What Should You Watch For? A Horse, Of Course!

In previous posts, I've written about close encounters with animals.

As Steve A pointed out, it's pretty rare for cyclists to get hit by a deer because we're "a lot easier for a running deer to avoid than a large, speeding car."  I would imagine the same could be said for other animals.  Even so, it's pretty scary to see a deer dart across a path or a road 10 meters in front of you--especially if you're speeding down a hill!

One scenario that most of us rarely, if ever, imagine is a horse galloping into our path.  That's pretty odd when you realize that, at least here in North America, we are riding in proximity to our equine more often than we are to, say, Alpine Ibexes or macaques (or elephants--I saw one not far away but I think I might've scared it off!).  This is especially true in urban parks, which often have designated bike paths and horse trails not far from each other. 

Well, about a week and a half ago, a woman lost control of the horse she was riding in Gates Mills, an affluent village near Cleveland.  She and the horse careened into a couple riding a tandem bicycle.  I couldn't find many other details about the crash except that the cycling couple suffered "non-life-threatening" injuries.

Oh, and the woman riding the horse was found to be at fault for the crash, but she wasn't charged.  Hmm...Maybe she should get points on her license.  

Making Drivers Bicycle-Friendly in Colorado

Whenever I've ridden outside the US, I couldn't help but to notice how much more courteous drivers are to cyclists.  Even in Cambodia and Laos, which don't have cycling cultures like those in some European countries, I had less fear of riding even the most chaotic streets than I sometimes have in my home town and country.

What's especially interesting, to me, is that it doesn't seem to matter whether I'm in the city or the country.  In France, the country where I've spent the most time (besides the US), I find drivers in Paris nearly as accommodating as those in Provence or Picardy.

The reason, I believe, is that drivers are simply more conscious of cyclists and of how cycling is different from driving.  In the US, many people never get on a bike again after they get their drivers' licenses, usually at age 16 or thereabouts.  In other countries, some people continue to pedal, at least for short distances, even after they're allowed to drive.  Some never even become regular drivers, usually because they can't afford it, but sometimes out of choice:  There are situations in which a bicycle is actually more convenient than a motorized vehicle.

In other words, in other places, drivers are more conscious of cyclists because they are more likely to be, or have recently been, regular or occasional cyclists themselves.  Also, most countries didn't experience two or three generations of people who didn't ride as adults, as the US did from the end of World War I until recently.

Thankfully, a few policy makers are at least beginning to understand what I've just described.  That seems to be the reason why the National Safety Council has given one of its Road to Zero grants to Bicycle Colorado so it can conduct Bicycle-Friendly Driver Certification programs throughout the state.  

The curriculum was created in Fort Collins, a city in the northern part of the state long known for its cycling infrastructure.  Since then, Bicycle Colorado has brought its classes, which are free for participants,  to other parts of the state--including, most recently, Colorado Springs.  BC has also made its curriculum available so that other communities can adapt it.  

Community Safety Cooridiator Molly McKinley says the classes teach drivers about "sharing the road" from the motorist's perspective:  how to pass and yield to cyclists, how to turn and how to utilize a bike lane.  She says it also is an attempt to inculcate drivers with the notion that cyclists are drivers of vehicles who have just as much right to the road as motorists.  The importance of exercising caution and patience when passing a cyclist is also emphasized, McKinley says.

Molly McKinley leading a Bicycle-Freindly Driver Certification class.

Perhaps most important of all, Bicycle Colorado is trying to reach drivers who might not otherwise come into contact with such a program.  According to Maureen McCanna, Bicycle Colorado's education program manager, BC is "trying to support communities who want to incorporate this education but don't have the resources to do it."   Also, she says, her group wants to "make sure we are reaching people who may not be avid cyclists and may not have that perspective."

I think she has a clear understanding of what needs to be done.  Now, all she and others have to do is figure out a way to make it all happen nationwide.  After all, we have two or three generations' worth of knowledge to catch up on.

Make American Bikes Again: Will Tariffs Make That Happen?

I've never been very good at predicting the future.  One thing I can tell you, though, is that come the first of January, bikes and anything related to them are going to be more expensive.  Way more expensive.

Currently, most imported bikes are subject to tariffs of 5 to 11 percent. (I learned that when I purchased my Mercian frames.  I was even charged import duties when I had two of my frames refinished by Mercian!)  An additional fee of 10 percent was added to bikes, and most parts, from China in August.  That extra fee will increase to 25 percent when the new year begins.

Given that most new bikes and parts are made in China, and very few are made in the US, most people who buy bikes or parts will notice the difference, if they haven't already.  Now a couple of manufacturers want even higher tariffs, and to expand them to cover more bikes.

Bicycle Corporation of America (BCA) and Detroit Bikes are about as different as any two companies in the bike business can be.  For one thing, the bikes they offer have little in common:  Detroit Bikes offers a full line of city bikes as well as "comfort bikes" assembled in the USA and, for next year, plans to offer a  line of USA-made bikes.  As near as I can tell, their products are aimed at the sorts of riders who might buy, say, a Linus:  folks who want stylish bikes without the price tag of a bike from another Detroit maker: Shinola.  On the other hand, BCA's offerings (some of which are sold under the "Concord" name) seem to consist of kid's bikes along with beach cruisers and inexpensive mountain bikes for adults.

City FC Limited Edition from Detroit Bikes

I laud both companies for their attempts to bring bike manufacturing jobs back--in Detroit's case, to a ravaged city and in that of BCA, to a part of South Carolina that has been economically stagnant for most of the past century.  But I have to chastise them (as if they're listening to me) for asking the Federal Trade Commission to increase tariffs on all imported bicycles to as much as 50 percent.  

BCA Bicycles

Not only that, they want to reduce the de minimis threshold for such duties.  Currently, any package of imported goods valued at less than $800 is not subject to import duties.  BCA and Detroit's petition calls for reducing the de minimis to $50 for at least four years.  That would include, of course, just about any imported bike but could also mean that, say, a package containing bicycle parts such as inner tubes (nearly all of which are made in China) could be subject to the charges.  

To be fair, the US industry as a whole has been lobbying for a reduction of the de minimis for all imports.  So have American companies in other industries.

While BCA, Detroit Bikes and other American bike companies believe that such tariffs will increase their business and bring jobs back to the US, at least one example from another industry shows that their move could backfire.  Last year, the US International Trade Commission recommended tariffs on some photovoltaic cells and large residential washing machines. Last January, the Trump administration approved 30 percent tariffs on the cells, which would decrease after the first year.  On the other hand, it approved a 20 percent tariff on the first 1.2 million washers imported, and 50 percent on any imported after that.

It won't surprise you to know which company initiated the petition for these tariffs:  Whirlpool.  Though the company celebrated its initial success, its profits have declined in recent months because the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have driven manufacturing costs upward.

So, while Zak Pashak, the Canadian-born head of Detroit Bikes, is excited at the prospect of running three shifts "at full tilt" and thus bringing "hundreds of new jobs" in "an area where we really need jobs", one has to wonder whether his enterprise will be so profitable if he, like Whirlpool, has to pay more not only for raw materials, but also for the parts--almost none of which are made here--he hangs on his frames.