May 21, 2025 • 8 mins
Proper Cycling Etiquette from the Bellevue Bicycle Club
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am a new cyclist. My wife and I bought
nice new bicycles because we kind of wanted to get
into it. After you're going to Amsterdam seeing all the
bikes there, kind of wanted the new way to get
you know, have fun adventures. And we did that. We
bought new bikes and I ran into a man by
the name of Jeff who is a member of the
(00:20):
Bellevue Bicycle Club. He hooked me up with the president
of the Bellevue Bicycle Club, who is our current guest
on our phone line, Mike McGee. Mike, thanks for being
on our show today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hey, I'm excited to be here today and glad you
got a bike and I'm looking forward to seeing you
out on the trails.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yeah, absolutely so. Mike. For your personal background, tell people
you've done some public service as well, and how you
got into cycling and exactly what you guys do with
the Bellue Bicycle Club.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Bellv Bicycle Club. Yeah, mean, personally, I don't remember not
ever having a bike. I grew up in Fremont, Fremont's Flat,
you know as the Plains of Nebraska, moving to Omaha
in seventy nine, learned to write a little bit differently,
but biking has always been a part of my life.
And then I'm retired law enforcement. I was with the
City of Omahall and did some part time bike patrol there.
(01:09):
Loved the biking, got paid to do it. And since retirement,
I've gotten involved with the W Bicycle Club. And the
W Bicycle Club was formed to promote cycling, to advocate
the cyclists and to encourage people to get out and ride.
And you talk about the benefits of cycling, and there's
just so many, so many benefits. Plus it's fun, it's
(01:32):
great in the outdoors, it's a great family activity. It's
just a win win all the way around.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Mike, I when buying my bicycle, and I think my
wife felt this way too. We were excited to ride,
but we're unsure about exactly all of the pieces of
etiquette that one needs to know when you're riding your
bikes on the streets. And I know there are probably
plenty of people who are listening to the show right
now who don't ride bikes, and they drive their cars
and sometimes they'll run into a bike on a street
(02:01):
and they're trying to figure out the best way to
get around it. It frustrates them that they're on the
street and not on the sidewalk, or they don't have
a protected bike path. How do you best describe the
way that those two should be interacting with each other
for the cyclist who's riding on the streets and also
for the motorists who's trying to safely get around them
when they have an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, people need to know that state law does allow
for bicyclists to be on the street, including state highways.
The only place we can't ride is on the interstate system.
But if you have a road the cyclist is supposed
to ride as close to the right of the road
on the roadway as practical. Now, that practical word is
(02:44):
the key factor here. If there's the brick in the
road parked cars, obviously you're going to have to go
around that stuff, be out in the roadway a little bit,
and so you're able to ride in that and vehicles
when they pass you. Nebraska also has a three foot
passing law that you have to be a minimum of
three feet from the cyclist. Now, I will tell you
(03:06):
that sounds like a lot, but when you're on a
bike and a car is passing you within three feet.
It's closer than what you really think. So hopefully they'll
be nice and they'll give you a little bit more room.
But a cyclist wants to make sure that they're visible
to the motorists. You want to make sure you have
a rear light, a blinking light or a red light
which is required by law, especially at night. Don't need
(03:28):
in the daytime, but you need a reflector, high visibility clothes.
If you're writing at night, you want things that reflect
off the light so that they see you. There is
a study done in the UK where high visibility clothing
doesn't really help you at night, but it's that reflective material,
either on reflectors on the pedals or reflective clothing, something
(03:50):
that draws your attention. And then obviously you want a
headlight on your bike for at nighttime. And also I
use mine in the daytime so let cars see me coming.
It's very easy to lose the cyclist and the horizon
and it caught up in the background colors. And the
most important piece of equipment you want to have as
a helmet. So I'm assuming you and your wife purchase
(04:10):
helmets when you bought your right Indeed, yes, sir, good good.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah, So we're talking with Mike McGee. He is the
president of the Bellevue Bicycle Club. Big event that I
wanted to mention while we're talking about this because I
would have, you know, many follow up questions. But this
is the right of Silence that is taking place tomorrow
at seven o'clock and you guys are starting from the
Twin Creek trailhead on Raynor Parkway in Bellevue. So tell
(04:36):
me about what the right of silence is and what
exactly you're hoping people become aware of with this right
that you're doing tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Absolutely right. The right of silence actually started twenty twenty
three years ago, and it is to remember those onto
the cyclists that have been killed in motorcycle or in
collisions with motorists, to remind us motorists to share the
road with bikelists, and to provide awareness of bicycle safety.
(05:07):
So it's a multi prongum. We want the cars to
be aware of us, and we want to remind our
cyclists of the safety things that they need to do.
But it's really to honor those who have been and
remember those who have been killed in crashes on the roadways.
