Consider Biking

So Columbus used to have one bicycle advocacy group (not counting the co-​ops). Then there was some kind of internal fallout, and the group split into two, thus creating Yay Bikes! and Consider Biking. Consider Biking became the less cool, more political, tighter-​wound older brother to Yay Bikes. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but basically, they are more focused on what I perceive as the newsworthy, soundbite side of things. Things like getting superficial acknowledgements by national organizations and crap that, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t really matter.
This is not to say they haven’t done good work… I’m trying to stretch back to remember, but when Columbus passed a mandatory helmet law for children under 18, I know Consider Biking advised on that, and if I recall, I think they helped remove language that would have made riding on sidewalks legal. This would have hurt the cycling community by fostering the idea that bikes don’t belong on the road, which they do.
But they also advocate for things that I’m against, like bike lanes. Bike lanes are bad for the same reason riding on the sidewalk is. I have a right to be on the road, and bike lanes give auto drivers the perception that those lanes are where bikers HAVE to be, which is not the case. I prefer a share the road approach, but Consider Biking has done some work there too.
For an explanation of why they’re getting two stars from me, I let those descriptors by the stars guide me sometimes, and in Columbus, we have Yay Bikes, Franklinton Cycleworks, Third Hand, and Pedal Instead, all of which are more focused on action, rather than paper-​pushing. I prefer advocacy that gets out on the roads and changes people’s minds to advocacy that consults with power-​grabbers. The Unilocal description for two stars is «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» That is how I feel about Consider Biking when compared to the other bike advocacy groups in town.