Bicycle Summary

The cycling season is coming to an end, and I take the liberty of summing up my three-month journey on this type of transport around St. Petersburg. During this time I had: two accidents (in both cases I flew into the fender of a car leaving the yard, but everything turned out well, at least for me), several collisions with pedestrians, the theft of my bicycle (they took me away from the entrance), three punctures of the camera and a bent front wheel rim. It’s easy to guess that the new, dynamic and sporty lifestyle cost me a pretty penny.

At the same time, in terms of time, a bicycle is a very advantageous mode of transport, especially over short distances. The distance covered by a pedestrian in 15 minutes is covered by a cyclist in 3-4 minutes. Even over long distances, a bicycle can compete with public transport. If earlier I spent an hour to get to work by metro, now, with a bicycle, I spend 40-50 minutes on it.

In the city center it is safer and faster to drive on the roadway. On the outskirts - along a wide sidewalk. It must be admitted that rumors about godless motorists crushing unfortunate cyclists like matchsticks are greatly exaggerated. Much more often you come across cyclists who break all sorts of rules. And I myself am not without sin...

By the way, it is from the saddle of a bicycle that you can see all the madness of motorization in the city. Since September, the entire road from the residential areas to the center turns into one big traffic jam. What if we add accidents to this? The city needs normal public transport: high-speed trams, dedicated lines for buses and trams, it is necessary to encourage people to switch from smoking jeeps to small cars. But who will do this? And officials, businessmen and the opposition, of course, do not travel by tram. It is unlikely that they will allocate even a penny for public transport. And ordinary traffic jam dwellers will probably agree to get rid of all cars... except their own.

I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to lay out bicycle paths. In residential areas, it is enough to draw a line on the asphalt and put appropriate signs on wide sidewalks. In the center there are lightly trafficked lanes where a bicycle lane will not disturb anyone. But officials and bourgeoisie are probably not interested in this. Now, if bicycle paths required suspended overpasses, with illumination, with tolls, and promised multimillion-dollar contracts, then we would probably get both a bicycle ring and a through bicycle path with a tunnel under the Neva.

The ban on using bicycles in popular public parks - Summer Garden, Mikhailovsky Park, Central Park of Culture and Culture (on weekends) is striking in its absurdity. I was naive enough to think that parks were just for cycling. But no, the security explained to me that there was an appeal from citizens (anonymous citizens in Russia are a force worse than Satan), grandmothers with children, who were concerned about the movement of brutal bicycle fans. Why can’t there be separate paths for cyclists in parks? So that they don't crush dogs and toddlers?

Despite all the costs, I don’t intend to part with the bike. Unfortunately, as Russia becomes a normal third world country, the bicycle is turning from a piece of sports equipment into a means of transportation. In any case, it is cheaper not only than a car, but also the declining and increasingly expensive public transport.

I still remember the cry of the soul of the unfortunate driver when I crawled off his hood - “For the second time in a week!”