itsthewoo

This is a quandary that I have been wrestling with for quite some time. I live in Orlando, FL, and though I wouldn't go as far to say that it is the absolute worst town for bicycling, it still isn't very good.

I've already been right-hooked once, with a lot of close calls that I've only avoided out of expecting drivers to not bother to flick their blinker, and this is obviously due to the fact that I typically ride in the shoulder. On roads without a sufficient shoulder, I typically opt for the sidewalk.

Obviously the shoulder and the sidewalk pose large safety concerns (particularly the sidewalk at intersection crosswalks and driveways where motorists seem to think that making a right turn without stopping is more important than letting a pedestrian cross safely), but they also lower the amount of h/h/h that I would experience if I take a lane. I could learn to ignore the heckling and honking, but the dangers of being harassed is all too real, since I know people who have been hit-and-runned and such.

I guess the end-all solution would be to get a helmet cam, but that costs $$ and having video won't help me not getting busted up if a car decides to clip me.

Anyway, thoughts?

10 Wheels

Ride to be safe.

I ride the roads with a Dinnotte tail light in the daytime.

Medic Zero

Road.
Always the road.
It's where we belong.

MijnWraak

In the lane, about 6 inches to the right of the right tire mark in my experience. Never in the gutter with the glass and crap.

nashcommguy

The roads in my area have a pretty decent shoulder width for the most part. I try to ride to the right of the fog line ama possible. Unless there's glass, debris, etc. My commute is rural, semi-rural and urban w/only a couple of bottlenecks w/no shoulder where I have to ride in the lane. I just signal my intent before the road narrows w/a look over my shoulder and a strong, assertive point w/my left arm to the area where I intend to move. Then I just follow through.

Urban riding in heavy traffic is a different animal and one must respect the fact of 5000 lbs. vs 200 lbs max. Did it for years and rode a light, nimble mtb w/plenty of flashing lights and reflective material. The process is the same, though. Make clear your intent w/eye to eye contact whenever possible, hold your line and follow through. Hesitation can be costly. Eye to eye contact was the reason I never wore sunglasses when riding urban. Always clear safety glasses from Home Depot. 5.00US.

Btw, don't ignore the 3 Hs. Get a license number or vehicle description whenever possible as vehicular harassment is a crime anywhere in the US.

SouthFLpix

Possible to adjust the route so that you avoid the main roads? The side streets are usually safer.

sggoodri

Roadway. Check our https://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/ for local moral support.

aggiegrads

In the road.

Where do you live in Orlando? My experience when I lived there for four years was that there was a disproportionate number of drivers that didn't know where they were going. Between tourists and retirees, traffic was atrocious. I have never seen so few cars create a traffic jam.

DX-MAN

I lived in Orlando in the mid-90's; never again. Stupid, reckless, too dumb to know fear are the appellations I use for Orlando drivers.

Right tire track of the lane. THAT'S where you need to be. They may honk, they may yell -- let 'em. (I usually have a few choice replies....) If they're honking and yelling, they've SEEN you, and have already shown they're not going to pancake you.

Verbose

What part of town are you in? I've been pretty surprised at exactly how few problems I've had in town since I started riding. Sidewalks here are so bad, that even when I do attempt to use them I shortly give up and end up back on the road. Left turns are more than I'd like to do on the 6-lane roads and I end up doing pedestrian crosses instead.

PJones0012

Depending on the road I will either stay on the street or take the sidewalk. I make every effort to take residential areas and side streets and stay on the road. If I need to take a major roadway, which I try and avoid, I'm on the sidewalk. Do I have a right to be on the road? Yes I do. But sometimes common sense overtakes "rights". The last thing I want is to be lying on the side of the road with my brains leaking out and my dying thought is "But I had the right to be on the road". After all. how many cyclist are killed every year riding on the road and how many are killed riding sidewalks? Common sense should dictate actions, not rights.The day I get hit by a car and the car driver gets hurt and not me is the time I ride the street all the time.

unterhausen

my experience is they honk and yell just as much when you are in the gutter as out in the lane. And the one time within recent memory that I rode on the sidewalk (legally, empty sidewalk) , someone honked at me. I have had at least 2 people going the other direction honk at me in the last week, one when I was on the shoulder. Some people are just jerks, you are best off just ignoring them.

