Riding etiquette for dummies.
08-08-07 | 01:52 PM
#27
Commuter
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From: Southern Maine
Bikes: 2006 Giant Cypress EX (7-speed internal hub)
08-08-07 | 02:10 PM
#28
Thread Starter
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From: Toronto
Bikes: The Grocery Getter.
08-08-07 | 04:11 PM
#30
Two H's!!! TWO!!!!!
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From: Toronto, ON
Not in Ontario. And I have a feeling that even in Winnipeg they have some sort of provision for moving further left if you're turning left or passing, or it is "not practicable" or dangerous, for whatever reason to be only a metre from the curb.
08-08-07 | 04:33 PM
#31
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I think the biggest thing to be curtius (sp?) is pulling over every half mile or so and letting everyone pass, I don't sweat that I'm slowing them down because I know that its only adding on like 1 minute.
Signal and just be predictable. Also, unless I'm pulling over to let pass I don't wave motorists by, they never seem to do it, if they are confident to pass they'll pass.
Signal and just be predictable. Also, unless I'm pulling over to let pass I don't wave motorists by, they never seem to do it, if they are confident to pass they'll pass.
08-08-07 | 04:35 PM
#32
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From: Medford Oregon currently
Bikes: 1988 Fuji Cadenza
Sorry but I *DO* ride on the sidewalk on certain streets around here, only because it's up steep a very long very steep hill on a very narrow road and I can't take the lane when cars are going 35-40 up hill. Folks around here don't know how to react to people actually riding on the street, it's incredible.
But if I'm riding the sidewalk I obey the cross walks and give right of way to peds.
But if I'm riding the sidewalk I obey the cross walks and give right of way to peds.
08-08-07 | 04:47 PM
#33
Two H's!!! TWO!!!!!
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From: Toronto, ON
08-08-07 | 06:27 PM
#34
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From: Kansas
Bikes: This list got too long: several ‘bents, an urban utility e-bike, and a dahon D7 that my daughter has absconded with.
One thing that is weird is the wrong way rule. All traffic is to stay to the right, including pedestrians; however, much of the traffic, by choice of the driver, rider, or walker, travels on the left side. When on the right (operating normally) and facing a wrong way driver or rider, both vehicles avoid to the left instead of the right, as is done by vehicles that are normally coming at you.
An application to the rule would be this, you are riding on the right side of the road in the fenced bike lane (a fence exists to keep the bike lane from becoming another traffic lane), or the sidewalk (and the side walks are practicality motorways), and a motor scooter is coming at you; you both are to avoid by veering left. This is the opposite of what you would do in the motorway.
Short riding on the sidewalk story (an example of poor etiquette on both my part, I was walking, and the riders). I was walking down a sidewalk in Kunming, PR China, about a month ago with my daughter. This woman was motoring down the sidewalk while talking on her cell phone and was very absorbed in her conversation. She was so absorbed that she was bump steering. By tis I mean that whenever she hit a pedestrian, it forced her into a wobbling correction and she continued down the sidewalk this way; riding her scooter as if it were a pinball and never breaking her attention from the conversation.
I was already in a foul mood, due to having hurt myself in a bike crash the day before, and as I saw I was on the course of her collisions I repositioned my leftover curry-tomato soup from dinner for "the accidental flying drop" and told my daughter, "if she hits me she's going down." This she saw. I do not know if she locked in on the soup (she had a white and pastel dress on, it wouldn't have looked good with soup) or the stance; whatever she saw, she came to a complete stop right there and waited for me to pass.
The fact that she did see me indicated that she was just rude and lazy, not inattentive. Several of the people she had bumped off of also saw this too, they seemed to approve. I use this as an example of what not to do, within the constraints of good etiquette, probably on both of our parts.
08-08-07 | 09:49 PM
#36
Two H's!!! TWO!!!!!
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From: Toronto, ON
Your description of riding in China is pretty fascinating. Total chaos! Sort of like MUPs 'round here, but with motor scooters thrown in for a good measure.
08-08-07 | 09:59 PM
#37
oOooo, five bucks
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From: Toronto, On
Bikes: Giant OCR touring(06), Norco Storm (05)
DONT DRAFT!!!
drafting if for touring and racing, not for commuting.
not off cars, not off bus's, not off trucks, NOT OFF OTHER ****ING RIDERS
when ****tards pull up behind me then draft while im commuting... after having worked all day... its not cool... some guy slipped in behind me and drafted off me for a bit, didnt know he was there till i started braking and he nearly hit me (he was just off to my right, so when i looked over my left shoulder for cars, i didnt see his black bike/black jacket/black helmet)... dont give a **** if hes on a bike too, i would have flipped out at him for being an idiot
[/angry-end-of-day-rant-after-having-not-slepted-in-too-long]
drafting if for touring and racing, not for commuting.
not off cars, not off bus's, not off trucks, NOT OFF OTHER ****ING RIDERS
when ****tards pull up behind me then draft while im commuting... after having worked all day... its not cool... some guy slipped in behind me and drafted off me for a bit, didnt know he was there till i started braking and he nearly hit me (he was just off to my right, so when i looked over my left shoulder for cars, i didnt see his black bike/black jacket/black helmet)... dont give a **** if hes on a bike too, i would have flipped out at him for being an idiot
[/angry-end-of-day-rant-after-having-not-slepted-in-too-long]
08-08-07 | 10:16 PM
#38
Two H's!!! TWO!!!!!
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From: Toronto, ON
08-09-07 | 07:20 AM
#40
Back after a long absence
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From: Bay Area CA
Bikes: 1974 Schwinn Speedster 3-speed, Raleigh Super Course
08-09-07 | 07:22 AM
#41
put our Heads Together
Joined: Jun 2003
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From: southeast pennsylvania
Bikes: a mountain bike with a cargo box on the back and aero bars on the front. an old well-worn dahon folding bike
If you do ride on the sidewalk, it's good to assume that:
1)sometimes people will step out of buildings or around corners without looking, because it's supposed to be pretty safe to do so on a sidewalk. A bicycle has to go slowly enough to avoid this problem.
2)most motorists will cross driveways and intersections without thinking about whether there is a sidewalk bicyclist who might get hit. The only way to avoid this is to go slowly enough that your stopping distance is nearly zero (like a pedestrian) whenever there could be a car crossing your path unexpectedly. (which means pretty much any driveway connected to a street with cars nearby on it, and intersection with cars nearby).
1)sometimes people will step out of buildings or around corners without looking, because it's supposed to be pretty safe to do so on a sidewalk. A bicycle has to go slowly enough to avoid this problem.
2)most motorists will cross driveways and intersections without thinking about whether there is a sidewalk bicyclist who might get hit. The only way to avoid this is to go slowly enough that your stopping distance is nearly zero (like a pedestrian) whenever there could be a car crossing your path unexpectedly. (which means pretty much any driveway connected to a street with cars nearby on it, and intersection with cars nearby).
08-09-07 | 07:29 AM
#42
domestique
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: off the back
My general rule of thumb is this: at intersections, almost always take the lane and act like a car. I would recommend *never* riding to the right of a line of cars in a turn lane. I can't think of a good exception to that. It's just begging to get hit. I would get in the lane and act like a car, and pass him on the left if necessary/safe.
Laws vary from state to state, but they generally read something like 'stay as far right as is safe'. You will notice much, much debate about that on here, as it centers on what is safe. One issue is whether to take the lane or ride in the gutter. Most people on here don't consider it reasonable to expect cyclists to ride on pavement that slopes down to storm sewers, in glass, etc. Additionally, most don't like riding right next to a hard curb, as it gives you no margin for error if someone does something stupid and you need to take evasive action. Also, most cyclists think it's dangerous to be passed with less than a 3-foot cushion.
Getting back to your 'should I use the road as a car?' question, which I interpret as 'should I ride in the middle of the lane or to the right?' - the only way you ride to the right is if you and a car can share a lane safely. The question is, how much space do you need?
So, let's do some math: I wouldn't want my tire less than 2 feet from a curb or road hazard, and my shoulder 3 feet from passing traffic. Assume a width of about a foot for my shoulder, and we're giving me about 6 feet of space that I need. Now, if your average car is about 5 feet wide, that means I need 11 feet from the beginning of my 'comfort zone' to the outer edge of a passing car. So that means that the right lane+rideable shoulder needs to be about 11 feet wide to make it safe for you to share a lane. If you don't have that, I'd feel within my rights to take the lane. If you don't, either the car buzzes you, or he veers into the next lane. If he has to go into the next lane, that's sort of the old 'in for a penny, in for a pound' kinds of situations. Honestly, in thick traffic, I take the lane as a courtesy to drivers in the left lane, who probably don't want the people passing *me* to slam into *them*.
As for riding in the left lane - that varies by state, but I think most allow it if you're turning, or if you're moving at traffic speed. Note that while turning left may be legal, it's not always the safest maneuver, so many people do other alternatives, such as going straight through the light, pulling over, and crossing straight with the cross street on the next cycle.
Laws vary from state to state, but they generally read something like 'stay as far right as is safe'. You will notice much, much debate about that on here, as it centers on what is safe. One issue is whether to take the lane or ride in the gutter. Most people on here don't consider it reasonable to expect cyclists to ride on pavement that slopes down to storm sewers, in glass, etc. Additionally, most don't like riding right next to a hard curb, as it gives you no margin for error if someone does something stupid and you need to take evasive action. Also, most cyclists think it's dangerous to be passed with less than a 3-foot cushion.
Getting back to your 'should I use the road as a car?' question, which I interpret as 'should I ride in the middle of the lane or to the right?' - the only way you ride to the right is if you and a car can share a lane safely. The question is, how much space do you need?
So, let's do some math: I wouldn't want my tire less than 2 feet from a curb or road hazard, and my shoulder 3 feet from passing traffic. Assume a width of about a foot for my shoulder, and we're giving me about 6 feet of space that I need. Now, if your average car is about 5 feet wide, that means I need 11 feet from the beginning of my 'comfort zone' to the outer edge of a passing car. So that means that the right lane+rideable shoulder needs to be about 11 feet wide to make it safe for you to share a lane. If you don't have that, I'd feel within my rights to take the lane. If you don't, either the car buzzes you, or he veers into the next lane. If he has to go into the next lane, that's sort of the old 'in for a penny, in for a pound' kinds of situations. Honestly, in thick traffic, I take the lane as a courtesy to drivers in the left lane, who probably don't want the people passing *me* to slam into *them*.
As for riding in the left lane - that varies by state, but I think most allow it if you're turning, or if you're moving at traffic speed. Note that while turning left may be legal, it's not always the safest maneuver, so many people do other alternatives, such as going straight through the light, pulling over, and crossing straight with the cross street on the next cycle.
That pretty much describes my tactics. I've settled in on this level of presence in traffic after a couple years of commuting. I started out on the sidewalk, riding on the left side shoulder, and similar stupid stuff. A couple awkward situations in each case made me modify my methods.
