February 15, 2007

Hi Jens, I wanted to ask you some questions about bike safety and we can do that in German if you want. 

Jens Voigt (JV): That is pretty far to come all the way to America to ask bike safety questions…

(note: Jens is always funny – and I live in the US of course)

Procyclingpress: You have trained in many different countries, which is in your opinion the bike friendliest?

JV: I’d say France. A lot of people ride over there and there is just more awareness in the public. The bike is in everyone’s mind. Here in the US it’s different. People seem to be a little bit intimidated when they see bicyclists. They often seem to think why are they riding their bikes instead of driving their car.

In Germany it is mixed. In the spring when it first gets warm, everybody drives very aggressively. Otherwise it’s ok. But France is the best.

Procyclingpress: In Germany there is a law that cyclists have to use dedicated bike paths except if people are training. How do you cope with that during training?

 (note: the dedicated bike paths are on the sidewalks,  so cyclists are forced to ride on the right of parked cars, and have to deal with trash cans blocking the way, people stepping off buses and driveways and intersections…)

JV: There are actually a thousand different opinions to this law. Sometimes you hear you don’t have to use them as a licensed rider. Than you hear you have to always use them. Then you hear that if you are member of the BDR (the German Cycling Federation) you don’t have to use them. Then you hear they have to be at least 5 feet wide and in “good condition”. But then if you use them and you get into an accident, such as by being doored (note: in this case the rider would be to the right of parked cars, so dooring from the passenger site), you may still be partially liable, if you rode with a speed inadequately fast for the bikepath. Might as well just ride on the road then. The bike paths were made for people running errands. They aren’t adequate for racers and nobody expects people to go 30 miles an hour on those. Plus, people coming out of shopping centers don’t pay attention to the cyclists.

The safest to me for racers is riding side by side on the road. So you use the whole lane and if a car approaches from behind they have to maybe slow down, then pass when it is safe. This may seem paradox, but it makes perfect sense. If we ride single-file and a car approaches at 50mph they may think that they can squeeze through. And then the slightest swerve of the cyclist can be catastrophic.

Procyclingpress: In your opinion, what is the most common mistake inexperienced cyclists do?

JV: They have too much faith that they are seen. They think that if they can see the car drivers, then the car drivers see them. But they maybe fiddling with the car radio or be on the cell phone. As a cyclist, you also have to think for others. A cyclist is always the weakest link in traffic and will receive the greatest damage in a collision.

Procyclingpress: Your goals for the Tour of California?

JV: We are very competitive people and we always aim high. But it is also the first race of the season and a journey into the unknown. Maybe I am going very well or maybe I am not. Right now, we hear a bit how others train and everybody is a bit afraid of everybody. We’ll be first testing the waters and see how everyone else is going.

Procyclingpress: Having been here for two weeks must have at least helped with the jetlag?

JV: Oh yes. I usually have a hard time with it. Nine hours is quite a difference!

Procyclingpress: Thank you for your time.

JV: No Problem.