Hands On Learning

When you have kids that ride alone on major city streets you have to make sure they know what to do if something happens.  We have pointed out where all the bike shops along our regular routes are in case they have a flat or something.  We have taught them what to not lock up to (chain link fences are way easier to cut than the lock).  We have explained what to do if they get doored or hit by a car- call the police,  and let them deal with it.  I know enough about kids to know that if something happens they will not get the information right and they need calm, trained professionals to help.  We have taught them the information they should try to get, driver's licenses and insurance and plate numbers, but it takes a certain confidence and set of life skills to be able to do that when you have been knocked off your bike.

The other day, Cameron managed to get doored on Valencia Street.  There is a lot I could write about that, like how the bike lane on one of the most heavily used bike lanes in San Francisco is put 100% in the door zone,

or how often it is blocked by delivery trucks or taxis or construction vehicles....

but I will just tell you what came about with Cameron's dooring.

He got none of the information right.  After getting knocked off his bicycle, the woman who threw her door into him was more concerned about getting her door fixed than in giving Cameron her license or insurance info.  She didn't even ask him if he was OK.  He was only minorly injured and his bike was largely alright but Cameron was shaken up enough to forget everything we had taught him over the years.  He didn't even take any pictures (obviously not my son).  He wrote down her license plate number before she took off.

Needless to say, he got the plate wrong which we learned when we went to report the incident.

Unable to file a report because of insufficient information the really helpful Officer at the station told Cameron what he should do in a situation like that- call 911 and tell them you are a minor and that you need help.  They will be out ASAP and they can take care of what needs to be done (of course, if you are 18 or over don't tell them you are a kid) because opening your door into moving traffic is a crime.  Best of all, we were given the MAGIC PHONE NUMBER FOR ALL SAN FRANCISCANS-

415-553-8090

 

This number is the direct number to SF's 911 dispatch and can be used with a cell phone to bypass the cell phone 911 system which is run by the California Highway Patrol.  This allows you to speak  directly to SFPD without being patched through and gets you faster and more targeted response.  It also means you can be less specific about where you are and the person on the other end of the line can help figure it out (CHP dispatch in Vallejo can not do that as they are not in or from SF).

The phone numbers for-

 

Berkeley, CA 510-981-5911

Oakland, CA 510-777-3211

Daly City, CA 650-991-8119 (the DCPD asks that cell users call the non-emergency line until a system is created)

 

Go see if your city has a direct number to your local PD emergency dispatch!  Cameron and Úna both now have this number programmed into their phones as the first number in the directory.  Too bad it does not also magically impart the lesson that one should never ride in the door zone.

disconcerting

this morning i rolled up on this scene. i went upstairs very saddened. i saw 3 police cars, one ambulance, one fire truck, one bent bike, one stretcher and an interview in progress.

needless to say, it was a very disconcerting to encounter this virtually first thing in the morning.

this year has been full of many bikey friends and loved ones getting hurt while riding. some seriously hurt, some not so seriously. be careful out there people. please. we can't have 2011 be the year of the battered bikey badass. :( you will read one of the stories here on this blog tomorrow.

how do you guys feel when you roll past a scene like that?

GUAOOOO

*Spanglish for -wow-
Feels like Fell and Divisadero....


Saw this yesterday morning, via smashenger

Oil spill post.

Over the weekend, I came across this post from the blog HiLobrow. As devastating as the oil spills are, and because I don't watch much TV, photographs and the internet have kept me posted and quasi-up to date. Too depressing.
Here is a great post about the current situation on the other side of our coast, in Boston.

"Carrying our bicycles above our heads we trudged with great difficulty along the submerged pavement of Dartmouth Street and entered the open door of the John Hancock building, which was all but deserted. The once-gleaming marble floors of this temple of finance were entirely blackened with oil. Ascending via emergency stairwell, after an hour of stiff climbing, we stepped out into the building’s observatory level. From it we could see the streets of Back Bay radiating in every direction, while below us the road was yellow from side to side with the tops of the motionless taxis."

Check out the complete post:
City on a Spill by Joshua Glenn »


greader via karen s. - thanks!

blood and bikes

a friend to the blog, mr. cyclelicious, got into a minor accident the other day with a car. while he seems to be doing ok (right?), it got me thinking about the not so pretty part of riding around.

photo by richardmasoner

i'm sure we all have some minor accident stories and whatnot. i've had a few, a memorable one was with a car in brooklyn, a couple were completely all my fault, some were near misses.

the following pics are from my last one that falls into the completely my fault category. (hi mom!)

this fall didn't even result from me riding my bike, but merely walking around. when i mentioned this to the doctor at the hospital, she immediately asked if i was wearing my helmet. i told her i wasn't, but repeated that i was walking on the sidewalk and hit the bottom of my face. she had this funny look on her face after i said that.

suture day: they sewed me up on the inside because i bit through my lip,

day three: swelling is down a bit. can eat a little better.

day 8: i can sort of smile, but the scar tissue is building up. ouch.

sigh. i still have that scar on the outside of my lip, i still have scar tissue on the inside where they sewed me up. (and i bit around the inside scar rather hard the other day i might add...ouch)

how about you dear readers? did you learn anything from your experience? for example, i learned that wearing helmets on the sidewalk is a good policy and is a good and insightful question for doctors to ask. i'm joking. oh, and to not trip while walking home. while tipsy. over that, i'm not joking.