Open thread: What's it like out there?
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on July 14th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
(Photo © J. Maus)
As Portland's bike-friendly reputation gets dragged through the mud following two high-profile road rage incidents in a week, I would love to get a better sense of what it's like out on the roads.
I frequently hear about hit-and-runs, near misses, fender-benders, and road rage, and I can't say that I've noticed a big increase lately (although recent headlines would have most people thinking otherwise).
One thing I've heard from more experienced riders is that there are a lot of "newbies" out there right now. I've also heard that people feel inexperienced riders don't alway know the proper road etiquette and/or laws.
I would love to know what your experience has been while riding around the city recently.
Have you felt an increase in stress, anger and contention out there (whether coming from someone on a bike or in a car)? Or has it been (sadly enough) business as usual?
Have you noticed an increase in newbies in the bike lane? If so, do you notice that they are any more or less considerate/law-abiding than experienced riders?
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I can\'t say I\'ve seen a big difference out in the West side. Same amount of near-death experiences...
While I was never a big light-runner, I have been much more self-conscious about following the letter of the law this past week...
--Bill
RecommendedIn the past week I have seen 5 cyclists, in 5 separate instances, riding the wrong way in the bike lanes, two of the instances were on the Hawthorne bridge(not really a bike lane but kind of).
RecommendedI bike commute as well as race, so far the NE/NW commuting seems pretty good. Drivers seem cool and the cyclists seem to be doing fine.
My training rides though... I don\'t think I have ever been honked at, yelled at, and motor-gunned more in my life than I have this last week.
RecommendedI\'ve noticed riders passing me on the left without ringing a bell...especially annoying as I\'m climbing up the Interstate hill with 6 year old on tag-a-long and a Burley trailer attached during rush hour.
RecommendedI have noticed the increase in new inexperienced riders. Either riding on the sidewalk or the wrong way in a bike lane.
I can usually spot the n00bz by their orange safety vests, shiny new commuter bikes and lack of confidence.
RecommendedLots of newbies out there. The day after the fateful O front page, I rode home and saw what were clearly newbie riders in places I\'ve never seen any riders before.
That same day, I made a experiment of following every single traffic law to the letter on my way home. Because the connection to Glisan westbound over the Steel is fubar\'d right now, I had to go blocks out of my way to keep from making an illegal turn onto Glisan. This added about 5 minutes to my ~20 minute commute. I won\'t be doing that again.
Got me thinking that part of the problem with cyclists riding illegally is that often there is no set of laws that can guarantee both legality AND expediency, since the vast majority of roadway design never considered bikes as vehicles. For example - since the Steel lower deck is still open, I take it since it\'s the most direct route home. But when I get to the west side, there\'s no clear connection, so I stitch together my own route alongside train tracks, over curbs and around the Road Closed signs to get to where I need to be. If I wanted to be 100% legal, I\'d go over the Broadway, but who wants to go that far out of the way? Really?
Since there\'s no single code for all situations, many riders just make up their own rules and go about their merry way. All I want to do is get where I\'m going safely AND quickly, and I\'d rather not break any laws on the way. But to do both in a built environment intended for car traffic, a little innocuous lawbreaking is practically required.
RecommendedI can\'t say I\'ve noticed an uptick in newbies. I did have a nice experience, though, that I\'d like to pass along. While on a club ride yesterday with Portland Velo, me and another rider (the rest of the group was aways ahead) stopped at a four-way on Old River Road between Milwaukie and Gladstone to let a van (which had the right-of-way) proceed. As the van moved into the intersection the driver shouted out the window and thanked us for stopping and allowing him to proceed. I think that\'s the first time I\'ve ever had a driver verbally thank me for observing a stop sign.
RecommendedI ride from SE to Milwaukie daily. Previously, 1-2 other bikers is all I would see. As of late I\'ve noticed more riders...today I saw 3 riding the wrong way in a span of less than 1 mile. 2 of these were on the sidewalk. It\'s great that more people are riding-I think.
RecommendedAs I\'ve said in one or two other posts here I recently moved from the Washington DC area so Portland feels Utopian to me! I think Portlanders have quite a bit to be grateful for. That said, the more I ride here, the more I think people (car drivers, bike riders, etc.) are more or less the same everywhere. Most are fine and we barely notice them while the small minority pull out in front of us, run a stop sign, fail to come to a complete stop and so on. This is life. As far as recent riding goes, I did STP this weekend and had a wonderful, incident free ride.
Recommendedon the road, no more idiocy than is usual (behind the wheel or handlebars).
on the train, this morning was the first time on my usual outbound commute that the train has actually been too full of riders w/ bikes for more folks to board. interestingly, this led to a small altercation between a woman trying to get off and an older gentleman (60s) trying to get his bike out of her way. maybe nothing, maybe a sign of things to come.
RecommendedMy take:
NW/Pearl/Downtown/Inner SE: Great experiences. No problems with drivers. Newbie bicyclists are out there and making errors, but I suppose that is to be expected. I welcome the new folks though, except for the ones who don\'t really understand how to ride on the Esplanade and Corridor.
All in all things have been better than I could\'ve hoped for. It\'s been a great summer, great weather, lots of courtesy on the bike paths and streets.
RecommendedMy usual ride from St John\'s to downtown has seen quite a few newbies since summer finally showed up. But even so, I\'m seeing about the same number of people blowing lights or being reckless. Ever since the article came out though, I\'ve been a little on edge worrying that someone driving past me will heckle me, but so far my fears haven\'t been realized at all. No heckling, just good overall ride in.
Recommended\"What\'s it like out there?\"
I\'ll tell ya. Hot and Humid. Everyone\'s pissy and short-tempered. The economy sucks, gas is expensive, and anyone that\'s bought a house in the last 12 months is up side down on their mortgage.
RecommendedI have a 4-6 mile daily commute (yes, even during the wet months ;), mostly on Springwater but with some surface street with a bike lane. I\'ve not noticed anything different, but lately I\'ve felt that where the trail crosses a street the big light trucks (Ram 1500+, F250\'s/F350\'s, etc) and SUV\'s , almost to a \'T\', have been the first to slow & stop at the crosswalk to allow me and other users to proceed.
There\'s that saying that there\'s no bad publicity. I suspect that this issue is like any other \"controversy\": a few vocal proponents one way or the other may give an impression that is not accurate.
If anything I believe that the vast majority of people are decent, and all this bruhaha has only made them more aware for other users of streets & trails.
RecommendedI just got back on my bike after a long period of being too broke to get it repaired enough to be ridden (work lets me ride the bus free), so take my comments for what they\'re worth, but I have noticed a huge number of newbies or inexperienced fair-weather cyclists, mostly all over NE Alberta, being generally safe. Mostly, they seem not to wear helmets or have lights.
I have noticed more stop signs being run, but I can hardly get all upset about that, as I run them myself from time to time.
RecommendedMeh...nothing\'s different.
As usual, the world is made up of 98% good people, 2% d**kheads. If you choose to confront a d**khead, you\'ll wind up in a confrontation and subsequently on the front page of the local newsrag that\'s circling the drain as we speak.
RecommendedBusiness as usual. The vast majority of drivers are great. The few jerks are memorable. Just like cyclists.
RecommendedI rode from Eugene to Veneta (both ways) this weekend. I was pretty nervous, as this was one of my first rides in rural Oregon. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of room every car gave me, and the waves I got from porches. Oregon is great for biking, as far as I can tell!
RecommendedI commute from NE Portland into downtown, riding up and down Williams and Vancouver, respectively.
Morning: I typically am on the road before 7AM and only see two or three riders and hardly any cars. Sometimes I will be waiting at a red light and another cyclist will ride through the light... to each his own. Once on Broadway, some people turn right without looking, but with a little defensive cycling, there really aren\'t any problems. Once I cross Burnside, I merge over to the leftmost lane so I can turn left onto Stark. I signal and look behind me to make eye contact and have yet to have a driver be aggresive at all. I am, however, riding as fast as the car traffic, so I don\'t slow them down at all. Overall, a very plesant experience.
In the afternoon: I ride across the Steel Bridge and through the Rose Quarter Transit Center. I take the legal way and avoid going through \"no bikes\" part of the transit center. I typically like to avoid conflict with busses and other people. I get irritated when other cyclists do it, but more out of jealousy that they are getting away with it. I can\'t wait until Tri-Met makes it Okay to go through there. I see the most people at the intersection of Broadway and Williams, where I have to do a substantial amount of passing other cyclists. There are a lot of slower riders in the bike lane, so to pass, I wait, look behind me, and when it is clear, I pass by taking the lane and getting into the bike lane as fast as possible. I typically ride to the left of the bike lane to avoid getting doored, since, statistically, you are more likely to get doored than run over from behind.
Two to three times a week I witness an impatient driver go into the bike lane to make a right turn onto Fremont/Skidmore/other streets, but I am keeping my eye out, so they are not close calls. When I turn right onto Alberta, I ride pretty quick and people are very respectful of my riding 3-4 feet away from parked cars. I have yet to have someone honk at me.
Overall, my ride is very nice. All it takes is a little patience when you are commuting. As more and more people join to commute by bicycle, we are going to have to be more and more patient with newer riders. We cannot let ourselves become angry with these newer riders because they are our ticket to policy change and support from more of the population.
