Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Really, really un-bike friendly cities?

I'm going to school in MSU Mankato, MN. Which just happens to be a ****ing BRUTAL town to cycle in. It seems like I am constantly getting things thrown at me. (batteries, rocks, etc) people are constantly calling me a *** (which I'm not all that much of) and tell me to get a car, etc. You know all the good ones. I even got nailed by a car last week on my bmx bike after getting cut off by an SUV.

Does anyone else have to deal with a city like this? I spent most of my traffic riding time in Minneapolis and I never had ANY issues. (except getting hit by a car while standing on a sidewalk, which is a whole other story).

Yup.

"hey Lance! France is that way" *points other way*

thats my all time favorite

what's an un-bike?

what's an un-bike?
Flawed logic, it still makes sense. If they're friendly towards the anti-bike, they must be un-bike friendly, and also un-bikefriendly.

Flawed logic, it still makes sense. If they're friendly towards the anti-bike, they must be un-bike friendly, and also un-bikefriendly.

I cannot accept your one presumption.

To wit: un-bike is not necessarily a synonym of anti-bike. 'un' may mean nil and not necessarily opposed to. Therefore, I know that Mankato may be friendly toward a lack of bikes.

they are just friendly to phenomena that are not bikes

could be bike friendly too

luckily i dont have to deal with flying batteries at the moment

throw back car batteries and yell "get a horse"

i feel this approach should start a meaningful and fulfilling discussion

you'll hug afterward i promise

Okay, okay - and clearly Mankato is an un-battery recycling friendly city.

Holy crap, I hope I didn't recommend that poster looking to transfer to a college with top-notch bicycling opportunities to check out Mankato.

Rochester isn't much better:
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=296052&z=23

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=296788&z=23

the comment sections made my head hurt.

As somone that grew up there, and will never live there again:

There is no reason to live in Rochester. I could get around fine by bike in rochester, but there is no reason to, because there is no where to go except for maybe a liqour store.

throw back car batteries and yell "get a horse"

holy crap i say get a horse all the time when i see broken down cars

I ride through Seoul in South Korea a lot. Although not as brutal in terms of outright violence, it seems most Koreans are oblivious to most common rules of the road. Thrown in a bicycle and it's a surefire way to get killed.
And it's not just me riding a bike, I could be riding in a cab, bus, a friends car and i can almost surely count at least one time where they'll blow through a red like it never existed. Hell, I could be walking across the street between two idling cars and the car in the rear will move up just to fill in the space that i'm walking in. I swear i was walking here, but I guess not.

Are we talking Rochester, MN? (since there are other Rochesters, such as NY). Besides riding to the liquor store can't you ride your bike to go get your cancer fixed?

Houston, TX = horrible bike city.... unless you are into driving 30 minutes to ride with some corporate roadie types...

Toronto. Some cycling infrastructure exists but the understanding between motorists and cyclist. No way.

As somone that grew up there, and will never live there again:

There is no reason to live in Rochester. I could get around fine by bike in rochester, but there is no reason to, because there is no where to go except for maybe a liqour store.

Apache Mall! Silver Lake! umm..... yeah!

I grew up in Mantorville. About 15miles west of you and that "big" city we affectionately called "Roch". Having lived outside of MN for the last 15 years, it blows my mind to hear how much times have changed. Having any MN city listed as being bike un-friendly is really something.

Houston, TX = horrible bike city.... unless you are into driving 30 minutes to ride with some corporate roadie types...

Yeah, out of all the cities I've ever visited, Houston was the worst. Basically freeways, stripmalls, and big box stores. Think I read on BF that they do have bike lines, but only made them to get federal funding for something, and aren't enforced ("get on the sidewalk ***!")

I ride through Seoul in South Korea a lot. Although not as brutal in terms of outright violence, it seems most Koreans are oblivious to most common rules of the road. Thrown in a bicycle and it's a surefire way to get killed.
And it's not just me riding a bike, I could be riding in a cab, bus, a friends car and i can almost surely count at least one time where they'll blow through a red like it never existed. Hell, I could be walking across the street between two idling cars and the car in the rear will move up just to fill in the space that i'm walking in. I swear i was walking here, but I guess not.
I second this. i have never been so scared on the road, either in a car or on my bike.

Tampa, sarasota, St. Pete. \

Huge distances, every road is a 6 lane, 45 mph (read 65 mph), 5 minute lights, HOOOOTTTTT, SUVs everwhere, all the time.

St. Pete's not as bad as the other 2, but there are so many fatalities.

Toronto. Some cycling infrastructure exists but the understanding between motorists and cyclist. No way.

One of the reasons I moved here was because on my first visit I was blown away by the number of cyclists, you have to go to hell to understand. In Houston, 1997, 2 years before I visited TO, there were less than 100 people commuting to work in downtown Houston by bicycle....in a city of 4.9 million. Bikes were ghosts, seen only beneath recent immigrants, children, roadies (in 2 distinct packs on particular days doing established training rides, beyond that you'd find some at the park, beyond that, nothing) and couriers, of which there were only 50. Even in the university areas there were few bikes and few with the courage to try and ride between UH and the rest of the city. You could ride for a week in the inner city and not see another bike rider. Outside the loop you could ride for a month and see just a few kids riding on the sidewalk. It's better now, but only marginally.

Imagine arriving in TO in early June '99 and seeing the thousands of bike commuters & recreationists? TO is like paradise compared to some southern US cities if your life has much bike in it.

Not to say things couldn't get better, they can, but I'm glad folks celebrate what they have here with Bike Week and all that because it's not necessarily a fact of life that people will ride bicycles, in some places they don't.

Flawed logic, it still makes sense. If they're friendly towards the anti-bike, they must be un-bike friendly, and also un-bikefriendly.

So, the anti-bike and the bike combine and cancel each other out, releasing photons?

This is a post I made on another forum the other day...
==================================

So, my home town of Memphis, TN, is near last on the "bike friendly cities" list. We have a major park located on the outskirts of the city called Shelby Farms, whose major road of access is a tight, two-laned road that intersects with a highway loop nearby. There are "No Bike" signs along this section, effectively preventing cyclists as well as pedestrians entry into the park unless via motorized vehicle.

For two years, a group of advocates for the park wrestled with our city government and road engineers to add bike lanes to allow access, since they would be starting a major overhaul of the entire section of road. And, for two years, they were led to believe that bike and pedestrian lanes were being considered.

Long story short, the construction is well on its way to being finished, with no bike lanes, no nothing. Shameful.

Recently, a law was passed stating that all motorized vehicles passing a cyclist on the road must allow at least three feet of space between their vehicle and the cyclist, or else they will be ticketed. There was an article about this last week in our newspaper, and here are some of the letters to the editor:

==================
"Roads Not Designed For Sharing"

So we have a new law protecting bicyclists on the roads (June 6 article, "Rules of the road"). In my opinion, a bill should have been introduced making it illegal for a bicyclist to obstruct traffic and illegal for a bicyclist to put motorists' safety at stake. Too many times I have rounded a curve or topped a hill and had to take evasive action to avoid them. I'm referring to the guys and girls who are in the middle of the street simply enjoying their hobby, not the three people who actually ride bikes to work.

Our roads are designed for motorized vehicles, not bikes. Like it or not, our roads here are just not built to accommodate both.

There are laws preventing me from driving a golf cart or minibike on the road, because these toys are an obstruction of traffic. The same laws should prevent the bicycle enthusiast from obstructing traffic.

We pay a substantial amount of money to license our vehicles and we must be licensed to operate the vehicle on the road. Bicyclists pay no taxes, have no license and in general disregard most traffic laws.

If you guys want to enjoy your hobby, I say take it to Shelby Farms or somewhere else where you can pedal to your heart's content without obstructing traffic and putting yourself and motorists at risk.

Tim Taylor

Memphis
====================

"A neighborhood pain on two wheels"

You can see in the photo with your June 6 article "Rules of the road" that cyclists do not form a single line when motorized vehicles approach. They continue to hug that yellow line and just dare you to try and pass.

If the new law says you have to keep 3 feet away from the cyclist to pass, I guess there will be no passing, because they will not move away from that yellow line. It's no wonder motorists are so frustrated by the cyclists.

Our peace and quiet is shattered each and every Saturday and Sunday by the swarm of cyclists who yell, screech and scream like a bunch of banshees (not to mention the one that throws out his Altoids cans in the same spot every week). You can hear them even in the house, and they keep our dogs upset all weekend. Perhaps they could let us know where they live, and we could come by and cause a ruckus in their yard for a couple of hours each week.

We don't have a problem with the fact that they want to enjoy our rural setting, but please be respectful of our neighborhood. Surely you cyclists want to be good neighbors?

Linda Beaty

Arlington
==============

"Get off the road and hit the trail"

Maybe the new trails proposed for hikers and bikers will keep some of the bicycle riders off the small, two-lane, winding roads in the county during rush-hour traffic. These roads can hardly accommodate the line of cars during these peak times.

