Commuting - bridges

i'm curious to hear about the bridges in other people's lives. i can't say i enjoy the one i use, but it's the only one i've ever had, so i just can't tell if my experience of it is rational, or i'm innocently riding over some kind of anomaly every day and just assuming this is the way bridges are. i've noticed that quite a number of the more serious cyclists on the road bikes just ignore the class-1 highway ban and take the roadway, but i can't guess at their reasons for it.

what's the perfect bridge? what's the safest bridge for cyclists? how high should the barriers be, and how wide should the pathway be for minimum comfort levels? what's the definition of a bridge wild horses couldn't get you to ride?

The perfect bridge to me is the Mass Ave bridge here in Boston. It's pretty much flat as a pancake and the outside lanes are plenty generous that there's no contention with overtaking traffic. The pavement's in good condition and the roadway is well maintained.

In short, the perfect bridge is a lot like the perfect road.

I almost never ride on the sidewalk across bridges. Not only do you still have pedestrians to contend with, but should you hit the barrier, you will often get spilled into the walkway. Of course there are exceptions to this, like when I go to New York. There's no riding route 1 across the GWB on the street.

I ride over a good size suspension bridge all the time. It's just one lane each way, but it is wide enough for a truck to pass a bike safely. There are "share the road" signs with a picture of a bicycle on each end and it also says "bikes in roadway ". The problems are that a 700x23 tire will drop into one of four expansion joints and cause a pinch flat. There are no signs warning about the expansion joints or the drain covers at the curb either, although you can ride over the drains. Every once in a while I find a roadie with a flat who went straight over the expansion joints. I stop if I have to and walk over, but most of the time I can take the lane and then cut back to the right and go over the slots at a 45 degree angle without stopping. Once in a while it is so windy that it will actually pick up my bike in the air if I am not sitting on it.
I stop to take pictures sometimes.

Mine has a two-way segregated bike lane where cars are only one-way, but dumps you off in the middle of a highway onramp. Gotta take the bad with the good.

I almost never ride on the sidewalk across bridges. Not only do you still have pedestrians to contend with, but should you hit the barrier, you will often get spilled into the walkway.

those are pretty much my own concerns with my mup, four feet wide with traffic on one side of two feet of concrete and a killer river on the other side of hip-level steel . . . but we have a class-1 highway restriction on this bridge: no bikes. i see a lot of more serious roadie-style cyclists use the road anyway, but i need to stay where i'm legal so someone's insurance carrier will feed my kid if i get offed :D i can't tell if i'm just jumpy about the mup dimensions or not.

2manybikes, those are beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing!

I only ride over one bridge on my commute, and it is the bane of my day. There is ALWAYS a headwind across this bridge. There is a foot-wide shoulder that is completely covered in glass, gravel, and metal bits. I have to cross over 2 fast moving lanes to get into the left-turn lane at the end of the bridge. It is only about 300 yards long, but I hate every foot of it.

2manybikes, those are beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome.
I forgot the ospreys that dive bomb me in the spring, they must have a nest somewhere.
And a daytime view to the side.

Is there a such thing as"tour de NY bridges"?

For out of towners such as myself I mean ...

I ride over a good size suspension bridge all the time. It's just one lane each way, but it is wide enough for a truck to pass a bike safely.

Hey, is that the Mt. Hope bridge in Rhode Island? It sure looks like it, though I haven't seen it since I was a kid.

Nice pix!

I don't cross any bridges on my commute, but on fun rides I frequently cross the Golden Gate bridge going over to the Marin side and back.

It's a cool bridge, and on weekends at least the west path is only open to bicyclists... no pedestrians or gawkers, which makes it nice, and the view out to the Pacific and the Farallons is better than the SF view on the other side, IMO.

They've raised the guardrail compared to when I first started riding over it. It used to kind of freak me out, because the guardrail between the elevated path and the roadway was so low that if you hit it you'd be in the traffic immediately. It's high enough now to catch you and keep you from going over, I think.

http://home.comcast.net/~michaelnel/ggbatlantis_800.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~michaelnel/ggbpath.jpg

I have two low-water crossings and a low bridge that used to be a low-water crossing. The first two are only one lane each but traffic is low enough that I rarely have to yield and traffic has always yielded to me. They are working on one of those to make it into a two-lane crossing. We've had so little rain this year that there has never been water over these crossings. However, when we do get heavy rain for several days, I'll have to take the highway. I take the lane on each of these bridges. The approach to each of them dips quite a bit in elevation so I'm usually going pretty fast and the vehicles don't seem to mind. On the other side, I have my motor to help me up more quickly until I can get out of the way. :D

Hey, is that the Mt. Hope bridge in Rhode Island? It sure looks like it, though I haven't seen it since I was a kid.