The only concern I have for the newer riders is some safety issues. I see too many passing in the car lane without looking back, riding too close to car doors, and worst of all, non-defensive driving. Riding a bike for most of your life gives you a sixth sense for anticipating what cars in front of you are going to do, which can help avoid a good amount of accidents. I am absolutely against bicycle licensing, but I would love to see free bicycle safety classes offered for free by the City for new riders. Afterall, the number one reason why people don\'t commute is because they don\'t feel comfortable on the roads.
I hope everyone has a safe commute home today.
RecommendedYeah, there have been loooots of new riders. I haven\'t noticed anything different as far as drivers being more aggressive. Pretty much the same.
I really haven\'t had a lot of close calls and I\'ve been biking (carfree and extremely little dependence on tri-met) in portland for close to 9 years and lots of commuting elsewhere for years before I moved here. So experience definitely counts for something.
RecommendedIf it weren\'t for the Oregonian, I\'d never know there was a war on.
I\'m paying more attention to behavior: are there more jerks than usual? So far seems like the opposite.
I have made a point to wave \"thank you\" whenever I make a maneuver that cuts another vehicle\'s line (changing lanes, taking RoW at a four-way stop etc.), even when I\'m unambiguously entitled. I\'m also trying to say \"on your left\" alla time, I admit I was a little lax on that.
I\'m noticing a lot more novice commuters on my route, which is impressive as my route includes the entire length of Terwilliger. That\'s a 500\' foot climb either way, a pretty serious obstacle for a green cyclist on a mountain bike in street clothes. Many of them ride on the sidewalk, dodging joggers. That seems really unnecessary, Terwilliger is probably the easiest road in town, traffic-wise.
This is all on the westside though. The air is cooler, we get more shade, maybe tempers are lower?
RecommendedI\'ve lived and biked here since 2001. The only thing that is different is that everything is better. The bike infrastructure is better. The awareness of motorists is better. The number of cyclists is better. Heck, even my ability to climb hills has gotten better.
Sure, we have a long way to go and there is room for improvement, but on the whole this is a GREAT place to ride a bike. Don\'t let the media try to convince you otherwise.
RecommendedSeems about the same to me. If anything, I am experiencing less rude drivers.
RecommendedFrom the north William/Vancouver direction, I\'ve noticed lots more riders this year than last. There are quite a few novices, but they\'re pretty easy to spot. I try to give them a little exrta room.
Interestingly enough, the increase in cyclists seems to have come with a decrease in the number of traffic law violations I see by cyclists. More bikes stopping and waiting at traffic lights has led to even more bike stopping and waiting at the lights.
If there is a bike strictly obeying the laws, everyone else seems to as well. I saw more bikes going through the light at Legacy Emmanuel over the winter than I do this summer, even though there are twice as many riders now.
I probably see 75 bikes a day, and 2 maybe 3 of them do something that could get them a traffic ticket.
RecommendedAdding... the novices are doing a really good job, from what I can see. I hope this means they\'re having an easy time of it and will keep riding.
RecommendedOut there? It\'s pretty amazing out there!
I actually have seen an increase in courteous drivers, not that that means the not-so-courteaous has declined entirely, but I swear I have more auto drivers wave me through intersections, pass carefully, etc., than I\'ve ever experienced - in 23 years of bike commuting in Portland
I also beleive that even though there are lots of new riders that they are contributing to a new atmoshpere on the streets. Yes, some of them are not riding safely or legally, but as a whole it is wonderful to have them out there. I love the change that is occuring. I\'m noticing so much more that is good than bad.
I\'m a bit of a Pollyanna but from where I sit I think something really magical is happening. When I ride around town, dispence coffee and repairs on the bridge, or sit at Hoddas and see the parade of cyclists go by on Belmont and 34th, I can\'t help but rejoice. It really is fun to see the variety of bike expression that we have here. Even years ago it was different.
When I recall the days of 15-20 years ago when you were lucky to see another cyclist AT ALL then I am just AMAZED how now it is rare to see as few as one or two bikes on a given route. Do I occasionally have to slow down in a bike lane to wait and pass, yes. Do I benefit from the increased number of cyclists, yes. So, can I exercise a little patience with a newer, slower, faster, or misbehaving cyclist, YES. I think we are really all on the same team.
What saddens me is the need for some to create and feed polarizing behaviors and conversations; the lack of compassion, acceptance, and understanding of the myriad cycling styles that may differ from ones chosen style that is expressed here and in the media - cars vs bikes, slow riders vs fast, fixies vs... I don\'t know who? Gees, I don\'t want to engage in that kind of conversation, and I like to believe that most others don\'t either; we just want to go out and ride our bikes.
So, in summary - I beleive I\'m seeing far more that is good - and I\'d rather focus on that(note: I say focus, not ignore) than focusing on the rarer bad situations such as close calls, rude behavior, mistakes made by novice riders, etc.
Now, I\'m gonna go ride.
RecommendedBusiness as usual in Tigard and Tualatin-- which is to say, I have very few problems with other road users.
I have noticed more bikes than \"normal\", and it\'s always great to see them! Less and less people riding the wrong way in the bike lane, which is nice.
RecommendedCommuting from SE to downtown, I\'ve had no bad experiences with cars since February, when a car ran a stop sign (two way stop) on Lincoln right in front of me. I don\'t think he ever knew I was there and he was long gone before I could pick myself up and think about saying something unkind.
Lots of times cars at 4-way stops will wave me through even though they were there first.
I\'ve almost collided with bikes twice as they were blowing through stop signs without even looking. Both times they apologized and there was no animosity. Both were inexperienced riders and one had her kid in a trailer. It could have been really bad if I\'d been a car.
I see other riders do really stupid things almost every day, but they are a tiny fraction of all the riders I see, and it is often the same idiots I\'ve seen doing stupid things on other days.
Recommendedas someone who commutes on St Helens Rd from Linnton into NW, i like and welcome the growing numbers (newbies or not!) ... more the merrier, dammit! the occasional obnoxious taunts from carloads of rowdies headed to sauvie island is just part of the dealio. all good!!
RecommendedOne of the main reasons I moved away from Portland was my perception (in 2006) that an increasing number of motorheads were willing to threaten or kill bicyclists who got in \"their\" way. Since leaving, I have seen nothing to convince me that my view is inaccurate.
RecommendedThis thread makes me laugh.
I ride all the time, and enjoy every minute of it. In fact, I get to go ride home in about an hour, and am stoked. I cannot fathom hanging up my bike because it was \"too dramatic.\" Weird. Could it ever get that bad? I seriously doubt it.
I used to commute from Holgate to the PDX airport in 1987-1989, up and down SE 39th to NE 41st. As memory serves, hardly anyone commuted by bike. I recall lots of drama, road rage, etc.
Granted, I was in my early 20\'s, and prided myself as some sort of hot-headed vigilante, trolling for drama by yelling at drivers, kicking cars, waving my lock like some sort of raving lunatic...with predictable results.
In other words: I was absolutely looking for drama, and it regularly found me. Not unlike how I lived my life off of the bike, to be absolutely honest.
At issue wasn\'t tensions between autos and bikes along SE 39th; the issue was my atrophied inability to control my temper.
Would you be surprised to learn I was a similarly bad driver during this same period? I was just a hothead.
True, drivers were barely accustomed to a bike commuter, but I certainly didn\'t ease things by rolling around with a giant chip on my shoulder.
I suspect this is what\'s going on for those who constantly speak of all this \"tension,\" because I spend a lot of time on my bike and while close calls do occur....they ALSO occur while driving my car, between automobiles.
In neither case does it necessitate some sort of Incredible Hulk freak out, nor does it ever compel me to act as vigilante.
And seriously....riding bikes in Portland is about as difficult and stressful as napping, compared to how it used to be, and compared to most other cities. I love riding and would never characterize it as scary, etc.
One of the best things ever, next to experiencing the thrill of rain on the face while biking, is sitting in traffic watching some Neanderthal pounding his fist on the dashboard and screaming line a lunatic.
I gain similar pleasure watching fellow bikers freak the hell out over every infraction. I have joked with friends that I want to give these people whistles and signs that say \"I\'M GONNA TELL!!!!!\"
Ok, see? Now I\'m laughing.
RecommendedComing down 14th at Burnside the other night, I saw a car in the bike box. Told the guy about the ghost bike to our right, and what it meant - he said he\'s from Arizona and didn\'t know. He backed up as I asked, and I thanked him, and on we went.
Recommendedknappster:
Where\'d you move to? I\'m curious if you found a better reception elsewhere. My experience is that I feel much safer within the city limits than anywhere else I ride. And it\'s pretty obvious why: the suburbs are organized around the car, so there are never going to be the number of bikes there that there are here. If you\'re in fantastic shape and very dedicated, it may be possible to give up your car and ride everywhere in Beaverton, but in Portland, even a casual rider has that option.
Recommendedsame old, same old...still witnesses nearly dozens of riders blowing through red lights and stop signs on SE Hawthorne, through Ladd\'s and up Harrison daily...
Jonno...no designated laws for cyclists? huh? what the hell are you talking about? they\'re the exact same laws that car drivers have to follow...think what would happen if the same amoutn of drivers drove like cyclists do...into oncoming traffic, with no regard for stop signs, etc...
