By Paul Richards
On Sunday, October 2 NTV’s Bankisha news program aired a segment about the dangers of fixed gear bicycles on city streets. The reason for the program was the fatal accident last month in Shibuya caused by a fixed gear bicycle that had been stripped of its hand brakes. The Yomiuri Online reports that there are two other related deaths in Kanagawa Prefecture as well. In Japan, it is required by law for bicycles to have both front and rear brakes. It is punishable by a 50,000 yen fine. Police have recently stepped up their vigilance in ticketing offenders. Last month, in Nagoya, a company employee was given a “Red Ticket” (aka kippu) and most notably, comedian Fukuda Mitsunori, 36, of the comedy team Tutorial, received a ticket for riding a piste bike without brakes on October 28.
These incidents are raising a furor among people and spurred the police to crackdown on illegal fixies. The offense is riding a bicycle with inadequate equipment.
For those who don’t know, most brake-less bicycles are inspired by bicycles used for track racing. These bicycles are often called piste bicycles. Piste is a French word meaning track or trail which the bike racing sport has borrowed from downhill skiing. Another name for piste bikes is fixed gear bikes or fixies. Piste bikes have a lean, minimalist look to them as there are no brakes and no gears. The lack of extra cabling and hardware gives them a sleek, stripped down esthetic that has become fashionable among certain groups of bike riders. You might reasonably ask, how are such bicycles stopped if they don’t have brakes. They are stopped by attempting to pedal backwards. This isn’t like the coaster brakes you probably had on your first bike when you were a kid. Without the freewheel hub in the back there is no coasting with fixed gear bicycles. The pedals don’t stop turning until the bike loses momentum or the rider forces it to slow down by pushing backward on the pedals until the bike comes to a complete stop or the wheel locks or the rider crashes into
Though I don’t own a fixed gear bicycle, I have ridden bicycles with inadequate braking ability due to worn pads. The first time I was cut off by a truck driver and had no recourse but to barrel head first into the passenger side door. I credit my helmet for keeping my gray matter inside my skull. Now if my brakes had been better maintained I might have avoided meeting the truck door up close and personal or at least minimized the impact. The second time was a case of me not learning my lesson. After my narrow escape from being road ragu you would think I would have rushed right out and gotten my brakes into tip-top shape. But I didn’t. I approached a corner as a car passed me. Realizing that the driver intended to turn right I attempted to slow down but my brakes just didn’t have enough purchase on the rim to slow me down in time to careen off of the side of the car. It wasn’t the driver’s fault. While she may have cut it a little too close after passing me she did make a legal turn. It was my own fault that I side swiped her door because I didn’t keep my brakes maintained. The Bankisha program pitted a professional keirin racer on a brake-less piste bike against an ordinary mamachari. At around 30 kph the mamachari was able to come to a compete stop within 6 meters but it the piste bike over 21 meters to stop completely. The video is pretty damning evidence. That additional 15 meters could easily take you through a cross walk filled with people into the middle of a busy intersection.
My take on the fixed gear issue is that bicycles equipment should be safe and ridden in the environment they were designed for. Track bikes should stay on the track or on such empty roads that they pose no significant danger to the rider or other road users. (I don’t know of any roads like that in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.) Bikes that take to the streets and sidewalks must have two sets of well maintained brakes. The streets in most Japanese streets are just too crowded with vulnerable road users to take chances.
Additional Resources:
Yomiuri Online (Japanese Text only)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20111007-OYT1T01129.htm
http://chubu.yomiuri.co.jp/news_top/111006_2.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/kanagawa/news/20111007-OYT8T00110.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20111001-OYT1T00401.htm
By Paul Richards
Bike lot near Musashi Koganei Station. No racks, no robots, no numbered stalls. Just orderly chaos.
This post is not for people who live in Japan. Long-term Japan dwellers already know this stuff. I’m sorry. If you want to step out of the room for a bio break or to get a drink, now is a good time. If you want to spin along with us, that’s okay too.
