JoeyBike

My bud and I ran the LHTs on some errands together before work the other day. We finished up a little over 6 miles from work and rocked the most direct route possible - mostly a 35 mph divided boulevard. Speeds ranged fro 20 - 25 mph except at intersections. We still managed to average 18mph from door to door and elapsed time was 20 minutes. (See the map displayed during the end credits).

I should put this in A&S as an example that speed and "proper" lane position will keep you from getting right hooked!

For you Long Haul Trucker fans - I can't imagine Truckers rockin' the roads much better than this, especially mine toting 10 lbs of cat food in my rear panniers!

This one starts out a little boring perhaps, but at 3:30 we are rocking 23-25mph for a long stretch, then dive into the grid for some tight squeezes in light traffic. Still really fast but a little bumpy.

Six Fast Miles (9:12)

nwmtnbkr

Interesting video, thanks for posting; however, looks like you both went through a number of intersections where you had the red and should have stopped. I don't think cyclists should be running red lights anymore than I think drivers should. Can you explain your rationale for running a red on bicycle and would you if you were driving a car? Not obeying traffic laws, especially stopping at red lights and at stop signs really has given all cyclists a bad rap in more congested, urban areas.

JoeyBike

Glad you asked. I have a short Blog dedicated to that topic!

https://joey-bike.blogspot.com/

Notice too that about half my links will direct you to sites dedicated to answering your question i.e.,:

# Outlaw Debate - Wall Street Journal
# Outlaw Debate 2 - Austin, TX
# Politics and Ethics
# To Obey, Or Not to Obey
# Why Cyclists Do What They Do

echotraveler

i was about to say that your gonna get flamed for running the stop lights...

but i agree we can run them as long as we slow down and watch for incoming traffic...

is this vid sped up?

cyclefreaksix

Mom??

JoeyBike

+50% as stated in the credits at the end.

Theoretically, if we are biking 20, it would look like 30. Allows me to fit in more riding, match tempo with the tunes, and in reality, my particular camera makes it look like 20mph is walking speed. Other video makers have mentioned the "slow looking" factor too. So I speed up almost everything in editing.

wheel

We already been there more than once. Better than the last one.

kidpurple

I'm glad you asked too and I knew Joey would have a good reply.
EXACTLY how I try to ride!

JoeyBike

^^Thanks for positive words!^^

When I started posting my video links here over a year ago, the most surprising thing I found was the number of posts screeching "You are going to DIE!"

I totally understand why folks would CHOOSE to stop at every red light until it went green. Certainly that is honorable. It's the inability to grasp the concept that crossing an intersection when no cars are coming under a red light is not somehow extra dangerous that baffles me.

Cheers!

nvincent

That's some nice riding. At first I thought your friend was riding no-handed in the door zone and I just gasped, but then I noticed that he wasn't that close to those cars.

Spreggy

Except the re-passes. That can be pretty annoying, pass a cyclist or two, they catch you at the light and squirm up, only to be navigated around again. At one of your intersections, you shot between a double line of cars just as it turned green, then sucked up the whole right lane, making a double line of cars merge to go around you, again. Re-passes are annoying, and I don't blame the cager who rewards you (or me) with a horn or finger for doing it.

Not trying to be mister whiny-pants about how others should ride, just sayin'.

Bekologist

ah, the artifice of speed enhancements!

Joey- if it isn't exciting in real time, it's just plain not exciting. it reminded me of those Benny Hill stop action shorts.

all of my traffic video would be thrilling if speed enhanced, even stopping at red lights!

trekker pete

new here, huh?

nvincent

Just wait til he sees the video of the guy in JoeyBike's avatar.

squirtdad

No we can't, not legally. This behavior is completely counter productive to any cycling goal other than self centered riding behavior.

squirtdad

[QUOTE=JoeyBike;9690933I totally understand why folks would CHOOSE to stop at every red light until it went green. Certainly that is honorable. It's the inability to grasp the concept that crossing an intersection when no cars are coming under a red light is not somehow extra dangerous that baffles me.

Cheers![/QUOTE]

Joey the issue more complex.
While obeying traffic laws will not guarantee safety that is because there are people who disobey the laws (drivers, cyclists, motorcycles, you name it) but it will improve saftey overall

This is not simply a matter of an individual cyclist making a decsion that affect only themselves. A simple decision such as running a Red light has the potential for an number of unintended consequences, if the decsion was poor or in error and there are cars coming. Some of these....say the cyclist gets hit seem to only affect the cyclist...but it in not that simple. What about the psychological trauma the drive experiences when due to no fault on their part, the hurt a person. Or some one runs a red with what is plenty of time to them, but an oncoming driver panics and veers to avoid a collision, causing an accident.

There is also impact to the cycling community. The more scofflaw cycllists there are, the more difficult is it to be taken seriously and to work to cycling goals.

regards

ps still looking for a cajun themed video

trekker pete

My initial reaction to joey's riding was similar to yours. I thought he was just a self centered idiot with a death wish, but after hearing his rationale I now think his method of riding is justified.

He points out that speed gives you manueverability. And manueverability might save your arse when some braindead cager does something stupid. His philosophy of riding like you are invisible is a pretty good one since it is pretty close to the truth.

Another thing to remember is his benny hill editing style. It looks like he is cutting off traffic at red lights because of video speed, not because he actually is.

And yes, we do need some zydeco sound tracks.

JoeyBike

I agree with every one of those points 100%. Yes, the issue is complex. If the entire system worked as designed, or I lived in some other city/country where the system works better, perhaps I would conform better. Maybe I would still do whatever I please. I don't act that way in a car at all - in fact - I am by the book more than most.

I will see what I can do about something Cajun/Zydeco. New Orleans is not really a Cajun town FYI. That's why I never gave it a thought. Cajuns don't live in NOLA and wouldn't want to. They live south and west of the city where fishing, crabbing, shrimping, and fur/gator trapping takes place. Cajun food in New Orleans might as well be TexMex or Japanese. New Orleans food, Creole food, Italian food, Vietnamese food, and Mexican food can all be found here prepared by indigenous chefs. Cajun food...not so much. You gotta drive at least 45 minutes for authentic Cajun food.

JoeyBike

Since New Orleans has tons of cyclists, mostly slow ones, and a distinct lack of Bubbas in pick-ups, the re-pass thing is just not an issue here. Either traffic sucks so bad that I never get re-passed no matter what I do, or traffic is light enough (like this video) where cars can easily go around. It does not take much effort to turn a steering wheel two inches to the left and go around us.

Of note: Cyclists here do not stop for red lights unless they have to, so local motorists are very used to re-passing and don't seem to care. At least they never honk or yell. If they want to send a message by brushing me (so rare I hate to mention it) I am fine with that. I have a helmet mounted rear view mirror and I look in it every 10 seconds. Plus, getting brushed does not bother me. Roads here are tight. It happens for no good reason anyway.

My last point: Any speed over 20 mph gains us motorist respect. They don't seem to mind following us/me at 20+ until they can get around.

I do get your point. Re-pass looks rude as hell. I seems to be culturally accepted as part of the deal here in New Orleans.

JoeyBike

You are the first person to reference my avatar! You win a cookie! My vids are tame and lame compared to that.

Here is a link to that video. Still my favorite:

Monstertrack IV (Promo Video)