RecommendedLots of newbies on sections of my NPDX-to-Beaverton commute. They are easy to spot and seem to appreciate the friendly \"Hello\" and ding-ding as I pass. Nice to see them out there.
I have noticed an increase in high-speed riders who blast by with nary a warning particularly in high-bike-traffic areas. Guys, please get a grip, and a bell.
Drivers have generally seemed more considerate lately especially downtown and on the eastside. The westside has its usual crazies.
RecommendedI ride from around 36th and Powell over the Hawthorn bridge into downtown to catch MAX for work.
Lots of newbies. Yes.
The folks who seem to break the laws the most are the \"experienced\" riders. The Lance Armstrong wannabes and many others who clearly should know better. They seem to blow every single stop sign on the road.
You can\'t imagine how surprising/shocking it is to be riding along and making a left onto Clinton from 26th, only to be nearly run over by some freak going like a bat out of hell downhill westbound blow\'n the stop at 30+mph and flip\'n off the cars who honk their horns at him as he screams on by...
RecommendedIt is like people are pissed off because we don\'t pay the high gas prices and they do.
I got my head almost taken off a couple weeks ago because I brought my bicycle onto the MAX. The guy started yelling at me saying there is not enough room, and people are sick of us cyclists.
All of you cyclist out there bashing other cyclist- do you ride because you have to, or choose to? Or are you simply a joy rider that thinks he knows something because he rides when the weather gets nice?
I would encourage you to try it day in and day out and see not only the good (which there are a lot of friendly motorists and cyclists) as well as the bad (there are a lot of those as well.)
RecommendedMore riders for sure... overall but I rode in this morning and things were eerily calm. I actually wondered where everyone was... I\'ve been out-of-state for a week so hadn\'t heard about the incident.
Things I notice: Some riders are terrible about respecting pedestrians on the Hawthorne Bridge and Waterfront. Even at 12 mph: a dinging bell, and screaming \"on your left!\" does not reduce the fear and discomfort of a pedestrian if we pass too close -- or \"buzz\" them. This is be bad for a cyclists reputation.
Some cyclists seem clueless... passing on the right, wearing ipods in traffic, the downtown sidewalks, wrong side of the road, etc.
I confront while riding - though gently - most cyclists are appreciative when you tell them they are doing something that could lead to getting ticketing... or worse.
My biggest: Ladd Circle. I stop at the STOP sign while most others use the stop as an opportunity to pass me. I usually just say \"242\" which stands for the dollar amount of the ticket they could get. Odd looks.
Then I pray they take my cutoff to SE Lincoln because I am now going to embarass this scofflaw on the hill.
Portland is one of the best places to ride in the US - no question - but dang, do we take ourselves too seriously or what???
Ride with a smile. Thank courteous drivers and ride by example folks!
Recommendedlots of newbs out for teh summer, cant wait until winter when the real commuters are the only ones out there. other than that? well i adjusted to a new work schedule so im not seeing the regulars out there. i do see alot of sidewalk riders out now.
RecommendedThis morning on the Broadway bridge I saw two cyclists crash into each other as one was riding in the wrong direction and their handlebars caught each other on the pass.
One rider was clearly experienced and going in the right direction, heading downtown, the other was inexperienced (no helmet, heading east).
The experienced rider flew over her handlebars, but got back up quickly before more bike traffic caught up. The noob apologized profusely.
It all happened and was over very fast.
Recommendedbahuleh:
How many times do we have to have this discussion? In fact, you\'ll find that motorists are just as contemptuous of the traffic laws as cyclists; they just tend to break different ones. On some stretches of road, something like 85% of drivers are speeding. They also blow a lot of stop signs, and they\'re not opposed to going the wrong way now and then. But it\'s mostly speeding. You know why? Ask someone why he thinks it\'s ok to go 50 in a 35 zone, and he\'ll say he thinks it\'s safe enough, just like the cyclist who says he can see that no one\'s coming the other way at that four-way stop. It\'s not a coincidence.
Recommendedi don\'t experience these kinds of things, but then i don\'t bike or drive like a jerk, and i don\'t shout obscenities at people who do. and when the occasional driver sees fit to shout at me, i pity his fat ass and keep on bikin\'.
RecommendedIn regards to comments about Newbies, I can understand that those of us who ride year-long can snicker a bit at the first hint of sun which brings out the \"fair weather riders\".
However -- newbie or not, I really must be honest and say that I am not impressed with negative comments from the more seasoned riders when I know that many a morning while riding to work (or wherever), it always saddens me when an obviously advanced rider zips past me on my left (oftentimes within inches of me) without ever issuing any verbal warnings.
Of course, we are not required to provide audible warnings to other cyclists (only to ped\'s if we\'re on the sidewalk is it req\'d by law), but when I hear complaints about how hostile the road is, I have to wonder how much better we could make it for ourselves with simple communication and (gasp) maybe even a greeting to the fellow traveler on wheels.
We cannot depend on or force drivers to start accepting us as legitimate traffic. However, we can create this space for ourselves, with each other.
In the spirit of kindness and compassion towards others on the road (such as the newcomer driver from Arizona), I ask why there is such a strong impression of elitism in some bicycling circles?
Can we not abandon the competitive spirit which has created this sense of detachment and hyperindividualism in america and join in the spirit of welcoming and guiding (when requested) those who join our ranks?
RecommendedI always make sure to yell at cyclists going the wrong way in the bike lane, but yesterday, I saw a dirt bike going the wrong way in the bike lane! Mind you this was up in Vancouver, but I was about to call the cops, as the guy could easily have been drunk. Either that, or just plain dumb.
RecommendedI\'ll admit to feeling a little trepidation when I went out for recreational rides on Friday and Saturday, but it was for nought. Everything seemed normal, no conflicts with other road users. I was courteous and friendly to motorists and received the same in return. Extra thanks to the guy in the SUV who waved me ahead at the stop sign on NW Lovejoy where it starts getting steeper, nice not to have to put my foot down.
RecommendedThat said, I gotta agree with the earlier poster who says he gets more grief on training rides than commuting. I\'m not saying it happens very often, but about the only time I\'m harassed is out on the rural roads west of town. I hope all those people who think slow-moving bikes don\'t belong on rural roads get stuck daily behind tractors pulling loads of manure. I\'ve also noticed that out in \"real\" rural areas far from PDX (e.g. Steens) motorists are very friendly and courteous.
So, all in all, I think The Oregonian is full of shit. The only conflict out there is the one they are desperately trying to manufacture. Shameful.
Anyway, did anyone notice the awesome signs all along Lincoln from 60th to 50th or so last weekend? These were temporary signs stuck in the parking strips of people\'s yards that said \"Share the Road\" and a couple of variants of good advice underneath, like \"slow down - set the pace\" and \"Pass safely\" and \"Watch for kids.\"
We need more of these!
RecommendedSpeaking re the westside experience, I think that motorists by and large have gotten much more thoughtful over the last eight or ten months. The ones who are still driving dangerously really scare me though; it seems like this group is overrepresented by little old ladies and tobacco-chewers in pickup trucks.
I do see quite a few riders who are obviously very new (no helmet, denim pants in 90 degree heat, that sort of thing). They haven\'t seemed particularly clueless or dangerous.
RecommendedI was just having this same conversation with a friend and fellow bike commuter last Friday. We actually both agreed that, on the west-side, drivers, for some unknown reason, seem to be more courteous and respectful than in the past. There\'s still plenty of folks who aren\'t really paying attention, but it is better than it has ever been with less intentional aggression than in years past. I\'ve also mellowed quite a bit lately too, meaning that I don\'t get enraged when someone inadvertently cuts me off. I just ride more carefully through congested areas where this is likely to happen so that I\'m prepared to deal with it when it does. And, frankly, I find riding in the west-side burbs to be as or more comfortable then riding anywhere downtown (which I usually only do on weekends). I\'ve also noticed significantly more commuters lately out here, both roadies like myself, and casual riders. Sometimes there as many as *four* other bikes waiting at a stop light with me. It\'s nice.
Recommendedtoddistic:
I can\'t wait until everyone commutes by bike year round! Maybe then we will see some streets turned into \"bike only\" boulevards.
RecommendedGreat. Yet another bike vs car incident (50th and Lincoln, cyclist in bad shape)
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Blog?blog=41935&oid=842029
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_071408_news_bicyclist_hit_car_collision_.56747088.html
Be careful out there
RecommendedBahueh #34 -
Thanks for completely misunderstanding me, and for helping make my point. No, I\'m not saying it\'s ok to run stop signs and red lights.
Yes, there\'s the highway code, which I follow until...it no longer makes sense when I went to get there safely AND quickly.
And do highway laws apply only on public roads? Then what about bike paths? People just tend to go their own way, which seems to work most of the time.
My case in point -- the west end of the Steel bridge. In order to quickly connect to westbound Glisan, I have to break a law. A minor law, mind you. Nobody took into account that bikes may use the Steel to actually get somewhere, so they didn\'t set up a quick, clearly signed and legal connection. Following the highway code made my commute 25% longer and highly confusing. Who\'s going to do that? And my scofflaw days are behind me (mostly).
It\'s the connections between roads and non-roads (paths/sidewalks/etc.) that I\'m talking about, where there is no uniform set of rules.
RecommendedMore bad news. There was a car-bike collision this afternoon @ 50th and Lincoln and the cyclist is at OHSU.