Nice pix!

YES it is! How did you recognize it? :eek:

Golden Gate bridge

oh my. lookit the width of that pathway . . . and the height of that barrier . . . oh wait, is that a porta-potty? it's all yours then.

i feel for you, mirona. mine has sections where the mup opens up for about 18 inches and you're supposed to feed yourself into an on-road path for the ramps. mine are wider than yours, and the debris issue doesn't seem like it's as bad, but they're always pretty cluttered with crud. i never really got the perspective of people who object to mandatory bikepaths in places like portland until i started using that route and imagined what it would be like to have no choices.

the sidewalk/mup on mine is usually clean, but it has this other factor that i still can't quite figure out. the concrete ripples, particularly on the east side. i dunno if it was just windy the week they laid it, or it's erosion/settling, or they just didn't care, or what. could even be some city-hall fool's idea of a design feature. but it's weird. not my favourite thing to combine with a narrow path and low barriers, that's for sure.

oh wait, is that a porta-potty? it's all yours then.

It looks like a porta-potty, but it's actually an equipment shed. There are several of those along the span for the bridge maintenance workers to stow gear.

Another of my favorite bridges. It is an old railroad bed that is now a dirt trail.To be a paved bike path some day. If you look closely you can see the guy in the picture has not moved, he's waving at me from the bridge. I just took another shot from down low.

It's a few miles from any pavement that I know about. It requires a MTB or a lot of patience to get there. It's a nice quiet place for a rest stop.


Great photos michaelnel!

I think the best bridge crossings would be a seperate MUP with adequate barriers and proper runups and offs for cyclists.

I run into a lot of bridges on state highways that have none of these, you just have to take a good look behind you and take the lane!!

One of the most invigorating bridges I've ridden is the Hood Canal Floating Bridge bridging the Olympic Pinensula with Puget Sound. Before this fall's improvements (that I haven't seen yet) this was 2 1/2 miles of narrow floating 2 lane roadway, 2 truss bridges, a draw span, no center divider, no shoulder or path to speak of, a lot of bolts and grates, and impatient logger and dump trucks wanting to pass with 6 inches of clearance.

A seat of your pants ride every time!

I think the best bridge crossings would be a seperate MUP with adequate barriers and proper runups and offs for cyclists.

I run into a lot of bridges on state highways that have none of these, you just have to take a good look behind you and take the lane!!

One of the most invigorating bridges I've ridden is the Hood Canal Floating Bridge bridging the Olympic Pinensula with Puget Sound. Before this fall's improvements (that I haven't seen yet) this was 2 1/2 miles of narrow floating 2 lane roadway, 2 truss bridges, a draw span, no center divider, no shoulder or path to speak of, a lot of bolts and grates, and impatient logger and dump trucks wanting to pass with 6 inches of clearance.

A seat of your pants ride every time!

WOW! :eek:

A seat of your pants ride every time!

An E-Ticket ride fo' sho'. Sounds like something that might be entertaining once, but a real drag to do regularly!

Another of my favorite bridges. It is an old railroad bed that is now a dirt trail.To be a paved bike path some day. If you look closely you can see the guy in the picture has not moved, he's waving at me from the bridge. I just took another shot from down low.

It's a few miles from any pavement that I know about. It requires a MTB or a lot of patience to get there. It's a nice quiet place for a rest stop.


that one's really pretty. reminds me that we have the kettle valley (http://www.planet.eon.net/~dan/kvr.html) railway trail out here, and it's on my very-long-range wish-list. used to be the original trestle bridges from the old track, but a lot of them were lost a few years ago in the forest fires. maybe by the time i'm organised enough the restoration will be done.

I forgot the ospreys that dive bomb me in the spring, they must have a nest somewhere.

That's a Peregrine Falcon. They often nest on bridges.

No bridge for me on my commute. I live next to one and it's off-limits to cyclists, though I've seen some on it. So if I want to go across legally, I have to take a 40km detour to a bridge that goes across the St-Lawrence river but not the canal. And it's closed during winter. Excellent bridge for cyclists though as the only traffic is the odd city truck.