Much to do has been made about the automated bike lot in Kasai-Rinkai Station. One of several YouTube clips has got over 700,000 views (In Japanese, in English) as of this writing and the link has been flying around Twitter like a sparrow with caffeine jitters. I’m afraid that people will get the wrong impression about bike parking in Japan from this video. The roborack is an aberration, an exception to the rule.
These bicycles are being collected by the city. They were probably stolen and then abandoned, just abandoned or illegally parked.
When I first arrived in Japan in the fall of 1990 many train stations did not have sufficient bicycle parking infrastructure (many still don’t). The lots were often unattended and you risked serious damage to your bike by using an official lot. For the most part bike lots were a plot of land with a fence around where bikes were parked in ragged rows. Unfortunately, the alternative was to park illegally on the street or stuffed in the gap between two buildings. You ran the risk of having your bike hauled away by the city. If you took your chances with this on-street parking. Near my home station there aren’t any sidewalks so on-street parking is really “on” street. The concept of a bicycle being impounded in North America is a truly foreign idea but in Japan it is a regular (and expensive) occurrence. The number of bicycles littering the neighborhoods around train stations reached critical mass by the late 90′s. Besides being eyesores they caused many problems. They blocked businesses, congested streets, impeded the flow of traffic for all road users and the large number of abandoned bicycles was also a public safety hazards.
What were communities to do? It was clear that no matter how many bicycles were impounded bicycle riders would continue to illegally park. Plus impound yards were filling up. Impounding bicycles at train stations was like raking fallen leaves in a strong wind. As soon as you have cleared a section of street a gust of wind kicks up and more bicycles fill the space.
Mitaka Station like many others has a pay-to-park bicycle lot. Mitaka's lot is small and located under the station building. Double-decker bike racks are a common way of fitting more bikes into a small space.
The logical course was to make more bicycle lots. In many communities, these new lots were managed, at least part-time, by old men whom I have dubbed Jitensha Jijis (jitensha means bicycle and jiji is colloquial and impolite way to refer to old men.) These seniors would make sure users parked their bike in an orderly manner so you don’t have bicycle chaos. As the lot filled up they would direct users to open spots. Finally, at the end of the day they would move unclaimed bikes to a corner of the lot to make room for the next day’s horde of bikers. These lots were nothing more than a gravel or paved plot with a fence surrounding it. No racks, no infrastructure per se. These lots helped relieve the pressure of the cycling masses but land in Japan’s cities comes a premium, especially around train stations, and, though those silver haired gentlemen do their duties for a pittance, they don’t work for free. The cities began to charge users 50 to a 100 yen per day to use the lots. In the beginning, you gave your coin to the Jitensha Jiji on duty and he stapled a dated slip of paper to your handlebars or cable housings. Occasionally, you got a receipt of sorts but nothing that proved any particular bike was your own. When you collected your bike at the end of the day if the Jitensha Jiji was still on duty you may or may not give him your receipt on the way out. Not exactly high security. There are many variations on this theme.
Over the years, perhaps in an attempt to further reduce costs or to get users to pay for more of the infrastructure, gadgets and technology has been added to bicycle lots.
Payment Schemes
Bicycle parking payment machine. You enter the rack number you parked your bike on then pay the amount displayed on the screen. After making your payment the rack will open and you can remove your bike.
There are three payment schemes available. The first is simple, per per day. These range from 100 to 150 yen per day. Usually, you go through a turnstile that issues a parking receipt. At the end of the day you use the barcode or magnetic stripe on the receipt to calculate how much you pay and to unlock the turnstile which allows you to leave. The second payment scheme is per month. many of the pay per day lots have a certain number of parking spots allocated for monthly users. In this case a rider registers for a spot and receive a sticker that goes on your bike and oftentimes a dedicated parking spot. The racks are numbered and the number of the rack matches the number on the sticker. Sometimes you will also receive a magstripe card to open the entrance and exit turnstiles. The advantage to paying per month is that you are guaranteed a parking spot and it is cheaper than paying per day for daily commuters.
