photo credit: www.elcomercio.com
(this post is intended for http://lavidaidealist.org/)
“Oh, wow, no way, a biker, did you see that?”
As I looked out my window to see the reason for the growing line of cars winding up the valley like a snake, I caught a glimpse of a pink and white aluminum bike frame on the side of the road – the rear wheel crunched around it.
Julian said he saw the black bag closing over the biker’s white shoes.
“Se murio, chucha, se murio.”
I have commented previously in this blog about Quito´s strong cycling community and the groups of concerned citizens that have lead seismic changes in the cycling culture of this city in recent years. So, because of the close knit-cycling community here the death last weekend of bike racer, Salome Reyes, left a profound impact. Personally, I regularly brave the city streets to commute to work and do errands, so the nature of this accident shook me as well.
Two weeks ago, we happened to pass by the scene of the bike accident on our way back to Quito after an adventure race in the valley. The experience of seeing such an accident was certainly jarring, but it was made more difficult to digest the next day as I found out that: 1. Yes, for certain, the biker was killed; 2. She was a well-known rider and graduate of Colegio Americano where I teach (the next day, when I mentioned it in class, the majority of my students had a friend or relative that knew her or were in some-what connected to her – small community!); and 3. Despite the cries of the passengers to stop, the municipal bus driver left the scene and has not yet been identified.
Apparently the hit and run thing is fairly common here, but this recent incident motivated Quitenos. Last Monday morning, over 400 cyclists attended a rally near the Parque Carolina. The riders blocked all traffic of a major road for a short period of time to draw attention to the cycling community of Quito and to remind motorists that “Bikes are traffic too.” That afternoon, several leaders in the cycling community met with the mayor about implementing and enforcing a set of new laws protecting cyclists in the street. Then, on Tuesday morning, the mayor’s committee on transportation granted a promise to make more ciclovias and make the city friendlier for two wheels.
However, the situation here can seem grim for cyclists. A group tried to suspend city bus service until the name of the driver that hit Salmone was released, but that motion didn’t work. The bus cooperativas have some serious power in this city and seem to avoid any serious convictions.
So, I recently purchased a few more reflective ankle bands, and an extra blinky light to be more visible on the road. And I definitely carry with me a sense of caution every time I brave the city streets, but I will continue to commute to work and ride when I can. Last week, I don’t know if it was completely imagined, but I did feel a tad more respect from other vehicles than usual, one or two fewer car horns were blearing in my ear. Fewer trucks seemed to pass me, inches from my handlebar, so that makes me want to believe that yes, poco a poco, the cyclists are gaining some respect on the road in Quito. We’ll see how long the respect lasts.
footnote for first sentence in 3rd paragraph: Every Sunday, 28 km of central city streets are completely closed to vehicles to allow for a biker and walker only ciclovia. Some bike lanes have been created. Non-profit and for profit groups relating the the bike industry have exploded recently in Quito, it seems like every corner there is a bike shop or a tour agency offering bike trips.
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