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Riding in City Traffic
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I stopped reading at "If a taxi’s window is down, listen for the sound of a receipt being printed." I mean REALLY!? Have you ever been to NYC? With around 70 decibel average noise level on the streets of Manhattan, you're going to hear the printer inside a taxi? Maybe if you're already next to it but then that info doesn't really help you.
what happens if I pay cash when I ride a taxi? I don't recall getting a printed reciept for the ride.
Plus, dot matrix printers for reciepts aren't used too often... they are loud though. the heat-based printers with the heat sensitive paper (ie originated more than likely from fax machines) are very quiet, even with low ambient noise.
Is this a new Bloomberg mandate?
Plus, dot matrix printers for reciepts aren't used too often... they are loud though. the heat-based printers with the heat sensitive paper (ie originated more than likely from fax machines) are very quiet, even with low ambient noise.
Is this a new Bloomberg mandate?
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riding in the gutter, close to the curb, huh...
yeah, that's the place you want to be...what could possibly go wrong there?
you're a noob, right?
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nope. just know crappy advice when I see it...
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Most likely just a more experienced rider than you. It may seem counter-intuitive but Oxtox is right.
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Yep, gutter riding invites more close calls.
Source: thousands of miles a year commuting through a busy downtown Seattle.
Kinda hard to stick close to the curb in NYC, unless the bike lane is actually next to the curb. Most bike lanes in NYC are not situated next to a curb. They are situated next to parked cars where you can get doored
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I stopped reading at "NY Times".
I have to admit, I lol'd at the part where he went headfirst into the furniture truck, but if he wanted to send home his point about safety vs hazards, he at least should have been wearing a helmet.
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It's never a good idea to ride the gutter, the gutter can get you trapped between a car and the gutter destroying wheels, bikes, and riders; also the gutter is where the trash is so you're destroying tires and tubes. While I've never ridden in NYC and don't have the desire to do so, I did ride all over L.A. Calif before they had major cycling infrastructure, and I never rode the cutters. Best thing to do is ride a bike like you would drive your car, take the lane and keep it unless there is a bike lane. In cities it's no big deal to keep up with traffic so you're not impeding traffic, however when doing that try to keep an eye on cars tail lights AHEAD of the car that is directly in front of you, if all you do is watch the car in front of you and they hit their brakes there's a good chance you'll go sailing over the top of the car!
That taxi thing was bad advice, even if by some miracle you can hear the taxi receipt printer then that means your riding too close to the taxi and could get door'd by either the driver or a passenger.
Also never put yourself between two large vehicles, like two buses or a bus and truck etc. And garbage trucks are really dangerous to be around, stay clear and give them a wide berth. Watch for peds, these people walk around brain dead to the world and will step right into a path of a cyclist, I learned that one the hard way in LA. though my emergency turn to avoid hitting the ped that illegally stepped into a cross walk against the light worked out for the ped but my front wheel collapsed from the radical turn and sent me sprawling onto the pavement dislocating a shoulder...the ped fled.
Cars and trucks have blind spots, if you can't see the driver through the mirrors, don't expect them to see you. And again never put yourself between two large vehicles even if you can see them in their mirrors. And trucks have a wide turning radius, never come along their right unless you have taken a turn lane, because if they have to turn you will be come road kill.
sewer gates use to be a danger back in my early days of riding because the grates were vertical and a bicycle tire could easily slip between the grates and wee it was wam bam thank you ma'am time. The cities have long since fixed that issue but steel grates and plates will be as slippery as ice if there is water on them.
Back in the days I rode in LA bike head and tail lights were all but useless at night and completely useless during the day, but modern LED lights are much brighter and I would recommend you use lights during the day on flash mode.
Never weave in and out of parked cars, maintain a straight line so motorists can predict what you're going do. And don't hug parked cars due to the possibility of getting door'd.
There's more tips if I really thought about it more.
That taxi thing was bad advice, even if by some miracle you can hear the taxi receipt printer then that means your riding too close to the taxi and could get door'd by either the driver or a passenger.
Also never put yourself between two large vehicles, like two buses or a bus and truck etc. And garbage trucks are really dangerous to be around, stay clear and give them a wide berth. Watch for peds, these people walk around brain dead to the world and will step right into a path of a cyclist, I learned that one the hard way in LA. though my emergency turn to avoid hitting the ped that illegally stepped into a cross walk against the light worked out for the ped but my front wheel collapsed from the radical turn and sent me sprawling onto the pavement dislocating a shoulder...the ped fled.
Cars and trucks have blind spots, if you can't see the driver through the mirrors, don't expect them to see you. And again never put yourself between two large vehicles even if you can see them in their mirrors. And trucks have a wide turning radius, never come along their right unless you have taken a turn lane, because if they have to turn you will be come road kill.
sewer gates use to be a danger back in my early days of riding because the grates were vertical and a bicycle tire could easily slip between the grates and wee it was wam bam thank you ma'am time. The cities have long since fixed that issue but steel grates and plates will be as slippery as ice if there is water on them.
Back in the days I rode in LA bike head and tail lights were all but useless at night and completely useless during the day, but modern LED lights are much brighter and I would recommend you use lights during the day on flash mode.
Never weave in and out of parked cars, maintain a straight line so motorists can predict what you're going do. And don't hug parked cars due to the possibility of getting door'd.
There's more tips if I really thought about it more.
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There are two things which underpin this whole ongoing conversation (both in this thread, and in the cycling community at large): be very visible, and this.
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That is what she said.
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My recommendation--if you need advice about riding in NYC--you probably should walk.
The bike "lanes" are really there for taxi cabs, buses, NYPD cars and other assorted delivery vehicles. Pedestrians think they have the right to step off the curb anytime anywhere--red light, green light or middle of the block.
Unfortunately mybikelane.com has been shut down so I have no pictures--wait I found one:
View attachment 280347
Most cab drivers are savage drivers--this is bad enough in a car, but horrifying on a bike.
The bike lanes in the city are also usually where the last eleventeen sewer, water or other connections have just been made so they have the worst pavement in the city.
If I were just starting out, I doubt I would try riding in the city--go out to Prospect Park or ride the MUT on the south end of Brooklyn.
The bike "lanes" are really there for taxi cabs, buses, NYPD cars and other assorted delivery vehicles. Pedestrians think they have the right to step off the curb anytime anywhere--red light, green light or middle of the block.
Unfortunately mybikelane.com has been shut down so I have no pictures--wait I found one:
View attachment 280347
Most cab drivers are savage drivers--this is bad enough in a car, but horrifying on a bike.
The bike lanes in the city are also usually where the last eleventeen sewer, water or other connections have just been made so they have the worst pavement in the city.
If I were just starting out, I doubt I would try riding in the city--go out to Prospect Park or ride the MUT on the south end of Brooklyn.
but they'll never admit to it. They will say NJ drivers are worse
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And they would be 100% correct. I mean it.
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