The Suica card is a pre-paid card issued by Japan Rail and is becoming accepted at more and more stores throughout Japan. It is even accepted by some vending machines.
The final payment scheme is the most recent and most expensive. These are the pay per hour lots that can be found in some very busy locations. Sometimes these lots offer free parking for the first half hour and then charge for increments of one, two or three hours. For daily commuters these lots can become very expensive. The cost for a day of parking at one of these lots has cost me 450 yen for a long day. These lots tend to have the most sophisticated parking systems. These lots are usually run by the private sector and they are intended to make money. Like many private parking lots for automobiles these lots are self-operating and only need periodic checking my attendants.
Lately, Japan Rail (JR) has opened up their Suica pre-paid card system to the private sector. Many businesses, including bicycle parking lot owners, have adopted the system to accept payment for goods and services. You can charge your card up at the station. When it comes time to pay for your bike parking you enter the rack number into the payment machine and flash your Suica card over the sensor. No need to worry about having enough money in your pocket after a day of shopping. At the beginning of every month I calculate how much money I need for train fair and bicycle parking and load up my Suica card with sufficient funds.
Bike Racks
Mitaka Station has very sophisticated bike racks that lock the bike into place and you have to pay to get it unlock based on time.
Lots that offer pay per day or pay per month may have open racks at the simplest. They control payment and exiting at the gate. These systems can be smart enough to know when the lot is full because they are able to keep track of how many bicycles have come and gone and the exact capacity of the lot. More advanced racks have clamps that automatically close around the front wheel of the bike. The rack is numbered and the wheel lock is integrated with a payment machine at the entrance of the lot. When you are ready to take your bike out you enter the number of your rack. The payment machine will tell you how much your parking fee is. When you make the payment the machine sends a signal to the rack to release your bike from the wheel lock. Be careful that you don’t enter the wrong number into the payment machine. I have accidentally given some stranger an early Christmas present in this way. Though the bicycle is locked into the rack it is by no means secure because anybody with some loose change can pick a nice bike out from the racks and pay a few coins to release the clamp and voila! they have a new bike. Self-locking racks do not eliminate the need for locking your bike up with a chain or cable. The locking clamps are to ensure that bike lot users don’t leave without paying the parking fee. Two story or double-decker bike racks are becoming more and more common at both pay-per-day and pay-by-the hour bike lots. The upper rack can be pulled out and angled down to mount your bike on it. Though the upper rack is not that heavy I think it is courteous for stronger riders to take the top racks and leave the lower racks for older riders with less upper body strength or riders with small children.
Though none of this is as glamorous and as the high tech as the robot bike rack at Kasai-Rinkai it is based on years of accumulated traffic and vehicle management experience. The innovation is not in glamorous technology but in sustainable and cost effective systems. Other countries should take these as examples and case studies for urban planning. Much is heard in the bike industry media and even then general media about bike activism and pressuring local, state and federal governments to develop more bicycle infrastructure. What’s stopping the private sector from getting involved? The most innovative ideas almost always comes from business not government.
By Paul Richards
What cycling needs is a good Secret Society. Because nothing spreads faster than a secret. Imagine it! The Brotherhood of the Bicycle. The Cycling Sisterhood. There could be clandestine meetings on moonlit hills. Sharing the cycling sacraments of energy drinks and nutrition bars. New members will be baptized in Pocari Sweat. Secret handshakes. Who wouldn’t want to join?
Every secret society needs to have a secret agenda. Some secret societies pledge to world domination or the Holy Grail. The Secret Sisterhood of Cyclists and the Brotherhood of the Bicycle (SSoCBofB – We can work on a better name at our first secret meeting) would be to spread the gospel of pedal-powered salvation through the enjoyment of bicycle riding.
