Commuting - urban riders come forth

I live Rochester, a smallish city in upstate NY. My commute generally doesn’t take me outside city limits. The side streets as well as the main ones are lined with parked cars, and when I ride in the road I am in constant fear that a driver side door will open and send my flying. The sidewalks are usually crowded with people listening to their MP3 player, so my cries of “PASSING” dissipate into nothing.
Also, the roadsides are absolutely littered with debris , garbage, tree limbs, gravel, large rocks, crack stems (no joke) and lots of glass. There seems to be a lot of *******s who think it fun to pick on bikers, especially when I’m at a stoplight.
How do you urban riders cope? I’m new to commuting and I’m finding it very stressful.

I take a lane.

The solution is to cycle far enough away from the parked cars that their doors cannot hit you. This would also allow you to avoid the debris near the gutter.

Edit: What Kimmitt said.

whoa, you guys ride in a lane???srysly??
A lane during morning/afternoon rushhour? why does that seem crazy to me??

whoa, you guys ride in a lane???srysly??
A lane during morning/afternoon rushhour? why does that seem crazy to me??

Because you're not used to the idea, and/or you're not picking your route well.

I avoid most arterial streets because the 40+ mph traffic and three lanes in each direction take most of the enjoyment out of cycling. In most cases you can find perfectly acceptable streets that are smaller, slower, and have less traffic, and it's a lot more comfortable for a newer cyclist to start taking the lane.

Be assertive, but avoid being a jackass about it. Make it clear that you belong on the road, and that you know you belong on the road, and you'll be surprised at how many drivers will simply accept your presence on the road.

Because you're not used to the idea, and/or you're not picking your route well.

I avoid most arterial streets because the 40+ mph traffic and three lanes in each direction take most of the enjoyment out of cycling. In most cases you can find perfectly acceptable streets that are smaller, slower, and have less traffic, and it's a lot more comfortable for a newer cyclist to start taking the lane.

Be assertive, but avoid being a jackass about it. Make it clear that you belong on the road, and that you know you belong on the road, and you'll be surprised at how many drivers will simply accept your presence on the road.

Couldn't have said it better. I stay on streets I can stay up with traffic on. No need going on a 45 mph street. I stick to most side streets with way less traffic then the busy street next to it.

Also it does take some experience to get used to it. I was exactly the same when I would read people writing about taking the lane. After doing it for months it just becomes natural.

very good. thanks.
I think I'll stick to the side streets for now...

Choosing a good route is probably the best advice. It does not have to be the fastest or the most direct route, but it should be the safest (for you). If that means you have more stop signs or stop lights plus more time added to your commute; but you encounter less traffic, less hassle, and less people trying to mess with you, then its a sacrafice commuters have to make sometimes.

As far as car doors go, ride about 3 feet away from them. I also check through the back windows when approaching (if possible) to see if their is movement inside. Doesn't alway work, but it helps.

I tend to stick to side streets, but occasionally the commute leaves me with no other options. We have a lot of one way streets through our downtown. In a way they are great for riding with all the available lane options for drivers to get around you.

As others said, take a lane and be assertive. I typically ride about where the right tire would be on a car. When I approach a red light or stop sign, I gear down and merge over to take the full lane and be visible at the intersection. Eye contact helps, I've found, as you approach intersections with stopped traffic and you have right of way. I stare the drivers down so they know I am there. Lights help with this as well.

Indianapolis just painted bike lane on two busy city streets I commute on. I appreciate it and think it is a net gain, they painted it exactly like I have been riding it for years, except. About a mile is down a line of parked cars on the right. Before I used to just take the lane and ride like teh curb was where a car door could possibly get me if opened at exactly the right moment, in other words just out of reach. This is a major city 5 or 6 lane street with crazy heavy traffic. Now I feel more obligated to stay in the bike lane, which does put me in range of a suddenly opening door. But I stay as far to the left as I can, know where cars are so I can swerve out if I need to, watch windows etc, but mainly if I cant get out of range I slow down. It is only a mile and an open car door can do a lot of damage. Actually I kinda perfer city to suburban riding. City drivers seem more used to us.

I live Rochester, a smallish city in upstate NY. <snip> Also, the roadsides are absolutely littered with debris , garbage, tree limbs, gravel, large rocks, crack stems (no joke) and lots of glass. There seems to be a lot of *******s who think it fun to pick on bikers, especially when I’m at a stoplight.
How do you urban riders cope? I’m new to commuting and I’m finding it very stressful.

