Before strapping on his helmet and joining colleagues for an afternoon bike ride on a recent blustery Tuesday, Robert Egger characterized the sometimes strained relationship between two groups that sometimes butt heads when sharing the roadways.
“It’s definitely a dance between the motorists and the cyclists,” said the 52-year-old creative director for Specialized Bicycle Components in Morgan Hill.
However, Egger – co-founder of the company’s daily, lunch-time group rides circa 1987 – is also the first to admit: cyclists are not always “saints.”
South County isn’t San Francisco, but it’s not immune to heated cyclist versus driver flair-ups or the vitriol surrounding debates over which party is in the wrong.
Most recently, the subject popped up in a “Letter to the Editor” penned by Morgan Hill resident Tom Hettmann, stating that “almost every day I see cars getting themselves into dangerous situations due to irresponsible cyclists.”
An avid cyclist himself, Hettmann said responsible cyclists know the rules of the road and, when traveling in groups, ride in single file lines.
“In Morgan Hill, there seems to be a huge population of weekend warriors that have zero regard for the safety of themselves or others,” Hettmann wrote. “I see people riding side by side on two lane roads in and around town EVERY day and I have seen countless cars being forced to make unsafe lane changes into oncoming traffic, endangering themselves and potentially others thanks to these inconsiderate cyclists.”
He has witnessed cyclists “flipping off” passing motorists and wondered why Morgan Hill police officers don’t “enforce the rules of the road when it comes to cyclists.”
In late September, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation – which will go into effect Sept. 16, 2014 – requiring California drivers to stay at least 3 feet away when passing bicyclists, or be subject to fines punishable from $35 to $220. Currently, motorists are only required to keep a safe distance when passing a cyclist. Cyclists, in turn, are required to never ride more than two abreast and to ride single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends.
The finger pointing is a two-way road, as Gavilan College trustee and avid cyclist Jonathan Brusco, observes.
The 34-year-old Morgan Hill resident has been riding on busy roadways since he was 12 and locally since 2009. In his experience, bad blood stems from cyclists who don’t obey the rules and, alternately, motorists who don’t know the rights of cyclists.
“There might be a few bad apples out there ruining it,” admitted Brusco. “I think most of the problem stems from (motorists) who have the misconception that we’re not allowed to be on roads.”
Brusco has a few unsavory tales, but also points out that some cyclists go through stop signs and ride side-by-side instead of in a single-file line as instructed by law.
“Most people don’t realize (cyclists) are considered automobiles by the letter of the law,” said Brusco, who has experienced motorists screaming out of their car windows or blasting their horns to try to startle him. Some drivers have even deliberately squirted their window wiper fluid as they passed.
A more intense confrontation occurred this past summer when a male motorist pulled over, got out of his car and tried to start a fight. Brusco – who rides on average 4,000 to 5,000 miles per year – pedaled away.
“For the most part, people in cars are OK. There are a few people who go above and beyond,” Brusco said. “Almost every avid cyclist in our area” has experienced some sort of negative interaction with a motorist.
Specialized boasts a unique daily work camaraderie as employees – often in groups of 10 to more than 20 with varying ability levels – are frequently out and about testing the latest prototypes during group rides that begin in the parking lot of their Concord Circle headquarters. Cyclists cross over Monterey Road and head west on Watsonville Road en route to five different rides of 11- to 21-mile loops through the scenic countryside, such as Uvas and Day Roads, before returning to home base.
Specialized riders have even been joined by guest professionals including Spaniard Alberto Contador, the 2007 Tour de France champion, and British world champion Michael Cavendish.
“For the most part, it has been really positive,” said Annette Blackham, 30, who’s been with Specialized for more than a year. “The community has been really accepting … Morgan Hill is such a beautiful place for cycling.”
Retired Gilroy couple Scott and Susan Francks, avid cyclists and members of the Alamaden Cycle Touring Club that organizes daily rides throughout South County, including Morgan Hill, agree wholeheartedly.
“Morgan Hill is so bike-friendly and (the roads) are easy to navigate, if you know the rules of the road,” explained Susan, 53, whose bike club also offers a Bicycling Driving Academy to teach novices how to ride safely in traffic and on the roadways. “It all comes down to whether or not cyclists have been educated about riding safely and confidently.”
Scott, too, described cycling as “dancing with the cars.” But sometimes one partner may step on the other’s foot during their tango – and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show how drastic those miscues can be.
According to the NHTSA’s April 2013 release, 677 pedalcyclists (a person who rides a pedal cycle, as opposed to a motorcycle) were killed and an additional 48,000 were injured in motor vehicle accidents in 2011. The number of fatalities is nine percent higher than the 623 pedalcyclists killed in 2010. In California, there were 2,791 traffic fatalities, which included 114 pedalcyclists.
Officer Herb Kellogg of the California Highway Patrol said a majority of the calls dispatchers receive regarding cyclists who have “either gone down or been hit” come from the Uvas area near Little Uvas Road. As far as volume of those calls, Kellogg said they do not come in on “a regular basis, but we do occasionally get calls.”
“We are aware and do get calls about that area,” he said. “Coming closer into town, we don’t see that.”
Locally, in 2009, there was a fatal accident involving motorist Sandra Arlia and cyclist Rory Tomasello, 22. The accident that claimed Tomasello’s life happened Oct. 23, 2009 in a crosswalk on West Edmundson Avenue in Morgan Hill. Arlia was driving a Cadillac SRX when her vehicle collided with Tomasello, who was riding a bicycle through the crosswalk that connects a pedestrian and bike path. Arlia was found guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter Oct. 21, 2011.
On its website, the NHTSA “encourages all road users, including motorists and bicyclists, to respect each other and foster a safer transportation environment.”
“In our experience, when you are confidently doing what you know is the right thing, you get a positive response from other road users because they can predict what you’re doing,” explained Susan, who has had “very few” bad experiences with Morgan Hill motorists since 2004.
The Francks believe negative interactions between cyclists and motorists are very limited, especially in Morgan Hill. And, with one of the foremost leaders in the cycling industry headquartered in town, Specialized is a good ambassador for the world of cycling and liaison for the activity, they added.
“Courtesy is the crucial part,” surmised Egger, just before heading to the locker room to change into his Specialized riding gear and join a large contingent of colleagues ready to bare Tuesday’s brisk weather conditions for another lunchtime ride.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and I think we’ve gotten a lot better,” he noted. “If I extend some good will (toward motorists), I’ve found that it comes back two-fold to us.”
