Published 2010-05-12T00:00:00Z”/>
James Jelenko
There is nothing more exhilarating than cruising along the canyon ridge up on Highway 32.
The whole of beautiful Butte County splays out before you as you grin and grip the handlebars for sweet life while the steel beast beneath you roars its mechanic growl and pulls faster through the banked turn. The landscape whips past at your command. The horizon turns to concrete and reappears as you rip through the dips and hills.
Riding a motorcycle in Chico can be an extremely rewarding experience.But all of these sweet perks don’t make riding worthwhile in an environment that isn’t conducive to motorcycling.
Along with helmets and leather jackets &- and perhaps because of the latter &- motorcyclists carry with them a social stigma.
People behave like our buzzing engines are swarms of wasps and react accordingly, swerving away or staring with fear.
It’s like people revert to the 1950s when they see a motorcycle and expect James Dean to roll up with his posse of trouble-making bikers.
But the antiquated notion that motorcycles and their operators are things to be avoided is preventing Chico from upholding the values of conservation, tolerance and the betterment of our town we claim to esteem.
Motorcycles can only improve our city. If more people rode bikes instead of driving cars, we wouldn’t experience the aggravating abundance of traffic and inexplicable lack of parking.
Furthermore, motorcycles are notably better for the environment than passenger vehicles, as most get more than 30 miles per gallon and spew fewer dangerous emissions into the atmosphere &- keeping in stride with Chico’s spirit of conservation and green living.
Still, the city and its residents have not acknowledged these benefits and motorcyclists are left in want of a more biker-friendly town.
Despite the fact that we have a plan for improvement, the Chico General Plan, we have not taken any steps to make life easier for the people who ride motorcycles.
I suppose if you don’t ride this doesn’t sound like a big issue, but if the plan was revised to include more motorcycle parking, more people would ride and leave more parking spots open for those who drive cars.In terms of spatial requirements, motorcycles only take up about one-third of the space an average car does.
Unfortunately, the current situation in Chico discourages the use of motorcycles.
We have to wait at stop lights because they don’t register bikes. We are profiled and targeted by police due to the reputation of a minority of motorcyclists who ride irresponsibly, speed or do wheelies.
Part of the problem is that many Chico residents don’t consider riding motorcycles as an option. They don’t think about the benefits, both recreational and for the community.
If we could get past this outdated mindset, perhaps more people would support motorcycling and the benefits would be more tangible to the general public.
As the old adage goes, don’t knock it till you try it.
If you try riding a motorcycle and honestly don’t enjoy it, then we’re just very different people, but the communal benefits are irrefutable.
So, for the sake of our amazing little city, try to keep an open mind. It’s better for you than you think.
James Jelenko can be reached at <a href= “javascript:void(location.href=’mailto:’+String.fromCharCode(106,106,101,108,101,110,107,111,64,116,104,101,111,114,105,111,110,46,99,111,109)+’?subject=re%3A%20Chico%20needs%20different%20kind%20of%20bike’)”> [email protected]</a>
