One of the main reasons my family decided to spend the extra money to live “in town” in Durango was so that we could use our cars less and ride our bikes more to get to and from work.
Taking it a step further, my husband recently was featured as “Commuter of the Month” due to the fact that he rides his bike 365 days per year in the rain, snow, or shine – he is originally from Minnesota, after all.
Considering he rides his bike daily, he has had more opportunity to be subjected to verbal abuse and unsafe practices by auto drivers here and there. Most recently, while riding down 3rd Ave. (the most popular biking route in Durango) with our preschool-aged son on the back of the bike, a driver went so far as to threaten physical assault while driving for three blocks in the opposite lane of traffic, all because my husband was biking in the middle of the official bike-share lane in order to maintain his and our son’s safety by not getting too close to parked cars.
It is extremely unnerving that drivers don’t understand the rules of sharing the road with cyclists who are biking nearly the speed limit on the most popular bike-commuting routes in town, and especially so when they get dangerously close and even threaten assault.
With a community that is so focused on cycling and positive environmental practices, when are drivers going to wise up and share the road safely?
Laura Wenger
Durango