TokyoTwoWheeling Jr. demonstrates how to make the sign of the Secret Cycling Society.
When members of our Bikes Templar meet on the street they can gently bump front tires to acknowledge each other. If they aren’t on their bikes they can make a secret hand signal. My six year old son is ahead of us all. I propose that we adopt the secret hand signal he invented on the way home from Cycle Mode. It doesn’t take much imagination to identify the two wheels, top tube and handlebars.
The next time you see me flash me the sign of the Secret Society of Cyclists or bump front tires with me and I will know you as a Brother or Sister of Secret Society. We revel together in the joy of our two wheel wonder machines and share the gospel of the pedal.
By Paul Richards
The other night I made a late night ride to a nearby store near Nishi-Kokubunji. On the way home I was rolling down a slope at fair pace along a particularly dark section of the road. The road is wide with a fair amount of traffic with a speed limit of 40 kph. I always run with at least one headlight and a taillight. I also never ride without my brain bucket. Fortunately, for the idiot riding on the wrong side of the street without lights or a helmet that I him huffing and puffing up the hill. When I spotted this idiot I gestured frantically at my headlight and pointed at my eyes. I was so annoyed at this moron I couldn’t think of anything to say. I found my tongue after I passed him. I let out a “baka yarou”. No doubt he didn’t hear me as he was already behind me. It isn’t that Idiot-on-2-Wheels and myself nearly collided. After all, I did see him in plenty of time to avoid a collision. The problem is my imagination and experience is enough to picture what would have happened if we had crashed into one another. We probably would have both survived to regret Idiot-on-2-Wheels’ irresponsible behavior but I really don’t fancy being a customer of the ambulance customer or visiting the local hospital emergency room?
I think this guy is proof that survival of the fittest is a fallacy. If it were true this guy’s defective DNA would be taken out of the gene pool long before he had a chance to reproduce. I don’t believe in helmet laws but I do believe in common sense and my own mortality. It isn’t common sense to ride on the wrong side of a busy street, in the dark without lights or a helmet.
I have noticed that the vast majority of incidents of reckless riding are perpetrated by either the young (under 25 or so) or the very old. Having once been so young and carefree I can understand somewhat the former group of miscreants. When you are young you are sure that you are going to live forever (despite all evidence to the contrary) and that no matter how reckless and irresponsible you are no harm can befall you. A few close calls and a minor accident or two goes a long way in eliminating delusions of immortality. I wish upon everyone to experience a close call at least once in their formative years.
Not yet quite of the age where I would be considered old I have more trouble understanding the oblivious manner in which senior citizens ride. I surmise that it could be a number of things. They probably remember learning to ride a bicycle in an era when automobiles are far and few between and perhaps never developed defensive riding skills. Or perhaps they feel that they have ridden safely through many decades (the first few of which they did not share the road with faster vehicles) without major mishap that they have developed a false sense of safety. There have been many studies recently on how badly human beings evaluate personal risk. I think these studies can be applied to cyclists. Finally, we all know that reflexes slow down as we get older. Perhaps older riders have to divert valuable attention attention from road to the act of maintaining their balance. Coupling shorter reaction times with a false sense of safety seems like an equation that equals disaster to me.
I don’t know what can be done about Idiot-on-2-Wheels and the like. Perhaps I need to mount an idiot gun on my handlebars and help out the gene pool by taking these idiots out of the gene pool. I would love to hear how other people deal with idiots on two wheels.
It is legal in Japan for bicycles to go the opposite direction of traffic on one-way streets. In fact, the signage reinforces the legality of it.
This sign is on a one-way street in my neighborhood in Tokyo. It says that the street is one-way except for bicycles.
Because there are many blind corners in Japanese cities convex mirrors have been placed at many of the intersections to help road users identify cross traffic in a timely manner. You still have to stop at the intersections but at least you can see cross traffic before you are half-way through the intersection.
Mirrors are used at intersections to help road users see around dangerous blind corners.
