urban cycling

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I have been reading the book "the art of urban cycling" by peter hurst and wondered what the user community thought about "vehicular cycling" and what is expressed in the hurst's book... also what kind of things have you changed to make cycling "easier"... for example, rather than trying to make a left turn using a "vehicular" approach, I would go through the intersection to the far side of the
crossing and wait for the green light there and continue on my way... (Hurst recommends that you actually would go to the far side and cross as a pedestrian rather than on your bike...).

i aggree with you if you do it his way you are watching for left turn traffic. ive cycled in metro detroit for years without major incident.keep you eyes and ears on all the time,dont take motorist intentions to do what it appears they should.last but not least beware of all drivers with their hand on their ear,cell phones are my pet peeve and verydistracting.

i spent 4 years cycling year-round in the DC area. Damn if I weren't so effing lazy I shoulda written a book like that.

f*ck

;)

Riots version to urban cycling---Situational Awareness. Always ASSUME the idiot in the car (and especially minivans) will try to kill you. Never assume they will yield. Always ASSUME they do not see you.

minivan comment not intended to be taken totally seriously. :rolleyes:

I really enjoyed Hurst's book...was the first I'd read about on-street riding technique. What I do for left turns depends on the intersection and traffic at the time. If there's a left turn lane that I can get to safely, I prefer that. Otherwise, I do as the original poster describes, but I try to stake out a lane position on the cross street that lets right turners get by, i.e., I don't line up right by the curb, since I intend to go straight (to complete my "turn", if that makes any sense!).

To me, the value in resources like this book is to recognize the range of risks and risk management techniques that are out there, as well as how to choose the appropriate technique for your specific circumstance.

One of the urban cycling techniques that I have yet to decide upon is riding uphill on main roads (3 lanes, 40 mph speed limit) in commercial zones. My city is in a large valley, which means it's virtually impossible to go anywhere without going significantly uphill.

The nice part is that it's easier to ride in 40 mph traffic when you can go downhill, but I'm stuck wondering what to do with the very uphill part. It's three lanes, so there's plenty of room for people to pass, but I still feel intimated by the thought of going 7 or 8 mph uphill. Do any of you seasoned commuters think it might actually be safer to use the sidewalk when going this slow? There are lots of businesses and parking lots to turn into on the sides of the road, which is a concern because of cars pulling out.

I'm with you...even with extra lanes, a big speed difference makes me anxious, esp. with so many drivers paying more attention to their mobile phones than their vehicles. However, I'm also not a fan of sidewalk-riding, both for my safety and out of respect for pedestrians. What I try to do on uphill stretches is to get off of the main roads and ride sidestreets, but I'm not sure that's an option for you, from your description...

One of the urban cycling techniques that I have yet to decide upon is riding uphill on main roads (3 lanes, 40 mph speed limit) in commercial zones. My city is in a large valley, which means it's virtually impossible to go anywhere without going significantly uphill.

The nice part is that it's easier to ride in 40 mph traffic when you can go downhill, but I'm stuck wondering what to do with the very uphill part. It's three lanes, so there's plenty of room for people to pass, but I still feel intimated by the thought of going 7 or 8 mph uphill. Do any of you seasoned commuters think it might actually be safer to use the sidewalk when going this slow? There are lots of businesses and parking lots to turn into on the sides of the road, which is a concern because of cars pulling out.

Screw it man I assume ride on the streets that are there for me and the 2-ton man killing machine. I don't get nervous and I ride safely and don't let them push me off to the side near the curb. I stay within 2.5 feet of the white line and they can go around me! I have done this on a 2 lane highway where it was 45-55 within Raleigh, NC city limits and I was fine. The more aggresseive you ride the less they will bother you. The hills in that town are massive and I went mac 10 mph around em. I had a few rednecks get on my butt too close and a quick flip of the bird and a fast turn around stare did enough to move them along there way around me.

Screw it man I assume ride on the streets that are there for me and the 2-ton man killing machine. I don't get nervous and I ride safely and don't let them push me off to the side near the curb. I stay within 2.5 feet of the white line and they can go around me! I have done this on a 2 lane highway where it was 45-55 within Raleigh, NC city limits and I was fine. The more aggresseive you ride the less they will bother you. The hills in that town are massive and I went mac 10 mph around em. I had a few rednecks get on my butt too close and a quick flip of the bird and a fast turn around stare did enough to move them along there way around me.
I agree with you. In that situation, it is better just to take the lane and have them worry about how to get around you... (especially if there are other lanes...) I don't do much bird flipping, though. So far, people have accomodated me as a vehicle (knock on wood).

I have been reading the book "the art of urban cycling" by peter hurst and wondered what the user community thought about "vehicular cycling" and what is expressed in the hurst's book... also what kind of things have you changed to make cycling "easier"... for example, rather than trying to make a left turn using a "vehicular" approach, I would go through the intersection to the far side of the
crossing and wait for the green light there and continue on my way... (Hurst recommends that you actually would go to the far side and cross as a pedestrian rather than on your bike...).
by the way, my apologies to Mr Hurst, for some reason, I thought his name was Peter, but its Robert.

Recently, I have gotten up the nerve, on my commute, to make a left turn similar to a vehicle (not at an intersection with a light). Before that, I would ride on the right and get off the road to wait until I could cross both lanes.
I thought that crossing 4 lanes of road has to be much more difficult that trying to cross 2... but I also have added a rear "blinkie" that I use even in daytime to help me with fear of being rear ended.

Being aggressive in my riding has saved my sorry butt(I believe anyways)
a few times. I still keep safety a priority but I make sure the idiots in the cars understand that I am not going to be bullied aroundby thier speed and thier motives.

Has anyone here heard of or read the study that wearing a helmet is more dangerous because drivers assume the cyclist is a more profiecient rider therefore the driver can take more risks around the forementioned helemtsless rider?

I don't buy it!? What so you?...

Being aggressive in my riding has saved my sorry butt(I believe anyways)
a few times. I still keep safety a priority but I make sure the idiots in the cars understand that I am not going to be bullied aroundby thier speed and thier motives.

Has anyone here heard of or read the study that wearing a helmet is more dangerous because drivers assume the cyclist is a more profiecient rider therefore the driver can take more risks around the forementioned helemtsless rider?

I don't buy it!? What so you?...
I can't really say one way or the other because there are quite a few that respect how to get around me and it seems like 1 in 10 will buzz by me even with a clear road and no pressure to "get by me"...

Has anyone here heard of or read the study that wearing a helmet is more dangerous because drivers assume the cyclist is a more profiecient rider therefore the driver can take more risks around the forementioned helemtsless rider?

I don't buy it!? What so you?... I wouldn't chance it. I've heard of fatalities from crashes that had nothing to do with cars, which were only fatal because they didn't have a helmet. Smacking my head on a concrete corner does not sound appealing. I read in some other forum that a woman got her front wheel stuck in a grate, causing her entire bike to flip over and smack her head into the pavement. Fortunately, she had a helmet, or it would have been fatal.

Helmets are helpful in other ways, too; I put reflective stickies on mine to be seen better at night.

[Edit: Here's an incredible story about helmets from just a couple weeks ago: http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=133934 ]