Now you can die while staying "comfortable and stylish"!

When you ask average Americans if they feel safe riding bicycles in our cities, they would likely say no. But unfortunately, if you ask them how to make it safer for cyclists, they will still tell you - make them use helmets!

It's 2018. This topic has been beaten to death. More and more people already realize that helmets are not going to save us. Yet still, there is a large percentage of population who thinks that these styrofoam hats are THE solution.

Take this newest offering from Park & Diamond - a collapsible helmet that looks like a hat:

According to the inventors, the biggest problem with bicycle helmets is that they are difficult to transport and ugly, which is why not many cyclists want to use them. Their offering is superior because it will keep you "safe, comfortable and stylish". Riiight...

Somehow, I can't picture this (or any other) helmet keeping me safe in this situation:

No matter how stylish your helmet is, it's nearly useless when you're being flattened by a large SUV. Of course, if you want to wear pretty helmets I won't be stopping you. Get one! Just please don't fall for the usual BS in Park & Diamond's business pitch:

• "wearing a helmet reduces the risk of traumatic brain injury by 87%"
• "97% cycling fatalities occur when the rider is not wearing a helmet'
• "more than 90% of bike commuters don't wear helmets"

The first two completely false claims have been already widely discussed. The last one is difficult to agree with for someone who rides to work everyday and sees fellow commuters on the way. By my take, overwhelming majority of them wear helmets and it is evidenced in data:

As you can tell, United States is a country with one of the highest helmet wearing rates in the world. If helmets were the miracle cure, cycling in USA should be much safer than anywhere else. Unfortunately, data shows exactly the opposite. We have the highest deaths/km cycled ratio.

Even worse, our death rates are so high despite fewer trips done by bicycle compared to other countries. Notably, only Australia scores even worse and that's a country where wearing helmets is mandatory! 
 
By now it should be pretty obvious that Australian model is useless - giving people helmets (or actually forcing to wear them) doesn't lower number of fatalities. Instead, we should be doing what they did in Denmark or Holland - build safe infrastructure.

Unfortunately, this would be a very difficult proposition here in the United States. Most Americans can't picture anything else than driving everywhere, because they've never experienced anything else. And they are ready to defend this status quo - to the point when a very modest tax increase on gasoline could help properly maintain our roads (which, I think, is what every driver wants), it is met with fierce opposition:

Something from this morning's #YesOn6 rally stuck out to me: the open disdain for policies that encourage climate-friendly transportation. State Senator Pat Bates: "We will be forced to walk, ride our bikes or maybe catch that once in a while bus that comes our way." pic.twitter.com/KIU8N8p8PF

— 👻ndrew B🎃wen (@acbowen) October 17, 2018

But no. "Cars must stay" - we say, even though we suck at driving, especially around our own kids. If a bad crash happens, we blame it on others - pedestrians, sun glare or those damn cyclists who refuse to wear helmets (Isn't that right, Park & Diamond?). Some would really want to follow Australia's example and make styro-hats mandatory quoting that it's worth it, even "if it only saves one life". As MBTom pointed out - that just doesn't add up: 

It's funny. A cycle helmet is essential "if it only saves one life". Air pollution kills 40,000 a year but any plans to restrict motor traffic are an assault on personal liberty.

— MBTom (@MBTom_co_uk) October 28, 2018

I do not wear a helmet on my daily commute but you may want to. When you do - at least pick a "comfortable and stylish" one.

Townsend-Milton Quick(er) Loop

Don't you think this fall season's weather has been lousy so far? The whole September was very humid and then when the true fall finally came, we didn't really have a chance to enjoy those warm days with cool, crisp air. It got very chilly pretty quickly.

Last Friday was one of those rare, warm, sunny days. I decided to visit some of my favorite places nearby (i.e. within 1hr drive from Rt128). I visited this place before - in May, but it looks quite a bit different now in the fall.

As the last time, I started at a parking lot just south of Townsend State Forest from where I took Dudley Rd to Barker Hill Rd. The unpaved section starts when you take left onto Morse Rd and then continues on Mason Railroad Trail.

The nice thing about Mason Railroad Trail is that whenever I go there I don't see anyone else. It's empty. And it takes you through forest across a couple of bridges.

