Yikes... I used to have really dangerous commute at my previous job; very close calls, getting blown off the road by CCT buses passing me at 55mph, missing me by inches... I was just lucky.

Dress like a freaking martian, is all I can say. If you ride at night, believe it or not, that's probably better for your visibility. Get an orange vest, get the brightest, nastiest rear light you can afford, get a set of HID lights for up front, put that invisible reflector tape in key areas that you think might get you the most notice (handlebars, front of your forks, back of your frame, top tube, down tube, etc).

Get reflectors also to put around your ankles, or shoes that have reflectors built in; the reason being is this; people might see your headlights, might see the reflectors, but still might be confused as to what it is for a second. With ankle reflectors, your cadence will instantly make you recognizable to other motorist as a bicycle, and hopefully take the appropriate steps.

Commuting is dangerous, no doubt about it. I tell people at work the hardest part about getting used to commuting by bike is being comfortable, and therefore predictable, around heavy, tight, fast moving traffic. I think your situation can be overcome with a copious amount of lighting/reflecting.

Before I started riding my bike, I took the commuter rail to a station near my office. From there I boarded a crowded van for a 13 minute roundabout stop and go ride before the thing would drop me at my office <two miles away from the station. Once i started riding, I never looked back.


This morning, I rode past the commuter van at the end of the block from my office. There were two firetrucks, an ambulance and multiple PD cars on scene & it looked as if the van had been t-boned by a fast-moving Dodge Ram (appropriately enough) pickup truck.

Glad I was riding today at least— but yeah, your commute DOES sound like punishment for a crime you didn't commit.

Find an alternate. If someone hits you at that speed there won't be any question as to the probable outcome. Bike commuting isn't worth dying over.

I had that same thought this am - my ride might not be as dangerous as yours sounds but it's in a town where cyclists are rare and drivers are unsure how to deal with them, and often belligerant. I have a wife and child and can easily afford to drive the 12 mile r/t. what is "right" thing to do?? :(

Hey Raiyn, nice washer :):)

I would not do it. Just not worth the risk. I'd think about relocating or getting a new job that would provide a better commute.

brightest HID mounted to the handlebars? if cars think that you're another car (moto?) they'll be less likely to come over... those HIDs are *bright*.

I have bad sections of road around here too though the speed limit is only 45 (55 effective :rolleyes:). No shoulder (even the white line is eroded away in some places), no bike lanes and many of the vehicles on them are jacked up wannabe monster trucks & SUVs that take up most of what lane there is. I tried the ride a few times and realized that I want to be around to enjoy the environment I'm trying to preserve so I'm back to driving. Someone else said it best, it's all about the acceptable level of risk.

Where is this road in relation to your route? If it's in the beginning or the end, how about driving that part and biking the rest? I do that on my commute. I don't like riding through the city and I work in the next town, so I drive just outside the city and stage at a park and ride from there. Might work in your situation.

Hey, Tickle, I know where you're at (I work at a FD East of Barstow), and other than taking some of the dirt trails/roads out there I doubt there's any alternatives unless you can drive part way and ride the rest. The drivers out in that part of the desert are insane! Good luck!
Sam

Raiyn- is that dryer a sidecar mount or do you tow it in a trailor? I'm thinking that with the added visibility of carrying it along with you it might make Tickle's ride a little safer....

Sam

Too risky
 

Some bicycle commutes just aren't worth the risk, and this sound like one of those.

I have commuted for five years, and used to accept some of those kinds of risks, but I was foolish to do so. After a couple of cycle commuters were killed here in those kinds of conditions, I reevaluated, and came up with a different route. However, I was fortunate that I had a different route available.

In most cities, you cannot always safely commute from point A to point B. That has to be accepted.

If an arterial road (as opposed to a residential street) has two lanes and no shoulder, or is four lanes with no shoulder and a lot of traffic, I consider that too risky for a bicycle commute. My rule of thumb is, "can traffic smoothly slide past me without the drivers having to take evasive action, or is my presence going to force drivers to alter their behavior a lot, such as slowing down to my speed, or changing lanes? If it is the latter, I know that eventually I will get hit by a driver who is too distracted on a cell phone to notice me.

Even if you have only a marginally dangerous situation in broad daylight, the situation is even dicier if it is dark or if it is raining. Drivers tend to not see as much when their windshield wipers are going.

You have to call 'em as you seem 'em. It's your neck out there.

My situation is very different. I don't use a lot of bike lanes and such, but I don't really need them either.

I'm not sure how I'd handle those high-speed two-lane rural highways. It's not in my experience handbook.

