operator

I do the left-turn-shadow-car thing too but the I always kind of hesitate at the what if the car in front gets tboned. K you die.

b-ride

i've actually reached out and pushed doors closed to avoid getting doored. the one time i did get doored, i was lucky. guy in a corvette or something with, like, 8 foot long doors, just flung it open without looking. didn't actually hit the door, it just caught my bike, sent me over the bars and the bike through the rear window of a minivan in traffic just ahead of me. haha, punched a seat-shaped hole right through the poor guys window.

i don't work in ny, but my 5 tips would be:

1. be aware (duh!) seriously though, after a while you begin to develop a 6th sense of when people are about to pull some poo. they start drifting sometimes. sometimes, it's total esp.
2. watch for heads through rear windows and faces in side mirrors of parked cars.
3. lots of people don't signal their turns, but lots do. if you're riding beside a vehicle, watch the driver and check his/her front signal.
4. take the lane!
5. ride aggressive without being stupid. be smart, be decisive, be in control.

dylandom

u know this "take the lane" attitude should be taught. when i started riding fixed, i would ride alllll the way to the right or left so that the cars and i could share. omg god, these cars were blowing past me, millimeters from my bike scaring the shti out of me. it was ridiculous. I just take the lane now. when I use to drive, i use to get so mad at bike riders who hogged the road, but know i understand.

b-ride

also, i'd just like to add, that even though i don't know anything about riding in ny, vancouver is pretty gnarly sometimes. i cannot count the number of times per week that i carve around the front of a jaywalking ped that hasn't even bothered TO LOOK EITHER WAY before crossing in the middle of the street. peds in van seem to have this feeling that they ALWAYS have the right of way. at least the native vancouverites. all the rest seem to be this blissfully oblivious esl students. i can actually make them scream in fear. always good fun. and the drivers here... jeez louise, talk about fookin' idiots. speeding 2 blocks to hit a red. blowing reds CONSTANTLY. i think vancouver is one of the worst cities in canada for bad drivers. it's pretty nuts sometimes.

hankNYC

So I'm thinking a good thing to do as long as this thread has life is to pick the "seriously correct and predictive quote as it pertains to my last ride", and this one wins.

This exact thing happened while riding home this evening heading west on 41st. You'd think the stupid peds would look if they're gonna jaywalk, but instead, they just poured into the intersection against a light like lemmings without so much as a glance. There was a messenger along side of me and we were both screaming at them as we bore down on them.

There were so many of them I don't know how one of us didn't t-bone at least one of them. The fun part was catching the look of terror in one of the lemming's eyes when he finally looked up to see me sitting back and blowing past him so close I could smell the onion bagel on his breath.

40x14

Move the UN general assembly meeting out of manhattan and eliminate most of this NYC's traffic/pedestrian issues.

crayonsemble

so when you say take the lane you mean ride in the middle of the lane? cuz
i usually ride in between the lanes.

TRaffic Jammer

Oooooh Hank you just brought an old memory to the forefront, thank you
When you're bag/jacket makes that 'whifff' sound against said lemming and you hear them suck breath or that chocked off scream. I haven't thought about threading the ped line in ages. God to think of how fast we were going when we do that and never once hit anyone. Flippin' miracle sometimes... Cheers to the mad messengers!

matt_savvy

the worst is riding through gridlock as fast as you can, trying not to get doored and then some ******bag pedestrian steps out from between two parked cars without looking at all. people do this all the time here. one time I had enough distance to yell at the guy, "buddy get the *** out of my way." he pressed himself flat up against an SUV like he was spiderman.

GirlAnachronism

The other day I was riding along the West Side Highway, just cruising along with no hands and I swear to god I almost got knocked over by the wind from a helicopter landing. So, ya know, watch out for helicopters

goggles

When I was a NYC messenger I used these two:

Tip #1 : When you are coming up on the left side of a car, check the drivers left mirror for eye contact. DON'T rely on this of course, but it will give you an indication of at least whether they are conscious of you presence.
Tip #2 : Be your own bike bell. Funny as it sounds-awaken your inner rain man and find something to babble when you are shooting through lines of cars. Again, make people conscious of your presence.

Can't think of any more stuff that hasn't already been said

acavengo

I second that Tip #2. Hooting and hollering goes a long way.

I never pass cabs on the sidewalk side.

veggiemafia

That's a good idea. I'm gonna start practicing my rap skillz in traffic.

"I said check check it. I'm on the fixed gear, 27s front and rear..."

humancongereel

kinda sounds like portland. god, sometimes i ****ing loathe the peds here. i feel like i more or less have to be courteous and all, but goddamn...i'm going to start the wheel wiggling, make 'em dance.

oh, also, i read what some people said about running/stopping at reds. one thing i find really valuable is timing the greens so as to hit as few reds as possible. and ****ing look before you take off...if i hadn't looked for red light runners, i would have been an armored truck's hood ornament the other day (fortunately other red light runners so far have been on the opposite side of the street from me)

humancongereel

sorta. ****ing f-250 pulling out of parking the other day, window rolled down, me yelling "yo, yo, yo, yo, buddy!" and whatnot, and the guy just keeps going.

of course, that's what i get for riding in the bike lane. **** that ****.

tacks

you really think the bike lanes are that bad here? I ride them all the time with rare issue.

nyc, on the other hand probably shouldnt even bother having bike lanes.
I'll probably get crucified for admitting this, but when I was there last week, I found myself not even looking at the lights, just watching traffic and pedestrians for when I should or shouldnt cross an intersection.

there, I said it. I pay little/no attention to lights. (only in manhattan)

humancongereel

nah, they're not that awful. but there are a lot of areas downtown where riding in the bike lane = higher risk.

acavengo

Yeah, I said hooting and hollering goes a long way; I never said it solves all problems. I could have a Mack Truck type horn and there is still no stopping the oblivious idiot.

As for NYC bike lanes, I use them as the space between me and the parked cars and if there is someone parked in the lane, they I just stick a few yards further away. As before, not a foolproof solution; just a technique that sometimes works.

hankNYC

"TAKE THE LANE" is so far probably the most common suggestion, so Saturday, I rode uptown to downtown with that in mind. And Cripes does it work! Felt way safer, way more in control, way more "seen". And just a general flow that felt pretty damn sweet.

That and lack of UN General *******sembly motorcade rush hour gridlock made for a sweet ride indeed. Thanks!

Air

The other day I was coming down 2nd Ave and they had the right lane coned off. So I rode in it until I had to stop. The cops at the corner were all, "You can't be in there!!" I said in my most innocent voice, "But I thought this is some of the 200 miles of bike lanes the mayor promised!"

They weren't amused...but I was at their response

teiaperigosa

bump...yes...and yes....

that was a funny ass movie

thenewblk

these are definitely not my underwear...eight minutes til wopner...
I will be thinking this next time traffic starts to jam and near in front of me.

jet sanchEz

I rarely yell out at pedestrians as they tend to freak and do something stupid so I just make sure I see them and go around them. Sometimes I come pretty close but as long as I don't hit them, they can freak out or scream insults at me after I am gone.

loaf

"The successful urban cyclist counts on nothing but chaos and stupidity"
- The Art of Urban Cycling, Robert Hurst.

(I haven't actually read the book, but that quote is njs gold)

wroomwroomoops

All kidding aside: no, do NOT do this, please. It's the thing that made me hate bikers, before I became one.

Generate some goodwill, it'll pay off downstream.



HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL!