Drivers who dislike cyclists don't see them

Hah! I’ve not experienced that, but then there aren’t a lot of bikes on the road where I am, so there aren’t as many chances to pass. I guess every place is different!

1 Like

I cycled there for 6 years. When I left in 2015, I felt decidedly less safe, even with all the “bike friendly” upgrades due to the amount of cars on the road. I felt comfortable commuting my route to work, or up to Hyde Park, where most of my friends lived, but that was about it.

1 Like

I definitely am not comfortable with the thought of commuting across town, thankfully i have no need to do that now that i own a car.

1 Like

Another ‘cycling vs driving’ thread?

4 Likes

Yeah, I moonlighted as a pedicab driver for a few years in the early/mid-2000s.
On nights I got off too late to catch the bus (pre-train), I still felt relatively safe biking from Cesar Chavez all the way up Congress -> Lavaca ->Lamar ->45th St ->Burnet ->Mopac after 2 am on the weekends.
These days, I wouldn’t try it strapped in 3 feet of bubble wrap.

1 Like

Apparently quacking might be be the best way to attract their attention.

Someone wants to take away my general purpose computer.

I just popped into this discussion to report on my trawling through the dissertation. The number of participants who completed the survey was 678. It was hosted on Project Implicit, a place where people sign up as volunteers to answer social-science surveys. So there is, in my opinion, significant selection bias. The study attempted to control for this. The study measured implicit and explicit attitudes toward cyclists. If you want to read more on its methodology, that’s covered in chapter 3 of the dissertation (free registration required), which starts on page 48 of the PDF file (numbered page 31).

I don’t really question the findings. After all, implicit bias is well-demonstrated in terms of race, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t apply to cyclists. And I think the findings of this study probably apply just as well to motorcyclists and pedestrians.

4 Likes

On the road yes. On a bike path bikes and pedestrians stay on the right, pass on the left.

1 Like

By “stick to the right” I mean the right lane. On a bike path that’s the right half of the path. On the road that is the right lane (full lane use or right shoulder depends on locale and situation).

While the general discussion cars vs. bikes it’s the same basically everywhere, I am truly surprised every time I notice how weird un-motorised transport seems to be for the average person in the US.

As someone who bikes safely through Paris and Berlin from time to time, this is really off to observe. As someone who has friends in Copenhagen and Amsterdam, it’s also odd to realise they think the same way about Berlin and Paris as I do about, say New Haven or Chicago.

Well, time to get tickets for this year’s EUROBIKE.:sunglasses:

2 Likes

And when they do hear you, they look around to their left, which causes them to veer to the left. Then you have to take evasive action.

Most of them will learn better eventually, but it’s annoying.

I don’t wear a helmet. I don’t even own one. I think they give one a false sense of security, leading to more risk taking. They are also hot, which can be a problem where I live. Heat stroke is a very real danger, too.

2 Likes

You don’t even need to be clumsy to justify wearing a helmet. Accidents can just happen. I’ve lost it on some loose gravel leftover from construction, and also crossing a railroad track that wasn’t perpendicular to the road (should have adjusted my angle of attack). I didn’t end up hitting my head but I could have.

1 Like

Yup.

I’m not sure that’s always true. Maybe in this case or in the case of semi-automatic weapons perhaps.

BMW driver?  

No, IIRC it was some big thing like an older buick, lincoln, or cadillac. I have had a few instances of people trying to deliberately run me over. In my area anyway I never experienced BMW drivers as a group displaying any noteworthy characteristics.

1 Like

I think had a go at it once but you hid in that phone booth :wink:

Also, HOLY CRAP man. People be awful sometimes!

1 Like

Okay. So long as you pass safely. :slight_smile:

1 Like