He's biked with people who raced in the Tour de France. Once, in New York state, he rode down a mountain in a pack of 150 cyclists, reaching speeds of 60 mph.
"It really isn't as hair-raising as a commute on West Street," he said.
Snowden, 39, rides 10 miles each way on his blue Cannondale bike from his home in Crownsville to his job at Capital Bicycle, a shop in Annapolis.
Simple distracted driving can make that half-hour trek on busy roads like Generals Highway and West Street dangerous. (Snowden has...
| This story has expired! You can purchase the full text in our news archives. |
If you encounter other problems, please email nlundskow@capitalgazette.com and include your name, username, and any errors or messages that are displayed. The more information you can provide, the better able we will be to assist you.
In order to post or vote on a comment, you must be signed in with a hometownannapolis account.
Take a look at a summary of Commenting Guidelines.
Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 0
0
to Salvatorre Bagatelli - 2010-06-23 22:01:42
Hello Salvatorre. I apologize for the confusing text I pointed you to. It is true that I wrote it for a different purpose.
I have cycled on a wide variety of roads in a number of places, including the DC area, where I lived for six months. I was never in Annapolis specifically, but I have been around DC and northern Virginia. I also correspond regularly with other cycling instructors from many other areas of the country, including dense cities like Los Angeles and Orlando.
It is true that different positions are appropriate on different roads. However, the general principle is the same. The more adverse conditions are present on the road, the more assertive a position is needed. On multi-lane roads, it is often necessary to occupy an entire lane. I would definitely treat erratic behavior from other drivers to be signal that I need to move farther left, Controlling your space on the road is one of the most important and least understood skill of bicycle driving. One of its many functions is to discourage motorists from cutting you off or trying to squeeze by you. That stuff happens because motorists see timid cyclists (subconsciously and often consciously as well) as irrelevant to them. By integrating yourself into the ordinary flow of traffic, you make yourself relevant.
By the way, you mentioned the word "aggressive". I do not think this word is appropriate. Aggression has nothing to do with it. It is simply about asserting yourself as a driver of a vehicle and taking your place in the flow of traffic. It might not help to pacify hostile motorists but they will not bother so much once you realize that they are not so much of threat as they might seem right now.
unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?
Eli Damon - 5555555555, 55 - Karma: Neutral
Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 0
0
Eli Damon - 2010-06-22 23:40:53
I checked out your link and found it to be fairly incomprehensible. Not because it was poorly presented, but because there seems to be context with which I am unfamiliar. That said, I am inferring from your posting that you feel that bicyclists need to be more assertive/aggressive as to their positioning. With all due respect, your current location in semi-rural Massachusetts is pretty far removed from Annapolis, which resides in one of the most densely-packed metros in the nation. Although you will most likely disagree with me, Mr. Cooper, biking techniques and rules are not universal. For example, would you compare the rules of the road concerning bikers and motorists in Freeport, Maine to, say, Manhattan? No. Two completely different animals. So, whereas I do not have your expertise as to biking, I think that your assessment of our rules of the road is fundamentally flawed due to a practical difference in traffic-flow.
unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?
Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 0
0
A more assertive lane position woul - 2010-06-22 22:06:33
As a cycling instructor, I hear these concerns a lot. Most people don't realize how much control they really have over the way other drivers behave around them. For cyclists, the most important tool for exerting this control is the choice of position on the road. Many cyclists allow themselves to be driven to the far edge of the road out of fear. But this timidity around cars actually imposes greater danger on them, both from cars and other hazards. The most reliable way to eliminate dangerous passing from other drivers is to take a more assertive position, farther from the edge of the road. Most people find this notion counterintuitive and terrifying at first but the improvement is dramatic and there are good reasons for it. I describe some of them at http://bit.ly/bP5MPi.
I strongly recommend the book Cyclecraft (North American edition) by John Franklin (http://bit.ly/b6BRft. It is endorsed by the Smart Cycling, CAN-BIKE, and Bikeability cycling training programs, the national cycling training programs of the United States of American, Canada, and the United Kingdom respectively. The section on lane position can be previewed at http://bit.ly/cecCg9. I also recommend seeking out a cycling instructor through the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?
Eli Damon - , - Karma: Neutral
Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 1
1
Catch Them On Tape - 2010-06-21 12:23:14
He's absolutely right about the risks of poor or distracted driving. The only way to compat these things is to do as he does, catching them redhanded. Well done.
There's no place for his conservative bashing in this article however. Poor editing here.
unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?
A K - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent
Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 2
0
A-HA! Take on me! - 2010-06-20 23:30:20
Fell into my trap! I'm bluffing. I have no trap, except to point out that your writer's poetic license allows you dramatic use of the word "missile" which caused me mild injury to my eyes whilst trying not to roll them. I may (sincerely) be wrong, but I don't recall any stories in recent memory that involve a cyclist being hit by a motorist. Again, I may be wrong, so save the "ah-ha" moment of revelation. That said, Mr. Hartley, you seem to be dismissing the responsibility of cyclists by measuring the results of an error. To wit...sure a cyclist can be irresponsible, but the ramifications of their actions are not as catastrophic as those of a motorist. True...to an extent. If a cyclist runs a red light (and that is not really an "if") are they not causing an incredibly dangerous situation that might cause injury to themselves if they are hit, or injury to others if a car swerves to avoid hitting them? Recklessness is recklessness. And whereas I appreciate the horror stories of local cyclists, I also feel that they seem to shrug when it is pointed out that their brethren might not be as responsible as it seems that Mr. Snowden might be. Airhorn aside.
unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?
Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 0
0
Also fair - 2010-06-20 22:28:00
Reasonable point. It's also fair, however, to point out that the consequences of a reckless cyclist and a reckless motorist are not the same. A reckless motorist is behind the wheel of a steel missile weighing a ton or more.
unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?
Eric Hartley - Annapolis, MD Staff
Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 1
1
To be fair... - 2010-06-20 22:16:17
Hokay, fine...Mr. Snowden makes some fine points. And I sincerely believe that some thoughtless motorists on area roads can endanger the safety of those who exercise their right to bike on the roads that their taxes pay for. Whew! Now for the other side. I would challenge Mr. Hartley to choose an intersection on Forest Drive or Bay Ridge Road and count the number of cyclists who sail through the inconvenience that the rest of us call a stoplight. If I may steretype for a mo', and I will, cyclists want it both ways. They want the considerations that are afforded to other vehicles on the roads, but without following those pesky traffic laws. Is this an excuse for drivers to endanger their lives? Of course not. For every anecdote that Mr. Snowden can offer as to a dangerous driver, I can counter with one of a reckless bicyclist. Does that mean that all bicyclists are reckless? No. So are all drivers thoughtless? No. But let's be realistic...bicyclists in this little town need just as much education as to their responsibilities on the road as do the motorists.
unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?
Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
If you encounter other problems, please email nlundskow@capitalgazette.com and include your name, username, and any errors or messages that are displayed. The more information you can provide, the better able we will be to assist you.