I would definitely need one of those if I ever rode with you. I nearly crapped my pants just watching you ride!!!!!

Before judging Joey too harshly, you need to consider the environment he rides in. Post-Katrina NOLA is only slightly more civilized than your average 3rd-world country. Riding in NOLA is probably not unlike riding in a city like Bogota, Columbia or Mexico City. The typical motorist in NOLA is likely to be reckless, unlicensed and untrained in the proper use of a motor vehicle, drunk or stoned, or all of the above. Things like traffic lights, directional arrows, lane dividers and street signs are all regarded more as "suggestions" than the actual letter of the law.

Joey's aggressive and risky riding style is probably much closer to the norm in that setting than you might think. I don't know Joey, but I do know a few other cyclists from NOLA, and for the most part they all ride in a similar style, or they don't ride in the city at all because it's too dangerous. I doubt many seasoned NOLA motorists are alarmed by Joey's actions, but instead are merely annoyed at his presence entirely because he is in their f**king way.

Clearly, Joey's never gonna win any A&S awards, but I really don't think he's hurting our cause as much as some of you might think either -- at least not in 'The Big Sleazy'.

Well...I think most everyone here has pretty much summed up the issues with this vid.

I'll just go back to fighting for the respect, rights and responsibilities of cyclists....you know, those things that Joey and his kind make a mockery of.

Joey is my hero!

No warranty expressed or implied.

Only for the first three days until I get acclimated.

I doubt the challenger lives above 8000 feet anyway. That's pretty much my threshold those first three days. We would both be sucking wind above 12,000 feet regardless.

Climbing and time trials are my strong suit. It's flat as a pancake down here in NOLA, so you have to pedal all the time, often exposed to a headwind. You stop pedaling, you stop rolling - just like long climbs in the mountains.

Road descents no prob. I can rock 50+ mph. Single track downhill - pass the Pampers. Done it, hate it.

lol
You are a funny little troll.

While I disagree strongly with your style; while I disagree completely with your reasoning; while I am absolutely certain you are going to be involved in or at least cause a very serious accident that will possibly injure some innocent person; and while I am absolutely certain someday you will probably be killed doing what I just watched -

I have got to say your bike skills are SICK.

Stupid way to ride? Yes.

But dayum, son - you can ride. I admire your skill and control. I would just like to see you doing this someplace safer but then again, what would be the thrill for you, right?

Well, I hope so. I don't jaywalk between parked cars. I'm just saying you're reminding me to stay alert. Like two recent events - one, in a car, at the stoplight waiting to turn right -- the light changed to green, I stepped on the gas and turned the wheel, and a cyclist popped from behind the car, slipping between me and the curb to pass on the right. We were both lucky I hadn't really hit the gas. Two, when I was biking home from work on the sidewalk, I stopped suddenly on a lonely stretch when I spied a kitten in the underbrush between the railroad and the sidewalk. Immediately after dismounting, another cyclist appeared behind me, braking quickly. I didn't know she was there.

And now that I've read the posts that explain the situation in New Orleans, I understand a bit more. That area Joey filmed, I don't know if there is a counterpart in the Detroit area -- that is, that narrow, slow and congested. While I don't believe New Orleans has anything on Detroit in terms of murder or urban decay, Detroit does have many wide avenues. I've never biked in Detroit, but I've always thought it wouldn't be too bad from the standpoint of finding enough room on the street -- the main thoroughfares are three and four lanes on each side.

But, what Joey says about keeping up speed and staying away from the curbs to avoid street thugs and crackheads -- I can understand that completely. If I were commuting to downtown Detroit, I think i'd do the same as Joey. There are a lot of street people here.

Another difference between New Orleans and Detroit, though, is Detroit-area drivers are not accustomed to seeing cyclists in traffic, IMO. I haven't commuted at all to Detroit in many years, though, so someone more familiar with the inner city can correct me here.

Joey, I don't walk in your shoes but what you say about the crime issue in NOLA makes a lot of sense.

While I might disagree with what many have called your 'unlawful' behavior, your skills on the bike are SICK and I admire what you can do and still survive.

Just be careful out there. It's the idiot you never see coming that will get you.

I've got another question, Joey, about running the red lights -- you rely on that gap in which the traffic behind you slows and stops for the red light, while the crossing traffic hasn't yet reacted to the green. But, in the Detroit area, there are nearly always at least one vehicle running the red light -- thirty years ago it was called "the last fool rule": wait a beat or two after the light changes to green so that last fool who runs the red has passed through the intersection. PLUS, we have drivers waiting to floor it when the light changes to green like they were on a dragstrip. I thought it was like that everywhere. Not in NOLA? That's why I'd be a bit chary of flying through the intersection on the new red light.

Awesome question and very relevant.

We had a huge problem with up to three cars going through a red light just after it changed to red. You will notice, if you are looking for it in my vids, that when a light turns green, the traffic at the green light does not move right away. Just about everyone in NOLA (who lives here) waits until all of the crossing cars are obviously going to stop before proceeding across the green. It was so bad that it actually helps me beat a red on divided streets as the crossing traffic won't move immediately upon the light going green, then has a long way to go before crossing my line. I am long gone by then.

