Advocacy & Safety - The problem with bikes is they block traffic

Going down to the bike summit this guy honks at me for blocking traffic. So I turned on my video as I caught up to him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KepdIBHGQ

So I decided just to keep on peddling. Revenge is sweet!

Your video is a perfect example of why more people don't ride bicycles in this country. If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.

Your video is a perfect example of why more people don't ride bicycles in this country. If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.

just so you could sit in traffic with the rest of the lemmings?

:eek:

:rolleyes:

:lol:

just so you could sit in traffic with the rest of the lemmings?


If you're single and in your twenties, that might work (sense of invincibility, no dependents).

But most people aren't willing to cycle in those conditions. Nor should they have to.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2387/2471821760_528a30422e.jpg

Since when does splitting lanes at a red light mean someone has a sense of invincibility?

Going down to the bike summit this guy honks at me for blocking traffic.

Looks like the traffic didn't need much help from you! The main reason I ride a bike in the city is because I have better things to do with my time that idle at red lights all day. I know the vid makes your speed look slower, but you looked pretty safe to me even so.

Did you wave and smile when you passed the horn blower? I have a little "over the shoulder" wave that I do now an then in that situation. It's gotta steam them.

If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.

If my daily route looked like that, I'd start biking every day.

And just because people aren't willing to cycle on roads, doesn't mean it's necessarily dangerous. Given that you don't live in amsterdam or copenhagen (i think), does that mean you have a sense of invincibility?

I love it, tourist season is here and I can filter 40-60 cars on my ride downtown. My fave iis the cager racing to the redlight putting me and him in danger with me waving bye-bye with a ding of my bell.

If my daily route looked like that, I'd start biking every day...

My daily commute often looks just like that and I do bike every day. I loathe driving in those conditions.

This video is a good example of why bikes should not be considered the same as cars. We are not cars. We have the capability to move through auto congestion in ways an automobile couldn't. It would be interesting to count how many of those vehicles contained only one person. You, on your bike, are one person, on one vehicle moving smoothly through the traffic- and one less car holding everybody else up.

In the grand scheme of things the few moments where traffic may have to pause a moment to accommodate a cyclist is more than made up for by the fact that the cyclist does not contribute to this kind of congestion and frees up one more parking space, which in Boston and Cambridge is what every other car is looking for.

sweet

Your video is a perfect example of why more people don't ride bicycles in this country. If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.


Thats cool driving in traffic is not for everyone. Even if the cars aren't moving. If you dont feel confident you could do it then don't.

I've seen a MTB'er, and guys that do crazy dangerous stunts in their BMX's. freeze up and drive a bicycle like they just learned yesterday when first driving in traffic like that. It takes a bit getting used to, to get over the fear.

On the other hand I have a friend that hadnt ridden in traffic ever and hadn't gotten on a bike in over two decades since he was 9, just do it like a champ on his first day. In Down town LA. Better than me actually. I just told him to drive it like he would his car, or his motorcycle.

Good Luck!

This video is a good example of why bikes should not be considered the same as cars. We are not cars. .

Where did you get the idea bikes are or should be considered the same as cars? They are vehicles.

And by the way there are even motor vehicles that could be (and often are in some places) driven in the same way as the cyclist did in that video.

Where did you get the idea bikes are or should be considered the same as cars? They are vehicles...


I have never considered bikes to be the same as cars- that's my point.

However, it is something I often see expressed by cyclists and motorists.

For example in a post in another A&S thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=8791504&postcount=16)it was recently expressed like this: "if we want cars to see us as cars..."

those are the conditions which make me glad to be on a bike! road works are so much fun when you can just scoot through them :D

Your video is a perfect example of why more people don't ride bicycles in this country. If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.
Ugh no, daily routes like that are perfect for riding a bike. Big bad cars stuck in one place scare you? Aww

Did you wave and smile when you passed the horn blower? I have a little "over the shoulder" wave that I do now an then in that situation. It's gotta steam them.

I gave the horn blower a big ass smile and wave as I passed.

Your video is a perfect example of why more people don't ride bicycles in this country. If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.

You gotta be kidding me. You'd want to be stuck in that kind of traffic? You've got it totally backwards. This type of route highlights the advantages of riding a bicycle over driving a car. And by taking your car, you'd just be adding to the congestion!

If you're single and in your twenties, that might work (sense of invincibility, no dependents). What exactly in the video seemed dangerous to you?

What exactly in the video seemed dangerous to you?

Really. Biking in the mall parking lot would be much more dangerous because most parked cars would be driving backwards to leave a parking spot. Splitting lanes of gridlocked traffic almost puts me to sleep so I tend to ride a bit too fast. Biking a reasonable speed as the OP seems to do makes it all the safer.

If my daily route looked like that, I'd start biking every day.

And just because people aren't willing to cycle on roads, doesn't mean it's necessarily dangerous. Given that you don't live in amsterdam or copenhagen (i think), does that mean you have a sense of invincibility?


