Going against traffic
 

I did see the Alec Baldwin thing.

I seem to remember a recommendation from my youth about "going against auto traffic was safer because you can see what's coming"
I now think it's pretty stupid --and gets worse as conditions get more crowded.

The other thing I see around these parts is joggers running the wrong direction IN A BIKE LANE! ARRGGGHHHH!

I'm not saying joggers should be in the bike lane, but if they are there, it makes sense to have them facing the opposite direction. This is how pedestrians walk in traffic.

Cyclists- always go with traffic.

Joggers- go against traffic on the road. Go with traffic on the far right edge on a MUP. And lay off the earbuds.

Joggers on the road on a shared lane or bike lane- go against traffic.

This opinion cost you $0.02.

Misconstrued from the recommendation to walk facing the traffic on rural roads with no sidewalk..

at least the runners salmoning in the MUP will see you , the ones you have to pass from the rear you must ring your bell
or bump into .. my peeve is loud earbuds so even the Bell is inaudible.


On a bike tour on the beach in LA the MUP is sand right off the edge of the concreter slab.


following behind Blonde Gidget in a Bikini on rollerblades with headphones so making it hard to pass as the skating took up 3/4 of the width ..

[then 39] I was so tempted to slip the front wheel under her bottom .. :love:. But just stayed back and watched the view ..

Ride with the traffic ( the closing speed is much less )as drivers have more time to see you. Walk against traffic.

I resist shouting "use the sidewalk" at joggers --because the same is so often shouted at bikers from cars. ...too ironic.

I use the sidewalk its a long block between the house and the next 6 pack and I dont have to go on the street.
but do to pass peds , when it's safe..

I don't mind a jogger doing the salmon as long as it jumps up on the sidewalk when it sees me coming - I don't want to have to guess which way it's going to go around me.

I think that old advice was meant to go well with adjusting the seat [saddle] so you could still use your feet to hold yourself up when stopped.

Too bad about Alec Baldwin! If a big rich movie star can't break the law and then cuss-out a police officer without getting arrested... I guess I'd better learn to NOT swear.

I keep a plastic police whistle hanging from my helmet chin strap. Easy to grab and in congested areas I will hold it between my teeth and give a short blast when necessary to get someone's attention.

Alec Baldwin manages to do a one man version of the "Dumb and Dumber" show. It's a talent.

J.

I think we all that from well-meaning, but mis-guided parents, scout leaders, and other various authority figures from our youth. Someone, not sure who, once said that cycling against traffic is the fastest way to the cemetery. And yet people, grown adults, insist on doing this, because "It's what you're supposed to do!"

Baldwin is one of the biggest jerks in America today. He could have been respectful about it, but no. He's Alec Baldwin! Let's all say it: "Do you know who I AM!?!?"

Illegal in Massachusetts. Cambridge PD and Boston PD will stop you for this. Be cautious.

+$0.02 --> sop

NSFW:

Most bicycle/automobile accidents happen at some kind of intersection. When you bicycle facing traffic, you approach every single intersection, driveway, and parking lot entrance from a direction other users aren't expecting.

Back in my running days I took to running against traffic in the daylight and running in the same direction as traffic after dark. Otherwise the car headlights would blind me and I couldn't see where I was stepping off the road.

Exactly

That's where the problem is with riding Salmon. People turning right out of intersections not even looking for anyone coming up the wrong direction. They're looking to their left at the oncoming traffic waiting to scoot on out there.

Defensive driving works with bikes as well as cars. I can say that now. The other night with a jogger in dark grey sweats came down the bike lane and looked at me like I was the trespasser. At the end of the day, everyone going home with no injuries is a good day.

In defense of the joggers, the sidewalks have many uneven surfaces and cracks. I can see how they can get tripped up.

I've never cycled in NYC and I am not familiar with the area where Mr Baldwin was stopped. But I guess I just assumed that he was trying to avoid the dangers of opening car doors. Because when you ride the wrong direction [or wrong side of the road] you can see in the cars windshield.

I wondered.... if Alec Baldwin has bicycled in the city for maybe decades and was never stopped before... and felt "picked on" by the police. Or... is bicycling something new and maybe a little scary for him. So I did a little search and found a few different images of him cycling. Apparently he is both a cyclist and a bit of an ass.

Wearing earbuds near car traffic, whether on bicycle or jogging, is asking for trouble. Also... in the outdoors, easy victims are the ones picked by thugs. It you're unable to hear because you have music blasting away through earbuds, you are going to be in the thug radar-scope when someone without earbuds will not.

I don't begrudge runners space in the streets (when I ran concrete was rough on my ankles) but I do believe they should move to their right when bikes approach. My understanding was always that joggers are free to use streets and bike lanes just as we are and that that joggers are supposed to move against traffic unlike bikes. In a thread on a DC list serve, however, some one wrote this:
Is anyone aware of any regulations addressing this anywhere? I don't think I will shout out at joggers in any event but it would be interesting to know the law.

Link to newspaper report
 

There is a thread in the Advocacy and Safety section about Mr. Baldwin. Apparently it was not just his riding in the wrong direction that got him handcuffed and taken to jail. It was his having a tantrum with the police officers that did it. This seems to be something he does often. I guess when you become famous you expect everyone to bow down as though you are the king. What is even more surprising is that many of the people who responded to the article thought that salmoning was perfectly reasonable and safe.
http://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-s...salmoning.html

BTW I am a long time Cycling Merit Badge Counselor for BSA and I can assure you that if the person teaching Cycling Merit Badge takes the time to read the merit badge booklet they will never teach a Scout that riding the wrong way on a street or riding on the sidewalk is safe or in many cases is legal.

Cycling against traffic? You could eventually become a hood ornament!

Here in California:

VC 21966: No pedestrian shall proceed along a bicycle path or lane where there is an adjacent adequate pedestrian facility.

VC 467:
(a) A “pedestrian” is a person who is afoot or who is using any of the following:

(1) A means of conveyance propelled by human power other than a bicycle.

(2) An electric personal assistive mobility device.

(b) “Pedestrian” includes a person who is operating a self-propelled wheelchair, motorized tricycle, or motorized quadricycle and, by reason of physical disability, is otherwise unable to move about as a pedestrian, as specified in subdivision (a).

Really not fair to generalize (and it isn't true anyhow). Baldwin is just an a$$ and he proves it routinely..