I find this site is really strangely lukewarm on bicycles, definitely out of step with IRL leftists I know.
I don't think many HBs want to kill cyclists but I've definitely read more than a couple comments where they think it's the domain of spandex-wearing dentists on $12000 bikes instead of just a normal cheap and awesome way that people can get around.
Don't get me wrong I love trains, but this site is 99% train and 1% bike when both should have expansive and well-developed infrastructure.
I feel like there's a distinction between cyclists and whatever I should call the spandex people.
And being in America I think most people encounter the dentist variety of cyclist far more often than the transportation type. I've been cycling to work for a year now and only twice have I encountered another cyclist who was clearly commuting. I've had near daily encounters with fitness oriented cyclists in the spats with the expensive fixed gear road bikes.
And they're far more fearless too. The fitness folks will absolutely go out into the middle of the lane. I'm a lot more cautious and will ride on grass or through ditches if I have to.
I'd be surprised if the number of Americans who cycle to work is above 0.5%. Almost any given adult American on a bike is doing it for leisure or fitness, not to get somewhere.
I don't doubt that figure even where I live, but people do a lot more than just go to work and go home. Like most of my friends ride their bikes to go visit other friends, to go to the pub, to go to the movie theatre, to go to the park to hang out, like we have bicycle commuters but most people here are just riding their bikes to get around.
The fixed-gear people are hipsters, not dentists.
Fixed-gear bikes only have one gear, which makes them obviously suboptimal for KOMing.
And they’re far more fearless too. The fitness folks will absolutely go out into the middle of the lane. I’m a lot more cautious and will ride on grass or through ditches if I have to.
Taking the lane on a bike is a way to ensure that you do not get buzzed by passing cars.
It's actually dangerous to force yourself into the edge of the road where there is debris or car doors.
If you do not have any space to yourself, you cannot avoid hazards on the road (you have no space to swerve).
It's doubly dangerous to be hugging the edge of the road when approaching an intersection.
When you ride in the middle of the lane, you are visible to motorists.
When you're on the edge of the road, you're invisible.
Also, riding on the edge of the road makes overtaking cars on the right a natural move at intersections.
You should never do this as you place yourself into the blind spot of cars.
Riding on the sidewalk feels safe but is in actuality unsafe.
Sidewalk riding is actually twice as dangerous as riding on the road
because you are invisible to motorists.
Sorry I didn't mean to sound like I think the spandex people are bad cyclists or anything. The road should cater to cyclists and pedestrians of any type.
I find this site is really strangely lukewarm on bicycles, definitely out of step with IRL leftists I know.
I don't think many HBs want to kill cyclists but I've definitely read more than a couple comments where they think it's the domain of spandex-wearing dentists on $12000 bikes instead of just a normal cheap and awesome way that people can get around.
Don't get me wrong I love trains, but this site is 99% train and 1% bike when both should have expansive and well-developed infrastructure.
I feel like there's a distinction between cyclists and whatever I should call the spandex people.
And being in America I think most people encounter the dentist variety of cyclist far more often than the transportation type. I've been cycling to work for a year now and only twice have I encountered another cyclist who was clearly commuting. I've had near daily encounters with fitness oriented cyclists in the spats with the expensive fixed gear road bikes.
And they're far more fearless too. The fitness folks will absolutely go out into the middle of the lane. I'm a lot more cautious and will ride on grass or through ditches if I have to.
This sounds absolutely wild to me.
I'd be surprised if the number of Americans who cycle to work is above 0.5%. Almost any given adult American on a bike is doing it for leisure or fitness, not to get somewhere.
I don't doubt that figure even where I live, but people do a lot more than just go to work and go home. Like most of my friends ride their bikes to go visit other friends, to go to the pub, to go to the movie theatre, to go to the park to hang out, like we have bicycle commuters but most people here are just riding their bikes to get around.
Yeah, I sometimes forget other people have lives :(
The fixed-gear people are hipsters, not dentists. Fixed-gear bikes only have one gear, which makes them obviously suboptimal for KOMing.
On the contrary, taking the lane is actually the safest way to ride. Almost all of the listed examples of car-bike crashes involve the bike riding too far to the right.
Taking the lane on a bike is a way to ensure that you do not get buzzed by passing cars. It's actually dangerous to force yourself into the edge of the road where there is debris or car doors. If you do not have any space to yourself, you cannot avoid hazards on the road (you have no space to swerve).
It's doubly dangerous to be hugging the edge of the road when approaching an intersection. When you ride in the middle of the lane, you are visible to motorists. When you're on the edge of the road, you're invisible.
Also, riding on the edge of the road makes overtaking cars on the right a natural move at intersections. You should never do this as you place yourself into the blind spot of cars.
Riding on the sidewalk feels safe but is in actuality unsafe. Sidewalk riding is actually twice as dangerous as riding on the road because you are invisible to motorists.
Thank you. I'm still kinda new to biking on the roads and I'll keep all this in mind.
You should check out the https://bicyclesafe.com/ site if you haven't already, it's a really useful resource for staying safe (from cars) in traffic.
deleted by creator
The best cyclist from a cager's point of view is no cyclist.
Sorry I didn't mean to sound like I think the spandex people are bad cyclists or anything. The road should cater to cyclists and pedestrians of any type.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamil