"Bike Lanes, Intended for Safety, Become Traffic Battlegrounds"

[tromano]

"Ten years later, Mayor Edward I. Koch became frustrated when bike lanes that he had built on main thoroughfares like Fifth Avenue and Broadway, which were separated from motor vehicles by asphalt islands, were criticized by drivers and pedestrians and, even worse, ignored by many cyclists. As a result, he ordered that the islands be removed."

I guess cyclists don't want a lane that is physically separated form cars? Why is that?

[kidwoo]

One more reason, among many, that every cyclist should have one of these:

Please tell me where to purchase this

[Benny Profane]

I guess cyclists don't want a lane that is physically separated form cars? Why is that?

I honestly don't know what they're talking about with that one. I don't know of any "physically separated" bike lanes in Manhattan, at least, before the recent construction of one on Ninth Ave. above 14th St., which I personally find useless - I'll use the west side path if I'm that far west down there.

And sometimes I hate it when they install these things - it somehow makes the drivers even more pissed that I'm out there. More than once I've been raged with some asshole pointing at the path - like, "hey, that's your water fountain, idiot on bike taking up 3 feet of the side of my precious road".

[Andy_B]

Please tell me where to purchase this

Any general hardware store should have them....

Valve stem extenders have them too, sometimes.

[kidwoo]

Any general hardware store should have them....

I live in tahoe. Our hardware stores barely have hardware.


I'll cheks teh napa.

[Nobody Famous]

Amen to Physically Separated Bike Lanes.


Good background info here.

[squatch]

might be a repeat...

[Benny Profane]

Good video. They're right about bike lanes making a city more attractive to live in for many. I would love to live in Denver (a great system of separated trails) just for that reason.

edit: not the one above, the TA video from Nobody Famous post. Just had to point that out.

[Nobody Famous]

Squatch's video is interesting and scary at the same time. What those guys don't have in grey matter they make up for in sheer balls and brawn.

[beaterdit]

Sweet video but that kind of riding is, unfortunately, why so many of those guys get run over and why so many pedestrians and drivers hate cyclists.

[fatman]

In the city it is bad enough when most of the cars are going the same way down the straightaways, but why wait around at an intersection for someone who is not paying attention to run you down. I would much rather take my chances when I am moving and feel it is safe, if I do piss off someone in a car, chances are they were pissed off already and didn't want me on the same road regardless. If you need some pre-ride stoke digave.com has a bunch of bike messenger races if you need to get spooled up for your next urban outing.

[Lonnie]

Sweet video but that kind of riding is, unfortunately, why so many of those guys get run over and why so many pedestrians and drivers hate cyclists.

2nded.....

[squatch]

also i think the guy is smoking crack at the beginning?

[Rontele]

also i think the guy is smoking crack at the beginning?

or some of that green weed.

[squatch]

or some of that green weed.

more probable...although the youtube video said crack.

If it was me and it was weed, I doubt I'd make it very far on that ride.

[truth]

Sweet video but that kind of riding is, unfortunately, why so many of those guys get run over and why so many pedestrians and drivers hate cyclists.

BS...go ride Chicago or NYC. If you're not aggro on the bike you're dead. In Chicago many bike lanes vanish at certain intersections, or better yet, are sandwiched between traffic and bus lanes. It's a full contact sport in the city.

[beaterdit]

BS...go ride Chicago or NYC. If you're not aggro on the bike you're dead. In Chicago many bike lanes vanish at certain intersections, or better yet, are sandwiched between traffic and bus lanes. It's a full contact sport in the city.

Ummm, when you're on bike, "full contact" with 2 tons of steel=death.

[JohnF]

That's from Lucas Brunelle.

More here:
http://www.digave.com/videos/

[truth]

Ummm, when you're on bike, "full contact" with 2 tons of steel=death.

Not if you're doing it right.

[Benny Profane]

Not if you're doing it right.

....werd.

[tromano]

BS...go ride Chicago or NYC. If you're not aggro on the bike you're dead. In Chicago many bike lanes vanish at certain intersections, or better yet, are sandwiched between traffic and bus lanes. It's a full contact sport in the city.

more probable...although the youtube video said crack.

If it was me and it was weed, I doubt I'd make it very far on that ride.

I didn't know you could smoke crack in a rolling paper... Either way, I wouldn't want to be riding like that sober.

[squatch]

I didn't know you could smoke crack in a rolling paper... Either way, I wouldn't want to be riding like that sober.

Really? It looked a lot like a pipe to me. Especially when he put it back in his bag.

[nick > jesus]

looked like pipe to me

[tromano]

I stand corrected. I thought I got a better look than I did. After watching the beginning again, he put it back in a case. So yea it was a pipe.

[Rideski]

The Four Horsemen
by Luke Stiles