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_071408_news_bicyclist_hit_car_collision_.56747088.html?npc
RecommendedI\'ve had two near misses since January, they were both cyclists bombing down Spokane, blowing a stop sign, on their way onto the Springwater trail. Car drivers, especially at that intersection, have been courteous almost to a fault (I try to make a point of stopping at 4 way stops so that people in cars don\'t get the impression that all cyclists are scofflaws, but the people in cars almost always wave me through).
Portland\'s low speed limits downtown, along with all of the bike infrastructure, has to make it one of the safest cities to commute in in the US. Downtown drivers don\'t get exasperated by cyclists because, for the most part, they\'re moving at the 12-15 mph that the lights are timed at. It has been 10 years since I was treated with any hostility while riding my bike in Portland, and despite what the newspapers say, I don\'t see anything different now than I have for the last few years. I\'d wager that cyclists in Chicago, San Francisco, or Denver would love to have what we have here.
RecommendedI find drivers watching out and generally being nicer than I would expect. Sometimes too nice; I wish they\'d just pass me and get where I can see them. There are more riders, definitely. Sometimes Williams in the afternoon can get a little crowded. I haven\'t witnessed much in the way of bad newbie riding behavior. My main peeve is being passed closely without warning and cyclists failing to yield right of way at stops to other cyclists.
RecommendedAnother west sider here. The summer always gets more calm over here because schools out. My only traffic problems have been with high school kids driving too fast and too close or moms/dads in a hurry to get the kids to school. It\'s like my own summer vacation from them. Otherwise I have been getting cars stopping and waving me through at intersections and people being very polite.
RecommendedMan, there are a lot, a lot, a LOT of bicycles out there. It\'s rad. People are looking right before turning right, and they\'d never have done that in my non-biking hometown. Every time I go out I find another of those stop-here markings for triggering green lights. There are definitely some places where we might benefit from spreading out the bike traffic a bit -- the sheer concentration of bikes on Broadway and Williams at rush hour can take some of the relaxation out of the ride -- but, hell, I\'ll still take more bikes over more cars.
One thing that fascinates me about the huge population that\'s out riding now is how much we think we know folks by the bikes they ride. If I\'m on my old hot-pink Hard Rock, folks creep ahead of me while we\'re waiting at stoplights and then look startled when I pass them later. Then when I\'m on my nice roadbike I catch myself doing it too -- I\'ll pass the girl in khakis on the shiny new Townie because I think she\'s not going anywhere fast, only to realize I\'ve overextended myself to pass her and she\'s about to totally smoke me.
It makes me want to get a bunch of super-conditioned bike racers out on the roads in street clothes and comfort bikes. I bet it would do wonders for our road-sharing skills.
RecommendedAs for the close calls, I have found that I simply quit counting them due to the frequency in which they happen. Though I do contribute this to the me being more aware of my surroundings and actively avoiding dangerous situations.
Some of my worst experiences with motor vehicle operators have been when I was living in the inner SE and rode on Clinton. Now that I am back in the NE and take VancouverWilliams every day things are pretty chill till turn on to Broadway. Then their are a lot more bikes and sometimes people do whiz by on the Broadway bridge. I do see more bicycle riders that seem aloof with Ipod ear buds on wearing very hip clothing and perfect-ster hair due to lack of a helmet.
One nice thing is that on Downtown Broadway I have not been hit this year by someone turning in front of me in the bike lane. More so, operators of motor vehicles do seem to be more aware of the bike lane and are yielding more.
I work Downtown in the Fox Tower and the bike locker room is packed. Which it was not last year. Also, I know a few people who have started to become bike commuters who ask me advice about riding. Even more interesting many co-workers who do not bike will stop by my office and ask me bicycle policy questions or clarifications of laws.
My hypothesis is that a new segment of the population is starting to ride bicycles for utilitarian means; most likely for economical (and not environmental) reasons. It will take new riders some time and a few close calls (like it took me) to become acculturated to the nuances (bell, signaling) and safety equipment (helmets, lights).
Though this could be a wonderful opportunity for the existing bike community to welcome new riders by sharing stories (in a non-criticizing manor) and experiences.
Recommendedhaha yeah. I love the misconception that if you\'re riding in blue jeans without a helmet that you\'re new. I guess 7 years = newbie ;p~
RecommendedRe #36: In my experience, the behavior of the Lance wanna-be\'s (but never gonna-be\'s, and I\'m one of them) in the west-side burbs is completely different than you are experiencing. If you blow an intersection on Murray or TV highway you\'ll probably end up dead. I very rarely see roadies, or any other riders, blow reds on the main arteries where I prefer to ride (because the block are long and I can ride fast with fewer stop signs and stop lights to worry about). Get into the neighborhoods, and everything changes. It\'s total anarchy. No one can be trusted to obey the rules of the road...drivers or riders.
RecommendedI\'ve encountered much more courtesy than anything else while riding. In fact, any (minor) problems are usually due to people being too courteous. The other day, I was patiently waiting at a stop sign (is there ever a need to hurry when you\'re on a pleasant bike ride?) and a car stopped so suddenly to let me cross that it almost caused an accident. What made it worse is that it was a four lane road and so I still had to wait for other cars to clear our anyway. There have been many other instances where people try to waive me through lights or multi-lane traffic.
I appreciate the good intentions of anyone who is trying to be courteous, regardless of situation. I think this just speaks to a lack of understanding on how to share the road. For sure, this is a much smaller issue than angry commuters, but I would hate to see something bad happen because someone was being nice and didn\'t know better.
RecommendedI\'ll second Fred\'s comments about school being out. School zones scare the living daylights out of me. I go out of my way to avoid them at all cost when in season. I\'ll take rush hour traffic any day over an active school zone. :)
RecommendedOh, and:
I dearly want for there to be a hand signal for \"my bad\". We all goof sometimes, and I\'d like to be able to communicate to people around me that, e.g., I\'m not being a jerk, I\'m just on an unfamiliar street and didn\'t notice the signage in time and won\'t do it again. It\'s kind of a complicated sentiment to try to get across verbally.
RecommendedIt\'s really hot right now
Recommendedas for today\'s collisions on SE Lincoln and 50th....not surprising from what I\'ve seen from riders in that neighborhood...sad, but not surprising. that may be part of your answer Jonathan...the increase in summer commuters is making things a bit dicey out there at peak times..
Jonno...with a little clarification, yes, I see where you\'re coming from. there are connectivity issues in many parts of town....some are temporary and caused by construction contractors...some are bad past urban planning...but, as I see it, the benefet of riding is that I can adjust my path in small ways and not lose too much time...5 minutes? come on....
Recommendedbahueh (# 63), do you have some specific information about the collision?
RecommendedI ride regularly in outer SE. 39th to 92nd, Flavel to Division area.
Have been pleasantly surprised most times. If a car is blocking the crosswalk or edging over the sidewalk and see\'s me coming, 4 out of 5 will express an apologetic look, or will back up.
One caveat. I rarely ride in the street. Only when there is next to no traffic. Otherwise, I stick to sidewalks (at a reasonable pace, always on the lookout for pedestrians) or quiet off-streets. Even then, I pull onto a sidewalk when a car approaches.
I take no chances, and assume every driver is drunk or not paying attention until proven otherwise. That\'s my approach to driving a car as well.
RecommendedA lot of my friends have approached me and asked me to help them become a bike commuter, and I\'ve noticed a lot of new bikers in general. Cars have been slightly more polite since the articles broke last week, but I think it\'s basically business as usual out there, but with about twice as many bikers as usual.
Yesterday I did witness a guy stumble out of a bar (at noon), hop onto his bike and proceed in the wrong lane down Burnside as he yelled and flipped off the cars who were swerving out of the way to avoid killing him...but that\'s more of an interesting incident than a pattern.
RecommendedI\'ve been blessed to have safe riding areas and not too many close calls (and no crashes, knock on wood). Drivers in general are courteous but less at rush hour, when many are talking on phones. My impression is they\'re quite afraid of hitting cyclists, more so lately.
ONLY in the past year have drivers rolled down the window to strike up a chat about biking, and these days I\'m rarely chastised (the waving finger, like I\'m a child) or yelled at (ride on the sidewalk, get off the road, you think you own it, etc). In the past few months I\'ve had maybe 1 to 2 chats a day either with cyclists on the road proclaiming they\'re just getting into it or with people seeking advice on bikes and riding. I usually recommend Ray Thomas\' class to the former group.
I\'ve noticed when it\'s hot (as Morgan notes) tempers flare more, and I\'ve also noticed people drive a little crazier around full moons, for what that\'s worth.
RecommendedFellow cyclist: When I am sailing towards you down a hill please do not take a right turn into the bike lane right in my path at slow speed. Wait for me to pass. Common sense.
RecommendedI find the issue of \"Newbies\" and \"Fairweather Riders\" a bit interesting. I\'ve been riding as a Portland commuter since 1984. Back then, I was pretty much the only other commuter I\'d see most days.
So petty much everybody seems like a newbie to me.
On the issue of bells and overtakes, I believe I\'ve stated my opinions before. No bell will ever sully my bars. And you\'ll pardon me if I give you a \"I know you\'re back there, enough ringing already\" look as you tootle by me on the waterfront. Keep your head on a swivel and use the force, Luke. You should know if someone\'s on your six and what their overtake is. You\'re bound to be surprised if you\'re not paying attention. Otherwise, hold your line and there\'ll be no trouble.