It is legal to ride on the sidewalk but not on all of the sidewalks all of the time. You can ride on specifically designated sidewalks at any time or on non-designated sidewalks when it is too dangerous to ride on the road.
It is legal to ride on designated sidewalks.
Don’t forget to stop at the intersections. It is you life you are gambling with.
This symbol means that bicycles must stop.
translated and commented on by Paul Oertel
Yama-san departs for his 6 month tour around Japan. From chunichi.com web site article.
On April 19 the Yomiuri Shinbun and Chunichi Shinbun among other new sources carried a story about a 70 year old man named, Katsumi Yama, of Komatsu City Nishikarumi-cho, who is riding his bicycle around Japan for the second time. His ride commemorates the first ride he did around Japan 10 years earlier. He dispells any questions about his age by saying that he wants to show that even at his age if he tries to do something he can succeed. He plans to take a half a year to ride over 10,000 kilometers and pass through all 47 of Japan’s prefectures. He wants to raise awareness for the environmental benefits of the bicycle and global warming prevention.
Bicycling has been a hobby for Mr. Yama for 50 years. When he was in his 20′s he took 2 years to ride across Japan from Kagoshima in the Southwest of Japan to Hokkaido in the north. After retiring from Komatsu Corporation he commemorated his 60th birthday by riding successfully around Japan. In his 50′s he used the extended leave system to take time off from work to go touring with wife, Megumi (64) in Canada and Europe.
“Before, I was just riding for myself, this time I want to ride for something that will help society”, said Yama about his current trip plans. After hearing from an environmental consultant friend that a trip of 10,000 kilometers by car produces 2 to 3 tons of carbon dioxide he decided to make environmental issues and the benefits of cycling as a focal point for his ride around the country. “I just want everyone to understand that simply trading transportation by car with transportation by bicycle will greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” explains Yama.
He also wants to draw attention to the fact that the infrastructure for touring has not been developed in Japan as it has been in the European countries. During his tour around Japan 10 years earlier he was struck by a truck in Fukuoka City while riding on the shoulder of the road. The collision broke his right clavicle forcing him to go through more than a month of rehabilitation. He wants to use this trip to appeal for the construction of bicycle lanes so that cycling enthusiast can ride safely.
50 of Yama’s friends and family saw him off when he departed on his tour from the Komatsu City office on April 18th. The Mayor of Komatsu and Yama’s former subordinate at Komatsu Corporation, Makoto Wada said, “We are expecting the successful completion of your journey.” Yama’s four grandchildren unfurled a banner that wished their 70 year old grandfather luck on his journey.
“I am appealing for a clean world to leave our children. I will try my best to return 6 months from now safe and sound,” Yama emphatically explains. Waving from his bike under a blue sky as he departed were banners that say “Let’s ride a bike!” and “More bicycle lanes!”
Yama will start his journey by heading west. Near the end of next month he will arrive in Okinawa. Sometime after that, he will make his rounds to Nagoya, Tokyo and Hokkaido. He plans to return to Ishikawa Prefecture sometime around the beginning of October.
Editorial Comment: I think I am not alone in saying that I admire what Yama-san is doing and support him in his vision. I would love to ride with Yama-san when he passes through my area. If anyone knows how to get a message to him or his family I would appreciate it if you would contact me at tokyotwowheeling@gmail.com or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/tokyo2wheeling.
Japanese News Sources:
http://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/ishikawa/20100419/CK2010041902000127.html
http://www.47news.jp/localnews/ishikawa/2010/04/post_20100419105647.html – has related articles
http://www.unkar.org/read/tsushima.2ch.net/news/1271511926
http://naikosan.exblog.jp/
http://mytown.asahi.com/ishikawa/news.php?k_id=18000001004170001
http://www.hokkoku.co.jp/f-mail/back/komatsu/20030301.txt
Tokyo Two Wheeling
Tokyo Two Wheeling is a source for cycling information, bicycle culture, news and commentary on cycling.