8 ms·

Getting doored is honestly terrifying (I don't say that lightly). I bike and longboard frequently, and I'll avoid bike lanes if they are alongside parked cars.

Getting doored is honestly terrifying (I don't say that lightly). I bike and longboard frequently, and I'll avoid bike lanes if they are alongside parked cars. And this is in Boulder, one of the most bike friendly cities in the US: http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-top-50-bike-friendly-cities/slide/6 http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-top-50-bike-f...

wutf 10y ago
Also live in Boulder, also avoid bike lanes. Absolutely terrifying.
justinator 10y ago
Also in Boulder, also a time I have to be hyper aware. I find the bike infrastructure in this city slightly... uneven. Sometimes, it's great, sometimes it's not very well planned out. I live off of 36 in N Boulder. It can be downright dangerous using the bike lane.
jcomis 10y ago
Try Denver. Downtown has several main routes of terrifying bike lanes on the left side. No one looks left/back when they are taking a left turn, even when theres a full car sized lane with reflective dividers (they also frequently forego blinkers, but thats another issue). The worst is the people pulling into parking garages mid block.
thisisdave 10y ago
I was doored once. I remember flying through the air and thinking, "oh, this isn't so bad." Then I landed and almost broke my hand.
- mintplant 10y ago
  Reminds me of the opening narration to the French movie La Haine. Approximately translated: "This is the story of a man who fell from a 50-story building. The man, as he fell he kept repeating to reassure himself: 'So far so good, so far so good, so far so good.' But the important part is not the fall... it's the landing." https://youtu.be/Uz9vgtXq_Hs https://youtu.be/Uz9vgtXq_Hs
jdietrich 10y ago
Local governments have been kind enough to paint warning marks for cyclists, advising them of the safe distance from parked cars and kerbs. Non-cyclists call these warning marks "bike lanes". Cyclists need at least a metre of space on the nearside at all times. It's your escape route if cars pass too closely. It's your protective buffer against being doored or against pedestrians stepping out into your path. Hugging the kerb gives you nowhere to go in an emergency. Be brave and take the lane. If you delay other road users, let them honk and shout - that metre of space is literally a matter of life and death.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  > Be brave and take the lane. If you delay other road users, let them honk and shout - that metre of space is literally a matter of life and death. In a country that already respects cyclists this may work. In a country that does not it will likely get you to wake up in the infirmary (assuming you wake up at all) after being hit by someone in a hurry that assumed you were going to give their 2 ton vehicle the room it needs to pass you. Taking a militant stance as a cyclist by using your fragile body as an obstacle for large steel objects moving at two to three times your speed is not a winning strategy. If all they did is 'honk and shout' you'd be fine but some percentage will try to pass you anyway.
  - mabcat 10y ago
    In my experience taking the lane stops people from assuming that they have space to pass except by changing lanes. Car drivers mostly take their cues from the cyclist. If you're cycling in the gutter it signals for car drivers to try to overtake you in the same lane. Why would you be in the gutter, except to yield the rest of your lane to cars? There's not space for a car and a bicycle in the same lane. A car will always have to at least partially change lanes to overtake safely. You're better off being 2/3 of a lane over, so your head is in the same position as every other driver, and car drivers change lanes completely to pass as they would for any other vehicle.
    - jacquesm 10y ago

wutf 10y ago

Also live in Boulder, also avoid bike lanes. Absolutely terrifying.

justinator 10y ago

Also in Boulder, also a time I have to be hyper aware. I find the bike infrastructure in this city slightly... uneven. Sometimes, it's great, sometimes it's not very well planned out. I live off of 36 in N Boulder. It can be downright dangerous using the bike lane.

jcomis 10y ago

Try Denver. Downtown has several main routes of terrifying bike lanes on the left side. No one looks left/back when they are taking a left turn, even when theres a full car sized lane with reflective dividers (they also frequently forego blinkers, but thats another issue). The worst is the people pulling into parking garages mid block.

thisisdave 10y ago

I was doored once. I remember flying through the air and thinking, "oh, this isn't so bad." Then I landed and almost broke my hand.

mintplant 10y ago
Reminds me of the opening narration to the French movie La Haine. Approximately translated: "This is the story of a man who fell from a 50-story building. The man, as he fell he kept repeating to reassure himself: 'So far so good, so far so good, so far so good.' But the important part is not the fall... it's the landing." https://youtu.be/Uz9vgtXq_Hs https://youtu.be/Uz9vgtXq_Hs

jdietrich 10y ago

Local governments have been kind enough to paint warning marks for cyclists, advising them of the safe distance from parked cars and kerbs. Non-cyclists call these warning marks "bike lanes". Cyclists need at least a metre of space on the nearside at all times. It's your escape route if cars pass too closely. It's your protective buffer against being doored or against pedestrians stepping out into your path. Hugging the kerb gives you nowhere to go in an emergency. Be brave and take the lane. If you delay other road users, let them honk and shout - that metre of space is literally a matter of life and death.

jacquesm 10y ago
> Be brave and take the lane. If you delay other road users, let them honk and shout - that metre of space is literally a matter of life and death. In a country that already respects cyclists this may work. In a country that does not it will likely get you to wake up in the infirmary (assuming you wake up at all) after being hit by someone in a hurry that assumed you were going to give their 2 ton vehicle the room it needs to pass you. Taking a militant stance as a cyclist by using your fragile body as an obstacle for large steel objects moving at two to three times your speed is not a winning strategy. If all they did is 'honk and shout' you'd be fine but some percentage will try to pass you anyway.
- mabcat 10y ago
  In my experience taking the lane stops people from assuming that they have space to pass except by changing lanes. Car drivers mostly take their cues from the cyclist. If you're cycling in the gutter it signals for car drivers to try to overtake you in the same lane. Why would you be in the gutter, except to yield the rest of your lane to cars? There's not space for a car and a bicycle in the same lane. A car will always have to at least partially change lanes to overtake safely. You're better off being 2/3 of a lane over, so your head is in the same position as every other driver, and car drivers change lanes completely to pass as they would for any other vehicle.
  - jacquesm 10y ago