Bogotá's biking blues

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

In an email newsletter earlier this year from the conservative Colombian journalist, Ricardo Galán, in customary reproachful fashion, he berated Bogotá's cyclists for daring to use roads, as he put it, designated for motorised vehicles.

Many of Bogotá's cycle lanes are more like obstacle courses.

His chief point was that with over 500 kilometres, and counting, of permanent cycle lanes in the city, bike riders should stick to those routes.

A lane excuse

Considering how chaotic Colombia's roads and, more specifically, its drivers are (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2022/05/colombias-aggressive-driver-mentality.html), one can see his point, even if it seemed that the safety of cyclists wasn't Galán's chief concern.

He appeared to view them as nothing more than a nuisance, like a pesky housefly that needs swatting aside. (In fairness, some cyclists do push the boundaries, in keeping with the anything-goes, selfish mentality that many road users display here.)

No doubt Bogotá's authorities would largely concur with Galán, that the city's cycle lanes are more than adequate and push-bike users should stick to them.

The capital's PR people — regardless of the creed of the mayor at any given time — love to boast of Bogotá's bicycle-specific infrastructure and its famed ciclovía. (The latter is an initiative that sees many streets in the city closed off to traffic for a few hours on Sundays and public holidays, allowing citizens to walk, run, cycle and even dance on them without having to worry about those murderous metal motors.)

'Some of these lanes are in such a state of disrepair and/or ineptly engineered that they'd be a challenge for an armoured tank, never mind a bicycle.'

The problem is, the actual condition and layout of sections of these cycle lanes leave a lot to be desired. They're more like obstacle courses rather than well-kept paths.

In some places, to borrow an observation from a friend, it's a case of simply painting the footpath/road and labelling it as a cycle lane. This looks great on paper and for marketing purposes. It's quite another thing actually navigating such routes.

Mighty motorists

Challenges vary from trying to avoid pedestrians, street vendors and vehicular traffic to dealing with dangerous and damaging uneven surfaces, unnecessarily steep ramps and poorly constructed intersections.

Indeed, some parts are in such a state of disrepair and/or ineptly engineered that they'd be a challenge for an armoured tank, never mind a bicycle.

Building up and maintaining momentum is next to impossible. The wear and tear on one's bike is significant.

Thus, it's not surprising that regular cyclists, particularly those who have more delicate units, take to the roads, willingly putting their lives at a greater risk.

'After a while, they'll level themselves out.'

Now, some motorists may say that the state of the highways and byways is also shocking. Fair point. Yet by virtue of the larger size of these roads, for a cyclist there's often more scope to avoid the various pitfalls. There are also more opportunities to build up speed, to make steady progress.

So while the "cheeky cyclist" weaving in and out of traffic may anger many motorists, it's not simply for an adrenaline rush that some take this option. All things considered, it's seen as the least-bad choice.

Where roads are regularly shared, as far as I'm concerned priority should be given to pedestrians/wheelchair users first. Cyclists and those on similar vehicles come second with motorists third.

In Colombia, however, that order is reversed. Purchased power tends to trump human endeavour across the board.

In many ways, it's just the way of the world.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz", edition LV. Give it a go!

@wwaycorrigan

The Wrong Way Corrigan Brains Trust has been otherwise engaged over the last couple of weeks. The chief reason was due to our planning of the latest IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz", Bogotá's top trivia night!

IQuiz: It's best played live!

The actual live event, our 55th edition, took place at Bogotá's snug Cervecería Gigante on Plaza de Lourdes on Thursday 19 May 2022.

Via the following link, you can try it out for yourself. Why not play with family and friends? The idea, of course, is that it's a bit of light entertainment. Don't take it too seriously! For access to the PowerPoint presentation, visit https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11Vl_3-_yuZtLdrGDje5sGbCDzyKqZb7x/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100620580087331383763&rtpof=true&sd=true.

For the audio in rounds one, two and three go to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wojlk5kRY0D7sghhcfjtPnvS12mEeDQe?usp=sharing.

For the audio in round four, check out https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yx7-N6XSdpHbxMapoTOUT9y6o8O8qtFk?usp=sharing.

