rider.up

My first semi-commute will be my last. Yesterday afternoon, I went for a mountain bike ride on a trail that proved to be much too muddy. Rather than turn around and slosh my way back, I decided to take a quick ride up the road to catch the paved trail back to the parking lot. That was my first mistake.

My second mistake was to think that the cars, and the people driving them, would have any consideration for me and my well-being. Granted, this was a two lane road with very little shoulder, but I was only going about 2 miles so I didn't think it would be a problem. Wrong. I went up and down one hill, started up the next hill, and heard tires squeal. I look down to see a bumper literally inches from my leg. The car attached to the bumper was piloted by a young girl, who was quite the multi-tasker. She had one hand on the gearshift, her phone in the crook of her neck, her knees steering the car into my leg, and the other free hand gesturing at me as if to say, "WTF? What are you doing smearing yourself all over my bumper when I am trying to have a conversation here!!!" I crab-walked my bike up a little further so that I could actually pedal again, and hustled on my way.

At this point, I decided living rudely was better than dying politely so I proceeded on my way in the middle of the lane, forcing people to either wait for a break in the on-coming traffic, or wait behind me. Oddly enough, this didn't seem to bother folks, and most were patient and polite. To return the kindness of letting me live, I pulled off into the turn lane of a small school to allow everyone that had waited for me to pass. The van for this school was pulling out of the lot, and rather than block his way out I pulled in behind the van to wait for him to go. Seemed like a considerate thing to do, right? Wrong. Mr. Van driver didn't like that I was circling the entrance to his school, and got out of the van to come to tell me so in no uncertain terms. I explained, as I rode it small circles, that I was only waiting for him to go, and for a break in traffic. That was not a good enough reason to be in his space, and again told me to leave the premises. I did as he asked and left the parking lot, but this put me right in front of his van and blocked his way out. I suppose that was not the best choice, some might even say I was being dickish to stop in his path. I may have looked like some punk kid, what with about 30 lbs of mud caked on me and my bike. Either way, it doesn't justify him bumping me with the van, or getting out and grabbing my handle bars to pull me out of his way. It went downhill for him from there, and that is all I will say about that...

I've been researching the bike commuting option, and wanted very much to work this into my commute but if this is what I can expect, I think this will be my first AND last effort at commuting on my bike. I think I will stay on the trails from now on.

DataJunkie

You should research a proper route before giving up.

I didn't randomly all of the sudden decide to commute using a bike. It took me a week or so to decide on a route.

Bill Kapaun

You post a ride about commuting when it's about your failure on a MB trail.
Maybe you should give up riding completely until you get a grip!

Wheels4

everyone has a bad day... Data is right, take the time to plan a route... even if it's a little out of the way.. if you feel safer going that route, take it. but, don't give up after just one commute... and one bad experience.

Lamplight

Where on earth do you live? That sounds even worse than here, which I didn't think was possible.

rider.up

In Northern Virginia

10 Wheels

Yes, Where do you ride?

Lamplight

It's been a while since I've been to Northern Virginia, but it sounds like you have some nutty people there. I also live in a town full of idiots, and I've learned that side streets are your friends. Heck, I even ride on the sidewalk occasionally. I'd rather not, but it beats dying.

sigg.switz

I completely understand how cars can be complete a**holes. What's worse than a car who is an a**hole though? I biker who doesn't get it. You obviously don't get it. You are dangerous and the reason bikers get a bad name. Granted there is no reason for a car to bump you, but if you knew how to ride in the first place, this would have never happened. Take your foot out of your pedal and chill at the side of the road while you wait for traffic to subside. By your admission of riding in the middle of the lane you deserve the worst treatment by motorists. Get a grip, just because you ride a bike doesn't make you holy-er than the rules of the road.

cyclezealot

Before I started commuting I gave it a couple trial runs to find the best route. Like everything else, Bike commuting takes a little forethought. / Maybe you are unlucky in where you live. Is it highly urban with narrow streets with no bike lanes. You sure an adjacent street would not have been a better choice. / I'd often find the way to work that might even have added an extra 1 and 1/2 miles, because the street was more suited to cyclists. And I was happy to add that extra mileage. It got my monthly mileage log numbers to look the way I wanted them to.

