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Bike Riding Suicide Pacts

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September 30, 2007

This weekend, unfortunately, has been all work and no play…aside from one gloriously bicycle outing. Yesterday, I decided that I needed a break from the endless hours spent in front of the computer. The day was beautiful so Seba and I headed out on our bikes. We hadn’t been out bike riding for a while (winter just ended here)…and I had totally forgotten how dangerous the Santiago city streets can be!

In neighborhoods like mine (a.k.a. poor) the sidewalks are so full of ginormous holes or places where the concrete has buckled and rises up in huge, uneven bumps, that it’s physically impossible to ride over them. It’d be like mountain biking on paths made of cement. This means in many places we have to ride in the street. Have I mentioned that Santiago drivers are crazy? Though they are quite orderly compared to many of their South American counterparts. Once while in Argentina, my taxi driver turned down a street into oncoming traffic. When I shouted “You’re going the wrong way down a one way street!” he didn’t respond like I thought he would. Instead of turning down a side street, or reversing the short distance to be back on the street we had just turned off of, he accelerated to dodge in and out of the cars coming at us, “Well then we better get out of here quick!”

No, things in Chile aren’t that bad…but there’s still the little issues of lanes. Now, I see the white lines on the street, but the drivers don’t appear to know what they mean. The general rule seems to be that there are as many lanes as there are cars that can fit in the road. So if you’re riding your bike out there in that jungle it can be terrifying. Autos don’t exactly give you a wide berth when they fly by so close that you get hit with gravel from their spinning tires.

But, let’s talk about signage. That’s what really gets me. Even being on a lane specially marked for bicycles, with a crosswalk sign that actually has a little green and red stick figure riding his bike, you’re still in danger. When the bicycle crosswalk turned green, we started crossing…but ooooooh, wait! Somebody else has a green light too! The truck that has a left hand turn arrow directly into our bike path. It’s seriously like a death trap for cyclists, set up to warn Santiago bikers that they shouldn’t dare go any farther.

My conclusion-Santiago is not for lovers on romantic bike rides. Santiago is for lovers who have made a ride to their deaths suicide pact.

Pictures for today and yesterday to follow, I can’t get them off my camera!

3 Comments

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  1. What you say is true but they are better lanes for bikes in Ñuñoa and Provodencia, if you are interesting. Others ways it is a little far from Estación Central.

    Comment by bad — September 30, 2007 @ 6:43 pm

  2. Too bad they don’t allow bikes in the metro, we have no way to get to Providencia or Nunoa with our bikes because we don’t have a bike rack for our car.

    Exercise options for people in poor neighborhoods seriously suck!

    Comment by mamacita chilena — September 30, 2007 @ 6:49 pm

  3. Come join us for a ride sometime.

    http://www.labicicletaverde.com

    Comment by Peter Lewis — April 14, 2008 @ 8:46 am

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