Plus for can\'t wait till the RQ mess get\'s a painted line fix.
Other than that, business as usual for me these days. Which is to say a helleva lot better than 1984.
Recommendedattitudes have been great everywhere I\'ve been this week. i live NW and never experienced much animosity. This winter I felt like drivers had less patientce with me on the rainy cold days, then on the sunny ones. It seems like sometimes on a nice sunny day divers see you and think \"what a nice day for a ride, I wish I was riding\", but on cold days its more like \"what\'s this asshole doing out today?\". I\'m sure most of this is in my head.
regarding bicycles, the only thing that really kind of miffs me is when I see bikes traveling really fast on the espanade. There are just too many pedestrians most of the time.
RecommendedI\'ve noticed the usual influx of fairweather-cyclists, but most are slower and more cautious than the year-round commuters anyway. Drivers have generally seemed courteous recently (aside from the asshat delivery driver who after trying to run me into some parked cars, yelled at me for being in the left lane—rather than the bike lane—heading up SW Broadway when I was turning left at the next intersection).
That said, I seem to be having even more near-miss incidents with seemingly experienced cyclists (expensive but well-worn bikes and gear, clipless pedals, fixed-gears, etc.). I\'m usually commuting in inner-SE and frequently see cyclists pulling into oncoming traffic to pass several cars at once at four-way stops, blowing red lights without even a glance to see if there\'s oncoming traffic (or, more often, looking and staring down the oncoming car or cyclist and daring them to hit him), cutting through parking lots and not looking as they re-enter traffic, etc. Called one douchebag on it and got punched in the arm for my troubles (as he blew by me through another stop causing two cars to slam on their brakes and screech to a halt).
Asshat move of the year, though, goes to a skateboarder heading down the median of Hawthorne for several blocks between 34th and 28th, in the middle of a TON of rush hour traffic. Oh, and he was talking on his cell phone.
RecommendedI commute about 75 miles a week by bike and I have about one fairly near miss per month. They appear to be almost always accidental. I have not noticed any increase or decrease over the long term in such near misses.
However, I noticed that right after that article in the Oregonian last week about the biker attacking a driver, I had an abnormally high number of drivers give me a wider berth, give me right of way when I didn\'t have it per traffic laws, and behave especially courteous. I don\'t think they feared an attack. On the contrary. Drivers\' biggest fear around bikers is that they will accidentally hit them. I think that fear is the source of most of their anger. The vast majority of drivers want to share the road safely with bikers.
RecommendedWhat it feels like to me, more than anything else, is a sense of hopelessness while riding my bike.
It feels hopeless because I know if a motorist cuts me off on a traffic circle, blows past me at 48 miles per hour on a bike boulevard, or otherwise drives in a dangerous manner around me when I am on my bike, there is nothing I can do about it. I can get the license plate, call the police... and there\'s nothing THEY can do about it.
In other countries, the police have the resources to follow up on complaints of bad driving. Example - when I was in Germany staying with a friend, I once opened the door to find two police officers on the doorstep. They had PERSONALLY come to talk to my friend, after she apparently made an illegal turn in the road the previous day before, and a citizen reported it. That would NEVER happen here in the States.
And because it will never happen, cyclists feel this sense of hopelessness that motorists can do anything they like pretty much, and get away with it scott free, whether you get their license plate or not.
And that\'s when people start to take things into their own hands, as we have seen this week.
RecommendedI have to echo a lot of the comments that I\'ve read here. I commute primarily in the SE every day and have started to notice more riders on the roads (although I\'m guessing that has had more to do with the weather than anything...). Still get the motor-gunning passes from some hot-head about once or twice a week, but mostly drivers are pretty courteous. I have found that most of my near misses come from what appear to be the \"more experienced cyclists\", whatever that means. Stop sign blowing/Red light blowing, pulling up on the left even when a car is signaling a turn to the left, no lights... etc. Most memorable is the gentleman that almost took me out from the side as he blew the red light at Glisan and 28th (3 cars waiting patiently for it to change that he flew past on the left) who, in response to my \"Red Light!\" shouted, \"Nice helmet, b!*@h!\" Very, very classy. It would be nice to see some of that behavior reined in a bit.
RecommendedI haven\'t been riding at all for about a month because I got hit by a pick-up truck in broad daylight while crossing NE Fremont at 57th on a green light (the driver failed to yield and turned left into me) and broke my collarbone.
Then last week my boyfriend got dragged under a van for about forty feet. His bike is destroyed but he\'s okay, miraculously. The driver abandoned his vehicle and ran off and the cops are pretty sure he was drunk. My boyfriend and I are both safe, defensive cyclists who ride with lights and helmets and all that.
Still... I can\'t wait to get back on my bike...
RecommendedEver since the young woman was killed by the cement truck, it has seemed like many drivers are more aware. As far as new riders, I am now as scared of bad drivers as I am of bad cyclists. And there isn\'t any one profile for the bad cyclists; young, old, male, female, lycra, jeans.
One thing I have noticed is how many cyclists do not slow down by OMSI when there are kids present. The first time a kid gets hurt by a speeding cyclist will be a big blow to the bike community.
RecommendedI guess you could call me a newbie and a fair-weather rider, but I\'m having an awesome time out there. Everybody is nice and respects me as long as I am aware and considerate.
Enough of this and maybe soon I\'ll be a \"real\" cyclist like the rest of you!
RecommendedI love how your defense is the Oregonian and local media is blowing the incident out of porportion. This is an issue that has needed some light shed on it for years. I respect most bike commuters - the ones that wear helmets and obey the rules of the road. Unfortunately you all are associated with this rogue contingent. You know, the idiots who don\'t wear helmets, run stop signs/ lights, have many tattoos (sometimes dreadlocks too), ride barefoot and think they are oh, so cool and indie. Just today I was almost hit by a guy riding a bike (with kids in tow) while I was walking my dog on the right hand side of the street. That\'s right, hipster boy was riding on the sidewalk against traffic. That\'s how it\'s really like out there, Pal. The recent incidents have inspired me to copyright the term \"Critical Masshole\", which is what most of you are.
Recommendedpeejay (#33), I moved to Corvallis. In some ways, it\'s no better here than in other cancer clusters of the car culture, but it was a marginal improvement.
In particular, the scale of the place is much smaller and convivial. There are no giant traffic sewers (a.k.a. \"highways\") slicing through the landscape, and there are no suburbs.
RecommendedMark (#79) your indictment of bicyclists and stereotyping (as indicated by your final sentance) is no more accurate than for me to claim that \"all dog owners let there dogs poop on wherever they choose and never clean up.\" I\'ll bet you clean up after your dog, but you know that others don\'t, at least on occasion. How about avoiding the unwarranted stereotyping and giving credit where credit is due? It\'s all about that small fraction who are inconsiderate ruining it for the majority. Sorry about your run-in with the idiot on the sidewalk. By the way, I obey the traffic laws and clean up after my dog.
RecommendedI commute from SE Lincoln & 42nd in SE Portland to Intel Jones Farm (near Hillsboro Airport). Sometimes I will ride the whole 23 miles by bike; other times I will ride downtown and take the MAX.
When I take the Max home from Hillsboro, I ride the bike from Intel to the end of the line (Hatfield) and I always get a hook.
I leave at about 5 AM from SE Portland and arrive at work at about 7 to 7:30 AM.
I leave work at about 5 PM and arrive at home at about 8 PM after a stop at People\'s Coop near 20th & Powell.
Here is what I have observed:
I have seen no change in the morning. I do not notice much of any of whom you call newbies. I also do not notice much of any altercations between bikes, cars, etc. Perhaps it\'s because it\'s 5 AM when I leave and I start pedaling up Montgomery or Vista at about 5:30 AM.
The few bicyclists that I see do either nod or wave in responst to my greeting.
The few motorists that I encounter are fine. I never had any problems with them.
Once I reach Baseline in Beaverton by the Nike campus, I might encounter a few wrong way bicyclists.
Those wrong way bicyclists out there seem to be predominently those out there collecting cans and bottles. Many of them are carrying more bagage than my entire family caried when we went camping during my childhood vacations.
Those, I think, are going the wrong way because they are in a hurry to the next recycling container to gather up more bottles anhttp://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid57628.aspd cans to take to the machine at Fred Meyer.
In the afternoon, I leave the office in Hillsboro at 5 PM, which puts me in downtown Portland at about 6:30 or so (6 or so if I take the MAX). This is too late for many bike commuters; therefore the downtown has been eerily quiet, if not actualy deserted when I get there. I have had absolutely no problems nor have I witnessed anything at all downtown.
When I ride all the way home, I celibrate going down the long hill (usualy Vista) by loudly singing songs as I make them up. This as rewarded me with interesting stares by other bicyclists, pedestrians, and sometimes drivers, but no animosity.
In the dark of winter, when I have the LED\'s and lights on and I am singing, I can really see peoples eyes bulge out as they drive/cycle/or walk past me, but absolutely no anger or agression.
By the way, on the west side (Hillsbors, Beaverton, etc) bicyclists seem to be quite mindful of the traffic lights.
When I cross the Hawthorne bridge is when I start to run into some more bicyclists and observe some stupidity.
