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NY Times joins the bike movement

No mask, no helmet

First paragraph of the recent pro-bike story in the NY Times:

On the desolate streets of Manhattan during the bleak early days of the pandemic, Rosemary Sigelbaum found that riding a bicycle to work at Lenox Hill Hospital offered a desperately needed respite from the stress of 12-hour days witnessing the worst of the coronavirus’s frightening effects. “It was quiet, and on my way home it gave me time to decompress,” Ms. Sigelbaum said of her commute between the Upper East Side and her home on the Lower East Side.

Readers may have forgotten about Rosemary by the time they get to the end of the 1,200-word story:

Meanwhile, Ms. Sigelbaum has encountered her own challenges commuting on two wheels. She recently broke several bones in her hand falling off a bike, “all by myself.” But she added, “I’m still going to bike to work from now on.”

Of course she is, since for some cycling is like a religion. No matter how often experience contradicts it, Rosemary will continue to practice her faith (see also Jane Natoli and reality).

Most of the story is about the difficulty of designing technology to make riding a bike safer. 

It also includes this:

Even before the pandemic, bicycle fatalities in New York nearly tripled last year, to 29, from 10 in 2018. This year, at least 14 people on bicycles have been killed. With more bikes plying the streets with cars, buses and trucks, there’s more pressure than ever to find ways to make the roads safer for everyone.

What the facts show: most cycling accidents are "solo falls" that have nothing to do with cars and other vehicles: The myth of cycling "collisions".

Recall also that UC study on cycling accidents in SF that told us solo falls can be just as damaging to cyclists as being hit by a car. 

Except for yours truly, the local media in The City That Knows How hasn't done a single story on that study!

The reality: there's no way to make riding a bike really safe: More people on bikes means more people injured.

Earlier this month, the Times provided more wishful thinking about women and bikes. See Why aren't women joining the bike revolution?