Also, many of the intersections that are featured in my vids have pedestrian crossings. All four corners flash "WALK" at once stopping all auto traffic at once. So picture all cars stopped from every direction. The peds cross, then I come zooming through the intersection, then one light goes green. So you see, I am not so vulnerable to cars "running" a light from a dead stop - it's the peds in the most danger if they trust the "WALK" sign and don't look for cars too.

In the past three years I have had two close calls. Both times I anticipated my light turning green (I could see the crossing traffic signal go yellow) and hit the intersection the instant it went green - just as you would imagine someone blew the red. Both times it was NOPD. No lights, no sirens. Both times we shook our fingers at each other (NOT the middle fingers). I managed to skid stop both times with some room to spare (the cops did not change their line).

Now, we have "tattle-tale" cameras at many intersections. You run a light, a nice ticket comes in the mail with a web address where you can go to see stills and video of your infraction. Many people I know have been cited in their cars. I like to blow through a camera intersection late at night on my bike with my hands in the air (like crossing the finish line in victory) and enjoy the "flash bulbs" going off as I roll through.

how about those pics now?

My server is still, sadly, dead. But since you asked twice, I took the trouble to upload a couple candid shots onto BF. I try to look down at the bike at least once during each filming so the viewer can see which bike I am riding.

The blue ATB no longer has bar ends. I got nervous about hooking a side view mirror with it and getting taken down. The Surly LHT is new. It has been in 2 vids. The road bike - old school. A bit heavy, but perfect for faster commuting our terrible roads. It takes a freakin' beating with my riding style too.

Looked safe to me. And passing freds don't count.

BINGO!

I think you hit the nail right on the head with this comment. Another disadvantage in Detroit would be the pothole roads from the snow & salt.

Warmer climate areas tend to have more cyclists.....and like you said, drivers are more accustomed to them being around.

Just caught the video -- Whoa, that's some crazy stink!

Thanks. I'm basing my assumption on my past years of commuting by car in Detroit, and in the far-flung suburbs, where it is difficult to commute by bicycle -- mostly due to the distance. I do not recall ever seeing a bicycle commuter on my routes to work -- but most commuting in this area is done on the freeways. Unlike other cities where it is desirable to live close to downtown, such as New York, Chicago, or San Francisco, with strong public transportation services (that would complement bicycle commuting) , most people with any wealth moved far away from Detroit, thanks to the system of freeways that make it possible to live 50 miles away and still reach the office in under an hour. This is still the Motor City, where everyone drives a car, and few take the bus; fewer still walk or bike. Most bike riding is done close to home, or with the riding clubs after business hours.

There are no MUPs, no bike-only lanes. Right turns are allowed on red. And I've noticed in the past few years, pedestrians no longer cross immediately on the green, instead waving the traffic by them before daring to venture in the street. And, as you pointed out, the pavement often can be unfriendly to bicycles as well.

But for the past five years, I have been fortunate enough to work no more than three miles from my house, so I don't know whether commuting by bicycle is increasing in southeastern Michigan. I know of only three other dedicated riders at my building. I still get compliments and praise for biking to work from other employees who see me; I have to believe it is still such a novel idea that people are half in disbelief.

Sorry for the discourse, I am not trying to hijack this thread. Joey's biking is controversial, to be sure, but I'd be hypocritical if I said I never ran a red light on my bike. I pick my spots. Because my ride is so short and, let's face it, relatively uneventful compared to anyone else's urban ride, I can choose to poke along on the sidewalk. But I'm getting tired of it -- the pavement is really bad in places and I have the extra challenge from drivers who pull into the crosswalk because they are not expecting bicyclists OR pedestrians -- all their attention is on finding an opening in the oncoming traffic. I'm ready to believe what others have been saying here -- it's actually safer for me to ride in the street. Seeing Joey's video gives me a lot to think about.

Thank You!!!

That is all I ever wanted from those videos. Create a little thinking. If you disagree with EVERYTHING - fine. If you adopt one or two things - great. Just think it through before blindly obeying rules laid down by non cyclists and bike haters that could make your ride more dangerous than it should be.

Well, I'm over 50, but I still try to keep an open mind.

Incidentally, I told a friend at work -- another member of the guitar club there -- he formerly commuted on a bike, and raced, and he agreed wholeheartedly with your assertions. He's been brushed by cars, cut off, forced into the street drain or up the curb, etc., so he has a lot of animosity towards inconsiderate motorists.

But I disagreed with what he said next -- he said he'd take his bike lock-and-chain from around his neck and slam it on the car that did him wrong. Elsewhere on this commuting thread have been posts from members who recount the revenge they've taken on offending motorists, or would like to have taken. And I have to say that, as much as I might like to do something like that, it's wrong, wrong, wrong, and I further say that I admire Joey for his self-restraint in never confronting motorists. I have to agree, it's a waste of breath and time. And, like I've said before about Detroit, that motorist (or his passengers) may be carrying a gun. Just let it go and ride.

I know, easy to say, hard to do. I've yelled at drivers before, as recently as last week. I need to relax.

I assume everyone here has a gun in the car. Most do. We have a very liberal "shoot the carjacker" law too. If I hit a car with an object, the motorist could shoot me and brag about it to the cops. I might lay my hand on a car now and then in traffic (push off), but that's about it. Nothing aggressive.