That's a Peregrine Falcon. They often nest on bridges.

No bridge for me on my commute. I live next to one and it's off-limits to cyclists, though I've seen some on it. So if I want to go across legally, I have to take a 40km detour to a bridge that goes across the St-Lawrence river but not the canal. And it's closed during winter. Excellent bridge for cyclists though as the only traffic is the odd city truck.

This bird is native to Rhode Island? I had no idea. They are not shy about getting in my face. I was thinking they sounded just like falcons. I could have touched one of them.

that one's really pretty. reminds me that we have the kettle valley (http://www.planet.eon.net/~dan/kvr.html) railway trail out here, and it's on my very-long-range wish-list. used to be the original trestle bridges from the old track, but a lot of them were lost a few years ago in the forest fires. maybe by the time i'm organised enough the restoration will be done.

I looked at the photos, very nice! Thanks.

Peregrine Falcons are found all over the world. The fastest animal on earth.

Peregrine Falcons are found all over the world. The fastest animal on earth.


Never thought I would learn that on a bike forum. Thanks.

Apparently, up to 273MPH in a full power dive. That's one quick chicken!

I ride over a good size suspension bridge all the time. It's just one lane each way, but it is wide enough for a truck to pass a bike safely. There are "share the road" signs with a picture of a bicycle on each end and it also says "bikes in roadway ". The problems are that a 700x23 tire will drop into one of four expansion joints and cause a pinch flat.
I've cycled over this bridge (Mt. Hope) before! The expansion joints were wide open at the time and they looked like they could even swallow a 700x28 tire if you hit them at the right angle - really freaked me out at the time! Normally on my Litespeed I would just do a two wheel hop over them, but I was riding the tandem at the time.

Too bad access to the rest of the bridges in the Newport, RI area isn't so good. At least it looks like they might provide bike access for the Jamestown bridge:

http://www.dot.state.ri.us/bikeri/bikepathfuture.htm

I have to also give a vote for teh Harvard Bridge as Well. The gap between teh different sections of the bridge are small and never really noticable. There are some other bridges that cross the Charles River, that are nice, but they have a very circular shape. Which means hard climb, and fast decent usually into something no too good. The Harvard Bridge also has the nicest street among the bridges I take routinuely.: no debris and the road is in good condition.

I've cycled over this bridge (Mt. Hope) before! The expansion joints were wide open at the time and they looked like they could even swallow a 700x28 tire if you hit them at the right angle - really freaked me out at the time! Normally on my Litespeed I would just do a two wheel hop over them, but I was riding the tandem at the time.

Too bad access to the rest of the bridges in the Newport, RI area isn't so good. At least it looks like they might provide bike access for the Jamestown bridge:

http://www.dot.state.ri.us/bikeri/bikepathfuture.htm

I've helped 5 or 6 roadies that went straight into them !! Good thing I had tubes or patches.

Check out this page of Bike R.I. The slide show photos are mine from about two weeks ago. :D

http://www.dot.state.ri.us/bikeri/bikefall/bikefall.htm

There's no riding route 1 across the GWB on the street.

OK, I'll bite. Why is there no riding route 1 across the GWB on the street? I'm from a small city and the bridges I cross are much smaller than the GWB. But if it's legal for a bike to be on the bridge, why not take the lane? That's what I always do. But, as I say, our bridges don't compare in size or traffic volume with some mentioned on this thread.

OK, I'll bite. Why is there no riding route 1 across the GWB on the street? I'm from a small city and the bridges I cross are much smaller than the GWB. But if it's legal for a bike to be on the bridge, why not take the lane? That's what I always do. But, as I say, our bridges don't compare in size or traffic volume with some mentioned on this thread.
Although cyclists can use most non-freeway roads, the laws in many states make an exception for bridges. Many times if you're allowed to use the bridge, it's only on a separated path.

I've helped 5 or 6 roadies that went straight into them !! Good thing I had tubes or patches.

Check out this page of Bike R.I. The slide show photos are mine from about two weeks ago. :D

http://www.dot.state.ri.us/bikeri/bikefall/bikefall.htm
Awesome pics! The eucalyptus trees here don't change color like that. :(

Awesome pics! The eucalyptus trees here don't change color like that. :(


Thanks.

I love the heat, and the high desert. I loved "Joshua Tree Monument" (park?) we all have something nice.

