I've been a bad commuter... Time to come clean

[SteveO]

Well, I guess it's time to confess. I'm not the bike commuter that Mom hoped I would turn into. Here are some examples of my bad habits:


- Given the opportunity I'll run a red light or a stop sign (especially if no one is around).

- Sometimes I'll ride down the right hand side of the outer lane to get to the front when a bunch of traffic is stopped at a light. And then I'll usually sprint out to beat the traffic as the light changes.

- My left side cleat wears down much too quickly because I always unclip from my pedals on that side.

- My trackstand is poor. Sometimes I can balance through an entire light change but most of the time I unclip before I see green.

- Sometimes I can't resist flipping off a poor driver.

- At a six way stop I'll time the lights and take advantage of the pedestrian "WALK" sign to coast to a sidewalk corner on the other side of the street vs. making a legal left turn and risking my neck in the middle of an intersection.

- I go too fast on MUT's and sometimes don't yell "On your left!" to unsuspecting joggers and walkers.



Even with all these faults I've managed to commute over 12k miles over the past 3 years with minimal damage to body and bike. For 2003 that will equate to approx 120 days where I chose to ride instead of drive. There are things I won't do like skitching a ride, pedaling down sidewalks (illegal in most states), or floating out into busy intersections. After a quick read of my "habits", I can probably justify most of them in my own mind, but not to the average driver on the road. Is anyone else willing to come clean and admit their commuter bad habits?

Steve (Getting ready to get flamed on this one)

[bent sprocket]

The first thing that came to mind when I read your post was not what you wrote about but what brought on the urge to confess your transgressions in public.

I commute and otherwise ride within the city environs about a 100 miles a week (ok, ok... perhaps only 70 miles a week in the winter, since we're confessing...).

I try to follow two simple rules:

1) Ensure my own safety, first and foremost.
2) Try to ride in ways that allow others to be safe (to me, themselves, etc.)

If there's a conflict between rule #1 and rule #2, I look to myself first, other people (the actual people, not their cars or whatever) second, and my bike third.

This all means that I use my judgement (which is certainly flawed in some way, but probably not so badly that it's useless). As such, I don't always stop at stop signs and red lights, don't always signal, and don't always yield. It also means that I'm not above delivering a sharp rap on the passenger window of a cage that's unknowingly running me off the road or from giving a driver a piece of my addled mind when he yells at me for using my allotted slice of the traffic lane.

Perhaps it's because I don't think of cycling of any sort (commuting, erranding, racing, recreating, pottering, touring) to have moral content in and of itself. Of course, commuting without a car (which I do 99% of the time) is something that I do because I think cars are a problem. But, I ride because I like to ride (when I could just take the bus).

We don't need saints and sinners. Just more riders.

[hairygrump]

My trackstand sucks too. Probably worse than yours.

About the stoplights though, you know, the rules that govern stop signs are in place to keep cars from running into each other, not to protect you. No matter how law-abiding you are, the place that you can lawfully occupy while waiting for a red light is a place that a driver doesn't have a really good reason to look before making a right turn. For that reason, it's sometimes safer to run the light than it is to wait for it, since you might take off at the same time as the driver and get yourself right crossed.

So, you know... maybe you don't want to run them AS A RULE, but sometimes its the best way to protect yourself. That's how I explain it to the average driver anyway.

[Goride]

Sure, I'll come clean.

-I regularly run red lights and stop signs. Don't care who's around, as long as there are no cop cars within sight and no cross traffic I'm going.

-I regularly ride down the right side of the lane, both in moving and stopped traffic. I've been known to split lanes at times also, riding in between stopped traffic. And the yellow line is hardly off limits when needed.

-My trackstand is pretty good. I usually make the commute to and from work without clipping out of my pedals.

-One way streets, sidewalks, parks, whatever. I never scare pedestrians and any time I am on the sidewalk treat it like any guest should.

So maybe I'm not an ideal commuter in some peoples eyes. They probably aren't in mine...

-brad

[KENNEDIE]

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm not a politically correct bike commuter either. I also do the things you confessed to doing and more, with the exception of using the middle finger and blasting past other people on trails.
I always wave to a hostile driver, it confuses them (just as flipping off someone who expects a wave does), and the trail thing, well, I want everyone to get along. But cars are a different story.
It's dangerous out there and when drivers don't know the way to handle cyclists, sometimes you need to improvise some new techniques for dealing with traffic. It definitely depends on the city you live and ride in—if people are hip to cyclists then it's much easier to commute in harmony. But if every other driver is buzzing you or telling you to get off the road, well then it's a free for all.
The traffic laws (as they pertain to cyclists) are guidelines that work pretty well when everyone's feeling mellow, but as things escalate (rush hour), adaptation is the rule.
Of course, I'm not suggesting this way is for everyone, it's just my way.

