Pedestrians, bicycles, cars and jerks

This letter is in response to the Letter to the Editor (May 17) chastising the Herald article on Gypsie Goss's bicycle accident (May 10).

We were all saddened by news of the accident and wish Gypsie a speedy recovery.

I am a sometime bicycle rider and have twice ridden the STP (Seattle to Portland). I sometimes ride my bike to work. All that said, I believe bicycle riding can be very dangerous.

I totally agree with the article that bicyclists need to imagine that they are invisible to car drivers while taking every possible measure to be as visible as possible. Bright clothing and lights are essential.

These were not a factor in Gypsie's accident but anything a bicyclist can do that might lessen the chance of a collision with a car is important. Both car drivers and bicyclists should be courteous to each other and share the road, but it is the bicyclist who will lose the battle if a collision occurs.

I was scared witless one time when I was riding along 35th Ave SW in the right side of the lane when the wide mirrors on a big yellow construction truck rumbling by me came within inches of my head. I promptly got off 35th Avenue in favor of a less busy street and I haven't ridden my bicycle on 35th Avenue since that time.

I prefer bike paths to streets, but many bike paths (including Alki) become unusable by bicyclists when they are filled with walkers, joggers and baby strollers. During great weather, it's better to avoid joint use paths and use the street if you want to ride with any speed.

In the best of all possible worlds, we would all look out for each other on both streets and bike paths, whether pedestrians, bicyclists or drivers, but jerks (such as the driver who hit Gypsie) exist in both bicyclists and car drivers. Try not to be them, try to avoid them.

Sharon E. Best

Charlestown