Ashland, Ore. – Safety is extremely important for the folks at Siskiyou Cyclery.
The shop has been around for over a decade, so they’ve seen the consequences of what happens if you’re not careful.
Southern Oregon University senior, Hayden, has already had one bike accident this year. He says his tire was hit by a car, and although he and the driver are okay, it could’ve been much worse.
“I can see how what happened to me was an accident, it wasn’t his fault or my fault we weren’t taught to look in the bike lane, because no one is usually riding bikes,” he said.
Jeff Reuben of Siskiyou Cyclery says as the weather warms, it’s more common to see injury and accident rates go up. That’s because there are more cars on the road, and they’re joined by motorcycles and bikes too.
“Usually there is an uptick once the season begins, but overall I’d say Ashland is a very bike friendly town. Lots of bike lanes, usually people are paying attention, not always,” Reuben said.
The experts say that’s why it’s most important to have and *wear your safety gear.
“If you have a budget for a bike of let’s say $500, have another $100-$150 for accessories, such as helmet, gloves, other protective gear, things like that to make sure that for whatever you’re getting into you have the right gear.”
Siskiyou Cyclery says they have one motto when it comes to bike safety and that’s look out for yourself because no one else is. That isn’t stopping local law enforcement agencies from sending out reminders this month that safety is a shared responsibility by everyone on the road.
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