The GWB has a bike path with some very narrow ess turns due to construction or whatever. The Manhattan Bridge is ok cuz it has a bikes only lane, but has some expansion joints that can mess up skinny roadie tires I guess. I've never had a problem w/ them tho. The Brooklyn Bridge is too congested with peds and tourists.

I was on some excellent bridges on the North Sea Route in Holland which had 25-30 ft wide pedestrian/cycle sections overlooking some fine esturial views. Plenty of space for all and some excellent company from the locals who take it upon themselves to chat to visiting cyclotourists and generally be very pleasant. The barrier between this area and the roadway was a 10 ft high stretch of fencing painted in white with nuggets of local information attached to some of the posts.

The paving was like riding on polished glass.

I was at the Goethals bridge this weekend and it looked fine for riding. Seriously. I could have just taken my bike, jumped over the wall and then it would have been easy to ride over. Going over the Goethals bridge really open up the Elizabeth shopping mall which is one of the biggest in New Jersey.

http://www.transalt.org/bridges/goethals.html

Heres the bridge I take on my weekend rides to Key Biscayne.

http://www.cs.fiu.edu/~psing002/AnimationProject/Rickenbacker.jpg

OK, I'll bite. Why is there no riding route 1 across the GWB on the street? I'm from a small city and the bridges I cross are much smaller than the GWB. But if it's legal for a bike to be on the bridge, why not take the lane? That's what I always do. But, as I say, our bridges don't compare in size or traffic volume with some mentioned on this thread.

The GWB is also I-95 (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=11102&ll=40.849365,-73.941743&spn=0.003246,0.009224&t=k&hl=en) . Unless the bridge is gridlocked, traffic rarely slows below 70 mph.

For this reason, bicycles are prohibited on the roadway, but there is a bike/ped path.
bk

Is there a such thing as"tour de NY bridges"?

For out of towners such as myself I mean ...

that sounds like an awesome (though daunting) idea! you can now cross most of the NYC bridges by bike now. bike traffic is strictly prohibited on the roadways, but the brooklyn bridge, manahattan bridge, williamsburg bridge, tri-boro bridge and george washington bridges all have bike paths, though some have protions with stairs - ACK!!

the five boro bike tour crosses quite a few, as does the NYC century. the best part of the five boro tour is that it crosses the Verrazano Narrows bridge - the longest suspension bridge in the country. If it weren't for the stout elegance of the brooklyn bridge and the glow of the Golden gate at sunset this would be my favorite bridge.

You might actaully be anle to get them all in by going GWB into manhattan, tri-boro to brooklyn, williamsburg br. back to manhattan, manhattan bridge to brooklyn, brooklyn bridge to manhattan, ferry to staten Island, verrazano bridge to brooklyn, then back to manhattan via the brooklyn bridge. (I am only referring here to the principal NYC bridges - there are quite a few other bridges i.e. btw the bronx and manhattan, qns and manhattan, etc. -- simply too many to fathom)

edit: 48 NYC bridges according to this site. http://www.wirednewyork.com/bridges/default.htm

http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/v/r/verr_gwb/photos/jun-02/bb/

I love crossing bridges and this is the one that's just minutes from where I live. Thanks to this bridge, I'm able to enter New York City for nothing! The motorist pays close cross the Bayonne Bridge and then has to fight the traffic once their in Staten Island. In fact, if I wanted to commute into Manhattan for free, it's totally possible. During the winter, the wind gets so bad up there that if you have sinus congestion, you'll be completely cleared by the time you get over! The bicycle/ped path is narrow and it's illegal to ride down it but I do it anyway and so does everyone else.

There's a steep stairway that forces you to dismount and carry the bike down. It's funny because someone painted just before the steps "Dismount or DIE"!!

that sounds like an awesome (though daunting) idea! you can now cross most of the NYC bridges by bike now. bike traffic is strictly prohibited on the roadways, but the brooklyn bridge, manahattan bridge, williamsburg bridge, tri-boro bridge and george washington bridges all have bike paths, though some have protions with stairs - ACK!

I don't know if you purposefully left out the Queensborough / 59th st. bridge, but it's the one I ride on.

For my money, it couldn't be much better...not much ped traffic, path is in great condition, not too steep, dumps you out in a pretty safe and convenient place.

bk

I don't know if you purposefully left out the Queensborough / 59th st. bridge, but it's the one I ride on.

