to answer questions.
The above quote rings true for bicycling in Bloomington. This town is so bicycle crazy with Little 500 and our club’s membership and RAIN and Hilly 100 and Brown County mountain biking and I can go on and on.
BUT, we forget about all those people who are just getting into bicycling let alone exercise. We forget that we all were in those same shoes way back when. So many of today’s comments were about being worried about their present level of fitness and being quite intimidated by the “lycra” crowd.
I’d like to do something about that.
Lots of people picked up our website promotion cards to check us out. Sylvia has already contacted Klaus and asked him to add to the membership website page a picture of a cyclist with regular clothes on a hybrid or cruiser bike (with a helmet, of course). This may help reduce the intimidation factor.
Ron had a few interested riders on his ride today, and one didn’t have a helmet. It just so happened that IU Health was fitting and giving away free helmets to anyone willing to wait in line. Sylvia quickly got him in line and Ron’s group waited at least 20 minutes for this young man to get a helmet. I also educated him that a fall from even a stationary bicycle can even be deadly without a helmet. Well, the group waiting for that man was indeed a celebration.
We talked to a lot of people and suggested the Nice & Easy ride and the OWLS ride. However, I talked to a man who said he got dropped twice on the Nice & Easy ride, and the OWLS rides are just too fast and fit for novices. Our club needs to promote and have more beginner rides and follow the “no-drop” clause. We also need to have opportunities with neighbors, family, and friends interested in getting some exercise and recreation through bicycling.
Road biking has been reported by many publications as elitist and snobbish, and I am sorry to have to agree. Maybe it’s because of our constant hassle with the motorized NASCAR wannabe’s out there or the indifference and ignorance of our rights of the road from law enforcement. Maybe that would be why mountain biking has not gotten that label. Warning to the elite: BBC will be attracting more mountain bikers and commuters to the club.
We need to make more of an effort to embrace new members and keep tabs on their efforts to fit into our club. I encourage the board and membership to discuss this issue. The more “normal” we become, the more our deserved rights and respect will be honored.