One fellow got a little irked when I actually stopped at the light at the foot of the easter end of the Hawthorne Bridge.
Crossing through Ladds, I seem to be only one slowing down for the stop signs on some of the afternoons.
In the evening, I have seen many cyclists without lights in Portland.
In Hillsboro and Beaverton, however, most bicyclists are using lights in the dark. Perhaps enforcement is better out there?
I have never been hassled by police or Tri Met fare inspectors or anyone else through the years that I have been bicycling.
I can perhaps count on my fingers the number of times that drivers have done anything agressive or threatening to me in the last 10 years.
About the worst danger is when I have all of my lights on at Christmas, drivers would steer closer to me so they or their children can get a closer look.
I only had something thrown at me once in my whole life. That was a tape cassette thrown by a drunk in Seattle in 2000. By the way, I still have that tape cassette and I use it to record my nightly dreams as part of dream therapy.
Luv
Mark Allyn
Recommendedwhile riding along ainsworth going
Recommendedeast to 33rd cars were passing at an
easy pace allowing plenty of room
for me to enjoy the patches of early
afternoon shade. no complaints today.
First of all, I am not the same guy as #81, John R. Maybe you could use a last name or else another nickname because this is actually my name. I hope I\'m not coming off like and angry driver ;-).
Anyway, today I took a nice ride out towards Battle Ground on some of the thankfully non-suburbanized roads (Can we please get an enforceable UGB out here?). Even on these narrow roads, nearly every driver was courteous enough to pass safely. For the 3/4th of a mile that I was on SR 503, however, one woman in an SUV was kind enough to share with me (or yell out of the window) that I should ride on the sidewalk. I replied that she should get out of her car and try it sometime. Once in Salmon Creek (I mean, seriously, how big can they make those intersections?!) the NW winds were favorable for my return, so I just took I-205, which, by the way, is legal from SR 14 (first interchange off of the bridge) north.
Thanks to the winds and the lack of stops, I was able to maintain anywhere from 20 to 40 mph depending on the grade. Safely crossing on and off ramps, I didn\'t have any problems until I got to Mill Plain. After I had already safely crossed the off ramp, a middle-aged man in a small truck decided to try harass me off of the road, yelling obscenities at me and flipping me the bird. Serves him right, I called the cops on him.
On a flyover ramp to SR 14, I was able to keep up with the cars getting off of the bridge, getting me a few double takes when people were merging. It wasn\'t until I was exiting the freeway that a pickup truck was kind enough to wail on the horn as they sped past me.
Notice any pattern with these road ragers? I don\'t think bikes are the problem. It\'s obviously middle-aged people driving SUVs and pickup trucks that they don\'t need. Just an observation. Other than that, some people were so courteous that I felt like sending them a thank you card stuffed full of cash.
P.S.: Forums are back! Thank you Jonathan.
Recommendedstacia, i\'m so glad you and your boyfriend are okay! hope your collarbone\'s good as new soon.
regarding the newbies noted by several other commenters, i stopped noticing how many (many!) new cyclists there were a couple years ago, but every one of them is one less car to break your collarbone making an illegal left, so a hearty welcome to all.
mark allyn, i crossed paths with you or someone like you singing a charming ditty about his bicycle around s.e. grant and 30th last week. awesome!
RecommendedJohn R. (#81)
RecommendedThat last sentence was written in the heat of the moment and I do not believe that term is appropriate to most of. I definitely also used unfair stereotypes - but so do many others here - by the way, I\'m a middle-aged SUV driver who is very respectful of cyclist...when respect is mutual. It comes from frustration. I am fearful of hitting a cyclist when I\'m driving, and I\'m fearful of being hit when I\'m a pedestrian.
The news from Texas is also heartening, I see many more (sometimes as many as 5 in one day) bike commuters now than before, I see much less aggression on the roads than before (I used to average one assault a month, now I can ride for weeks and never even get honked at).
It\'s a nationwide thing...
RecommendedAs a bonafide \"newbie\" (2 weeks fresh, commuting from NE Portland to downtown), I\'m finding that my biking experience is much like my driving or Tri-Met commute... I need to be mindful of traffic, be predictable, always defensive, and just take it easy. Just cause I\'m a newbie it doesn\'t mean I don\'t get it. And not to get all hakuna-matata on ya\'ll, but I LOVE being on my bike, I\'m grateful to live in a city where commuting to work on my bike is even possible. Riding thru the streets of Irvington and over the Steel Bridge in the morning is a real joy, I\'m happy to have the experience.
RecommendedThe two Marks (79 and 82) have illustrated very good points. First, most riders do a great job of looking out for themselves while riding smart. Being a Westside suburban commuter myself, I have to agree that riders out this way handle themselves better, obey the laws more, and practice better habits more consistently. I\'m not sure why but perhaps age, affluence, and life position (families, careers - something to live for) fuel that. In any event, the drivers out here seem to appreciate it and I have had very little trouble out here in exciting and vibrant Washington County.
The two wheeled jerk brigade seems pretty confined to the city. Their numbers are small in comparison to the total bike population but my observations are that they are young, self-absorbed, and think of themselves as some sort of activist / eco-warrior / politically oppressed / performance artist / social revolutionary. Or an underemployed barista / retail clerk with $100K in student loans and no career prospects that moved to Portland because every rag in America has our \'burg on their \"It\" lists and arrived to find no work in their degree field.
I doubt these folks actually enjoy riding a bike. I think that it is largely a cheap form of transport masquerading as a fashion statement. Indie cred if you will. Lacking any other ideals and suffering through their 20-something angst, they see riding a bike (a proper recycled fixed gear steed mind you) as their way of \"sticking it to The Man\". This may also explain their need to disobey traffic laws, provoke confrontations with cops / drivers / pedestrians and loudly boast and defend their oh so cool sustainable guerrilla lifestyle. They will largely disappear when some other transport device becomes the new fixie, they sell out, er, get a real job, or the combination of karma and Darwinian theory eliminates them from the gene pool.
Good night. I really must retire to the garage to lube my spendy corporate made roadbike for tomorrow\'s 60 miles of low cost, high aerobic value joy.
RecommendedI was both a driver and a cyclist on the road today. As a driver I stopped to let a cyclist cross on a bike route and slowed down for cylcists riding next to me. As a cyclist I experienced a lot of the same courtesy from drivers. A lot of bikers out there, made me very happy.
RecommendedI\'ve been commuting/riding for pleasure on a daily basis for 4 years. Got hit by a car for the first time a few weeks ago. It will be a while until I can ride again, but the wait will make it that much more amazing.
It can be dangerous out there, but the simple pleasure that cycling provides is worth the risk. I just wish more drivers realized what is at stake for us as cyclists every time they pull a risky move or don\'t pay close attention to their surroundings.
RecommendedI commute in far outer SE, pretty much Gresham. I see about the same amount of unsafe riding being done by people on bikes. I have indeed noticed an increase in close calls within the past week. Three in one day, which is a lot for my 8 mile a day commute. This part of town needs more low volume bike boulevards. Powell is a direct route for me but not very pleasant.
RecommendedBrad,
RecommendedVery, very well said. The wanna-anarchists are the cicylist I most encounter living in the Clinton area of SE Portland. I know these people are not the best representation for the community as a whole. My main issue with these individuals is based more on being a pedestrian and not a motorist - of course, I work from home and drive minimally. It\'s difficult for all of us to be safe when there are rampant rule breakers out there. I don\'t know what the solution is. Asking cycilists to police there own is like asking motorist to do the same - ain\'t gonna happen. Why is it when you accidentally bump into someone on a street or in the mall, etc., you casually apologize and go on your way. But if some minor altercation occurs on the road, be it bike, car, pedestrian, we all go crazy and threaten to kill each other? I\'m guilty of it and I guess the best part of this recent awareness, for me, is that I will be more concious of the consequences. Let\'s just all try to respect each other.
Today a driver thanked me for \"doing that the right way\" re: 7th & Hawthorne intersection coming out of downtown. I couldn\'t get left on Hawthorne so I did the hop across the intersection and wait at the light on 7th. Is there really a \"right\" way to deal with this intersection if you turn North onto 7th from Hawthorne?
Also this morning I had a close call with a lady on a nice shiny new moped who must have misjudged my speed as I headed down Salmon and she turned onto it--directly in front of me. There are new bicyclists, new scooter and moped drivers, too!
RecommendedMy wife and I were yelled at by some big fat lady in a van the other night. I still love riding, it\'s awesome.
Recommended#47. just because I\'m wearing jeans and don\'t have a helmet on doesn\'t make me a newbie, dude. way to jump to conclusions, welcome to the interwebs!
RecommendedThere\'s lot of newbies on the street, as far as I can see. Springwater Trail commuters seem to be a lot more prevalent than last year. I\'m not surprised - I thought I saw a reference from PDOT saying that cycling would grow 30% this year alone. I personally know 3 people who started riding in the last 3 months because of gas prices.
The problem as I see it is how do we help these people to learn good riding skills? It\'s pretty obvious from recent discussion that no one wants to be told how to ride, but clumsy, inexperienced riders are frequently a hazard to themselves and to others. Should we even be trying to help them have good riding skills? Maybe we should just leave them to figure it out for themselves, which I\'m sure is what many of us did.