For my money, it couldn't be much better...not much ped traffic, path is in great condition, not too steep, dumps you out in a pretty safe and convenient place.

bk

d'Oh! not on purpose, but that would make the tour better!
GWB to manhattan
tri-boro to Qns
59th st bridge to manhattan
wmbrg bridge to brooklyn
manhattan bridge to manhattan,
brooklyn bridge to brooklyn
along the water to Verrazano bridge
Verrazon bridge to Staten Island
ferry back to manhattan (tall boys on the ferry!!! awesome!@!!!)

Slightly off topic but do any of the resident canucks know if you can cycle the Constitution Bridge?

d'Oh! not on purpose, but that would make the tour better!
GWB to manhattan
tri-boro to Qns
59th st bridge to manhattan
wmbrg bridge to brooklyn
manhattan bridge to manhattan,
brooklyn bridge to brooklyn
along the water to Verrazano bridge
Verrazon bridge to Staten Island
ferry back to manhattan (tall boys on the ferry!!! awesome!@!!!)

heh, sweet!
lets see, i just have to cross 2 extra bridges to get to the start of the tour in NJ :p
bk

here's the route!!!!
http://tinyurl.com/b96xb
as a bonus, you get loops through central park and prospect park (though I have prospect park in the wrong direction) and you cruise by the trade center site. plus, it's less than 50 miles!!! If you continued back up to the GWB to the start in Palisades park, that would add like 20 miles, but pretty do-able (if you assume you can get access to the verrazano bridge and don't mind riding 20 miles after tall boys on the SI ferry.)

here's the route!!!!
http://tinyurl.com/b96xb
as a bonus, you get loops through central park and prospect park (though I have prospect park in the wrong direction) and you cruise by the trade center site. plus, it's less than 50 miles!!! If you continued back up to the GWB to the start in Palisades park, that would add like 20 miles, but pretty do-able (if you assume you can get access to the verrazano bridge and don't mind riding 20 miles after tall boys on the SI ferry.)
No Marine Park bridge (or whatever it's called) to Beach Channel then back into Qns. along Cross Bay Blvd? That'd add some crazy mileage, but hey, why not...

Slightly off topic but do any of the resident canucks know if you can cycle the Constitution Bridge?

lol. didn't even know we had one. lemme guess . . . pei to mainland?

Well there are at least 100 bridges in Pittsburgh owing mainly to the confluence of 3 rivers. During my normal commute, I traverse two significant bridges. Sometimes I ride the road, sometimes the sidewalk. Many of the sidewalks are closed due to lack of maintenance. If I ever want to "end it all", I wont have far to go. So far, every day that I commute across these beautiful rivers, I say to myself, "not today", as I contemplate the swift waters below.

This bridge, has no sidewalk and is higher on one side, than the other. Generally I go from the highside to the low side only on this one. Bicycles are banned. However, there is a 3 million dollar grant to open a ped/bike section, (on the adjacent unused rail portion). That project is due to begin construction in 2006.
http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0588-4475/hotmetal.htm

This bridge has a sidewalk on both sides and is over a hundred years old. In the morning I use the road and make the buses and auto traffic wait. I average about 18 mph going across. On the way home, I take the less used sidewalk.
http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghW/0584-4476/smithfield.htm

I don’t have to go across this bridge much, but have to deal with a 4-lane, complicated traffic circle on the west end side. Motorists are notoriously bad about understanding how to get through the west end circle. I've managed to time the lights and have learned how to get through in both directions with no issues. When motorists see me here they give me respect, probably because they think that I am crazy.
http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghW/0582-4477/westend.htm

http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghW/0582-4477/westendcircle_wcarsonA.htm

lol. didn't even know we had one. lemme guess . . . pei to mainland?

That's the one. It is in fact Confederation Bridge. Just got this from the bridge's very own website.

Pedestrians and cyclists are not permitted on the Confederation Bridge due to a variety of safety reasons. We do provide a complimentary (free) service to transport pedestrians and cyclists across the bridge that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no set schedule for this service and the maximum wait time is two hours.

Curses, I really wanted to ride across.

Most of the Charles River crossings are pretty good here in Boston (Longfellow, Mass Ave, Harvard, JFK, etc).

Since I like pictures:
http://www.ecmsinc.com/images/longfellow.jpg

http://oceanai.mit.edu/mikerb/cover/MassAveBridge.jpg

http://stuff.mit.edu/people/wshih/My%20Pictures/Harvard_bridge.jpg