Cycling

[disturbman]

This is what you will live on a daily basis if you choose to cycle in Paris:

 

 

It's awfully violent and true. I'm glad to be Berlin.

[Martijn Meerts]

Traffic in general is getting bad everywhere.. Most people don't bother to learn the rules, and even if they do, they don't care about them. The only thing they can think about is themselves, and getting to where they need to be as fast as possible. In Oslo for example, they might as well remove traffic lights, because no one cares about them. Even busses and trams just ignore red lights.

 

I have a nice bike, but there are 2 problems.. Idiots on the road not paying any attention whatsoever, and drunk idiots trying to steal the bike so they can get home from the disco ... The first has happened to me 3 times already, 1 time bruising all my ribs on the left side, and I don't care to think about how many of my bikes have been stolen :/

[disturbman]

The situation is much better in Berlin. Assholes are everywhere but here, drivers tend to be very carefull around bikes. And people are careless with their bikes. They usually don't lock them when going into shops to buy bread or cigarets or beer. I'm allways impressed.

 

In Paris, if you let your bike on the street you are allmost sure someone is going to steal the saddle or a wheel or two. And if they don't do that, you are most likely to find your bike vandalized and the wheels broken. And if you put it into those secured local, youa re sure it's going to be steal one day or the other. And for no reason at all, since nobody sell or buy second-hand bikes in Paris. You allways inherit it from your friends or familly.

[to2leo]

Thanks for sharing this with us.  Toronto is currently planning for an ambitious bike plan along major streets.  The politicians just want a marked line but after seeing how ignorant it is to the drivers, I am seriously having second thoughts.

[disturbman]

The thing is, in my experience, the only way to have a really safe bike lane is to implement it on the sidewalk, not on the street. It's best to segregated it completely from traffic, make it unreachable (so people won't try to park there) and put the parked car between traffic and the bikes. After all, cyclers are not equiped to survive a crash against a motorized vehicle. Pietons are far less dangerous. It makes more sense to put bikes and pietons together than to put bikes at traffic level.

 

Also, bike lanes need to be continuous and designed for biking. It's very easy to implement bike lanes as a second thought and to preserve car usage of the streets. Which will make cycling very unpractical and dangerous. Paris is really the best exemple of what people and municipalities shouldn't do.

[qwertyaardvark]

Biking in Kanazawa was a godsend~ ^_^ It put me 15-20 mins away from the Kanazawa shopping center and another 5 mins to the Kanazawa Station. I would mainly ride on the sidewalks, but places where the sidewalk was literally less than a 18 inches wide, I went on the street for 100 feet or so before getting back on the sidewalk. While it wasn't dangerous to ride on the street, I knew the cars and buses didnt like us there (in a safety-oriented way) since they would slow down a lot when passing. Kanazawa had a slight slope to it, but wasnt bad.

 

Shanghai was... interesting. ^^;; Got my bike for 10$! Having a bike is no doubt useful, but you bike on the road at your own risk: buses, cars, scooters, bikes and pedestrians alike "run red lights." Fortunately, you had power in numbers: When one biker decides to cross the street, a crowd follows him, and laowai (gaijin) [foreigners] like me followed the crowd safely across the street. Biking was a lot more pleasant and leisurely once I hit the Jiao Tong campus and my god was the (Minhang) campus spacious! ^_^ You really did *need* a bike to get between buildings. Shanghai was pretty flat, so I could go pretty far on momentum. :)

 

Atlanta is for more hardcore bikers (and that's just about all I see outside of Midtown, wearing biking jerseys like it was Tour de France, and having bikes with only one gear and no brakes o_o;;) As far as downtown goes, I only ride a bike on campus and few select streets outside of it. Lanes are narrow and drivers here are pretty bad (only in this city do i routinely see the driver sticking their left foot out the window; some regional thing...) but that's only a small problem compared to the constant hills that carpet the landscape. While half of the trip is enjoying the downhill run, trying to bike up heavy grades really wears a lot of non-hardcore people down, myself included.

[disturbman]

t that's only a small problem compared to the constant hills that carpet the landscape. While half of the trip is enjoying the downhill run, trying to bike up heavy grades really wears a lot of non-hardcore people down, myself included.

 

Maybe you should try those "electrical" bikes.

[qwertyaardvark]

Maybe you should try those "electrical" bikes.