Digital_Cowboy

DM,

Doesn't going through BASIC give one a great education?

Digital_Cowboy

Agreed, the other day I was in the bike lane and some arsehole honked at me. And back on the 4th of July I was going north on 1st St. N. and some arsehole going south honked at me. And today I had some arsehole honk at me and point to the right side of the road indicating (I presume) that I should be riding all the way over to the right side of the road. Even after they passed me they still pointed to the right side of the road.

I just held my line and kept on riding. As I know the road that I was riding on and the lane is too narrow to safely share with a car.

sam21fire

I think that at an intersection the sidewalk would be more dangerous unless you plan to get off and walk across the street like a pedestrian. The sidewalk setback from the edge of the road means that you'll be entering the intersection at a point where the right turn cars are already committed to their turn and moving through it. Lots of peds get whacked at the same locations.

Cyclomania

Absolutely a great idea! You look pro! #1

dahut

1. Sidewalks are for pedestrians.
You will be found at fault if you hurt a ped on the sidewalk... and hitting pedestrians sucks. Stay off them.
As important, cars tend to be blind to you there.

2. The road is your place, if no bike lane exists.
Im not talking MUPS, here. I refer to bona-fide bike lanes.

3. You are a legal vehicle on the road.
Adopt your place and ride like you know it.

4. The curb/edging/shoulder are UNSAFE.
All the trash and crap collects there. Much of it is sharp or hazardous to you.
There is also no place left for you to "bail out" to, when you balance on the the thin line at the roads edge.

5. Share the road.
As a cyclist, you do not own the road. You share it. "As far right as is practical..." is the usual wording.
Your practical section of the road is the right 1/3, give or take.

6. Look the part
Watch the vid above. HI-VIZ vest, lights, reflectors, etc., are a must. Being seen is the first step to being not hit.

7. "Like a gun, assume every parked car is loaded" Jim From Boston, Bike Forums, re Car Dooring

Doohickie

+1 Get to know Keri and the rest of the folks there, and check out their On The Road articles... lots of video demonstrating how to ride, made right in Orlando.

Digital_Cowboy

I liked the one that even though the LEO was wearing a shirt that said POLICE across the back still felt the need to honk and "instruct" him on how to "safely" ride his bike.

It's called "Dude! Do You Think You're Honking At?" It's a good video.

AlmostTrick

First of all, good for you for thinking of your safety and asking for advice. As you have seen, the over whelming response is to take the road for most instances.

Drivers do not want to hit you! Not even the jackass ones that honk and yell. Make yourself visible and use the full lane when necessary. (whenever it is not safe to share) Do not allow JAMS to force you into an unsafe situation!

What was the story on the hit and runs you knew of? Were the riders claiming the lane and intentionally hit by harassers who could clearly see them, or were they trying to "stay out of the way of the cars" at all costs? My experience says it's more likely it was the latter. You're more likely to be clipped if you allow them enough space to squeeze by when there really is not enough.

rando

Lots of good advice here, and some not so good. Mine is that you need to do what you feel is right for you in your location, in your situation. not what you "Should" do, or what you're allowed to do, but what you genuinely feel is the right solution for you in any given situation. you don't have to prove anything to anybody. Sidewalks can be ridden safely and are a good option at times. just because you CAN ride on a specific road, doesn't always mean it's a good idea. trust yourself, not something someone tells you on an internet forum hundreds or thousands of miles away.

(HA! I guess that includes me, too!)

PJones0012

I agree 100%. Well put.

dahut

And while I applaud your sense of independence, I would suggest that until one actually learns the Laws, the Etiquette and the Practical Rules of the Road - they not embark on just 'whatever feels good'.
No offense, but there is no substitute for the learned knowledge available to those who wisely seek it. "Do your own thing, baby!" is fair advice for vacuuming the carpet, but when tangling with cars in traffic, well... it might be better to know. You know?

zonatandem

Have ridden in over 30 states (including Florida) and a couple foreign countries.
Ride the road; take your lane; be predictable; use a mirror; wear bright colorful clothing and a flashing red light
may help too.
Stay off the sidewalk unless you are walking your bike.

dahut

+1

Forgot that one.
Thanks!