How can I ride without being a jackass?

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Dear Oracles of The Internet,

Since moving to a place that is just far enough from a T stop to make walking inconvenient yet too close to be completely comfortable taking the bus, I've decided to take up biking. While I've learned how to ride a bicycle, I haven't ridden since before I left for college and that was in suburbia. Which means I have no blinking idea how to ride in a city.

So I come to you, O wise sages, where do I learn how to ride a bike in a city without being a complete jackass and a danger to myself and others?

(xposted to b0st0n)

Comments

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Where do you learn? I don't know the answer to that, but I'll tell you the two things that I see most often that piss me off with cyclists: running red lights and going the wrong way on one-way streets. Don't do that, and you'll already be doing a lot better than a lot of people! And thanks for actually caring and realizing that yes, there are rules, and yes, they apply to cyclists. :)

Oh, and nice icon.

[ron_newman]

There isn't really any difference between riding in the city (Somerville) or the suburbs (Arlington, Belmont, Medford). Just do what you're used to doing.

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Contact Susan McLucas. She's based in Davis Sq!

http://www.bicycleridingschool.org/

[frotz.livejournal.com]

I would certainly argue that point; suboptimal behaviors that weren't originally as much of an issue (wrong-way riding, riding on sidewalks, etc.) can become much more of one in higher-density areas.

To answer the original question, Massbike has a class which, I'm given to understand, is focused largely on dealing with riding safely and usefully in urban traffic: http://www.massbike.org/education/bike-safety-classes/

There's a significantly more intensive class on street riding skills under the League of American Bicyclists (http://www.bikeleague.org/) which is very good indeed, but a lot more of a commitment.

I also like Forester's Effective Cycling.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I should have specified. When I said "Grew up learning to ride a bike in the suburbs" I meant suburbs that look more like Western Mass or Fitchburg. Not Boston suburbs that are still fairly densely packed. Much, much different habits and bike culture there.

[ron_newman]

I'm not familiar with Fitchburg, but I have ridden out in western Mass. (Great Barrington, Lenox, Stockbridge, Pittsfield), and I don't think I really ride any differently there than I do here.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Eh, all right. I'll come out and say it- I grew up in the suburbs of Albany, where shit's seriously different bike-wise. In that you don't see anyone biking, and I don't think people have even heard of a bike lane. People bike in parks, and that's about it. So yeah. No bike lane, crazy wide roads (but no shoulders), and nobody knows how to share the road. Maybe that's sufficiently different, but either way, I'm also crazy inexperienced. So it's not really so much "is it different riding in different areas" as "I don't know jack shit about riding in a city because I've never done it before".

[antimony.livejournal.com]

First thing: Being a jackass is good, at least when you're being a jackass in accordance with the laws. It may get you honked or yelled at, but it will keep you safer. Edit: people around here may not always like sharing the road, but they mostly know how to do it. I actually find it less intimidating that riding in suburban/rural Ohio because people are more predictable.

Take lanes (i.e. pull out far enough that cars have to change lanes to pass you) when you need them. Use your turn signals. If you drive, it's basically the same game of posturing for space except you have to do it all with your imaginary two-ton ego instead of a big metal box.

Second thing: assume every parked car is inhabited by gnomes that draw their power from popping open doors to hit cyclists. Don't hug them and let the gnomes eat you.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

As a pedestrian and driver I ask that you do the following:
Wear a helmet (its unfair to put your life in someone else's hands)
Learn hand signals and use them
Ride on the street not on the sidewalk
Don't run red lights
Don't go the wrong way down a one way street
Look out for people opening doors (though they should really be looking out for you)
Be prepared to take down the license plate numbers of dangerous or angry drivers
Have fun. Biking is awesome!!

