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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1977)
Eugene area bikeways m Ptx>to by Gfogg Weed New bike rules may bring: ‘Was I speeding, officer?’ It used to be the bicyclist was a rare bird whom no one paid much attention to and who could pedal around town in any old fashion without much regulation. Then the bike boom it and ail that’s changed. Bikers are subject to traffic regulations just as real as those governing automobile drivers. The story Over-50 crowd joins students bicycling on campus streets Bicyclists on campus have become so common that to the pedestrian, they are nothing more than one faceless, whizzing crowd on wheels. But oc casionally one catches the eye. “Well, look at that,” you say to yourself. “There goes my English prof.” Normally, the older the prof, the more amazed his students are to see him pedaling through campus. But bicycling is old hat to several University professors. “Bicycling has been my main and preferred mode of tran sportation for years,” says Orval Etter, a 62-year-old associate professor in CSPA who began riding when a student at the University in 1932. Although he doesn’t ride the mile stretch between his home and campus every day, Etter says he does ride most of the time. His bike is “an old clunker,” but that’s the way he says he likes it because he doesn’t have to worry about someone stealing it. Another avid bicycling professor is James McWilliams in the German department. His household, he reports, owns one car, driven mostly by his wife. “I drive our car about 20 miles a month,” the 52-year-old prof says. “My wife does all the shopping and driving and I ride the bike. “I’ve been riding a bike to campus for about 10 years and I find it a lot faster than driving, parking and then walking to my offioe.” Another member of the bike-to work crowd is James Kezer, professor emeritus of biology. At age 69, he’s still pumping to campus every day from his home a mile away. “There are weeks on end when my car remains in the garage,” Kezer says. “Sometimes it gets so bad I have to go out and run the engine a while to keep the battery up." Kezer, who considers himself “an old dog but still on the ball,” says the secret to riding on campus is maintaining a slow speed. He recalls one incident while riding his bike when a car made a U turn in front of Oregon Hall and plowed into him. The accident demolished his bike, but Kezer sustained only a broken rib. Although he hasn’t had any bike accidents during the 21 years he’s biked to campus, chemistry professor Raymond Wolfe, 57, says he’s had a few close calls. He warns bikers of situations such as of riding by angle-parked cars, riding in right turn lanes when going straight through an intersection and riding by parked cars when the driver suddenly open their car doors. The reasons professors give for riding to campus each day mirror those students give. Parking, exercise and speed rank high, as does pure enjoyment. “It’s lots more enjoyable than jogging,” says Richard Noyes, the 58-year-old chemistry department head who bikes one and-a-quarter miles to and from campus each day. “As I look around at some of the joggers, they don’t seem to be enjoying it.” Still another reason profs cite for biking to campus is the shot of brisk alertness it gives them in the early morning. After biking to campus in the early morning, they say, they’re more prepared to face those 8:30 a.m. lectures. about the polioeman writing up a bicyclist for running a stop sign is no longer fiction. Under Oregon law, bicyclists on public streets are subject to the same rules and regulations as drivers, and have almost all the same rights. The law states: -Always ride with the flow of traffic. -Obey all traffic signs and signals. -Ride as close to the curb as is safe. -Never ride more than two abreast. -Park in safe, unobstructing places. Parking on sidewalks, at building entrances, in roadways or in driveways is illegal. -Yield right of way to pedestrians. -Signal before turning or changing lanes. -Equip your bike with brakes good enough to skid on clean, dry pavement. -Do not ding to a motor vehide in motion. -Use a white light visible 500 feet in front and a reflector visible 600 feet in back when riding at night. -Yield right of way to all vehicles closely approaching when at uncontrolled in tersections. -Use bike paths and lanes whenever they exist. Licensing also is a necessity. All bicycles must be registered with the City of Eugene for a fee of $2 or with Campus Security. The University registration is a new procedure this term and is offered free by Campus Security as an attempt to aid recovery of stolen bicycles. Kelly McKirdy, bicycle patrol coordinator, says prior to the campus registration, only 20 per oent of the bicycles Campus Security found were returned to the original owners. A higher recovery rate hopefully will come when all bicycles on campus are registered with Campus Security, he says. Last year 124 bicycles were reported stolen at the University. Another 1,294 bicycles were reported stolen to the Eugene Police Department during the same time period. Tickets for bicycle violations run $2 from Campus Security and $15 from the police department. Campus violations include blocking traffic, ramps and building entrances; parking in yellow zones, landscaped areas and areas posted “No Bicycle Parking"; and failing to register a bicycle. Any bicycle impounded can be recovered for $2. Bike notes The Eugene Parks and Recreation Department will offer three courses this fall for bicyclists. A bicycle repair course is scheduled for 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays from Nov. 3 to Dec. 8 at Sheldon Meadow Community Center, 2445 Willakenzie Road. A bicycle touring dinic is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28 at Edison Elementary School, 1328 E. 22nd Ave. Registration fo both courses is $5. A free workshop on cold weather riding will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Celeste ....... Alternate transportation FREE EUGENE AREA BIKE MAPS Pick up at COOPERATIVE PRINTING 726 E. 13th 485-4899 copy shop, FAST printing Co-operatively owned and operated 7:30 am to 9 pm Monday thru Friday 9 am to 6 pm Saturday Noon to 5 pm Sunday iiiiiiimiiiniiiiuiiiiiiiinniiiiimnimnitiiiitiiiiiiimtniiimimiiiiiiniiiimiiiiininHniiiiiiiiiiiunnniiniiiiiiiiiiiimiiimiimimmiiiiiiii)ii 3o o Campbell Senior Center, 156 High St. All courses are open to the public. For more Information, contact Mark Bondurant in the Parks and Recreation Depart ment, 687-5333. Bicyclists who are tired of being treated as second-rate commuters may be interested in an evolving citizen group called Advocates for Bicycle Tran sportation. The group's main thrust is legislative although it has a focus on general bicycle issues such as safety, too. Peggy and Bob Waite, a husband-wife team, established the group and are interested in recruiting members. “There’s so many bicyclists in Eugene," Peggy Waite says, “they really need to band together. A lot of them don’t think they have a voice in bicycle issues, but they do if they would just get together." Persons interested in joining Advocates for Bicycle Tran sportation may contact the Waites at 343-9306. The Rotary International of Eugene-Springfieid is sponsoring free bike inspection Saturday as part of Bike Safety Days. In spection sites will be in the poking lots of Autzen Stadium and Springfield High School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The inspection will include examinations by bike mechanics, written reports of repairs needed, instruction on bike visibility, “hot spots” to place on bicycles for better visibility and bike safety booklets. City officials also will be on deck to license bicycles for the regular $2 registration fee. SUGAR PINE RIDGE A UNIQUE SPECIALTY SPORT SHOP P 877 E. 13th 345-5584 Everything for the RUNNER/JOGGER (upstairs next to UO Bookstore) TIGER NIKE - ETONIC - NEW BALANCE ADIDAS - BROOKS FRANK SHORTER RUNNING GEAR SHORTER SHORTS • DOLFIN SINGLETS • ERG • LITERATURE $2 00 OFF (with this coupon) any WARMUP or RAINSUIT in stock ONE DAY ONLY - FRIDAY, OCT 21 SUGAR PINE RIDGE open M-F 9-6, Sat. 9-5 i—-B<^roK^ountr^kiin^* Tennis • Running