I too live in Rochester--in the city, on Goodman across from the Art Gallery. I work at three neighborhood branches of the public library--Winton and Atlantic, Bay and Webster, Joseph and Avenue D. These last two are firmly in "the crescent".

We must live in parallel universes because I have a completely different impression of the city. I ride between 5,000 and 6,000 miles every year--in all four seasons--80% of it in the city. Even riding Joseph Ave I find the roads clean and in good shape, drivers decent and respectful. True, I did get honked last night on East Main at the Inner Loop, but I had made the mistake. I had drifted too far right in the lane and the idiot thought they could squeeze by on my left. I can't remember when the time before that was.

Get thee to the public library!

At Winton Branch we have two copies of The Art of Cycling: A Guide to Bicycling in 21st Century America by Robert Hurst (an occasional poster here.) It's on the shelf in non-fiction at 796.6. (Bonus: Come in on Friday or Saturday, and I'm the guy behind the circ desk who checks it out to you.) Or you can have it sent to a branch nearer you. (This service costs 50¢.) You can even do that online, here (http://www.libraryweb.org/).

The first edition was titled Art of Urban Cycling. I'm not sure why they renamed it because it remains focused on riding in traffic on city streets. You'll find most of the same information scattered all around this forum--the book pulls it all together in one place.

I have been riding in a major urban environment for about 35 years. I find that when I ride in heavy traffic I tend to be a little more aggressive. I ride like I belong on the road (take the lane), use hand signals and try to make eye contact with car drivers so they know I am out there. I take the attitude that car drivers cannot see me so I make myself visible and let the other drivers know what I intend on doing by again using proper hand signals. Don't worry, it'll get easier with time.
As far as being "doored" this is a constant danger for all urban cyclists. Again, just stay alert and watch the parked cars as you ride...just in case a driver decides to exit their vehicle. I have had to swerve to avoid lots of people opening the driver door but I have yet to actually hit one.

Are there any groups in your area that you can practice urban cycling with?

In Los Angeles there are, and riding in a group that way can help you gain the confidence for solo street riding.

i'd also like to point out : it's probably illegal to ride on the sidewalk and otherwise discouraged, bikers have the right to and belong in the road.

I am not a purest but riding on the sidewalk in most circumstances is even more dangerous than the street. Entry to the street, exit from the street and crosswalks with peds seem very scary to me. Unless you are going walking speed on a comfort bike, and there aint a thing wrong with that, I would stay on the street.

I'm also in Rochester. I live on the east side and work in Gates, so I ride through the city. My experiences are somewhere between yours and tsl's. I had to switch to Armadillo tires due to the debris in the road. Most of the drivers are reasonably attentive and cooperative. But if two or three drivers out of the hundred you see every morning are jerks, it seems daunting.

Vary your ride, you'll find some roads are better than others, in terms of both road quality and driver quality. Where do you ride?

The side streets as well as the main ones are lined with parked cars, and when I ride in the road I am in constant fear that a driver side door will open and send my flying. The sidewalks are usually crowded with people listening to their MP3 player, so my cries of “PASSING” dissipate into nothing.
Also, the roadsides are absolutely littered with debris , garbage, tree limbs, gravel, large rocks, crack stems (no joke) and lots of glass. There seems to be a lot of *******s who think it fun to pick on bikers, especially when I’m at a stoplight.
How do you urban riders cope? I’m new to commuting and I’m finding it very stressful.

You have a typical city commute. Over time you will work out the best routes and get pretty comfortable riding.

How do we cope? We don't have anything to cope to really. I would say that most of us simply saddle up and pedal.

You should print and save this post and read it at the end of the season. You will probably get a kick out of it.

What makes a "good route" really depends not just on the type of road, but on local conditions. In Boston, a bike fits on pretty much any non-controlled access road (there's probably an exception, but offhand I can't think of one). This is because the traffic is so dense during morning rush hour that you're really not holding anyone up, AND the drivers are used to sharing the road with bicycles.

Do stay away from the doors, and do stay off the sidewalks. Sidewalk riding is really only safe in situations where the "sidewalk" would better be named "non-road strip of pavement with zero pedestrians on it". Pedestrians and bicycles don't mix.