Is it possible to avoid oncoming passers by going off-road for a moment, until they pass? Does "super-lighting" seem like an option? What about rigging an independent, high-power yellow strobe on the front, and switch it on when someone's headed your way? Give them something more to think about.

Driven one lately? Did you here what Toyota said? "We're not watching Honda, the ones to watch are Hyundai."

Sorry about your commute, the only suggestion I have is automatic Phaser Cannons. :p

To which the correct response is: "Well you'd better drive carefully then."

From your description of that road, I'd look for another job. I've quit/declined jobs because I didn't like the bike commute, and not even because they were dangerous.

That said...

No it doesn't. There's absolutely no reason any particular route can't be cycled safely. It may require changes to driver attitudes, road configuration, law enforcement, or all of the above, but the idea of cyclists being scared off the road is deeply offensive to me. The only thing that 'has to be accepted' is how hard you're prepared to fight the battle.

Roads aren't dangerous, only the people using them are. If a road design is such that it 'encourages' dangerous driving practice, it's up to everyone to resist their impatient urges and drive with everyone's safety in mind. It staggers me that drivers don't get this. Why is it in this day and age of obsessing over safety, that driving gets a free pass?

This is a no-brainer: Screw the reflective tape and lighting -- don't bike commute in your present situation.

Unfortunately unless you can change your hours or get a nice flying bicycle like they had on Futurama I'd cave and say MaxiScooter or drive it in unless your fortunate like some to pick your jobs as you wish. At least you’ll have to do that until you get all the government departments and road users to change. Adjusting the transportation facilities, their attitude and enforcement.
I hit the same wall this weekend. My wife and I tried to go to the Doggie Park to check it out. It was about 10 miles away along route 1830 here in North Texas. We'd just moved here recently so what did we know.

Argh.. The first 500ft were ok but then it's 2 lanes with a 60mph speed limit, blind corners, rolling blind hills with barely enough road for vehicle traffic and lots of dangerous road/bridge interfaces. We made the ride hoping it would get better around the next bend but overall it was horrible. The dog park is nice and unless we take the interstate the only other road is under a foot or so of water.
The ride back was probably worse because we knew it didn't get better. Mind you this was on a Sunday afternoon so traffic wasn't very busy. I imagine during rush hour it would be completely impassable. :(

Acceptance?
 

Originally Posted by Raleighroader In most cities, you cannot always safely commute from point A to point B. That has to be accepted.

No it doesn't. There's absolutely no reason any particular route can't be cycled safely. It may require changes to driver attitudes, road configuration, law enforcement, or all of the above, but the idea of cyclists being scared off the road is deeply offensive to me. The only thing that 'has to be accepted' is how hard you're prepared to fight the battle.

Roads aren't dangerous, only the people using them are. If a road design is such that it 'encourages' dangerous driving practice, it's up to everyone to resist their impatient urges and drive with everyone's safety in mind. It staggers me that drivers don't get this. Why is it in this day and age of obsessing over safety, that driving gets a free pass?

Well sure, it doesn't need to be accepted in the long run, as you work to change the roads, drivers' attitudes, etc. I just meant that for now, for a potential ride to work tomorrow or next week, there are some routes in every city that are just too dangerous to cycle.

I subscribe to the laws of probability. If you commute 100 days a year, for ten years, that is 1,000 round trips, all during rush hour. A "dangerous" route may still be safe enough to survive one year of commuting without getting hit, maybe even two or three. But ten years? That's why I say that any route that requires drivers to do something special to avoid you, is a route where eventually a driver will fail to do that.

The route described to start this thread sure did not sound like one where you could count on surviving 1,000 round trips on a bike.

I'm fourtunate to have a 4 mile one way back road commute with almost no traffic. People wave and I'm kind of known as "that guy on the bike." However, the novelty of being a cyclist translates into an unexpected rarity on the fast, no shoulder two lanes when I'm out for a longer ride. What I see happen is that people don't even hesitate to pass me. They never look ahead, or slow down at all. I'm convinced that one day an oncoming car is going to force one of them back into their lane and right into me.

I do wear a helmet longer rides (not commuting). I try to wear bright colors and I'll even put lights on any bike I ride after dark. I'm not going to start putting reflective tape and lights on my road bike all the time.

I know that I have a good chance of being hit if I continue to ride for a long period of time. I accept this and hope that if it does happen I won't get hurt that badly and I'll get to buy a new bike. Infact I joke that if I get killed before I can complete a Century I want someone to put my ashes in a water botle and ride one with me on board.

I'd also like to think that my being out on the road is making people more aware of bikes in general. Perhaps I've even convinced some people of what I now realize. Most of the places a person needs to go, you can get to by bike.