VAPOR is more than a gas...it's the way we should ride

My 23 years in the military taught me that you can make an acronym for just about anything.  So I started playing with terms for good cycling practices and came up with a way for me to remember how we should act when riding on our roadways.  Now for an acronym to be meaningful, the resulting word needs to have some connection to the activity or it will soon be forgotten.  Well, we may have to stretch our imaginations here but let me submit to you after great thought, I think I've come up with one that will serve you well as a cyclist...VAPOR.  I use this acronym as a summary and closing for the LAB BikeEd classes I teach every spring.  

Webster defines a vapor as, "Suspended floating in air and impairing its transparency" among other definitions.  I think of a vapor as something that can intermingle without disturbing its surroundings.  That is, a substance in its gaseous state, can occupy the same space at the same time with another gas.    Speaking metaphorically, think of the cyclist as the first gas and motorists as the second gas.  They can share the same space if they are like a VAPOR.  Viola!  We have an acronym.  I told you it would be a stretch of your imagination...now let's see what it all stands for.

V is for VISIBLE.  
Wait a minute you say.  Gases are usually not visible.  Work with me here.  As a cyclist, you want to be visible but able to ride invisibly.  Or another words, be seen but not noticed as something that doesn't fit in.  The first thing that crosses your mind when I mention visibility is all that bright clothing that cyclists tend to wear.  Yes, bright outfits do attract attention but there's more to being visible than wearing colorful clothes.  You have to put yourself where you will be seen.  Riding in the correct position on the roadway, correct positioning in traffic lanes, and not riding in an automobile's blind spots are good examples of being visible.  You have to ride where motorists would be looking for conflicting traffic.  For example, if you are riding straight through an intersection while positioned in a right turn only lane, you are subjecting yourself to one of the most common car/bike crash situations.  Oncoming motorists planning to make a left turn are not expecting someone in the right turn lane to be coming straight at them.  The motorist is looking in the oncoming straight through lane for conflicting traffic.  If you are not there, you won't be seen until it's too late!  Another example is passing cars on the right side...a prime motorist "blind spot."  Motorists are not expecting traffic to be on their right as they are making right turns.  It's bad enough when a motorist passes a cyclist and then turns right but it's the cyclist who's putting himself in danger when he or she passes motorists on the right near intersections.  I know of a cyclist who pulled up alongside a semi at a light.  When the light changed, the semi turned right killing the cyclist.  In this case, the cyclist gave up control of his own safety.  

A is for ASSERTIVE.  
Just like with driving a car, there's a big difference in being assertive and being aggressive.  The assertive rider can safely manage the situation surrounding him and react positively to dangerous situations.   The aggressive driver/rider "demands" his rights and creates situations that put himself and others in danger.   There are rules that govern the flow of traffic...first come, first served; lesser roadways yield to major roadways; slower traffic rides to the right; left turning traffic must yield to oncoming traffic to mention a few.  The assertive rider adheres to these rules and uses them to his advantage tempering his actions with the knowledge that cyclists are more vulnerable to injury than motorists.    

P is for PREDICTABLE.  
You can ride your bicycle safely in any situation if you can predict what is going to happen around you and others can share the road with you if they can predict what you are going to do.  The rules of the road I mentioned in the above paragraph are there for that reason...to aid in the safe flow of vehicular traffic.  If everyone follows these rules we can expect to function safely in an orderly fashion.  If you do not apply these rules to riding a bicycle as you do driving a car, all you will do is cause chaos.  Riding with the flow of traffic, adhering to traffic signals and signs, using proper hand signals to signify your intentions, and yielding to pedestrians are habit patterns that make good sense...besides, they are the law.  If the most predictable thing about your riding style is your unpredictability, you are menace to yourself and to others on the road.  This is survivability!         

O is for OBSERVANT.
Situational awareness is paramount to our safety as cyclists.  Heads up riding will keep you out of tight situations and you can recognize problem before they have a chance to materialize.  Every time I have had a close call with an automobile while riding my bike, it's been because I wasn't paying attention.  When you are entering an intersection, you should be aware that oncoming traffic turning left in front of you is a primary danger and be keenly looking for that situation.  When riding on sprawl streets (where all the shops and fast food places are located), the left turn situation can happen almost anywhere so you must be constantly alert to developments from the oncoming direction.  Over 90% of all car/bike accidents happen in front of the cyclist.  Since this is the case, the cyclist has a lot of control over his own safety if he is knowledgeable of hazardous situations and particularly observant during those times. 

R is for RESPONSIBLE.
If we as cyclists expect to be treated as equals and be allowed to ride the roadways with automobiles, we must be willing to accept the responsibility that goes with it.  I've always said that cyclists are their own worst enemy by the way some of them ride.  Adherence to the rules of the road indicates to the motoring public that cyclists are law abiding citizens that deserve their respect.  How you ride not only affects you, but it also affects how a motorist might react to other cyclists.  We should set a goal to show motorists, by our actions, that we can both use the roadways safely. 

We have all seen cyclists who have riding habits that disrupt the flow of traffic and irritate motorists and pedestrians alike by their erratic riding.  Also, we have all seen cyclists who just seem to be able to ride smoothly and confidently in just about any traffic situation imaginable without even being noticed by motorists.  The safe, effective cyclist is like a VAPOR and can occupy the same space safely with motor vehicles without disturbing or disrupting the traffic flow.   On the other hand, if these principles are violated, the VAPOR can be a gaseous, volatile explosion that can be disastrous.

If you'd like to learn more about effective riding techniques, situational awareness, and accident avoidance procedures, sign up for the next League BikeEd class offered in your area.  You'll be glad you did.  Be safe!