I do it too, but I think of it more as "training" If I do my three mile commute to school as hard as I can, soon 3 miles that took me 20 minutes will be 3 miles that takes me 15 minutes, and one day, it'll be less exhausting

I run reds, stop signs, use pedestrian cross walks, I try not to be a tool about it though..

I listen to music 99% of the time traffic or no traffic, you just very aware of the cars around you, check your blind spots etc...

My signal system consists of pointing, and often enough yelling.

Inappropriate hand gestures/Cursing are often necessary for proper driver/cyclist communication.

since I stopped really working out my back I tend to slouch on the bike. It tends to make me lock my elbows and what not. It is a good way to make riding very uncomfortable

typical jackassery kid stuff. texting while riding, riding no hands, etc... only on empty residential roads and paths though. i hate riding in the street because i go slower than cars and do little "hops" to slow down which probably destroy my back hub. i point my toes a lot but having too big of toes clips might be a big contributer. i might be overly cautios and curtious where i let all cars pass me before going into a left turn lane. i dont wear a helmet and i pass and weave through traffic often but i figure thats part of the fun of being without a car.

it pretty much is

And then the goal will be 10 minutes.

... Im to scared to ride with no hands in traffic, seeing how i start to wobble back and forth

Good habits: I'll stop and see if a person needs any assistance if they crashed or broke something and if hurt, I'd stay there until someone came to pick them up or until an ambulance came.

Bad habbits: Curse out school buses(The drivers that are hired around here are total psychopaths). Will sprint on yellow lights.

:roflmao:

/thread

I tend to completely zone out, and get lost in my own little world of thought. It's a little unsettling, when I realize that I have no recollection of the last mile I just traveled, and I don't go very fast to begin with.

I just started riding again, a couple of years ago. Since then, I seem to have developed a death grip on the handlebars. I've had my little fingers ache for days, from grabbing the bars so tightly. Now, when I catch myself doing that, I stick my little fingers out. It probably looks ridiculous, but it forces me into a more relaxed grip.

Not so true... I have a friend who is deaf and he rides fixed through the city... He is fine, he just keeps aware in other ways. Deaf people drive cars too and they do just fine...

^ this. Though not as much as I used too. Too many crashes... I had a friend who called my, and others like this, riding style "fighting the air"...

I also drink and ride quite a bit... :innocent:

Good: I have been wearing my helmet more often (trying to get to ALL THE TIME), stopping at more red lights when traffic is heavy, friendly to all the other riders (good way to make friends), stop when I see someone crash/hurt

Middle: Tend to sprint where ever I go. Don't think this is bad though

Bad: Listen to music, curse at bad drivers / stupid pedestrians, no signals, sometimes scream lol

Thats all I can think of

Blind people walk through the city just fine, too. Would you consider it a good or bad habit to pick up a cane and walk through the city with your eyes closed?

I like to ride my bike high. Used to be my #1 cause of missing the turn and circling around the block.

I pretend I have super high wattage FEL technology embedded in my brake hoods that I use to blow up cars' tires.

Shazaam!

I find hearing to often be misleading when I ride. It can be helpful when I am on an empty road but on the busy streets it doesnt do much. I am pretty much never on empty streets unless it is 2am, so sight is the sense I put all my trust in.

I just remembered listening to music "while operating a bicycle" is outlawed here.... I do it all the time... with sound isolating in ear monitors.... :innocent:
But I'm extremely vigilant to make up for it.

Blind people often have an extremely heightened sense of hearing that keeps them very aware of their surroundings and is a much different thing that simply "walking through the city with your eyes closed". A friend of mine who is blind can tell you what type of coins - and how many - are hitting the ground if you drop a handful of change. She can also accurately tell the difference between different colored M&Ms by taste, which to me is just insane.

That's scarily cool. :)

Bottom line, don't F with blind people.

^ Zatoichi comes to mind :p

i'm another one that rides way too fast everywhere, pretty much a full sprint at all times. go big or go home i guess
sometimes i get a little oblivious to the goings on around me, and run red lights/stop signs and weave in an out of traffic. nothing too ridiculous or dangerous, but it's probably not the best idea...it is fun though :D

I still don't know if I'd trust her with a sword. :lol:

The argument Carelton's making here though is not so much go walk around eyes closed as it is people comparing a person who normally can hear and relies on it throughout their daily routine putting headphones in such that they can't hear anything but their loud music. Essentially they roam around closing their ears. Normally we'd be able to hear that car coming up behind us and because we normally can do this. Often times, people don't take the effort to keep looking to see if there is one, because they can hear it. But on that day they go out with headphones in ear and can't hear it anymore, they're much more likely to keep up their habit of NOT checking to see what's around them because normally they can hear.

I think that's kinda the point he's making. When I music and ride, I have a cellphone holder on my right shoulder strap, and just have it just loud enough so I can hear it when looking forward/to my right.