 

I did look into those, but the prohibitive costs, and the fact I'll be leaving Atlanta in a matter of 3 months (and moving back to silly car-centric Houston >_< ), I opted to stay with a good ole fashioned human-powered bike :) Depending on where in US I get my job, and if distance to work is not insane, I definitely would look into electric-powered/assist bikes. If i ever had to go back to China again for prolonged amount of time, an electric bike/scooter would be near the top of my shopping list. If i am lucky enough to find work in Japan, a human-powered bike would be good enough.

[scott]

I've been riding to work about 90% of the time for several years now, and fortunately have not had anything stolen. And I've seen people do a few stupid/dangerous things that show a disregard for cyclists, but not often enough to keep me off the roads. The benefits I've gotten through relieved stress, exercise, and enjoyment have made it totally worthwhile. So I hate to give people the impression (although many seem to have it already) that cycling is a high-risk activity and/or something "normal" or "sane" people don't engage in. People are often amazed when I ride to work in wet or icy weather, but I'd rather be out there on a bike than in a large heavy vehicle that could cause serious damage. Plus it's just fun to see what you can successfully get around in.

 

It's best to segregated it completely from traffic,

 

On cycling forums, that statement is second only to a mention of helmets (pro or con) in starting flamewars. :-)

 

Rail content: my ideal vacation in Japan or Europe would involve a railpass and a folding bike.

[Mudkip Orange]

wearing biking jerseys like it was Tour de France, and having bikes with only one gear and no brakes o_o;;)

 

If I ever own a big SUV or some other gas hog, it'll almost certainly have a One Less Fixie sticker on the back.

 

 

 

In Paris, if you let your bike on the street you are allmost sure someone is going to steal the saddle or a wheel or two.

 

Wow, just like Portland!

[bikkuri bahn]

So I hate to give people the impression (although many seem to have it already) that cycling is a high-risk activity and/or something "normal" or "sane" people don't engage in.

 

The thinking that cycling is not a "normal" everyday activity (like brushing your teeth, eating lunch, etc.) is a peculiarly North American neurosis.  Symptoms (in addition to considering riding to work insane) include associating cycling exclusively with recreational or weekend competitive riding, clad in multicolored spandex outfits, helmeted, and mounted on a thousand dollar plus velo...

 

Here in Japan, you can see all types of people riding their bicycles (invariably $100 one speed cheapies with a basket on the front) to work, school, the supermarket, etc.  No helmets, everyday clothing, no posing, and as long as you lock up your bike, no worry of theft.

[scott]

multicolored spandex outfits,

 

An e-acquaintance invented the term "plainclothes cycling," which I hope catches on...

[Mudkip Orange]

The thing is, in my experience, the only way to have a really safe bike lane is to implement it on the sidewalk, not on the street. It's best to segregated it completely from traffic, make it unreachable (so people won't try to park there) and put the parked car between traffic and the bikes. After all, cyclers are not equiped to survive a crash against a motorized vehicle. Pietons are far less dangerous. It makes more sense to put bikes and pietons together than to put bikes at traffic level.

 

Also, bike lanes need to be continuous and designed for biking. It's very easy to implement bike lanes as a second thought and to preserve car usage of the streets. Which will make cycling very unpractical and dangerous. Paris is really the best exemple of what people and municipalities shouldn't do.

 

Repeated for emphasis. One huge impediment to separated bike lanes is the somewhat ironically named "complete streets" movement, which is a hodgepodge of bike/ped/disabled advocates, planners, and traffic engineers. "Complete Streets" proponents believe in squashing facilities for every mode into one single right-of-way, aesthetics and safety be damned. Just try to talk about constructing separate cycleways (like the Milton Keynes Redway system) and see how far you get. Argue long enough and they'll often play the race card: "Oh, so you support 'separate but equal' for people who don't drive?"

 

The Complete Streets movement is well-established, and many of the players are also involved in the Congress for the New Urbanism, which is the primary means through which non-autocentric planning and transportation policy has been implemented in the last 15 years.

 

A suburban Dutch two-lane road with ditch drainage and a separate cycle path, in addition to being more bike-friendly, also has a substantially lower environmental impact then a giant US-style slab of three-lane asphalt with striped bike lanes, curb and gutter, and concrete sidewalks. But just try to tell this to the average American urban planner.

[scott]

Well, I'm a sub-average urban-dwelling American rural planner cyclist, fwiw. 