Well I'm not so sure riding in between those cars was very safe but the video wasn't that bad, there was a few tight spots that I may have waited through though. One a-hole opening a door could have taken him out.

Really. Biking in the mall parking lot would be much more dangerous because most parked cars would be driving backwards to leave a parking spot. Splitting lanes of gridlocked traffic almost puts me to sleep so I tend to ride a bit too fast. Biking a reasonable speed as the OP seems to do makes it all the safer.

Depending on the location, I find that one needs to watch out for passenger side doors opening suddenly. Like they're getting a ride somewhere, and they're like, "Oh, just let me out here. I can walk the rest of the way."

If you're single and in your twenties, that might work (sense of invincibility, no dependents).

But most people aren't willing to cycle in those conditions. Nor should they have to.



WTF is so dangerous about the conditions in that video? I'm sorry if you can't negotiate a bike in the midst of a bunch of stopped traffic...but as a grandfather, I don't have a problem with it and I never have.

Now if that traffic was moving at 35mph or faster, you might have a point, but it's not, so you don't.
Nobody is forcing you to ride outside of your comfort zone, so no worries.

Lombard street near the water main break?

Well I'm not so sure riding in between those cars was very safe but the video wasn't that bad, there was a few tight spots that I may have waited through though. One a-hole opening a door could have taken him out.

Taken me out is a little strong I think, it would be next to imposable to fall sideways in that mess, forward speeds were not that significant to cause an end'o or significant damage. Between that construction and a water main break, traffic in that area was almost a pure stand still for the remainder of my ride. Baltimore is almost a pure single occupancy vehicle city, so there is almost zero probability that anyone would open a door unless they just parked.

Lombard street near the water main break?

Guilford just south of 40 heading toward the water main break.

WTF is so dangerous about the conditions in that video? I'm sorry if you can't negotiate a bike in the midst of a bunch of stopped traffic...but as a grandfather, I don't have a problem with it and I never have. ...Seems some, just do not have the cycling skills to negotiate slightly narrow situations. Maybe they should try some single track mountain biking.

Depending on the location, I find that one needs to watch out for passenger side doors opening suddenly. Like they're getting a ride somewhere, and they're like, "Oh, just let me out here. I can walk the rest of the way."

I almost wish people in NOLA would do that, then the right lane would be less f'ed up...maybe. Folks here seem to be frightened of anything but curbside dismounts on multilane roads. In say NYC, I would be fearful of passing a dead stopped cab anywhere.

Parts of my commute are like that, it's also the reason I ride my bike. I hate sitting in traffic in my car. I had to drive yesterday because I had to take my cat to the vet. After work, the traffic made me angry, where, if I were on my bike i'd be having a good time. (and got home faster). No way in hell i'd choose that traffic over my bike if I had the choice.

God, you gotta wonder how much pollutants all those stalled cars are spewing into the air (not to mention all the oil resources they're burning), and it's probably only one person in each car. Just imagine if they were all on bikes...

Thats cool driving in traffic is not for everyone. Even if the cars aren't moving. If you dont feel confident you could do it then don't.

I've seen a MTB'er, and guys that do crazy dangerous stunts in their BMX's. freeze up and drive a bicycle like they just learned yesterday when first driving in traffic like that. It takes a bit getting used to, to get over the fear.

On the other hand I have a friend that hadnt ridden in traffic ever and hadn't gotten on a bike in over two decades since he was 9, just do it like a champ on his first day. In Down town LA. Better than me actually. I just told him to drive it like he would his car, or his motorcycle.

Good Luck!

Oy Vay, riding in traffic for the first time in DTLA? That's just a crash course into urban cycling, and I thought riding residential streets was scary at first.

Oy Vay, riding in traffic for the first time in DTLA? That's just a crash course into urban cycling, and I thought riding residential streets was scary at first.

The dude wasn't even scared one bit. I asked him "aren't you scared they are gonna hit you from behind?" he said, " No. They can see me." fffffffuuuu. Wish I had started like that.

I noticed I was riding in the door zone sometimes, by watching him when he was pulling. psst and I though I was gonna show him how its done.

Going down to the bike summit this guy honks at me for blocking traffic. So I turned on my video as I caught up to him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KepdIBHGQ

So I decided just to keep on peddling. Revenge is sweet!

Seems to me, those big boxy metal things were doing all the blocking. :D

My daily commute often looks just like that and I do bike every day. I loathe driving in those conditions.

This video is a good example of why bikes should not be considered the same as cars. We are not cars. We have the capability to move through auto congestion in ways an automobile couldn't. It would be interesting to count how many of those vehicles contained only one person. You, on your bike, are one person, on one vehicle moving smoothly through the traffic- and one less car holding everybody else up.

In the grand scheme of things the few moments where traffic may have to pause a moment to accommodate a cyclist is more than made up for by the fact that the cyclist does not contribute to this kind of congestion and frees up one more parking space, which in Boston and Cambridge is what every other car is looking for.