Once you get to the edge of Pratt Pond, it's time to turn right onto Pratt Pond Rd and then continue east until you turn onto Mitchell Hill Rd. You will notice a sign "no outlet" right at the intersection but that obviously applies only to cars. There's always "an outlet" for someone on a bike - the question is only how difficult it's going to be.

At some point along Mitchell Hill Rd you will notice a simple steel bar gate, which you can safely ignore since this is where all the fun really starts. The first few hundred of feet are a steep downhill on a rocky forest road, so pay attention where you land your front wheel. Then you'll get to a brook crossing, which is usually flooded. Fortunately, it's perfectly possible to ride right through it. No need to wet your feet.

Eventually, the trail ends at a grassy parking lot, just off Mile Slip Rd. Following Mile Slip Rd south can be... interesting. When I visited this place in May I wouldn't even consider this place a road. It looked more like a riverbed - full of large rocks, it would be more appropriate to ride it on a full-suspension bike.

Mile Slip Rd last May

Not this time. I returned a few months later and to my surprise all rocks were gone, the road was graded and rebuilt. In some way it's too bad they fixed it - I kind of liked the challenge. On the other hand, now it's easier and much, much faster to ride. I just hope there is no plan to pave it.

I continued south, crossing some rough sections with very chunky gravel, then a few ATV-like trails.

The unpaved road ended once I reached Mason Rd, but then there's a trail just off Campbell Mill Rd that continues south through the forest. With my luck, it was of course unavoidable to get messy. Because of many rainy days in the past weeks, soil on the trails was very soft in places and my tires picked up a fair amount of mud.

The last part of the ride is a straight road running through Townsend State Forest, between West Hill Rd and Fessenden Hill Rd. It's fun - all downhill on a wide, rocky road makes you fly and finish your ride in no time.

The ride ends at Brookline Rd (Rt13), which is usually busy, with lots of traffic. I actually hoped to stay on the trail for longer and take another path through the forest but it ended up being completely flooded (like a large pond right in the middle of the trail) so I had no choice but to bail our early.

That area is always fun to ride and even though it's not that close to Boston it's worth visiting. Now I wonder if there's a way to ride this route in winter...

The German way

A couple of weeks ago I had to spend  some time in Germany, travelling for business. Even though I used to live in there many years ago, visiting European cities often comes as a minor cultural shock for someone who lives in United States.

One of the striking differences is how much more space in very centers of German cities is designated only for pedestrians and bicycles. Obviously, this is very normal in historical, medieval downtowns, which were not designed for cars and cars wouldn't even fit there anyway. But even in modern urban setting, having entire street just for people, not cars, is something Germans, unlike Americans, are apparently very comfortable with.

The next two pictures are from Frankfurt am Main. This is Zeil - one of the main streets in the city and a major part of it is closed for car traffic.

Zeil - Frankfurt's shopping street and pedestrian heaven.

Actually, it's cyclists' heaven too.

Now, keep in mind that we are not talking about closing some narrow, side road for cars. The width of Zeil can be easily compared with New York's 5th Ave. Can you imagine having 5th Ave closed for cars between Central Park and Bryant Park? Or having Boston's Boylston St closed for thru traffic from Mass Ave to Public Garden? I can already see those riots in the streets if both cities proposed anything like that...

Another difference that became immediately obvious was that many Germans in the middle of Frankfurt on their way to work or school early in the morning don't drive. In fact, most of them seemed to either walk or use bicycles:

Some guys in their usual business attire - on bikes.

Women too.

This one stopped briefly to look at the river.

The river banks in Frankfurt are used for walking and cycling. There's no major highway taking that precious real estate - unlike our Storrow Drive here in Boston.

Bikes in front of a school building. Makes me wonder how many German parents actually drop of their kids at school by car?

A small-footprint, high-capacity bike parking in Frankfurt.

It's pretty clear that bicycles are a normal mode of transportation in Germany, but what's very interesting is how much more popular electric bikes are. Over a decade and a half ago, when I lived there, electric bikes didn't exist. Now, they are practically everywhere. A good sign of e-bikes popularity is presence of dedicated charge stations scattered around the city.

While I doubt we will reach this level of car-free living here in the US anytime soon, it can be eye-opening witnessing how pleasant, quiet, and calm a large city like Frankfurt can be.