Was riding a newish bike lane in Queens NYC the other day. The lane was way to close to parked cars. A open door covered the whole lane. Traffic seemed pretty heavy on the street as well. Think I will stay off that road.

I live in Queens and commute over the Queensboro bridge. In Queens, I take the back roads and take a lane. If there's a bike lane, I ride on the tape right at the edge of the bike lane.

Going over the bridge it's pretty intuitive.

In Manhattan, I weave in and out of traffic when it's slow or stopped. When the traffic is flowing I pretty much take a lane. I'll sit in the first third of the lane and I usually turn my head all the way around to make eye contact with the car behind me.

Was riding a newish bike lane in Queens NYC the other day. The lane was way to close to parked cars. A open door covered the whole lane. Traffic seemed pretty heavy on the street as well. Think I will stay off that road.

Or just take the lane. The presence of a bike lane doesn't mean you can't ride anywhere else.

That isn't necessarily true in NY State. This is from the NYS Vehicle and Traffic law:

Section 1234. Riding on roadways, shoulders, bicycle lanes and bicycle paths.

(a) Upon all roadways, any bicycle shall be driven either on a usable bicycle lane or, if a usable bicycle lane has not been provided, near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a usable right- hand shoulder in such a manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic except when preparing for a left turn or when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions that would make it unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge. Conditions to be taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or traffic lanes too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side-by-side within the lane.

http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/bike-vt.htm#sec1234

In the end though, I'm going to ride where I feel safe, not where someone thinks I should ride.




Or just take the lane. The presence of a bike lane doesn't mean you can't ride anywhere else.

You have a typical city commute. Over time you will work out the best routes and get pretty comfortable riding.

How do we cope? We don't have anything to cope to really. I would say that most of us simply saddle up and pedal.

You should print and save this post and read it at the end of the season. You will probably get a kick out of it.

Well said. I don't cope, I get from that start of my ride to the end. It's not complicated.

I take a lane.

+1000

Take the lane. You got a right to be there. Use it.

... and as for those that "pick" on bikers, well they're usually just jealous =)

(a) Upon all roadways, any bicycle shall be driven either on a usable bicycle lane

Emphasis mine. You were saying?

IOW, the bike lane as described doesn't meet any reasonable definition of "usable". It's unsafe, so don't use it, and don't waste time worrying that some Captain Safety Officer Deputy Dawg is going to try to cite Section 1234 subsection (a) and write you up.

I'm a little more on edge whenever I ride anyplace unfamiliar whether in an urban setting or not. Give yourself time to get comfortable. If there's a local cycling forum people might be able to recommend routes where the conditions are better.

For the most part though I find urban cycling easier in a lot of ways. The traffic generally moves slower and drivers are more used to both cyclists and pedestrians.

Or just take the lane. The presence of a bike lane doesn't mean you can't ride anywhere else.

True.

I find it easier to just ride a non bike lane road with out any expectations that I would use the bike lane. Road in question is one lane to begin with and being NY drivers will lay on the horn because they can't accelerate to a red light.

That's what I'd argue if I got a ticket.

Better to argue about a ticket than to get hit.


Emphasis mine. You were saying?

IOW, the bike lane as described doesn't meet any reasonable definition of "usable". It's unsafe, so don't use it, and don't waste time worrying that some Captain Safety Officer Deputy Dawg is going to try to cite Section 1234 subsection (a) and write you up.

I too live in Rochester--in the city, on Goodman across from the Art Gallery. I work at three neighborhood branches of the public library--Winton and Atlantic, Bay and Webster, Joseph and Avenue D. These last two are firmly in "the crescent".

We must live in parallel universes because I have a completely different impression of the city. I ride between 5,000 and 6,000 miles every year--in all four seasons--80% of it in the city. Even riding Joseph Ave I find the roads clean and in good shape, drivers decent and respectful. True, I did get honked last night on East Main at the Inner Loop, but I had made the mistake. I had drifted too far right in the lane and the idiot thought they could squeeze by on my left. I can't remember when the time before that was.

Get thee to the public library!

At Winton Branch we have two copies of The Art of Cycling: A Guide to Bicycling in 21st Century America by Robert Hurst (an occasional poster here.) It's on the shelf in non-fiction at 796.6. (Bonus: Come in on Friday or Saturday, and I'm the guy behind the circ desk who checks it out to you.) Or you can have it sent to a branch nearer you. (This service costs 50¢.) You can even do that online, here (http://www.libraryweb.org/).