Also, since Tennessee has determined that a bicycle is by law to be treated as a slow-moving vehicle, maybe bicyclists should have to take a driver's test, get a license and tags, insurance and pay a wheel tax. With this extra income more bicycle trails and lanes could be constructed to make it safer for them, and drivers would not have to worry about staying 3 feet away from them.

Carol Williams

Arlington
==============================

While some of these concerns are valid, the tone of this city is overwhelmingly anti-cyclist. Every single time I go out and ride, whether for fun or commute, I get harassed at least once or twice. Last night it was "get a car you ****in *****!" Last week, "get off our road!" about 10 times. And last fall, someone actually followed me all the way home - for about five miles - and into my goddamn driveway, rolled down their window and told me how as a cyclist I was creating a serious problem for motorists on the road and that what I was doing should be illegal.

So, be thankful if your city is even remotely bike friendly. Our government doesn't know what a "bike lane" is, nevermind the idea of promoting healthy, alternative, and safe means of transportation.

That's my rant, just thought I'd share. Some days it's too much.

columbus, ohio isn't that great. but it's not that bad, either, since i see more people ll the time on bikes, even just since i got here in january.

wait...maybe that's why i'm seeing more people. cuz it's not january anymore.

but, yeah...i had a car try to intentionally run down a group of my friends, actually hitting one, been hit by oblivious drivers who just shrug off anything you say about them having a responsibility to share the road, had a guy try to start a fight with me because he almost hit me ("hey, you're the one on the bike, you have to watch out for me! come over here and let me kick your ass!" etc)...the way the city is built is your average, poorly designed american city, built for the car culture...i dunno.

South Florida Sprawl

people are constantly calling me a *** (which I'm not all that much of)

A+

but anyway, that does sound pretty brutal. sucks.

virginia beach, virginia

I think many if not most small hee-haw hick towns are rougher for people on bikes because the dimwits living there see bicycles as something for the weak (because, you know, using your muscles to propel you around makes you a wimp vs sitting on their flabby butts in a vehicle, getting no exercise at all making them uber manly). Where I used to live, the common belief is that the amount you can bench press is directly linked to how large and loud your truck is. I'd get threats and insults shouted at me all the time by yokels in cut-off plaid shirts and jorts. We'd even get morons purposely pulling out in front of us to try to get us to crash... my friend's solution was to jump off and ghost-ride his bomb-proof BMX bike into the side of the car. Idiots.

S Cal towns are split, some are real bike friendly and some like SD have financial issues (no maint) and other areas are really splintered. There has been an interesting phenom of immigrant areas where riding through is taking your life into your own hands. It is total chaos, cars driving ad-hoc with no attention to posted speed limits or regs. People don't use the crosswalks or adhere to lights and they will just walk or run across the street wherever they see fit. Lot's of ped/bike deaths recently. Since there are probably 6 running languages it is no surprise that cultures are so different.

Unfortunately, you have to cross some of these crazy areas to get across the city.

Man those stories are crazy, yeah I get the odd bit of abusse but nowt much. I have never been to the US only to cannada and all of the two lane roads there I thought where really wide so I don't understand people yelling there is not enough room, even if your are drivng and big suv un less you are spatially ********. It's a real shame this attitude exists, but it does and it must be hard to reeducate people.

I love the get tax a licence arguments. That one is common over here as well, people forget that unless a bike was taxed massivly more than a car (proportionally) it would cost the governemnt to collect the tax!

Morgantown, WV.

This is a small enough town to where it should be bike friendly. ie you can get anywhere on a bike in 30 minutes. But I am constantly being harassed by idiot frat guys and angry motorists whose minds are completely boggled that someone over the age of 12 is riding a bike or using it as a legitimate form of transportation. The sad part is there is a relatively large bike culture; two lbs's , a co-op, and a system of on and off road trails. My only solution is to ride the hell out of my bike anyway.

When gas hits 5.00 a gallon you'll see a lot of those same yokels on pedal power :D

the tax argument is pretty bogus, since the wear and tear on the road bicycles create is minimal compared to cars and trucks. not to mention normal taxes paid by people who don't own cars go into supporting the infrastrature for cars anyways.

I'd get threats and insults shouted at me all the time by yokels in cut-off plaid shirts and jorts.


jorts =....jean shorts?


two places i never want to ride a bike:
1. destin, florida
2. panama city, florida


gross.

When gas hits 5.00 a gallon you'll see a lot of those same yokels on pedal power :D

No. They'll vote for another man who sends their children to a war for oil.

when people ***** about san diego i always wonder if they have ever ridden elsewhere.

virginia beach, virginia

include all of hampton roads in that. everytime i'm in newport news, the idea of riding my bike down jefferson makes me pee a little with fear.

jorts =....jean shorts?