 

I think the Dutch model is great for urban transportation cycling (which, despite how much I enjoy rural dirt-road rides, is imo the most important type of cycling to accomodate). It seems like the worries for many cyclists about separate facilities are that (1) many autocentric types think that bicycles should *only* be allowed on separate facilities*, which would be incredibly limiting, especially given how long it would take to get a well-connected system together, and (2) American-style "multi-use paths", which try to appeal to walkers, skaters, cyclists, etc., etc., on the same path are notoriously slow if you're trying to get anywhere by bike. Indirect routes and sudden stops by walkers with iPods are also problems.

 

So I could deal with separate facilities if they were cycling-specific and designed for safety, directness, and reasonable speed, rather than being just a way to get cyclists off the roads.

 

*A fellow member of another forum was arrested for riding on the road when there was a parallel (poorly-maintained, indirect, slow) cycling path that he "should have been on." IIRC, the first judge agreed with the police on this, and he only won on appeal with the help of a cycling organization. (This was in the UK.)

[Mudkip Orange]

When I was 16 years old I came up with the idea of a multi-use path with a center passing lane, similar to the long stretches of 3-lane road you find in the mountains of Oregon and Washington.

 

I striped out three variations (5', 6', and 6.67' "lane widths") with sidewalk chalk on the streets of a subdivision that was under construction, then made several "test passes" with a friend riding in the opposite direction. We found that 15' (3@5') was too narrow, period, but that 18' (3@6') felt just about as safe as 20' (3@6.67') did.

 

Someday I'll build one, that is, if the damned housing market ever recovers.

[Hobby Dreamer]

"plainclothes cycling," which I hope catches on...

 

A local cycle shop owner once commented that he started a bike shop but now owns a boutique! I used to ride with a local club but many wore clothes more expensive than my bike! Still, its a good litmus; more expensive the clothing = bigger the jerk cyclist..

[scott]

It does seem like a lot of shops sell more clothes than bikes. Not to mention "accessories."

 

And yeah, I always fail the visual inspection of my bikes and clothes, for those who are inclined to do that sort of thing. But when I *do* meet somebody relaxed, they tend to understand.

[marknewton]

Still, its a good litmus; more expensive the clothing = bigger the jerk cyclist...

 

 

And here was me thinking that was just a local Sydney thing!

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

And yeah, I always fail the visual inspection of my bikes and clothes, for those who are inclined to do that sort of thing. But when I *do* meet somebody relaxed, they tend to understand.

 

I'm the same, Scott. I wear a stackhat mainly to avoid being hassled by the police - it's illegal to ride without a helmet here - otherwise I just wear my normal clothes. Those wearing fluorescent novelty condoms often give me a dirty look, I just wave and smile back.

 

What amazes me is just how self-righteous some hardcore cyclists can be. I was trundling along one day having a cigarette, and I got abused by a couple of logo-festooned riders for "not setting a good example"!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[scott]

Puffing Billy

[marknewton]

Good one!

 

I'm no longer a puffing billy, though. Once we had Harry I decided "enough".

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[ToniBabelony]

As a Dutchie, I'm amused by the posts here :)

 

I've been cycling for almost all my life as a means of commuter transport. During rush hours some parts of cities really have congested roads and even jams can occur. The anti-social and agressive driver I am, I always avoided these obstructions by any means and high speeds. Though I quickly realised these techniques don't really apply abroad. However, I'm always highly focused when drving other vehicles.

 

Cycling in the Netherlands is almost like driving a car, but a in a more suicidal meaning as everybody realises they have no protection at all when in a collision. I've lost several people who've gotten into accidents myself, but that was mostly because of their own fault, unfortunately. It's a part of life, just how you lose family and friends in other sorts of accidents. I've gotten into accidents myself a few times, but none of 'em severe. It's a part of the cyclist's life, just how you scratch your car, it's just your body who takes the blows. Accidents are mostly ones own fault in the Netherlands: hearing loud music, cellphone calling/sms'ing, arrogance, emotional situations and other causes that keep the attention off the road Cars usually keep cyclists in high consideration, even when they don't have to give way.

 

Anyway, I don't want to sound too nihilistic, so I'll conclude that why people cycle is because it's healthy, fun and efficient. It's efficient, especially in Dutch city situations. In car-oriented cities, not so much...