The first edition was titled Art of Urban Cycling. I'm not sure why they renamed it because it remains focused on riding in traffic on city streets. You'll find most of the same information scattered all around this forum--the book pulls it all together in one place.
Thanks man. I'll stop in sometime.


Where do you ride?

I commute from the Meigs/Monroe area to MCC four times a week, going up South Ave to E. Henrietta Rd. I work two jobs, and I commute almost every day to the downtown area and up Lake Ave. I work some wacky hours, so oftentimes I’m riding home past 12AM, which might account for some of the *******s I’ve had to deal with.



Thanks again for the help everyone. I need to work on my assertiveness.
Also, I wonder if I looked the part drivers might take me more seriously. Should I buy some spandex??;)

i ride a couple of miles out of my way so i can take a non collector road with a speed limit of 30mph. The alternative is getting buzzed by an endless stream of cars. the other thing i did was refine my route so i avoid major roads by riding thru subdivisions- google was good for this.
i recognize that i'm an annoyance to most drivers and i do my best to keep up with the flow of traffic, ride in a straight line, take the lane, stop at all stop signs/lights and use hand signals and sometimes yelling to announce my intensions. keep at it,

I avoid most arterial streets because the 40+ mph traffic and three lanes in each direction take most of the enjoyment out of cycling. In most cases you can find perfectly acceptable streets that are smaller, slower, and have less traffic, and it's a lot more comfortable for a newer cyclist to start taking the lane.

There's a world of difference between some places and others. Our wonderful subdivision barons and misguided civil engineers try hard to create mazes and dead ends that block side streets and funnel all traffic onto clogged main arterials. The University is the worst of all - blocking all minor through roads so that traffic flow diverted and compressed onto the surrounding streets. I wish they'd design in some connector paths for pedestrians, bikes, etc which would make alternative travel so much easier.

I commute from the Meigs/Monroe area to MCC four times a week, going up South Ave to E. Henrietta Rd. I work two jobs, and I commute almost every day to the downtown area and up Lake Ave. I work some wacky hours, so oftentimes I’m riding home past 12AM, which might account for some of the *******s I’ve had to deal with.

Thanks again for the help everyone. I need to work on my assertiveness.
Also, I wonder if I looked the part drivers might take me more seriously. Should I buy some spandex??;)

Ah! East Hen can be a problem with the I-390 interchange and the MCC traffic.

Have you ever thought of using Clinton Ave south to Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Rd instead? Yeah, there's the one big hill and those little rollers, but I find it's a much nicer ride than East Hen. (Hell, it's a better drive!) Besides, hills make you strong. ;)

Lake Ave after midnight I'd be surprised if I wasn't hassled. Just the nature of the place. Let it roll off your back.

Fear keeps us alive, and fear of getting doored is good, because it positions you out further in the lane, which is also good, (see "Default Lane Position" in Hurst's book).

Wimpy gets you treated badly. Aggressive gets you killed. Assertive is good, it being the balance between aggressive and wimpy.

Looking the part doesn't have to mean spandex--although myself I prefer cycling-specific gear.

A good set of lights helps. Wimpy cheap ones don't. At the rear a PlanetBike SuperFlash or CatEye TL-1100 is my minimum recommendation. I run DiNottes (then again, I have a union job with the city.) I use my lights day and night.

Hi-vis helps a lot too. There are inexpensive, decent, comfy, wicking hi-vis t-shirts at AlertShirt.com (http://alertshirt.com/). Vests work for some people, and are easily removed to look "normal" again. I also have hi-vis jerseys and a jacket.

The lights, hi-vis and good technique (mainly lane positioning) work for me. They communicate to drivers that I know what I'm doing, so they feel safer. And the idiots know I won't take any crap.

HTH!

...How do you urban riders cope? I’m new to commuting and I’m finding it very stressful.

Nice description of the hazards of urban commuting. I used the find function for this entire thread and could find no mention of mirror. :twitchy: IMO, a rearview mirror is a key to survival and peace of mind on the roads. I prefer eyeglass-mounted myself.

I work at three neighborhood branches of the public library--Winton and Atlantic, Bay and Webster, Joseph and Avenue D. These

This is totally off-topic, but we have an intersection of Bay and Webster here in San Francisco. I got one of those eerie "it's a small world" feelings and decided I had to post this completely useless piece of information.