Artkansas 

Well, without a doubt road riding can be heaven or hell and sometimes a bit of both.

I would recommend that you try taking a Road 1 course from an LAB Instructor. It will help you feel more comfortable on the streets. The link I provided will help you find an instructor near you.

I took to the highway at age 7 riding the busiest highway on the Gulf coast of Florida. I never looked back and have loved the streets for over 40 years.

InTheRain

Yep.. lots of bad experiences commuting here too... and 90% of my commute is on an MUP. But when it comes to crosswalks, I feel like I have bullseye on me. But, the good, by far, outweighs the bad.

I am waiting anxiously for the day that a cager gets out of his car and puts his hands on me or my bike! He'll feel the wrath of every single one of my bad experiences. I hope he survives. He'll deserve the "near death" experience... since I have missed by just inches a few times due to the carelessness of bad drivers.

commuting is ok... it's the weekends that make cycling fun! Riding on nearly deserted country roads or MUP's that are far away from the city or the 'burbs is truly enjoyable. The commutes are supposed to reduce the stress of driving in traffic... but when I have bad experiences, I arrive at work or at home just as stressed as driving. Luckily, this doesn't happen every day.

joeyfrench

This is one of the most depressing things I have read on this forum in some time. Seriously, buddy, stay off the bike, or at least off the road, until you have some idea what you are doing. You are going to get yourself killed. There are many ways to navigate your way around pathetic drivers, remain visible to traffic, even politely staking out your place on the road; You seem to be doing none of these correctly.

MIKEnDC

You need to do a little more work, rider. Traveling without a car in a car-centric world is, by nature, a very different deal. in the first place, you have to adjust your sense of how long it takes to get places (time on bike, bus and train schedules, etc.). That in itself takes a little time to get used to (took me months to even realize that I was pissed because Metro didn't run according to my schedule--that was one of the reasons I broke the bike out of mothballs).

Traveling by bicycle (whether commuting to work/school, touring, x-country single track, or just running errands) is not like traveling via cage. It is more akin to other kinds of outdoor excursions like backpacking, ski touring, or climbing. You have to consider three basic catagories of things:

1. Conditions

2. Route selection

3. Gear

With some proper forethought and planning, you'll soon be commuting happily and safely and actually feeling sorry for all those unfortunates who are stuck being wage-slaves to their automobiles

markhr

While it won't prevent encounters with crap drivers riding as if you are a vehicle helps greatly. This is especially true at intersections where (for left hand drive) right hooks and trying to turn left from the right most lane can cause major problems. Basically, if you wouldn't do it in a car then you probably shouldn't be doing it on a bicycle, e.g., passing on the inside, tailgating, not signalling, not having lights and reflectors, etc.

A good place to start might be to read Cyclecraft and Effective Cycling

https://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycl...3252598&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Cyclecraft-Ski...3252624&sr=1-1

https://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/
https://www.johnforester.com/

rider.up

Ok, a little more info, I guess I commute everyday but either on a bike trail 14 miles each way or if at all possible on the MB trail (only 9.3 miles but way more fun) . If I take the road that I took on Friday it would cut my commute down to alittle under 7 miles. I have ridden this a couple of times on weekends to try it out but this was the first time I tried it on a weekday. I could have stayed on the MB trail but thought that at 3 PM that I would beat the rush crowd on the road. I think I will leave the road commuting to you pro's , its not worth it to me to get mowed down for 15 min. less commute.

For all the people that posted I should stay off a bike , no thanks I like riding.

MIKEnDC

It's just a different skill set, that's all. And it's not rocket science--just try to anticipate things ahead of time and try to be ready for them. It's well worth the effort, IMHO.

BTW, I'm not much of a trail rider (though that will change this year), so you'd probably smoke me in the bush (for now, anyway...)

Mooo

14 miles on a bikepath ... not a bad deal depending on how much time you eat at crossings.
Nothing says you have to ride every day or even most days.

It helps to adopt a different frame of reference. The ride is as long as it is. It takes as long as it takes. It has rewards that driving doesn't and difficulties that driving doesn't. But I've become loathe to surrender the hemisphere of sight, the changing sounds of the seasons, and even the feel of cold or rainy days for the dreary sameness of a drive.

The ride to work is what it is.

knobster

How old are you? I would doubt that someone would get out of their van and grab the handlebars of an adult. I wouldn't think twice about kicking someone's rear end if they got out of their vehicle. That's a threat and I would be justified in defending myself. Especially if they bumped you. Of course, most here will say call the police, but I'd rather crack their skull and then get out of there before a cop shows up. Don't follow my advice though, call the police if that sort of thing happens again and jot down their license plate. I'm sure the school would be more than interested to know what happened.

frmsncyclst

How often do you ride on trails, compared to riding on the roadways? What is the ratio? From the sounds of it I would guess you probably spend 90% or more time on trails then roads.

If this is the case it is understandable why you felt stressed & anxiety when you attempted to ride on the road. Riding on the road, regardless of what kind of bike you ride is, as others have said, a whole differant skill set. Not to mention differant rules, some written, several not written, that you have to follow, to have a safe & enjoyable ride.

Do not give up riding on the road just yet. Learning to do so will take time. Read other forums here in BF to learn how to ride on the road. But most importantly real workd experience is second to none. I would suggest to start with don't try to ride on a road that is busy. Find a nice quiet residential street, 25 to 30 mph, & start with that. Once you've mastered that graduate to a busier street. Say a 2 lane, 30 to 35 mph road. Then a even busier street. 4 lane divided 40 mph+

Do not be afraid to ask questions here either. There are a lot of veteran here who will offer you sound advice.

Are there any club rides in your area where you ride with others on a weekly basis to learn how to ride on the road? If there are join them.

Good luck.

mbologna

Rider.up, give us a little more info. There are a lot of us on this forum commuting from Northern Virginia. Maybe we can help you with a better route.

Where are you starting from? Going to?

DataJunkie

Yes, some of the responses were a tad asinine. Good for you. Stay on the bike.

A majority of commutes can be done by bike on the road. It's a matter of if you want to.
Road riding can be safer in many respects. No meandering dog walkers, less crime, quicker, less obstructions by mother nature, etc.
While road riding can have its own issues mainly due to the fact that a cyclist is sharing the road with cars and trucks. That is an obstacle that can be overcome in many cases.

crhilton

Beside the commuting issue. You should notify the van drivers employer of his violent actions. He should be fired immediately. Bumping other vehicles, on purpose, is definitely grounds to fire a commercial driver. And getting out to pick a fight with drivers of said vehicles is even worse.

They probably won't do anything. But at least you've done your part.

nashcommguy

These are criminal offenses. Assault and Reckless Endangerment, at least. Depending on what he said maybe 'Terroristic Threats', too. Assault can be either a misdemeanor or a felony at the discretion of the DA. They're ALL of a 'summary' level. File charges. This guy does NOT belong behind the wheel of a school bus. In fact, he's in dire need of 'anger management' classes. You're a grown, fully capable adult who handled a very stressful situation w/aplomb. The post about cycle-commuting being more akin to an 'extreme sport' is right on. I've been doing it for over 20 years and have dealt w/50+ of situations small and large. Don't let this one bad experience sour you on what is a great thing for one's life.

thirdin77

I agree. You should contact his employer and even though they probably won't fire or reprimand him, they'll probably at least talk to him which will result in his being less violent next time.

To the OP, I would look at google maps and start planning your commute there. That's how I planned mine. Then I went and scouted it out on a weekend to see where I've broad shoulders or other details which I couldn't see on the map.