New York City vs Cyclists
 

nuts.

:applause:

Hahahahaha. The guy had a good point. And a good point. And a good point.

As I biker, I agree and understand his point fully but to play devil's advocate, there are MANY bikers who feel they can do whatever they want whenever they want, endangering not only them but everyone around them. Bikers have a status of half-pedestrian half-automobile so it is impossible to create a set of rules that actually works so common sense must apply in order to be safe on the roads. Unfortunately, common sense is often subjective, so there will never be full consenus of what should be done in different situations.

Getting back to his point though, unless you have no other choice (construction is the obvious exception), stay out of the goddamn bike lanes.

You want the bicycles to stay out of the bike lanes?

No, cars and other vehicles that shouldn't be there. Bikers get hit every so often, usually nothing serious, from a car swerving into the bike lane.

I thought that was gonna be this:



Crazy.

What? That you can't steer around a big orange barrel? What is the point of a video showing a guy running into things on purpose?

The idea is, if he steers around the barrel, he goes outside the bike lane, and then gets ticketed by the police. But I bet the truth is he was actually stopped by the cop because he was riding on the sidewalk barely dodging pedestrians, or something, and he only came up with his "point" after the fact. If you cleared all of the bike lanes, this guy still wouldn't be riding in them.

I disagree with that last bit. He wants to go as fast as possible. If the bike lanes are empty and safe, he's going to choose them over dodging pedestrians on the sidewalk or cars in the street because he can go faster.

But in the bike lanes, doesn't he in theory have to follow the traffic lights? It would be bike lane for awhile, then up on the sidewalk so he could follow the pedestrian walking lights while his lane is supposed to be stopped, then maybe over into the opposing direction traffic lane so he can weave cleanly around the stopped cars, then back into the bike lane...


Ah, I'm probably judging him too harshly. He gives off a vicious attention-whore vibe, it just rubs me the wrong way.

You're probably not judging him too harshly.

I'm just playing devil's advocate in the imaginary scenario of the bike lane being free. We all know bikes in the busy city maneuver in and around traffic with little regard for the law. Honest bike riders would be squashed in a second. To ride in the city, you have to be a different breed.

Around here there's been a boom in the "pedi-cab" businesses downtown. The big ones can carry 4 people. But New York City probably won't ever be able to really embrace the bicycle like that, with the way their winters get...

Are the pedi-cabs a viable means of transport or a novelty that is likely to disappear? Just asking as I've seen them elsewhere and the only people who used them were the tourists.

I see them every once in a while in Minneapolis. It seems most people that ride in them here have the "Hey, a pedi-cab! That's awesome! Lets go ride in it" mindset. I'm guessing they will always have enough customers to stay afloat for that reason but I don't see the business really expanding. It's not exactly a practical form of transportation around here.

I thought it was just a regular cab where you also got a pedicure.

Yeah, I want some sweaty guy huffing around pulling my fat ass down the street.