There was a time when the world was painted in hues of black and white. Right and Wrong were separated by lines painted in such a thick, heavy paint that even to wander close was to already alter your very nature. The Elders taught us on which side we were to dwell and what evils would descend upon us if we were to transcend into the void. Little was known of what dwelt on the other side; the mind imagines the most horrific beasts in the unknown.
As Cyclists, we dwell in the space between black and white; everything we know is confined within the shades of gray that exist between two absolutes. Nowhere is this more true than when we subject ourselves to the roads to ply our craft at the mercy of motor vehicles, pedestrians, and the department of transportation’s ability to place potholes and manhole covers in the most inopportune locations. A moment’s inattention and our fortunes could shift dramatically.
The bike lane is shrouded in an air of false security. The white line painted a few meters from the edge of the road offers little by way of providing a barrier or any other kind of physical protection. Nevertheless, we wrap ourselves in a blanket of wishful thinking and pedal merrily along our way. The biggest problem with the bike lane is the total disregard that people, traffic, and road crews have for how few options we have outside of our narrow strip of tarmac in the event that the way is blocked, often unaware of the dangers their behaviors impose upon us. These are normally not intended as threats; it is simply a lack of exposure and appreciation of the risks we as Cyclists endure. In the spirit of Rule #3, I will outline some of the greatest risks.
Too many Cyclists are being killed doing what they love. We all understand what we risk and accept those rather than not ride our bikes, but I think I speak for all of us when I say I’d rather live to ride again tomorrow. We all have to come together with our fellow motorists to understand how best to work together. But most of all: be careful and diligent, my fellow Cyclists.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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Ah, the humble bike lane: food carts, delivery trucks unloading, taxi hailers (they love to get a high 5 on their hail-hand as you pass), police car napping, crazyman pushing grocery cart with the accumulated detritus of life, dumbasses stepping off the curb looking at the phone, joggers, skate boarders, scooters, garbage collectors, pedi-cabs, wheel-chair guy begging change, mounted police and equine leavings.
We are truly not alone.
Frank I'm away from home and you brought me back. Thanks for that.
@xyxax
NYC is the wild west of bike lanes. And now with the city bikes, every clueless person can head down a bike lane in the wrong direction, just because. It might be safer riding in traffic, at least most of it is going in the same direction. I do admire NYC for carving out all those bike lanes though, it's like outlawing smoking in Irish pubs, one would never, ever think it would happen, then it does, and people get used to it.
@Gianni
It's Dustin Hoffman pounding on the hood of a taxi, "HEY, I'm WALKING here!!" You gotta love it even when you don't.
Funny thing about Citi Bikes is it's losing money because it is TOO popular with the locals (who can pay a relatively cheap year-round fee) instead of with visitors buying expensive short term passes.
rule 3 there is at the root of it all.
I was in NYC a few weeks ago and I got to ride around on a rental bike. I didnt think it was all that bad. I had a blast.
I need about 2.5 km of bike lane to make riding out of my front door suitable. My "no outlet" neighborhood, dumps my on a shoulder-less, narrow even for motorized vehicles, two lane bit of pot hole riddled tarmac, where the motorists push the 100 km/h mark. It might be the only bit of bike lane I ever use in this town, but it would be my sanctum pathway to happiness.
Otherwise, the location of our "bike lanes" (using the term loosly) are somewhat of a head scratcher....
As a humble redneck I am content to ride in locales sans bike paths and to accept the inherent dangers. However, on visiting some friends in Qubec City I was floored by the infrastructure devoted to bikes. Hundreds of kilometers of bike paths so busy they have freakin traffic lights and many separated nicely from regular traffic. Of course the locals were treated to the hazards of me and my ginned up buddies zipping around on our racing rigs like we were on some Belgian farm road.
Pity that the people this is aimed at will never read it. but education is the name of the game.
The roads in London are so dangerous it's a wonder more people aren't killed cycling on a daily basis.
I think they need to change the signage on my routes downtown from "bike lane" to Bike Lane / Snow Storage lane" as our city council although they have great intentions of building $20million worth of separated pathways in the next while still can't get their act together and clear to the curb where painted lanes exist... I think the grader operator goes out of his way to completely fill the bike lane nice windrow of snow when he is plowing .....
Living in the boonies, every spring I am in high dudgeon--it gets my dander right up--when the road shoulders on every climb and descent are covered with the gravel that is unnecessarily layered over the dry, ice-free roads so that retirees, who make up 90% of the local population, can feel safe when they careen about the area towing goose-neck camper trailers behind their Ford F-350s and that is then swept cursorily into what the county workers no doubt refer to as the "breakdown lane."
I'm sure everyone has seen Casey Neistat's bike lane video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE-IMaegzQ