Oh yes.

http://thedivide.com/samples/jean_shorts.jpg

^hott

My uncle is going to be so pissed when he finds out you took that photo, Natron.

Oh yes.

http://thedivide.com/samples/jean_shorts.jpg
i came

Include Pensacola, FL ( close to Destin) in your list. Redneck riviera is what it's called sometime. I've had ice, snow cones, beer bottles, sprite bottles with piss in em, and all kinds of other stuff thrown at me.

One thing is, the people here love the beach, and are usually drunk coming back home, so I dunno if thats an excuse or a complaint for their misbehaviour.

I hear they're trying to put some police on bikes down here in the rough neighborhoods so they have a surprise factor on some of the drug busts. But comments like " What are boys over the age of 12 doing on bikes, much less cops on bike?" are made all the time towards these issues.
As previously mentioned, some legislators who support big oil politics are starting to wonder what will happen when oil reaches 100 a barrel, and gas prices shoot to 6 per gal. People will start riding bikes more, that's what'll happen. Maybe we'll have a slightly more humble society b/c of it.

Anyways Pensacola sux for bikers.

People will start riding bikes more, that's what'll happen. Maybe we'll have a slightly more humble society b/c of it.

Or people's heds will asplode.

Miami sucks for cycling. In the 5 years that I rode the Metrorail daily I maybe saw 3 people bring bikes on. Sad, really. And middle aged men in Kendall seem to buy carbon roadies and never ride them...

two places i never want to ride a bike:
1. destin, florida
2. panama city, florida

And when I vacation in Seagrove I ride between these two towns every morning. I don't see that it's any worse than my normal riding in B'ham.

When gas hits 5.00 a gallon you'll see a lot of those same yokels on pedal power :D

No chance over here Petrol and diesel are both about 0.94 gbp per liter which equates to 4.30 gbp per gallon which equates to about 8.50 usd per gallon. One of the big reasons you see people on bikes in London is congestion, parking costs, congestion charge e.t.c. In the outskirts and many other towns people would not give up or reduce there car use, which is all you can hope for really as many things are practically impossible with out a car. People will pay a lot for fuel, 5.00 USD per gallon! that's nothing.

bicycling magazine said boston was the worst city for cycling, but i think thats based on infrastructure due to boston not following any type of city planning grid and lack of bike lanes rather than attitude towards cyclists. i can't be sure as i haven't been there in a few years and i have never rode there

Oh yes.

http://thedivide.com/samples/jean_shorts.jpg

That pic ticks so many boxes of "wrong".

I would like to offer a counterpoint: one of the best countries to cycle is Finland - all of her.

I've heard only Denmark tops Finland in this depertment. Can anyone confirm?

Arlington, TX is the largest city in the U.S. without public transportation. The reason is that the city doesn't want the type of people moving here that wouldn't own a car. A.K.A. poor people who obviously do drugs and murder the rich folks. What that also means is that they purposely do NOT want people biking here. There are no meaningful bike paths here, except for the one over a single bridge. At the beginning of the bridge, it says "Share the Road", and at the end, it says, "bicycle lane ends". Wow, thanks Arlington.

BTW, what I think is ultimately ironic is that Arlington has some REAL GHETTO sections. The people just drive hooptie cars. It never crossed anyone's mind that if we had busses, then people could sell their cars and improve their lives!

Arlington got their wish, I only see people on bicycles about once a week.

This is the city with the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, Texas Rangers Stadium, Six Flags, and Hurricane Harbor, all right next to each other, all next to where I work. WOW! It would be so easy to put in bike lines, but instead, they are building a new highway right through all of this crap. Again, thanks Arlington. What a craphole, I am leaving ASAP.

The reason is that the city doesn't want the type of people moving here that wouldn't own a car.

By the way, I can prove this. The taxpayers of Arlington are paying for the majority of the new Cowboys' stadium, which they VOTED to approve (never have I been more mad than when that passed). Lining Jerry Jones' pockets. :mad:

Those same taxpayers will NOT pay for a bus system or bike paths. Makes ZERO sense to me.

.... but the understanding between motorists and cyclist. No way.

Actually, when I drive, I am always left with the impression that T.O. drivers treat each other even worse. Maybe it's just my driving?

include all of hampton roads in that. everytime i'm in newport news, the idea of riding my bike down jefferson makes me pee a little with fear.
i heard decent things about norfolk, but ****, let me just say that Portland is a step up