I ride aggressively also. I am in Japan for a few more months and here cyclist are prohibited from using the sidewalks unless you are under 12 or over 70 years of age. I ride much like I am just another vehicle. I take the lane and I even have passed some vehicles in the passing lane.

unless the lane is wide enough for a bike and a car to safely ride side by side then be assertive and take the lane. I rarely have trouble with drivers getting aggressive when I take narrow lanes, which are most lanes. I guess I'm reiterating

learn to love it, don't be scared. To me riding on major streets feels like swimming with whales.

Two pieces of gear I'd recommend for riding on busy roads:

1. Daytime lights

2. Mirrors

To me riding on major streets feels like swimming with whales.

blind overcaffinated killer whales

I'm in Houston now but went to RIT in Rochester and lived there for a couple years after.
I still listen to WBER. In fact I'm listening right now. ;)
WBER and KEXP in Seattle are the only radio stations I listen to outside of Sirius radio.

Nice description of the hazards of urban commuting. I used the find function for this entire thread and could find no mention of mirror. :twitchy:

I wanted to leave something for someone else. :innocent:

I'm a recent convert to mirrors, after finally finding one I like and can use. I use the Mirrycle Road Mirror for STI (http://www.mirrycle.com/road_mirror.php). It's not perfect, but pretty close.

For the other lever, today at the LBS I ordered the Incredibell Road Bell for STI (http://www.mirrycle.com/road_bell.php). Not that it makes a bit of difference in traffic, but bells are fun. And it's only 26 grams.

This is totally off-topic, but we have an intersection of Bay and Webster here in San Francisco. I got one of those eerie "it's a small world" feelings and decided I had to post this completely useless piece of information.

Glad you did.

Writing it isn't a problem, but saying it, we have to specify Bay St and Webster Ave so it's not confused with Bay Rd in the suburb of Webster. "Bay 'n' Webster" sounds like "Bay in Webster".

I second tsl's recommendation of Hurst's book. I only disagreed with one thing in the book. If you want some hand's on help, you might check out a Road 1 course given by a licensed instructor. Check out the League of American Bicyclists (http://www.bikeleague.org/)website.

My current ride take me through all kinds of situations including heavy traffic narrow rough streets, 8 foot wide shoulders with smooth asphalt, steep up hills and long rolling down hills, with a couple of miles through a very tranquil park. Just this morning, I got pwnd by a Great Blue Heron as he flew over the river and I rode along on the bank. He's fast for such a big bird.

The presence of a bike lane doesn't mean you can't ride anywhere else.

In Little Rock it does.

In Little Rock it does.

Do you have a link to this particular law? (Not baiting you or doubting you - I'm genuinely interested in reading this law!)

Better a ticket than a collision. Ride safe, ride in non-arterial streets. Use the parts of the system that work best for you and avoid the parts that don't.

Do you have a link to this particular law? (Not baiting you or doubting you - I'm genuinely interested in reading this law!)

It's true in Minneapolis too. If there's a bike lane you're expected to use it. But there's is a big caveat. If there's debris in the bike lane or some other reason that would make it unsafe to ride there, you can ride in the street.

I don't know if being of the opinion that bike lanes aren't safe in general is enough of a reason but having been hit in one I might be able to make my case if it came before a judge ;)

I live downtown and bikes are faster than cars for the most part so I get a lane and pass when I need to and stay to the left of cars turning right. Most of the roads have 3 or 4 lanes downtown and I use them all like a car would. Cars here are so sluggish and slow in the day time with all the traffic that they start to not even matter to me. One thing to watch is the one way streets bet big buildings. People from out of town can be going the wrong way through red lites and not even know it! The lights are pointing away from them and the city can be distracting. you can get totaly smoked this way!

I live downtown and bikes are faster than cars for the most part so I get a lane and pass when I need to and stay to the left of cars turning right. Most of the roads have 3 or 4 lanes downtown and I use them all like a car would. Cars here are so sluggish and slow in the day time with all the traffic that they start to not even matter to me. One thing to watch is the one way streets bet big buildings. People from out of town can be going the wrong way through red lites and not even know it! The lights are pointing away from them and the city can be distracting. you can get totaly smoked this way!

completely different riding in oakland county- i get buzzed frequently

i get buzzed frequently

quit smoking that stuff :)

To me riding on major streets feels like swimming with whales...



blind overcaffinated killer whales



:lol: