42x16

Can I ask, did you look behind before swerving? If you have the choice between the door and a moving car, brake and pick the door everytime.

Bklyn

Did I look behind me in the split second when the door swung open? Hmm. Hard to recall. Probably not, but the traffic on my left was moving quite slowly, and I don't believe there was a bike drafting me.


Look, I don't mean to be testy, but all this tut-tutting from people who either ride suburban streets with low-density traffic or have dedicated bike lanes for their entire route or whatever situation they're in that makes it possible for them never to find themselves riding between parked cars and moving traffic -- please ride a mile in my bike lane before you criticize so definitively. Where I was riding -- and I can't believe I'm justifying this -- was 5th Ave. in Park Slope. There is a dedicated bike lane that simply vanishes as you cross Union Street. The road doesn't narrow; the bike lane, which runs RIGHT NEXT TO the parked cars, by the way, is no longer marked. Did they run out of paint? Have I crossed into the district of councilmember who doesn't kotwow to Transportation Alternatives? I don't know. The bike lane is marked on the city's bike maps, just not on the street. Basically, you're on your own. There are many, many gray areas for bikes all over New York. It's a crowded place. There are double-parked cars -- and this is not an exaggeration -- on every single block of my commute. Improvisation is called for. Frankly, I think dogged adherence to Vehicular Cycling precepts will get you flattened.



I guess I'm coming out of the closet as an Invisible Cyclist. We're here, we're Invisible, get used to it. (Although I wear a high-viz vest and a helmet and take the lane when pracitcable.) I guess the point of this thread is just to say that eternal vigilance is the duty of every cyclist.

cooker

That's the correct design for a bike lane...it is only intended to provide a right of way between intersections. Right at the intersections you can't have a bike lane unless you have a separate signal light for bikes, because you need to allow right-turning cars to merge with the flow of bicycles before they turn, so they don't "right hook" any cyclists.

(So the obvious question some cyclists ask is...why have a bike lane at all? But that's a different debate).

brokenrobot

You're obviously reading closely, but you're not comprehending. The bike lane vanishes at the intersection - and never reappears on the other side. The city's map shows that the bike lane is present on both sides of the intersection; it's only striped on one.

orange leader

Both sides, yeah I've had a few close calls from cars letting passengers out while stopped at red lights.

this is why I ride in the middle of the lane. Not "on the right" which is in the wrong.

Bklyn

brokenrobot is correct; but cooker's confusion is reasonable. I could have been clearer on that. And let me apologize for my tone. Don't mean to offend anyone here. We're all on bikes; we're the good guys.

orange leader

I've always wondered what/why that is done that way. It always frustrates me. I've seen them just start for a few blocks, then stop, and maybe stop or start only over bridges. It always baffles me as to why. It must have something to do with funding, like they couldn't afford the extra $ 8.80 it would cost to paint the line another mile or two.
I have no idea what it costs in man hours and supplies, but I'm just making a point, someone was there to start the line, they got a few blocks, they stopped. Lunchtime maybe? and then forgot where they were?

noisebeam

I totally understand and was not one of those who tut-tutted.
My big gripe against those who right filter are those who do it without any speed/efficiency benefit - I see this daily where I ride and its stupid. But in NYC and other dense near gridlocked urban areas filtering is much more efficient. But it also is less safe. Its a trade off I'd likely make. (and have when I've ridden in Boston)
Even in suburbia I often find myself at lights where it will take more than one light cycle to clear. I do filter (when space is available), but of course with extreme caution and only as far as needed so I am certain to make the next green light. But again compared to NYC this suburban filtering is less risky due to fewer peds, fewer cabs, fewer random drop offs at curb, etc.
The only disagreement I have with you is your last statement that adherence to VC will get you flattened. If you did not right filter and instead stayed in center of lane behind all stopped/slow cars, I doubt you would get flattened (perhaps bumped here and there ), but you would be much much slower getting around town, that is the disadvantage to being 'wide-vehicular', being as slow as the other wide vehicles.

Al

Bklyn

Well, if you're going to be logical about it....
Yes, obviously, you're right. And I'm not a truly invisible cyclist. I'll use whatever works at the time. That's why we ride bikes!

skyhawkj

I can relate..... Last year, me and a buddy were riding within the bike path lane when an excuse of a pick-up, driven by no doubtly a red neck, decided to swerve and try and take my head off. Came so close it actually hit the edge of my helmet. It was all fun and games until the hot head italian biker (me) found the truck and decided to give it a makeover. I figured if he was willing to sacrafice his side mirror, he wouldn't miss it. But since I am not a thief, I returned it -- through the windshield... I left a message in the dirt covered hood signed "the biker you tried to hit". Been taking that same road ever since yet I hace never seen that truck along that road again. Think he was conviced that If I was a crazy enough to come right to his house ----- what else would I do????

Makeitso

I think you have reached an all time low.

Bklyn

Update:
Riding in today, I saw a woman on a fixed gear get cut off by a car service (a gypsy cab) at the same spot I was nearly doored two weeks ago. And...yes, it was her fault. I watched her roll by the stopped traffic. I was behind, and I actually thought, Gee, I wouldn't have done that... And then the driver just pulled into the parking lane to make a right. She got squeezed out and fell. She was not hurt. But I bet she won't put herself in that position any time soon. And I bet she won't wear sandals next time, either.

dalmore

Wow this is so foreign to me - you mean to say people get out of their cars in NYC? Never happen here in the ATL suburbs ... (smiley shaking head no no no) Next you're probably go to say that you have sidewalks and people walk on them. Some crazy s__t, that there.