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.