It's about a 7.5 mile ride one way. I ride in designated bike lanes, there is usually a high level of traffic, lots of pot holes, and traffic lights.
I love riding to work. It's a way for me to clear the cobwebs of sleep out of my brain in the morning and shake off the angst caused by too many meetings with middle management in the afternoon. I can also skip the gym visits by sneaking in exercise this way. Love that!
This is my baby -
As you can see, I ride with a helmet. I also have front and rear lights to let everyone on the road know that I am there. I'm a safety girl when I ride.
It's not going to help me if I get run over by an SUV.
People in cars yell at me to get on the sidewalk - which is technically illegal; both the yelling at me and riding on the sidewalk.
People beep at me to let me know....I'm not sure, because I ride in designated bike lanes. But sometimes it scares the shit out of me.
People try to pass way to farking close to me - most states have a 3 ft passing rule. If I'm in a bike lane, you are supposed to pass me like a car. If I can touch your vehicle, you are way too close.
I use the proper hand signals when I ride:
(a) Left turn ..... hand and arm extended horizontally.
(b) Right turn ..... hand and arm extended upward.
(c) Stop or decrease speed ..... hand and arm extended downward.
Most people think I'm just waving at them when I use these in traffic.
I typically ride where your right tire hits the road. This way I can avoid pot holes and being hit by people getting out of their cars or trying to pull out of parking spaces. People don't seem to understand this is the correct place to be - I do schooch over when I can, but if you don't drive in pot holes, why would I even think of riding on them?
The designated bike lanes in my city are typically 2 lane roads. This means I can take up one lane. It's safer for both me and you. But mostly me, because I don't want to get squished.
I've been run off the road twice in the last two years. It's not fun and both times the drivers of the cars either didn't even notice me or drove off in fear of what could happen. I have to get hurt or have damage done to my bike in order for anything to legally happen to a driver, which is the most frustrating thing. There is no such thing as reckless driving around a cyclist when it comes to laws.
May 20th is the Ride of Silence. Cyclists around the world will be going on a slow paced ride through your city streets. This grassroots organized protest has humble beginnings, but has spread through out the world in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.
This year, I will be thinking of Andrew Callighan, who was riding his 14-speed bike when a truck driven by an 18-year-old woman hit and killed him in March of this year. He was 12 years old.
With the current climate issues, economic issues, heck even DUI issues - there will be more and more cyclists on the roads.
I urge all OS readers to brush up on your place in the roadway, whether your ride or drive. You will save a life, possibly mine.
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Comments
Sorry drivers in Michigan are so ignorant.
I'll pass along the "Ride of Silence" Campaign info...
Anyway... great post. Glad to see you are doing well.
But would that most bicyclists around here "shared the road" the way you do. We have tons of them, and a lot of them routinely break the law and endanger both themselves and drivers (and pedestrians) by the way they ride. (It's so common when I see bicyclists obeying the law, I notice it as an abberation.) Here, it's all too common to see cyclists blow through stop signs and red traffic lights without even a pause, block lanes for miles while going 10-20 miles below the speed limit (sometimes in tandem) on roads with no lane available for cars to unable to pass them. They curse at drivers for no good reason (yes, that kind of thing goes both ways) and do maneuvers that require drivers to slam on their brakes unexpectedly to avoid hitting them, when the driver has been following road rules.
Reasons for this behavior differ - some may be ignorant of the law, but many are vocal about feeling that they shouldn't be asked to yield to anyone on the road, because, well, bicyclists are morally superior. Truly. We get that a lot around here. So they deliberately disobey traffic laws and endanger themselves and others.
As bad as some commuting/daily cyclists can be about this, the recreational riders are worse. I live in an area that is catnip for them, on a windy road with many blind turns that is nevertheless heavily used as a primary access road for many locals (similar to a mountain road, it's a way in and out of our homes) and they make life miserable for many drivers and pedestrians (I've almost been hit by them while carefully trying to cross my own street more than once).
The worst is the young guys in spandex who ride like they're driving sports cars -- I'm betting that in their cars they're some of the dangerous drivers you hate! Oh, and did I mention they ride by our house in the wee hours on weekends having screaming conversations with each other at the top of their lungs? Try sleeping in when that occurs every 5 minutes on weekend mornings.
In short, rude behavior that selfishly endangers other people is not confined to car drivers, trust me. I live in a high bike use region that includes strong public public support for it. Most drivers I know are scrupulous about being safe around bicyclists (many also ride bikes, themselves, too) yet they are continually stunned and aggravated by how common dangerous and illegal behavior is routinely committed by cyclists around here.
My suggestion: Rather than only focusing on drivers, cyclists should also lecture other cyclists about how to "Share the road". When cyclists model good behavior, it might result in more change to driver behavior than you suspect.
and i feel bad, because i don't have a bike, and my city doesn't have sidewalks, so... sorry, i'm another obstacle in the bike lane! i've nearly gotten run into a time or two.
It's true, redneck/vapid soccermom/teenage bike haters are just as bad as bike scenester fixie riders. Both think they should own the road rather than share it.
Thanks for all the comments - I hope everyone gives a little extra room the next time they see one of us two wheelers huffing up a hill. :)