Oddly enough, I think more people think *I\'m* a newbie now, since I sometimes ride without a helmet and rarely ride in lycra anymore unless the ride is over 30 miles.
RecommendedI\'m both a \"newbie\" and an \"oldie.\" Been commuting on and off since \'69, when I got my first \"real\" bike - a used Raleigh 10 speed from a poor college student. I\'ve ridden through midwest winters at -25 degrees when I could barely keep air in the tires to 120 degree \"dry-desert\" heat in Phoenix. Got in a bad traffic accident 20-some years ago, had sciatic damage, tried to ride but too much irritation and pain. Took 16 years off from riding because of work and the pain. Recently, went back to being an office dweeb. This March, got the 22 year old Biachi Axis tuned up, and ride 20 miles a day while Max takes care of the other 20 miles. Took a few weeks to completely undestand \"Max culture.\" Took a few months for the fat old man to get the legs back.
What\'s it like \"out there?\" Not much different than it was in \'69. Cars are still bigger than me on a bike. A small minority of people are nasty and don\'t care. Many more are too absorbed in their own little world. This morning, a cute little Honda Accord with a cuter little girl driver turned right onto Weidler from I-5 without looking left for oncoming traffic. A jacked-up Dodge 3500 with a bunch of tools in back and I were not absorbed in our own little world; we both slowed down and let the cute little girl driver go her way. No road/bike rage. We looked at each other, shrugged, smiled, and went on with our lives.
RecommendedAm #78 -
Recommendedif you are out there and having fun, you ARE a real cyclist.
Still the same for me. Portland is the best...
Summer is great when there are 20 people waiting at the light on the Broadway bridge.
My wife has started riding the kids around more and she now understands why I ride so much.
BRD
RecommendedSaw it all this morning. First, female cyclist heading north on NE 7th casually blows the red light at Fremont and turns left on Fremont. At intersection of Fremont and MLK, she almost gets right hooked by a Portland police car! On Fremont a Land Rover with bike racks slowed down to let me merge and make a left turn at Williams even before I signaled. On Broadway at Pioneer Square, I attempt to pass a car on the left which is stopped to try and merge right because of a lane closure. I caught my pedal on the curb and stumbled in front of the car. The driver was very sweet and I apologized profusely for scaring her. It seems more and more of my rides are like this. A crazy mixture of stupidty, courtesy and kindness. If I had been shouted or honked by a driver for doing something legal, I would have hit for the cycle, no pun intended. frontation with a motorist
RecommendedIn general things are normal in Vancouver...though a lot more novice adult riders on the streets in the west side ...and too many using the downtown sidewalks (to be comfortable as a pedestrian).
Though I had an altercation with an Oregon driver in Vancouver on Saturday on my way to a bike traffic safety and law public meeting we were offering with the BTA.
The driver passed too close on a narrow road without bike lane (he had a center lane to use)...his dog reached out from the car at me and barked. I yelled to \'control his dog\'. He slowed down and yelled back to mind my own business, I repeated for him to control his dog. It went back and forth - with his anger increasing and his threats of harming me (stopping car and getting out), and names, etc. I repeat to him that he has a duty to control his dog and that he has verbally threatened me and I will be calling the police. He then pulls the SUV (late model blue grey blazer type) towards me and the curb leaving a foot plus...stops and unbuckles his belt while moving to get out of the car. Perhaps he thought twice as now there were a few cars behind us (witnesses) since he was blocking traffic. He blazed off into the industrial zone near Beaches (Kaiser Rd).
I called it in with a full description (OR plate, overweight older white male in mid 60\'s). The VPD has not called back - if they found him or not.
Drivers please keep your dogs in the back seat if the front window is open on hot days. Thanks.
RecommendedNothing\'s changed much in SE and downtown. Certainly an uptick in riders with the nice weather. Happy to see more cyclists out there, and I have no problem sharing space with them. It always brings a smile to my face to think about how many thousands of us hop on our bikes each day in the Portland-Metro region.
RecommendedI just had a lovely bike ride in to work. I think someone above posted about how nice riding out in the \'burbs can be, I whole heartedly agree. I also agree that we should be thankful for what we have here; I just got back from a visit to my hometown in rural PA where most wouldnt dream of biking.
My suburban riding experience in Beaverton & Hillsboro has been a lot like those already posted here. Im really excited about all the cyclists I see, I counted over 30 during my 7.5 mile ride home one evening last week! (Thats about 3x the number ive seen in years past)
I agree that drivers out here have gotten more courteous over the past few years. This year Ive had more trouble with bad cyclists than cars - going the wrong way in the bike lane, cutting me off, etc. That being said I agree that most other bikers I see are \"doing the right thing\" I havent seen any of the in-your-face bike activist stuff out here that Ive seen/heard about down town. There are some around that ride without helmets and with earphones but relatively few.
I wish more bikers out here would get bells. The only one Ive heard is on my own bike :)
RecommendedMy feeling it is the temperature. The motorists have their windows down and it is easier for the cyclist/motorists to get verbal and just escalates from there.
RecommendedIn the colder weather the car windows are up and the verbal stuff does not pass as easy between the parties.
If you\'re smart, stay off the esplenade...somebody (walker, jogger, biker, homeless dude, perverted stalker - etc.) is eventually going to get killed down there! Way too many idiots.
RecommendedI have had more pleasant experiences than normal in the past few weeks, In fact I was riding home on SW barbur Blvd when a car wanting to turn right stopped and waited till I passed. The car behind it didn\'t see me and didn\'t see why the car wasn\'t turning, so she honked at them. As soon as she saw me she realized what had happened and gave me an apologetic wave. So not only did car number 1 wait for me but car number two apologized for being so hasty as soon as she realized she was in the wrong. I though this shows that cooler heads can prevail.
RecommendedI live on Ash, one block off Ankeny, and couldn\'t be more happy to see so many folks of all shapes, sizes and level of experience out there! I walk my dog early in the morning down Ankeny just so I can start my day with a smile from all the cyclists passing by, and then I join in and head off to work on my bike, another happy cyclist.
I\'ve noticed plenty of junky attitude being tossed around - by all road users - but I\'ve also noticed plenty more kind, thoughtful gestures and courteous actions - by all road users. It\'s amazing how far a smile and wave go toward finding common ground.
It\'s a joy to live in Portland!
RecommendedThis is a report from last week (July 7-9), and from a bit different perspective as cyclist visiting Portland:
I\'m an experienced year-round bike commuter here in Corvallis. I needed to attend a \"techie\" conference, and wanted to explore Portland a bit. Mon Jul 7 I rode to Amtrak in Albany and put my bike on the Cascades train. In Portland I spent a morning exploring the east side, then took a scenic route (Peninsula Crossing Trail, etc.) to the conference at a Jantzen Beach hotel. After the conference on Wed Jul 9, I rode downtown via Vancouver, Broadway bridge, etc, then to lunch with a friend in the Hawthorne district, then back to the Station.
How\'d it go? Great! Of course I used my skills, but I had no trouble at all. Motorists were predictable and often deliberately courteous. Other cyclists were outstandingly friendly. (It wasn\'t hard to spot me as a tourist, with loaded panniers, hi-vis vest, helmet mirror, and [great!] Metro \"Bike There\" map clothespinned to the brake cables.) Especially trippy was pausing on the west-side esplanade about 5:30pm and watching the \"anthill\" of bikes on both sides of the river.
I\'ll be back next month to attend another meeting - *with* my bike.
RecommendedHundreds of people moving to Portland every month. 95% of them aren\'t used to this many bikes.
RecommendedIt seems like you\'re going to get some of everything when you\'re out on the road. I have an 8 mile commute daily from 130th and Stark, and I rarely encounter problems or rude drivers. Most people in this city are respectful of bikers and don\'t mind the hassle, but I also mostly stick to roads that are designated for bikers or have bike lanes.
I realize that\'s not always possible, and in one area around Burnside and 60th I have to cross a pretty busy street and deal with lots of cars during rush hour. It just pays to pay attention to the laws and anticipate what cars are going to do (as if bikes aren\'t there, unfortunately).
But in a city this big you\'re going to encounter some real jerks. This isn\'t some war between cars and bikes, it\'s just human nature. For the most part people are courteous.
One example of this: I\'m riding down 7th street, north, on my way home. I\'m about to pass another biker going slower than me, but I noticed in the upcoming intersection there was a truck about to enter from the opposite street. I was about to play it safe and slow down and wait for him before passing the other biker, but I noticed that HE NOTICED that I was about to pass the other biker and gave me room to do it.
RecommendedThis is as opposed to a few weeks earlier when I was almost run over by a lady not paying attention to the fact that I signaled I needed to get into the car lane to take a left. It happens, and cars still need to pay attention share the road with bikes.
However, today\'s accident reminds us how important it is to follow the rules of the road just like cars.
I hadn\'t gone two doors from my house on a residential street this morning when some a-hole in a giant pickup (F-350, Ram 2500?) almost hooks me and then starts cursing at me....
:-!
RecommendedNewbie bike commuter here. I just started commuting in May, but due to a vacation & other things, June is really the first full month I\'ve done. My route is pretty much coming from inner SE to far out into NW (Montgomery Park), crossing over the lower Steel Bridge.
