Beware of Cyclists this time of year

Or any time of year really… Right now there are more cyclists on Encino’s roads and bike paths as riders prepare for AIDS/LifeCycle: Ride to End AIDS. (Update: in 2012 it will be June 3-9).  It is a 7-day, 545 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles that raises money and awareness for the HIV and AIDS services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.  I ride a bike but that’s way too strenuous for me so I salute those who have the stamina and the passion. The AIDS pandemic is still with us and the ongoing budget crisis and cuts to HIV-prevention funding are not making it any easier.

Each bicyclist must raise $3,000 in pledges, which is a lot in a down economy and I know of many riders who are struggling to get there. Donors can pledge support to individual cyclists or they can make a general donation here. Riders ride in teams and rely on the assistance of “roadies,” volunteers who travel with them.

It’s a good time to remember that bikes and pedestrians are entitled to right-of-way in situations that many drivers simply ignore or become confused about. Drivers are supposed to wait when pedestrians are anywhere on a crosswalk. In many other countries, drivers are required to wait only when pedestrians are on their half. It’s more practical. The worst intersection in Encino in my opinion is where drivers turn right off Ventura at Balboa and charge around that corner without being able to see that there are pedestrians close by on the cross-walk.