Mount Ayr Cyclist Attending Iowa Bicycle Summit

Mark Wyatt
Mon December 19 2011
Posted Dec 19, 2011
7,585

The Iowa Bicycle Summit & Expo will roll into Des Moines on
January 27 & 28 at the Iowa Events Center. The event kicks
off with a bicycle facility design workshop, hosted by Roger
Geller, a Portland Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator.
Geller will be training participants to use the NACTO Urban
Bikeway Design Guide - a cutting edge design manual on
bicycle facilities.

Attendees will primarily be planners and engineers, but
there will also be a special parent in the group. Chris
Doster of Mount Ayr will be attending to learn everything he
can about bike lanes and facilities to bring home with him.
Chris has some important motivation - his 10 year-old son,
Zachary. Doster describes Zach as a happy, healthy, bike-
riding machine.

Chris describes the moment of panic encountered one day
following school. “Zach called me after school one day a
few weeks ago to tell me he had been hit by a car while he
was riding home from school! I asked him ‘What do you mean
you got hit by a car? Are you all right?’ I could hear the
fear in his voice so now I was getting scared. ‘Yes, I'm ok,
my shoulder is just bleeding a little bit.’”

Zach was shaken following the crash, but he was brave enough
to get on his bike and ride with dad to where he got hit, so
he could explain it a little better. He showed how he was
sitting at a stop sign waiting for cross traffic to go by. A
big 4x4 truck took the corner to turn on the street Zach was
on. He took the corner so sharp he was headed straight for
Zach. Zach even demonstrated how he was getting ready to
get down on the ground and lay as flat as he could hoping
the truck would pass over the top of him.

The driver stopped just in time but still the bumper of his
truck knocked Zach down off his bike giving him a scrape on
his shoulder. The driver stopped, made sure Zach was fine,
followed him home, and left his phone number.

Chris was happy Zach escaped basically injury free, “On the
one hand, I am grateful my son learned the most important
lesson about bicycling, in my judgment, that a person on a
bike must be watching the vehicles because the people
driving the vehicles are not watching for us. He was lucky
to learn the lesson without getting seriously hurt to learn
it. I have noticed Zach is more careful and cognizant of
other drivers now so I'm happy about that.”

Chris was an advocate for bicycle facilities in Mount Ayr
before the crash. “I went to a City Council meeting about
kids walking and biking to school awhile back. We were
advocating for a bike lane to be painted on the main street
that goes from our school through town. The City Council
shot the idea down saying it was a misuse of funds even
though we offered to pay for everything except the labor. We
were asking for city workers to help with that. Now this
accident with Zach happens no more than 6 months after. It
clearly shows we need to raise awareness for drivers in our
town to watch out for kids on bikes AND people on bikes.”

Many lessons learned at the Iowa Bicycle Summit and the
bicycle facility workshop have been implemented on roads and
trails all over Iowa. It’s a great opportunity to improve
safety and access for bicycles. Chis will be attending the
Iowa Bicycle Summit on a special scholarship because of
support of Iowa Bicycle Coalition members and partners.

“I want to come to the Bicycle Summit so I can hear
everything possible about getting bike lanes and trails in
our community. I am an avid bicyclist myself. I ride the
rural highways down here but am fully aware of how nice it
is to ride a true bicycle trail. I will use what I learn at
the Summit to start the conversation and get people moving
in the right direction in our county,” Doster said.

You can help support Chris and the efforts of the Iowa
Bicycle Coalition by taking a moment and making a year-end
donation to the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. These funds are
used to plan and operate the Iowa Bicycle Summit & Expo,
Safe Routes to Schools and the other programs of the Iowa
Bicycle Coalition. Visit the website at
www.iowabicyclecoalition.org/join for more information.

Anyone with an interest in bicycling is welcome to attend
the Iowa Bicycle Summit & Expo on January 27 & 28, 2012 in
Des Moines at the Iowa Events Center. The bicycle facility
workshop on January 27 is $120 if you register before
January 1 and $150 following. The session on January 28 are
free and includes a consumer expo. More information is at
www.iowabicyclecoalition.org/summit or call 515-309-2867.