[rramdin.livejournal.com]

As a bike and car commuter in Boston, I actually prefer bikers who're willing to go through red lights--as long as they're sure there's no possibility of oncoming traffic (like when there are walk signals parallel to your direction, the straight parts of T intersections). When I'm driving, I hate waiting for bikers to accelerate when they go into the intersection, and I equally loathe competing with drivers for the intersection when I'm biking. If you're not going through red lights, you shouldn't creep up past all the cars to the intersection; you should stop behind the car in front of you and take up an entire lane. Getting to the front of the intersection will maximize your probability of being doored, getting hit by right turners, and causing havoc when the light turns green. Boston is actually a great city for bikers, because the drivers are so used to sharing the road.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

like when there are walk signals parallel to your direction

Because there's ZERO chance someone would, I don't know, break the law and run a red light perpendicular to a walk light ...

I guess I'm really curious as to where a situation exists that there is a red light for traffic parallel to a valid walk signal that does not ALSO have a walk signal for the perpendicular pedestrian traffic - why is there a red light and a walk signal for parallel traffic unless it's at a four way walk signal?

I'm not saying it doesn't exist, I'm saying citation needed.

As a bike and car commuter in Somerbridge, Boston, etc all the way down to Quincy, I prefer knowing that bicycle riders are following the same laws as all other vehicles sharing the common space.

[turil.livejournal.com]

From what I understand, she doesn't teach that much on road stuff. She teaches people to literally ride a bicycle.

Bicycling Street Smarts!

[turil.livejournal.com]

Pick up a copy of this booklet at Ace Wheelworks (or Broadway Bicycle School, and maybe other shops in the area). It's excellent. You can also read it free online at http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm . It's what several states use as their official bicycle driving manual that is handed out for free to all drivers.

The short version is bike like you belong, obeying all the traffic laws that apply to all vehicles (including bicycles), as well as just generally being aware of the fact that sometimes people don't see you (like the gorilla in a basketball game) and aren't able to pay as much attention to what they are doing as safety requires of them, so practice making emergency stops without doing and endo or crashing. :-)

Also, slow down. That's the best way to keep everyone safe. Speed is for competition, slowness is for collaboration.

[turil.livejournal.com]

If you're not going through red lights, you shouldn't creep up past all the cars to the intersection; you should stop behind the car in front of you and take up an entire lane.

The solution really is just to drive your bike like you are respectful of the laws and the normal rules of the road. Don't cut in line. Don't run red lights. Do behave as though you belong here and care about yourself and others.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Wear a helmet (its unfair to put your life in someone else's hands)

You're also putting your life in everyone else's hands when you walk or drive a bike or car with or without a helmet.

Helmets are barely useful. Occasionally, but certainly not to be relied on as ways to prevent death or injury. You can die quite easily with a helmet on because many crashes involve being hit in the chest area.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Obeying the laws and taking a lane when it's not wide enough for more than one vehicle isn't being a jackass. It might piss off people who are already stressed out and don't know the laws, but it's inherently being respectful and safe.

Oh, and I like your gnomes metaphor. My own is "Don't ride like a rat." As in don't act like you're terrified to attract attention, and don't hug the outside edges of the road (especially when there are cars there). I tend to recommend driving so that the bike's wheels are in the same path as car's right wheels.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Really it's all the same. Same roads, same rights, same responsibilities, as they say.

Drive your bike the same way you drive a car. Except for being able to occasionally park on a sidewalk, or use a special bike facility.

Beware of bike lanes though, they are usually dangerously substandard, and are really only safe when they are on long stretches of road with no intersections. Bike lanes give people a false sense of security and encourage really bad driving all around. So generally drive just to the right of the center of the normal travel lane even if there is a bike lane, unless you're out in the country where the bike lane is very wide.

[emannths.livejournal.com]

One thing not mentioned yet, which I view as kind of a "golden rule" of cycling in traffic: ride predictably. This means following all the rules of the road, but it also means things like not weaving through traffic, not passing other cyclists on the right, taking the lane demonstrably (i.e., if you take the lane, ride right down the middle of it, not just slightly outside the bike lane), and generally riding in such a way that won't surprise anyone.

A couple more tips (hmm, looks like this got long!):
* Traffic in Boston/Camberville is SLOOOW, so don't worry about inconveniencing people by taking the lane or doing other things that might "slow other down." They're not going to average more than 10mph anyway--they can wait behind you for 30 seconds.