SteveO, you know why you're doing it!

[Browne]

In the past two weeks, two of my friends have been hit by cars. One girl, Lauren, who lives up in Boston, got hit twice. She's ok last I heard:

"The face is almost not black any more (the kids got a kick out of me with
the black eye and all) and my leg is healing slowly (it hurts sometimes
still if I stand up too long). but the best part is that brian came over
yesterday and fixed my bike for me so i didn't have to deal with it! "

The thing that's so disappointing is that it wasn't her fault. Sure, she wasn't using lights. Sure, it was 5:00 in the morning. And sure, she was using a crosswalk to cross the street, but the guy didn't even bother to look her direction before turning right.
At least he bothered to stop, put her in the car and take her to a friend's house.

I guess my point is that I view commuting as a battle field. I'm not a soldier, I'm just a messenger (not literally) and I do what I have to in order to get to my destination safely and quickly. Living in Pittsburgh can be difficult because of the hills; and I think that cyclists deserve to relax the official rules a bit more because
1) we take actual physical energy to move, not just pressing a pedal
2) we're exposed, and sometimes following the "laws" puts us in places that aren't visible and or safe


But I digress... Bent Sprocket said it best: "We don't need saints or sinners. Just more riders." He's right: more riders creates more awareness. And that makes it safer for us all. Keep riding all!

[Clark Kent]

I will pop reds, better to do so than be at the "starting line" when the light goes green...All those Marrio Andretti wanna be's vying for pole possition...SCARY...

If someone honks at me they get my horn back, the finger that is.

I split lanes when I need to, and love to "surf" in heavy traffic.

I "ride wide" ( no gutter for me, I take a quarter of a lane ) more so when there is alot of snow and ice on the road.

I will also play with cars that **** with me...Cut me off or screw with me and I will do anything in my power to get infront of you and slap the brakes, They think they are hardcore but they still crap themseves when they think they are about to kill someone... Youll find ya get the same kind of rush no matter what way you almost buy it!

And I pretty much detest folks who drive trucks made for hauling cargo to and from work, the store, the bar, EVERYWHERE by themselves.

And most of all I dont give a tinkers damn about "promoting good will" between cars and bike by constantly turning the other cheek. It is week and spineless. They will never repect us, no matter how many times we reply to an angry honk with a curteous wave, or putter along in our big white socks after just being cut-off..... :mad:

I used to do alot of farm work and I cant get over how much drivers look like herfords.

[dave66]

hello,
My name is Dave. and i am commuteaholic.
oh sure i tell myself i am just a recreational commuter...that i can stop anytime, but today i rode in thru 60 kph winds mixed with snow and rain.
whups - where did that come from? sorry guess just the confessional tone of the thread!
i have to admit i have done all the things above with the exception of having a piss poor trackstand - i don't even try ;)
i am usually polite to those I meet on the MUTs and give a loud 'on your left ' when appropriate [sometimes resulting is a panicked step TO the left....not good...] but no matter how polite u are it is never enough.
case in point.
riding home ojne day on a paved MUT, see a very large lady [as in I need a cane to support myself] out walking her doglet along the trail. I slowed as i went around her and said 'thanks' to infer she actually made the effort to get out of my way [she hadn't]. as i began to accelerate after passing all i heard was 'WELL YOU ARE NOT WELCOME!' followed by some rant about holligans on bikes blah blah....it faded away as i rode off.
Just goes to prove that some will be pissed off regardless of how we treat them.
/Dave

[Cyclenaut]

Steve,

Sometimes it's just not practical to stop at every red light or every stop sign.

The fact that you are not personally contributing to the oil industry getting even deeper pockets far outweighs any of the prohibitions that you may be "violating" (see justifications above).

I think your kharma is in good form.

For what it's worth, I've ridden up the middle of 4 lane 9th Avenue in New York City. I don't feel the least bit guilty about it. That's just one of the ways it's done here.

[model3224]

here in baltimore, traffic is a warzone. people speed, even in highly dense city streets. and every motorist, who drives a vehicle well beyond their means, operates under the same philosophy, "i am above all else in my automobile." so pretty much i do what i can to ensure my safety, albeit sometimes i act stupid and put myself at risk to assert myself, because being an asshole is usually the only way to survive around here, both on and off the road.

there are few people using the sidewalks in this town. i usually slow to a crawl about 8 feet behind them, matching their pace, and then i say, "pardon me!" in a nice clear voice. they turn around, i ride around and say thanks. no problems whatsoever.

also, my trackstand sucks. of course, i have platforms, so it's not like a big deal or anything.

[kennbenny667]

Without repeating what everyone else just said, I ride to ensure my own survival, period.