New Haven Independent

Most of the members of Elm City Cycling (including me) arrived on two wheels and shared a post for locking up. One new member arrived on four wheels, but he had a good excuse.

The new arrival was David Fischer (pictured), who lives in Clinton, so could be forgiven for driving his truck. “I’ve been on the Elm City Cycling list serve for over a year,” he said. “I felt guilty after I saw Al Gore’s movie on global warming (An Inconvenient Truth) so I thought I’d stick my nose into biking.” Host Matt Uva (on the porch in the photo at the top of this story) is a serious, fun-loving cyclist. He and his partner, Monique, both had several trophies on display they’d won in a bike race called the Alley Cat.

The group put all its eggs in the National Bike to Work Day basket last May (heavy promotion, no rain date). Then it poured. Nobody came besides the organizers and three cops who’d been assigned to accompany one of the rides into the Green and probably wished they’d been assigned somewhere else. But two cycling enthusiasts — Michelle (pictured) and Erica Mintzer — decided to promote Bike to Work Day on the last Friday of every month. The weather was perfect in June and July, and some new people came who hadn’t thought previously about bike commuting to work. That’s the goal. So we hashed out the plans for August’s BTW Day, on the 25th, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on the lower Green. Coffee, juice, munchies, bike freebies — and perhaps the most useful of all, a chance to talk with other cyclists about the best ways to get around New Haven by bike.

Several members of Elm City Cycling made early morning and mid-afternoon presentations at police headquarters to groups of cops at the start of their shifts. Our assignment was to talk about what it was like biking around New Haven — the good, the bad and the downright dangerous. New Haven is a small city with mostly flat terrain and a growing number of bike lanes that make cyclists more visible and provide a modicum of protection. Everyone had a tale of disaster or near-disaster to share — being doored, getting pushed toward the edge of the road, into glass and potholes, or being screamed at by irate motorists who don’t know or care that bicyclists belong on the road, not on the sidewalk.

Sgt. Bernie Somers was appointed by higher-ups in the police department as liaison with Elm City Cycling. Somers is one of the most knowledgeable officers in the department when it comes to traffic ordinances, including those about cycling. After the presentations were over, he said he thought they’d laid the groundwork for better communication between the cycling community and New Haven’s finest. It’s a start.

The last major item on the agenda was discussing how to contribute to an effort by the Town Green Special Services District to educate motorists and cyclists that bicycles belong on the road, not the sidewalk. Agreed, but the draft materials so far have an accusatory, finger-pointing attitude toward cyclists — the very people they’re trying to reach. We hope to work with them to produce materials that are more bicycle-friendly.

As we wrapped up the meeting, night had fallen, and we went out into it for a delicious ride home.