Interesting fact in you're twenty twenty two, there were eleven
hundred and seventeen. This is nationwide bike fatalities. In twenty
(05:32):
twenty four there was a five point five percent increase
to one one hundred and sixty six. Now in twenty
twenty three, Nebraska saw six bicycle fatalities, most we'd had
in the previous five years. A lot of people will
remember the Omahak cardiologist, doctor Matthioltaha, that was killed out
(05:53):
in western Douglas County and the cause of that accident
with a distracted driver. That is, if you look at
the studies and the numbers nationwide, dist distracted driving has
become a very prevalent cause of fatalities, not just with bicycles,
but in all fatalities. And our speaker tomorrow night for
(06:16):
the Ride of Silence is Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson,
and Sheriff Hansen, since taking office, has made it a
priority for himself and his department to address the distracted
driving situation. There isn't a bike ride that we don't
go on as a club or even the individuals that
you don't see somebody driving their car looking at their phone,
(06:38):
playing with other things. Not paying attention. Driving is a
privileg it's not a right. When you get behind the wheels,
your full attention has to be on operating that motor vehicle.
Because you have pedestrians on the roadway, you have bicyclists,
you have people in wheelchairs, and you have to pay
attention to your surroundings so that everybody can share use
(07:00):
the roadways as the way that they were designed.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Mike McGee is the president of the Bellevue Bicycle Club. Mike,
how can people learn more about what you guys do?
If they want to kind of tag along for a
ride sometime in the future, you.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Can go to Bell Bike Club dot r org. Bell
Bike Club dot org. We have a Saturday morning coffee
right every morning that leaves from the Twin Creek Trailheads
that's behind covers off a Highway three seventy and thirty
six street, and that is what we call a no
drop ride. So if you've been years since you've been
on a bike, or just take it up cycling, that's
(07:33):
where you can come. You can ask questions and learn
a lot, and we don't mind if you go slow.
We encourage people to come to learn how to gain
their skills and confidence and riding their bike, get used
to writing, learn how to ride in a pack, learn
how to shift your gears and ask questions in a
safe environment, and not feel like you have to keep
(07:55):
up with the people that ride really fast. You were
talking about me Jeff this week and at the races
at Xarbon Village. It was a great race, but those
professionals ride very fast, and not everybody that likes to
ride fast. We want to get there safely. We all
want to go from point A to point B and
get there safely, and then we also enjoy a nice
cup of coffee someplace and share some camaraderie and the
(08:19):
joy love of cycling.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
That's so cool. Again, the Bellevue Bicycle Club, Bell Bikeclub,
dot Oorg and the Ride of Silence tomorrow at seven pm,
leaving from the Twin Creek trailhead on Raynor Parkway. Hey, Mike,
this was fantastic. Thank you so much for being a
part of the show and can't wait to see you
on the trail sometime.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
It's good. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Emory all right, that is Mike McGee, president of the
Bellevue Bicycle Club.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Emery Sunger on News Radio eleven ten pfab
I am a new cyclist. My wife and I bought
nice new bicycles because we kind of wanted to get
into it. After you're going to Amsterdam seeing all the
bikes there, kind of wanted the new way to get
you know, have fun adventures. And we did that. We
bought new bikes and I ran into a man by
the name of Jeff who is a member of the
(00:20):
Bellevue Bicycle Club. He hooked me up with the president
of the Bellevue Bicycle Club, who is our current guest
on our phone line, Mike McGee. Mike, thanks for being
on our show today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hey, I'm excited to be here today and glad you
got a bike and I'm looking forward to seeing you
out on the trails.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yeah, absolutely so. Mike. For your personal background, tell people
you've done some public service as well, and how you
got into cycling and exactly what you guys do with
the Bellue Bicycle Club.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Bellv Bicycle Club. Yeah, mean, personally, I don't remember not
ever having a bike. I grew up in Fremont, Fremont's Flat,
you know as the Plains of Nebraska, moving to Omaha
in seventy nine, learned to write a little bit differently,
but biking has always been a part of my life.
And then I'm retired law enforcement. I was with the
City of Omahall and did some part time bike patrol there.
(01:09):
Loved the biking, got paid to do it. And since retirement,
I've gotten involved with the W Bicycle Club. And the
W Bicycle Club was formed to promote cycling, to advocate
the cyclists and to encourage people to get out and ride.
And you talk about the benefits of cycling, and there's
just so many, so many benefits. Plus it's fun, it's
(01:32):
great in the outdoors, it's a great family activity. It's
just a win win all the way around.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Mike, I when buying my bicycle, and I think my
wife felt this way too. We were excited to ride,
but we're unsure about exactly all of the pieces of
etiquette that one needs to know when you're riding your
bikes on the streets. And I know there are probably
plenty of people who are listening to the show right
now who don't ride bikes, and they drive their cars
and sometimes they'll run into a bike on a street
(02:01):
and they're trying to figure out the best way to
get around it. It frustrates them that they're on the
street and not on the sidewalk, or they don't have
a protected bike path. How do you best describe the
way that those two should be interacting with each other
for the cyclist who's riding on the streets and also
for the motorists who's trying to safely get around them
when they have an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, people need to know that state law does allow
for bicyclists to be on the street, including state highways.
The only place we can't ride is on the interstate system.
