Am I a cyclist or a mobile signpost?
#1
Pedalin' Erry Day
Thread Starter
Am I a cyclist or a mobile signpost?
FOUR times this past week alone I've been riding around town and I've had drivers stop to ask me directions. My favorite one was when I was stopped a light waiting to go straight through, when a semi-truck pulled up in the right-hand turn lane and the driver hollered down to me from his cab to ask how to get the grocery store he was supposed to be delivering his load to...
Is this something common for other commuters? I suppose it makes sense to assume that cyclists will have a good idea about the areas they're riding through, and we're obviously more approachable than drivers sealed away in their cars, but it always surprises me a little when this kind of thing happens.
Is this something common for other commuters? I suppose it makes sense to assume that cyclists will have a good idea about the areas they're riding through, and we're obviously more approachable than drivers sealed away in their cars, but it always surprises me a little when this kind of thing happens.
#3
Senior Member
Never had that happen while riding a bike... But I do get people asking me for directions while I'm walking.
You think that semi drivers would have a GPS these days...
You think that semi drivers would have a GPS these days...
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 229
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Oh geez, I hope no one does that when I start, not only am I fairly new in town but my internal compass is broken! (I'll be mounting my phone to my handlebars to use google maps if I ever get lost.)
We do get lots of that at my job though. We've had everyone from locals to out of state visitors stop in for directions. I dunno what it is about a pet store that seems like we'd know where everything is, but... I even once had someone stop to ask for a good place to go eat with his wife. (Out of towners.)
We do get lots of that at my job though. We've had everyone from locals to out of state visitors stop in for directions. I dunno what it is about a pet store that seems like we'd know where everything is, but... I even once had someone stop to ask for a good place to go eat with his wife. (Out of towners.)
#5
Shimano Certified
Ive been considered/treated like a mailbox before but never a sign...
That would be kinda flattering to an extent. At least they are acknowledging you as a person and not an impediment.
That would be kinda flattering to an extent. At least they are acknowledging you as a person and not an impediment.
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 106
Bikes: Mongoose Crossway 250, Giant Upland SE
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I got asked where a local business was and I couldn't remember so I pulled up google maps on my phone and gave directions.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,114
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Happens to me quite a bit. The funny times are when they ask about the freeway system. I can tell them how to get on the freeway, but I have no idea where to get off of it.
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,595
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 608 Post(s)
Liked 352 Times
in
225 Posts
I get asked all the time. I think part of it is that I look like a courier when I cycle and couriers are like taxi drivers they typically know all the streets. Easy to communicate with someone on a bike as the OP suggested. I find that it is mostly suburbanites coming into the big city and need to find their way to major hospitals, or the theaters etc.
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 1,345
Bikes: 2014 Specialized Dolce Triple, 1987 Schwinn Tempo, 2012 Windsor Kensington 8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
The only time I've been asked for directions it was a fellow cyclist. Somewhat kitted out on a nice bike, but not totally roadie. He was looking for the hospital and since I was commuting to the hospital I told him to hop on my wheel and I'd lead him there since I worked in the ER (we were less than a mile from it at that point.)
But 40 yards down the road I looked back and he was gone. It was a straight stretch and he'd previously passed me with ease, and I was going mayyybe 10 mph. No idea where he went or why he didn't stick around.
But 40 yards down the road I looked back and he was gone. It was a straight stretch and he'd previously passed me with ease, and I was going mayyybe 10 mph. No idea where he went or why he didn't stick around.
#10
Randomhead
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,397
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,698 Times
in
2,518 Posts
I had this happen last week just before the light turned green. There was nobody behind me, so I gave the guy directions, but then the left turning traffic wouldn't let me go. I lost my balance and had to brace myself by smacking one of the cars turning left.
#11
ROM 6:23
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Coastal Maine
Posts: 1,713
Bikes: Specialized Tricross Comp, Lemond Tourmalet, Bridgestone MB-5
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Unless you're an introvert or have no sense of direction, enjoy it! Best example of bike advocacy I can think of.
#12
Senior Member
Am I a cyclist or a mobile signpost? You'll have the answer to your question when dogs start pissing on you.
#13
Senior Member
About twice a month
#14
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 24
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I do not know if this is true for most truck drivers, but UPS has a rule against using GPS systems when delivering. Many guys still use them, but they can get fired for using them. I believe the company looks at them as a safety issue.
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Southern Wisconsin US
Posts: 275
Bikes: Schwinn DBX, Trek 820
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Tuesday on the ride home...A biker headed the other direction flagged me down. We were in the middle of nowhere southern WI and He asks me how to get to Hwy MM and B. He's riding from Harvard, IL to Madison, WI for some Babcock Hall Ice Cream???? Harvard is the end station for the NW Metra line outta Chicago. It's 80+ miles from Madison. He must've really liked ice cream. Made my day. :-)
#16
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 15,944
Bikes: Two wheeled ones
Mentioned: 42 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1254 Post(s)
Liked 345 Times
in
174 Posts
It happens constantly. If you're on a bike, people assume you know the area - after all, only a car can go past around 5 miles, right? Being on a bike screams local, and I think folks also assume many bikers are friendly hippy types.
I'll usually stop and offer directions to the best of my ability, depending on the ride or if I'm late for something. If I'm riding for fitness/fun and have a good groove going, I might ignore them entirely or just say I'm new and ride off.
I'll usually stop and offer directions to the best of my ability, depending on the ride or if I'm late for something. If I'm riding for fitness/fun and have a good groove going, I might ignore them entirely or just say I'm new and ride off.
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 8,896
Bikes: Waterford RST-22, Bob Jackson World Tour, Ritchey Breakaway Cross, Soma Saga, De Bernardi SL, Specialized Sequoia
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 196 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times
in
4 Posts
Happens to me fairly often too. I view it as a good opportunity to impress drivers about how nice and responsible cyclists are.
#18
a.k.a., Point Five Dude
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Twin Cites, MN USA
Posts: 794
Bikes: 1987 Trek Elance 400 T
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I've had it happen a couple times. My favorite is when I am on the other side of town where all I know is my route.
Once this past winter when I was out jogging some guy came out of his garage and asked me to stop and help him get a riding lawnmower up on to a trailer. Seriously?
Once this past winter when I was out jogging some guy came out of his garage and asked me to stop and help him get a riding lawnmower up on to a trailer. Seriously?
#19
Tortoise Wins by a Hare!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Looney Tunes, IL
Posts: 7,398
Bikes: Wabi Special FG, Raleigh Roper, Nashbar AL-1, Miyata One Hundred, '70 Schwinn Lemonator and More!!
Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1549 Post(s)
Liked 941 Times
in
504 Posts
The only time I've been asked for directions it was a fellow cyclist. Somewhat kitted out on a nice bike, but not totally roadie. He was looking for the hospital and since I was commuting to the hospital I told him to hop on my wheel and I'd lead him there since I worked in the ER (we were less than a mile from it at that point.)But 40 yards down the road I looked back and he was gone. It was a straight stretch and he'd previously passed me with ease, and I was going mayyybe 10 mph. No idea where he went or why he didn't stick around.
Maybe that explains why I'm often asked where someone can find 'some good stuff'.
#20
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
FOUR times this past week alone I've been riding around town and I've had drivers stop to ask me directions. My favorite one was when I was stopped a light waiting to go straight through, when a semi-truck pulled up in the right-hand turn lane and the driver hollered down to me from his cab to ask how to get the grocery store he was supposed to be delivering his load to...
Is this something common for other commuters? I suppose it makes sense to assume that cyclists will have a good idea about the areas they're riding through, and we're obviously more approachable than drivers sealed away in their cars, but it always surprises me a little when this kind of thing happens.
Is this something common for other commuters? I suppose it makes sense to assume that cyclists will have a good idea about the areas they're riding through, and we're obviously more approachable than drivers sealed away in their cars, but it always surprises me a little when this kind of thing happens.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#21
Senior Member
Funny how drivers are all nice and friendly when they need directions, but the rest of the time, will run you off the road like you don't exist.
#23
Banned
The tourists do go home after Labor day and school-year starts again.
Though the commercial driver hauling into a new town ,
will have to do that trip again even after summer ..
hope you didn't head him down a street not for heavy goods vehicles
because that is the road you were most comfortable on,
to get off the one with all the Truck traffic.
Though the commercial driver hauling into a new town ,
will have to do that trip again even after summer ..
hope you didn't head him down a street not for heavy goods vehicles
because that is the road you were most comfortable on,
to get off the one with all the Truck traffic.
Last edited by fietsbob; 08-15-12 at 03:04 PM.
#24
GATC
Most of my work travel takes me to places that are not accurately in any GPS system. I imagine semi drivers looking for the best entrance to reach a loading dock could be in the same boat.
I think you can generally count on cyclists knowing an area better than random drivers in addition to the lack of enclosure around them.
I think you can generally count on cyclists knowing an area better than random drivers in addition to the lack of enclosure around them.
#25
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 15,944
Bikes: Two wheeled ones
Mentioned: 42 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1254 Post(s)
Liked 345 Times
in
174 Posts
On the flip side - about half of the cyclists that I regularly come into contact with are complete schmendricks and a hefty portion of pedestrians make me wish for an asteroid.