* Assume that no car can see you out of the side/back of their car. This means that if you're going to pass a car or ride next to one, you should take it upon yourself to make sure that the car isn't going to turn into you. Drivers are getting much better about looking out for cyclists while making right turns, but it's better safe than sorry--don't pass a car that's about to make a right turn. Yield to cars about to make a right turn, and waive them along if it looks like they're trying to wait for you.

* Look drivers in the eye to help get them to notice you. Humans have a 6th sense for noticing that someone is staring at them. If you're worried that a driver might not notice you, stare them down.

* Communicate. Take advantage of the fact that you can actually say to pedestrians "go ahead," or tell another cyclists "on your left."

* If getting over to make a left turn at a big, busy intersection is too intimidating, you can do a "hook turn" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_turn). Stay in the right lane, and when the light turns green, ride through the intersection and stop in the right lane of the perpendicular traffic and wait for the green light. It takes on extra light cycle, but it's less stressful, especially for multilane intersection.

Follow the rules of the road, ride predictably, and have fun. Drivers are now much more aware of cyclists than they were 5-10 years ago, and are generally quite accommodating. You'll be fine!

[dcltdw]

Helmets are barely useful.

Do you have data to back this up? I don't have data to back up my anecdote, either, but my understanding is that most bike crashes are caused by cars cutting off bikes: bike smashes into car, body continues forward movement, head is the first thing to strike hard surface.

Really, I'm interested in data either way. :) (I'm not trying to have an xkcd moment here. :) ) Now I'm trying to remember where I saw that report listing that the top N% of car/bike crashes are caused by cars.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm#ny

[dcltdw]

Thanks for the link! That's very interesting.

Let the causation/correlation analysis begin! (I'll be elsewhere. ;) )

[turil.livejournal.com]

(Off topic, but I totally read your subtitle name in Nemoy's voice. I rarely do that with any voices, so it was extra cool...)

I don't have any links to offer off hand. I have read a ton of research on bike safety though (I was part of the team that wrote and designed the National Highway Traffic Safety Association's (NHTSA) bicycle awareness curriculum for police officers), and this is pretty much what I base my information on. You can do a search for bicycle helmet studies, though, and probably come up with a lot of info, as well as looking at general data on bicycle injuries. (I did a quick search and found this critique (http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1068.html) of one of the helmet studies, so remember not to take any studies at face value, as they are often biased in one way or another.)

[turil.livejournal.com]

Alas, there isn't much info there that would really help us, like telling us what the person actually died of, or how skilled the cyclist was. (More experienced cyclists tend to wear helmets more often, and are thus less likely to get into a serious crash, having nothing to do with whether or not they are wearing a helmet.)

[turil.livejournal.com]

I should have said "more experienced and generally safe" cyclists wear helmets... :-) There are tons of exceptionally dangerous cyclists out there who have a lot of experience, too!

[42itous.livejournal.com]

I recommend reading a little handbook called Bicycling Street Smarts. Oh hey, it's available online! http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm

As a bike commuter, my advice boils down to: Be Visible.

Drivers don't *want* to hit you, so you need strategies to help them avoid doing so. Be predictable by following traffic laws, but at the same time, don't ride in such a straight line that drivers think they can safely pass you with two inches to spare -- that's never safe.

Don't ride in the door zone (within about four feet of parked cars) -- if this means there isn't enough space for a car to pass you, then assertively claim the whole lane. This makes you more visible not only to the car behind you, but also to cars coming out of side streets. If you're going significantly slower than the speed limit, courteously move aside when you can, so the driver stuck behind you doesn't have a heart attack about being 30 seconds later to work.

Make eye contact where possible. Human brains are hard-wired to recognize a face as a face faster than any other object recognition, so if you're in a potentially dangerous position (making a left turn, or when a driver comes speeding out of a side street), turn your face toward the driver and look at their eyes -- it will make you more visible to them.

And to reiterate what others have said, use turn signals when claiming a lane and when pulling over to let people pass you -- another part of being predictable.