And for the "election" songs in the final round, five, go to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gHW9u0QKxYyO6wNwfUlvJpMIs5NNNSOZ?usp=sharing.

As a guide, at the live, in-person event, after the five regulation rounds we had a tie, with the leading teams getting a respectable 36 points out of 50. 'Las Babillas del Sinú' (what a name!) got closest to the answer in the tie-break question, thus winning the first prize. 

So give it a go and let us know how you do. Enjoy and good luck!

'Winner all right, winner all right!'

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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz". 

 

Colombia's aggressive-driver mentality

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

A Venezuelan friend once told me of a saying in her country: 'The Colombian can never lose.'

This seems to have come, for the most part, from the days when Venezuela was the ostensibly richer, more Western-leaning nation while Colombia was largely viewed as a violent backwater from which many of its citizens found refuge with the neighbours to the east.

Road Rage Republic: This Bogotá highway may look relatively calm but looks can be deceiving.

Sore losers

The rather desperate Colombians who did business with and settled in Venezuela couldn't be wholly trusted. They were always trying to get one over their better-off counterparts in the brother country (or perhaps that should be sibling country these days, lest one offend). So the story went anyway.

Needless to say, there's a lot of generalising in such a viewpoint. As Venezuelans — many of whom are quite desperate — living in Colombia today know only too well, it just takes a few bad types to see the whole group tarred with the same brush.

What's more, not wanting to lose, doing one's best to avoid defeat, is in many ways a rather good trait to have. Very often, if one doesn't stand up for oneself, he/she will be trampled upon.

It must also be noted that some people, simply by virtue of where they were born, start off in life with distinct disadvantages compared to others. They have a lot more obstacles to overcome to get to what one could call a break-even line if we imagine one exists (such comparisons are, though, fraught with complications; there are many variables at play).

'With the merest break in oncoming traffic, they'll overtake as many cars as possible, safe in the knowledge that they'll be able to force their way back into line when the need arises.'

That notwithstanding, all of us, regardless of our situation, suffer losses at some stage in life. How we deal with these setbacks tends to say a lot about our character.

Not only that but in our interconnected, interdependent society, there are certain malignant moments when the greater-good option is to accept our predicament. Wait it out until more favourable conditions present themselves. To do otherwise is not only selfish but it can also endanger one's own life and that of others.

Alas, human anxiousness to get ahead at all costs can override such judgement — if it exists in the first place that is.

Maniac motorists

Coming back to the 'Colombian can never lose' idea and, I'll add, 'to heck with everyone else', one place where it can be said this does exist without being accused of wild generalising is on the roads.

I've written previously about how otherwise kind, mild-mannered locals here turn into complete lunatics when they get behind the wheel (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2014/11/como-conduzco-er-not-very-well.html).

Observing this behaviour as a passenger is one thing — frightening as it often can be — but actually entering this high-stakes race as a driver allows one to get a better understanding of the maniac-motorist mindset.

For that idea, think of those rather fatuous Fast and Furious movies — appropriately enough, if you happen to find yourself on a bus with TV screens in Colombia, it's practically guaranteed that a Fast and Furious flick will be shown.

More specifically, the mentality is 'not an inch'. That is, if one leaves the slightest space between vehicles, it will be exploited.

Even in a long line of barely moving motors, many drivers believe that their time is all that matters. With the merest break in oncoming traffic, they'll overtake as many cars as possible, safe in the knowledge that they'll be able to force their way back into line when the need arises. (Such utter contempt for fellow humans can also be seen in queues at supermarkets and such like.)

In a futile effort to combat this, tailgating is the norm — a vicious circle of sorts. Gradually reducing speed when there's a red light or slower vehicles ahead appears to be frowned upon. Frantic breaking is what's expected. When you mix that in with an apparent inability to go through the gears, it's little wonder cars seem to need more servicing here compared to other places.

So, whilst the Colombian may think that he is "winning" by driving in such a manner, he's actually losing. Short-term gain, long-term loss. It's a phrase that sums up many practices in these parts.

Some awareness of others' needs, plus a bit of empathy, wouldn't go astray. Indeed, it could be the road to fewer loses and more wins for all interested parties. It's certainly worth attempting to navigate at least.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".