+1000. What are you going for poet laureate of BF? Now how do I get all that on my T shirt? :D

Part of my old commute was like that... there was one uphill stretch where it could take a driver up to 45 minutes to go 2 miles. Even at my low speed of 8MPH uphill, I just zipped on by.

I had a bike lane to do this in though, so it was even sweeter.

A different stretch on the way to work however required filtering... no problemo.

My commute is nothing like this - 99% of the time, I'm the one blocking traffic; There are times when I hold up a dozen cars or so by 20mph for a minute or two.

But hey, people deal with it. Traffic lights are worse.

Going down to the bike summit this guy honks at me for blocking traffic. So I turned on my video as I caught up to him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KepdIBHGQ

So I decided just to keep on peddling. Revenge is sweet!

i like how you see the cop and just turn to go inbetween the other lanes

Your video is a perfect example of why more people don't ride bicycles in this country. If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.

IMHO: Traffic like this is the easiest to ride with. I love when traffic is like this.

We don't get it as often out here, but when we do, woot.


i like how you see the cop and just turn to go inbetween the other lanes
I don't think it was because of the cop, the flatbed and other vehicle created a really tiny gap that personally I wouldn't feel comfortable squeezing through.

Going down to the bike summit this guy honks at me for blocking traffic. So I turned on my video as I caught up to him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KepdIBHGQ

So I decided just to keep on peddling. Revenge is sweet!

I only got ten seconds into the vid before I started laughing... as if YOU were the one "blocking traffic"... riiiight.. :lol:

Really. Biking in the mall parking lot would be much more dangerous because most parked cars would be driving backwards to leave a parking spot. Splitting lanes of gridlocked traffic almost puts me to sleep so I tend to ride a bit too fast. Biking a reasonable speed as the OP seems to do makes it all the safer.

+1

If you think this is dangerous you really need to learn city riding. A year ago I would have thought this was dangerous also, but honestly I did not have the right skills to ride safely in a city. Watch some videos of city riding (esp. Joey Brooks videos, they changed how I ride!). Once you stop riding on the right side of the road and stop waiting at every red light, you will feel a whole lot safer. I 'converted' to more of a lane splitting/red light running kind of riding a few months ago and am glad I did (and Joey - thanks for the videos, they got me thinking about this stuff!)

I now feel safer in rush hour traffic than I do on longer rides out of the city.

I gave the horn blower a big ass smile and wave as I passed.

Personally, this alone will make it tough for the next cyclist the horn blower sees. Why can't you just ride by without doing anything? That's enough of a statement in itself.

Personally, this alone will make it tough for the next cyclist the horn blower sees. Why can't you just ride by without doing anything? That's enough of a statement in itself.

Oh horsepucky....you people that get ticked off, or perceive that others get ticked off, by a smile and/or a wave have serious mental problems. I hereby designate you as the poster child for the 'serious' cyclist. :rolleyes:

you squeezed by those cars with the Xtracycle?

I like it when the traffic is creeping along a little bit instead of at a dead stop, minimizes the risk of a door opening up in front of you.

Personally, this alone will make it tough for the next cyclist the horn blower sees. Why can't you just ride by without doing anything? That's enough of a statement in itself.

Yeah right! Ha ha ha!

This incident will have zero impact on the cagers future attitude toward cyclists. What's he going to do to make it "tougher" for the next cyclist? Will he blow his horn twice? OUCH! That's going to sting! :roflmao2:

Scozim, why are you so worried that a cager is going to be annoyed? Being annoyed at others behavior is part and parcel of operating on the public roads in traffic. Trust me, if this guy is so upset by a cyclist, he is even more outraged at busses, left turners, right turners, speed limit observers...

Your video is a perfect example of why more people don't ride bicycles in this country. If my daily route looked like that, I'd take the car every time.

It appears that the bike was the superior mode of transport in that situation.

It appears that the bike was the superior mode of transport in that situation.

+1. It illustrates why I take the bike whenever I know I'm not going outside of downtown.

Seems some, just do not have the cycling skills to negotiate slightly narrow situations. Maybe they should try some single track mountain biking.

I'm sure he could do it -- I just think uke thought it was a good opportunity to post his 7,367th picture of a Dutch or Danish person riding a utility bike on a cycle track. It's like pr0n.

I'm sure he could do it -- I just think uke thought it was a good opportunity to post his 7,367th picture of a Dutch or Danish person riding a utility bike on a cycle track. It's like pr0n.

uke is still young and thinks that someone can just wave a magic wand and turn the world into cycling utopia. So he pretty much drives unless he has ideal conditions to ride in...talk about your hard-core cyc..err...driver. :lol:

you squeezed by those cars with the Xtracycle?

Yep, no problems.

Yep, no problems.

Coll beans man. I have been hauling Henry in the trailer. A little too cumbersome for regular riding, IMO.

That was some nice manuervering there B. Personally speaking, I don't know what people are fretting about regarding your filtering up. It appears to me that you took reasonable precautions and were behaving in a civilized manner.