Papa Tom

Based on your description of the roads and sidewalks, I'm going to guess you go to school in Boston? If that's the case, space IS limited on most roads, but that still isn't an excuse to ride on the sidewalk.

Like others have implied, I sense that you are somewhat new to biking, not just urban biking. That said, there's some great advice in this thread. Try to ignore the sarcasm and plain-old "mean" comments and you should be off to a good start!

PDX Reborn

+1
Start here

wolfchild

What's up with all the "bicycle safety courses" ??...What happened to the good old fashioned common sense approach ?

jyl

You know, another thing you might do is find a local cycling club that has a "welcome to new riders" ride, these will typically be a relaxed, slower paced, not real long ride - they're trying to lure you in, not scare you off.

I mean, don't meet up with the local race club . . . from the club website you can tell what sort of rides they do, and you can always call the ride leader and ask.

Riding in a group, you can watch what people do, maybe get tips, and there is often safety in numbers.

spare_wheel

motorists kill ~34,000 people a year and you rant about ninja bikers and salmon? Since you are able to concoct statistics from thin air perhaps you would care to estimate how many people ninja or salmon kill each year.

good to know ILTB.

ThermionicScott 

Common sense is a myth. Left to their own devices, people think they're safer on the sidewalk because there aren't cars on it, that they should ride against traffic because they think like pedestrians, and don't do anything special to be visible because "hey, I can see where I'm going, what else do I need?"

spare_wheel

another common sense myth is that its safer to hug the right hand curb. you should always give yourself enough room so that you are not surprised by a door or pull out. its also best to ride in a straight line rather than to weave in and out of traffic due to the presence or absence of parked cars on the curb.

jyl

Bluntly - I think ninja kill themselves. Putting on dark clothes and sailing unlit into nighttime traffic is just playing Russian roulette.

Over in Advocacy, there is a thread about a ninja maybe-salmon who was killed on a dark section of road in San Antonio. He was wearing dark clothes, had no lights, was riding in the middle of the traffic lane, even though there were wide shoulders, and (people are saying, not sure about this myself) was riding against traffic. A lady in a sedan came along at 50 mph, the normal speed there, and hit him. Instant death.

Who killed that ninja maybe-salmon? He did it to himself. Can anyone really be surprised? I feel the same way when I see one of our local ninja, materializing from nowhere on a dark rainy night, flashing through the jerking beam of swerving headlights: if he (it is usually a he) dies someday, it'll be a suicide.

wolfchild

Riding on a sidewalk is a useful and helpful strategy as long as it's legal to do so, which it is in my city. Most of the sidewalks in my area are empty with not much pedestrian traffic. It is safe as long as you (cyclist) takes responsibility and is aware of what's happening around them. When riding on a sidewalk I don't really care if the drivers don't see me, I make sure I see them when crossing intersections. I mix street riding and sidewalk riding and it works great for me.


Riding against the traffic is not common sense, it's stupidity...On the other hand, have you ever heard of contra-flow bikelanes and mup's and bikeroutes ?? We have them in my city, when riding along these contra-flow bike routes it is a responsibility of a cyclist to be very careful and aware especially when crossing intersections.

Common sense dictates that visibility is important...However, dressing up yourself with buzzillion lights and reflective gear is not a guarantee that you're not gona get hit.

wolfchild

Common sense should dictate ,to stay out of the door zone, and be aware of other dangers such as vehicels unexpetedly pulling out of side streets or driveways.

spare_wheel

i sometimes see half a dozen (or more) ninjas riding about my neighborhood on a single trip and despite this i cannot remember the last time one died. that being said the police should spend more time ticketing ninjas and less time staking out the ladd's addition traffic circle.

spare_wheel

many new cyclists are (wrongly) more afraid of overtaking traffic than doors.

harshbarj

1. I'd still stick to the street. Study after study shows it's still the safest place to ride. As for the helmet, you are fine without one. Many say you need one, but the science just does not back that statement. ATM the jury is still out on the helmet. Some studies claim a huge benefit, others none, and yet others a harm to wearing a helmet. So without that scientific backing, it really comes down to personal choice. Hence the reason I don't and will never wear one.

2. All I can say is get a better bike. You will have to stop at lights whether you ride in the street or on the sidewalk. Best to just be prepared.

3. is that a top rack mounted backet? If so I have no suggestion as I find them silly. I stick with large dutch style panniers. No problems then getting on or off.

wolfchild

What about all the law abiding cyclists and other safety nannies with buzillion lights, and/or following all the rules of the road and still getting hit and/or killed ??..For you to say that the Ninja deserved to be hit or that they killed themselves is just real nasty. Who the heck are you to judge other cyclists ?

jyl

Nasty, if you wish, but true. A man who plays Russian Roulette (if anyone doesn't know what that is: load a round in a revolver cylinder, spin the cylinder, put the barrel to your head, and pull the trigger) is killing himself (if he loses). That's what an invisible rider in night traffic is doing. It's just stupid, its the cycling version of Russian Roulette.

The riders who are doing it right - lights, reflectives, riding safely - and still get killed? Well, I feel bad and angry about them.

jyl

The Portland police's priorities when it comes to cycling are . . . hard to justify. Someday, I'd like to see a truck driver get the official police thumbs-down for right-hooking and killing a rider. It seems like there is nothing that will make the driver at fault, in our police and prosecutors' eyes. It can be broad daylight, the cyclist can be stationary, she can be in a marked bike lane, apparently doesn't matter.

I-Like-To-Bike

Care to cite your source of old or new cyclists' relative fears, and which ones are right and which ones are "wrong"?

I-Like-To-Bike

Correct, truly nasty. And proud of it aren't you?

acidfast7

We have them here since a study showed that they're safer on narrow one-way streets than riding in the same direction as the traffic. Here. most one-way streets that allow bikes, allow them to go in both directions (clearly noted on the street itself and by sign).

locolobo13 

Here's another link. Easy to read, with illustrations.

https://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm

spare_wheel

1. Wheel, Spare. Journal of personal experience. (2013) 1:1.

I-Like-To-Bike

That's what I thought. Perhaps you should consider prefacing your opinions with the acronym IMO when you make pronouncements about the right or wrong thoughts or actions of other cyclists. Someone might mistakenly get the idea that your pronouncements about cycling safety have any more credibility or validity than any other anonymous poster's opinion or guess on the subject.

spare_wheel

The initial qualification and the use of parentheses should have provided a clue that my statement was an opinion. But if you feel the need to qualify everything I say in this manner...have at it.

Anecdotally, I have witnessed doorings but have never seen a cyclist hit while being overtaken. Do you have some anecdotes to share to counter mine? Or is it simply a matter of faith for you that taking the lane is so dangerous. I also have to point out that on acidfast7's video thread I cited a summary of 3 studies, all of which indicated that being hit from behind (e.g. overtaken) was low risk, and your response was completely disingenuous.

wolfchild

Most of these contra-flow (two way traffic) bikeroutes in my city run alongside very busy arterial roads. I find them very useful, I find them safe. The cyclist just needs to pay attention and slow down, when going through intersections.

GVLaker09

Picked this up from the library based suggestions in this thread. As a newbie myself, I'd definitely recommend this book. I'm just a little over half-way through but already feel that I've learned a lot. I really like the practical approach that the writer uses.