But if you have a road the cyclist is supposed
to ride as close to the right of the road
on the roadway as practical. Now, that practical word is
(02:44):
the key factor here. If there's the brick in the
road parked cars, obviously you're going to have to go
around that stuff, be out in the roadway a little bit,
and so you're able to ride in that and vehicles
when they pass you. Nebraska also has a three foot
passing law that you have to be a minimum of
three feet from the cyclist. Now, I will tell you
(03:06):
that sounds like a lot, but when you're on a
bike and a car is passing you within three feet.
It's closer than what you really think. So hopefully they'll
be nice and they'll give you a little bit more room.
But a cyclist wants to make sure that they're visible
to the motorists. You want to make sure you have
a rear light, a blinking light or a red light
which is required by law, especially at night. Don't need
(03:28):
in the daytime, but you need a reflector, high visibility clothes.
If you're writing at night, you want things that reflect
off the light so that they see you. There is
a study done in the UK where high visibility clothing
doesn't really help you at night, but it's that reflective material,
either on reflectors on the pedals or reflective clothing, something
(03:50):
that draws your attention. And then obviously you want a
headlight on your bike for at nighttime. And also I
use mine in the daytime so let cars see me coming.
It's very easy to lose the cyclist and the horizon
and it caught up in the background colors. And the
most important piece of equipment you want to have as
a helmet. So I'm assuming you and your wife purchase
(04:10):
helmets when you bought your right Indeed, yes, sir, good good.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah, So we're talking with Mike McGee. He is the
president of the Bellevue Bicycle Club. Big event that I
wanted to mention while we're talking about this because I
would have, you know, many follow up questions. But this
is the right of Silence that is taking place tomorrow
at seven o'clock and you guys are starting from the
Twin Creek trailhead on Raynor Parkway in Bellevue. So tell
(04:36):
me about what the right of silence is and what
exactly you're hoping people become aware of with this right
that you're doing tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Absolutely right. The right of silence actually started twenty twenty
three years ago, and it is to remember those onto
the cyclists that have been killed in motorcycle or in
collisions with motorists, to remind us motorists to share the
road with bikelists, and to provide awareness of bicycle safety.
(05:07):
So it's a multi prongum. We want the cars to
be aware of us, and we want to remind our
cyclists of the safety things that they need to do.
But it's really to honor those who have been and
remember those who have been killed in crashes on the roadways.
Interesting fact in you're twenty twenty two, there were eleven
hundred and seventeen. This is nationwide bike fatalities. In twenty
(05:32):
twenty four there was a five point five percent increase
to one one hundred and sixty six. Now in twenty
twenty three, Nebraska saw six bicycle fatalities, most we'd had
in the previous five years. A lot of people will
remember the Omahak cardiologist, doctor Matthioltaha, that was killed out
(05:53):
in western Douglas County and the cause of that accident
with a distracted driver. That is, if you look at
the studies and the numbers nationwide, dist distracted driving has
become a very prevalent cause of fatalities, not just with bicycles,
but in all fatalities. And our speaker tomorrow night for
(06:16):
the Ride of Silence is Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson,
and Sheriff Hansen, since taking office, has made it a
priority for himself and his department to address the distracted
driving situation. There isn't a bike ride that we don't
go on as a club or even the individuals that
you don't see somebody driving their car looking at their phone,
(06:38):
playing with other things. Not paying attention. Driving is a
privileg it's not a right. When you get behind the wheels,
your full attention has to be on operating that motor vehicle.
Because you have pedestrians on the roadway, you have bicyclists,
you have people in wheelchairs, and you have to pay
attention to your surroundings so that everybody can share use
(07:00):
the roadways as the way that they were designed.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Mike McGee is the president of the Bellevue Bicycle Club. Mike,
how can people learn more about what you guys do?
If they want to kind of tag along for a
ride sometime in the future, you.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Can go to Bell Bike Club dot r org. Bell
Bike Club dot org. We have a Saturday morning coffee
right every morning that leaves from the Twin Creek Trailheads
that's behind covers off a Highway three seventy and thirty
six street, and that is what we call a no
drop ride. So if you've been years since you've been
on a bike, or just take it up cycling, that's
(07:33):
where you can come. You can ask questions and learn
a lot, and we don't mind if you go slow.
We encourage people to come to learn how to gain
their skills and confidence and riding their bike, get used
to writing, learn how to ride in a pack, learn
how to shift your gears and ask questions in a
safe environment, and not feel like you have to keep
(07:55):
up with the people that ride really fast. You were
talking about me Jeff this week and at the races
at Xarbon Village. It was a great race, but those
professionals ride very fast, and not everybody that likes to
ride fast. We want to get there safely. We all
want to go from point A to point B and
get there safely, and then we also enjoy a nice
cup of coffee someplace and share some camaraderie and the
(08:19):
joy love of cycling.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
That's so cool. Again, the Bellevue Bicycle Club, Bell Bikeclub,
dot Oorg and the Ride of Silence tomorrow at seven pm,
leaving from the Twin Creek trailhead on Raynor Parkway. Hey, Mike,
this was fantastic. Thank you so much for being a
part of the show and can't wait to see you
on the trail sometime.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
It's good. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Emory all right, that is Mike McGee, president of the
Bellevue Bicycle Club.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Emery Sunger on News Radio eleven ten pfab
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