Advocacy & Safety - Two Cyclist on Double Yellow - VIDEO

Often here at A&S folks have asked me "What happens when someone else is riding the center line too?"

Someone yields. It's never been a problem. I finally caught it on video. A lady on a beach cruiser riding the double yellow! Gotta love it.

Here is a screen capture so you don't have to watch the vid:

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=104019&stc=1&d=1241701641

I made my move way in advance since there was no opposing traffic. We exchanged large smiles as we passed.

Here is the vid LINK (http://www.vimeo.com/4524315). It is a test with the camera on the handlebars instead of my helmet. Pretty mellow, especially the ride through City Park at the end. The screen capture above is at 1:22

At 5:09 you will notice an SUV and a city bus running a red light. A great example of why I don't look at the lights. I look for traffic. Didn't notice the red light runners until I was watching the finished video.

If my light is green, you A&Sers are probably smart enough to extrapolate what color the bus and SUV were seeing.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=104020&stc=1&d=1241702190

Nice. 30lbs though for 2 inch tires? Heck anytime mine drop under 65lbs it starts feeling a bit sluggish.

I would like to ride like that, however in my neck of the woods I suspect that cop you passed at around 2:00 would have pulled me over for riding on the double yellow.

Nice. 30lbs though for 2 inch tires? Heck anytime mine drop under 65lbs it starts feeling a bit sluggish.

Just the front tire. Rear is still rock hard at 50psi.



I would like to ride like that, however in my neck of the woods I suspect that cop you passed at around 2:00 would have pulled me over for riding on the double yellow.

A NOPD cop once told me, so long as I don't make him spill his coffee - it's all good. Years of experience have pretty much confirmed that for me. But I try not to run red lights AT SPEED right in front of them, but if I slow down to under 10 mph and go through they don't care. Also, in the French Quarter all of the side streets are one-way, narrow, and full of cars going very slow. Had I seen his roof lights ignite, I would have turned down the very next side street immediately just in case. That has never happened tho.

I really enjoyed your red light tutorial video, and this double yellow thing seems like it would come in handy for me if it wasn't for one detail...

A lot of folks around here apparently have no spatial skills whatsoever. If I ran lights that aggressively, people would be slamming on their brakes all over the place. In your videos, this is apparently not a problem in NO. Riding the double yellow? I can just see Bellingham drivers veering all over the place to get away from me. There is a road that I frequently ride on that has a bike lane and very wide lanes for the cars, and every now and then there will still be a driver who just can't bring themselves to pass me and will hover behind as I climb the hill at about 10 MPH. Bottom line is, a lot of people here aren't very good drivers, but they're careful. This is a good thing, but it essentially keeps me from doing certain things because I don't want to make them have an aneurism and crash.

These are still fun to watch, though, and you don't seem to be causing any panic with the drivers, so... more power to ya!

there was no opposing traffic

Given this, I'm not quite sure what she was doing on the double yellow in the first place.


Riding the double yellow? I can just see Bellingham drivers veering all over the place to get away from me.

Last time I tried this (extended traffic jam on a 2-lane road) I had people stopping dead in the road and another driver honk at me. I haven't done it since.

Given this, I'm not quite sure what she was doing on the double yellow in the first place.

Same as me. On this street, it is absolutely the fastest, safest spot to be. You won't get doored, or left hooked, there is plenty of unused space, and it eliminates zombie attacks from between the parked cars. Her line of sight (except near high profile vehicles) is vast and as long as traffic is actually moving, zombies will not be popping out from between moving vehicles.

Joey,

You are truly the maestro of urban guerrilla cycling.

Not much need for war zone tactics in my neck of the woods, nor would they be tolerated for long. You would likely be bored out of your mind here.

There are old cyclists and there are outlaw cyclists. But not too many old, outlaw cyclists. Please don't be in too much of a hurry to collect your Darwin Award.

I've seen a lot of your videos where there is heavy two-way car traffic. Your maneuver in this case just wouldn't work. I would kind of like to see a better example of what happens in heavy traffic.

The handlebar mounted cam is good, but I like the helmet mounted camera better. It gives a better idea of where you are looking as you approach intersections and potential obstacles.

Is car traffic in New Orleans always a rat f@ck? If so, it seems like it's a lot easier to get around on a bicycle than in a car.

Is car traffic in New Orleans always a rat f@ck? If so, it seems like it's a lot easier to get around on a bicycle than in a car.

Almost always. The stop lights were timed by the ba$t@rd son of Hitler, our romantic buggy rides proceed at box turtle speed on streets too narrow to pass them, peds take any opportunity to J-walk, and once they have traffic stopped just keep flowing like a Zombie parade from a George A. Romero movie. Take all that and throw in a couple thousand tourists in motor vehicles with poor map reading skills (if they have a map) gawking at the architecture and acting like New Orleans is some kind of amusement park, not a functioning BUSY city and you have...well...Rat F@ck with a capitol RF.

When I am forced to drive a car down in the grid (my wife won't bike there) in five minutes I want to slice my throat with a broken Hurricane glass from Pat O's (after consuming the contents of course).

BUT... Here is a long forgotten vid taken on THE day when NO ONE was out. Downright Apocalyptic! Boring, but historic. And my best "Tour Guide" of the French Quarter. Enjoy!

NOLA Mistakes (http://www.vimeo.com/1077986)

You would likely be bored out of your mind here.

I would prefer a boring commute. I wish there was ONE alternative that was laid back to get my arse to work and back. I would take that every time.