I\'ve had a few close calls from cars being oblivious to my existence, but for the most part I\'ve been rather surprise how respectful drivers have been. A few times drivers have forfeited the right of way when I pull up to a 4 way stop.
Lately I\'ve become frustrated with other cyclists who zoom past me as I wait at red lights. I\'m certainly not perfect and make too many rolling stops at stop signs. However I feel like running red lights like that only helps foster negative attitudes from cars.
RecommendedYesterday, I was making a left turn from NW Lovejoy onto 21st Ave. Hand signal out - my turn on four-way stop. A middle aged guy in a big old gray Lexus SUV ran the stop and went after me with a pretty freaky smile. I went up on the sidewalk. If I was younger and in better shape I\'d have chased his ass down. Times like that my rage comes out. That\'s not what I want. I just want to get where I need to go without the negative or the fear or the rage. It screws with my head and my day.
I have been commuting for years and recently became car-free. After a few mishaps I\'m fairly comfortable with my level of skill but the rage I go through is unsettling.
For me, riding a bicycle these days seems to be a love hate relationship. It\'s the one thing I do for myself that I love more then anything and it\'s the one thing that I do for myself that causes me the most inner conflict and pent up rage. On one hand it\'s my meditation and on the other it feels suicidal to continue.
These days it\'s like this big ol\' circus out there but no one knows what\'s going on and the few who do don\'t feel safe.
Have you considered a community televised Town meeting - like the ones that were televised years ago on Sundays by Jack Foust? Just get everyone together and talk - just get it out.
These types of events always open the lines of communication but how frustrated everyone on all sides must feel because we lack a forum to do just that.
Thanks!!
RecommendedEllen
I have been out of town for the last week and a half and I felt like I had missed a lot when I got home. p.s. while I was in the DC areas a girl got right hooked and killed by a garbage truck.
Anyway, yesterday, I was driving to pick up some stuff and noted a passenger in a truck yelling at a passing bicycle. Later in the evening, I went for a ride and had some Yahoo passenger tell me \"F___ off and die\" blah blah blah. I was on the bike path near smith bybee lake and no where near the street.
This morning, I was riding in and had a pickup truck intentionally swerve into the bike lane, missing me by about a foot.
I don\'t know if this is just bad luck, the heat, summer or what, but people seemed pissed off. I was listening to Lars Larson and he seems like a provocateur on this issue. He has been harping on the subject for a year or so, and helps to build up this kind of animosity.
Johnathan, you should look into his rants. He has a good sized audience, and his primary demographic is the pickup/SUV set. He would be a good person to start educating on the issues.
Cheers,
RecommendedRiding and cummuting in Tigard and Beaverton good as always. Only 2 close calls in the past 6 months - both wrong way cyclists with the bike lane no lights in the dark.
RecommendedMore people ride bikes in the summer period. More bikes means more incidences. Its how we deal with these incidences that matters.
I\'m at least as guilty as anyone for being intolerant of ignorance, but no problem is solved through anger and irrational thinking. One strategy I like to practice in the event of an incident is to communicate. If each party throws up a finger and a shout, both will leave the confrontation feeling only rage. I like to make an attempt to discuss the problem.
Example. Two people using the entire width of the Springwater. Option 1: curse them so they will be afraid. Option 2: educate them. Explain what is wrong with what they are doing so next time they won\'t. They may even use this strategy when they see a similar situation. Solution: a culture of friendly education.
This tactic can be used for any situation. Often times a conflict with another person traveling doesn\'t yield much time to educate. But I suggest asking them politely to stop and chat. It may work and in the end, at least you can say you tried to help in a positive way.
RecommendedRed Hippie (#115) - I appreciate the sentiment you expressed (and thanks for voicing your opinion), but I don\'t think Lars Larson is reachable. His job depends on being inflammatory, and he possibly also actually believes what he says on the radio. A friend of mine told me there are some people you just can\'t negotiate with, and trying is just wasted effort. For the most part, I agree with that statement - the time we spend talking to those whose minds can\'t be changed could be spent doing something else which *does* have impact.
I think we should still make the effort to find out if these individuals *can* be talked to, but once it becomes evident that they won\'t listen, I believe it\'s better to put our time and effort into more effective activities.
For the record, I think that based on the dozens of comments regarding Lars and his show that he is not reachable unless some event in his personal life causes him to become more open.
RecommendedThings have seemed relatively normal to me. There are definitely more bikes on the road right now, but there\'s always an increase in riders in the summer. I\'ve only had two near misses in the last week and both were pretty tame:
One - a guy with WA plates seemed a little lost on Greeley and pulled over and stopped in the bike lane to maybe figure out where he was going. Luckily I was just starting up after the pedestrian light by Adidas, so it was easy to stop. I yelled \"Hey, you\'re in the bike lane\" and the cars behind him honked (one guy passed him and yelled \"What the f&*k are you doing?\" The guy just drove on, no biggie.
Then this morning on SW Broadway a white panel delivery van was riding with it\'s passenger side wheels right on the bike lane line, sometimes crossing into the lane. I was right behind/next to with a rider in front of me right behind the passenger door. I knocked on the side of the van, the passenger looked out - I said \"You\'re squeezing us out\" and he said something to the drive and they moved back over. Again, not too bad.
One thing I\'ve noticed - It seems light close call right hooks on Broadway are way down since they put in the bike boxes. Anyone else notice that? I used to have a close call at almost every intersection pretty much everyday, but lately I only have one or two a week.
RecommendedLess than a month ago, a Portland cop crossed over the bike lane on SW Madison (before the Hawthorne Bridge) while I was in it. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid him. Of course, I simultaneously yelled at him because I was startled to put it mildy. As I passed him on his left he didn\'t look at me and had a smile on his face.
RecommendedB.C.(#19) offered the suggestion that maybe the city could give some free bike safety classes. If the city can\'t (or won\'t), maybe Hinson Church, at SE 20th and Salmon, could. We\'ll try to do another free tuneup in September on a Farmers Market night, but if there are trainers available, I\'m sure we\'d love to host one or more classes as well.
Give me your suggestions or comments, please.
RecommendedJim
Brad @89, THANK YOU. You\'ve expressed what I was trying to say.
Yay, Wa Co-Westside suburbia commuters!! So glad to see you all!
RecommendedA lot of new riders – squeaking chains the tip-off – but most fitting right in.
Motorists seem more courteous than usual.
The one sight that made my jaw drop – I saw a bicycler dialing his phone with one hand and with a soft drink in the other – no really.
RecommendedBike commutes from SE to Downtown are pretty typical for this time of year, I leave around 5, the Hawthorne bike lanes are packed with riders so I take it slower and give folks space.
During the weekends I precieve a decrease in motor vehicle use. I also perceive more alternative vehicles; a neighbor recently bought a electric scooter (like an X-treme X-500).
RecommendedThe majority of drivers have been more courteous. Truck drivers have been so much better - one saved me from being squashed one day - he used his giant truck as a wall for me as he waited (wow) to turn right for me to pass (uphill on Interstate just up from Brett\'s ghost bike) when a little truck (comparatively) behind him was clearly in a bike killing right hook mood. Amazing.
I\'m going to have a panic attack on the esplanade one of these days. It\'s really not fun there. Really, people it\'s a multi-use path, so even children have a right to be there and not be run down or dodged as if they\'re potholes.
Recommendedn00bs pass on the right. hate that.
RecommendedI got hit by a truck\'s trailer today as it swung around a curve on Terwilliger and into the bike lane, swiping me onto a curb to the right. I\'m inclined to think that all this press from the Oregonian makes cyclists more vulnerable than anything.
Recommendedasshat of the year award in my mind goes to the kid on a black brakeless fixed gear wearing all black, with no lights, riding the wrong way down a one-way street in SE with no helmet on (but big headphones), with a pbr in one hand and a cigarette in the other. apart from that, business as usual.
RecommendedI have been regularly doing bike commutes for some time and also riding for recreation and until this week have had completely positive and enjoyable experiences,but the past couple of days have had a few negative experiences with rude drivers who have made it clear that they don\'t want to share the roads with cyclists. Yesterday morning a motorist making a right turn on red was honking at a group of cyclists crossing the street on a green light with the walk signal. And then yesterday evening a motorist stopped in the cycling lane on the road and stayed there for a long time, intentionally blocking the route for cyclists.
The apparent changes I have seen on the road these past couple of days makes me think all the front page publicity in the Oregonian is adding fuel to the anti cycling motorists who hate to see cyclists on the road. My fear is that all the publicity has turned what was a good situation into the war on the roads that The Oregonian seems to want to have, to make more sensational stories.
RecommendedI ride my bike all year long and I generally notice more rudeness from other cyclists than drivers. In particular, when a bunch of cyclists are respectfully queued at a red light, there\'s always those couple of jerks who assume they are faster than anyone else in line and therefore think it\'s okay to cut in front of the other cyclists. You wouldn\'t/couldn\'t do that in a car so I don\'t know why you think it\'s fine to do it on a bike. Wait in line like the rest of us. Besides, you\'re not as fast as you think you are because everyone ends up right behind you anyway.
RecommendedI also notice cyclists on the Hawthorne Bridge who insist on riding on the right side of the lane (designated for pedestrians) even when there are a lot of pedestrians on the bridge. So they just end up weaving back and forth the whole time. I\'d even accept that poor behavior except for the scared cyclists who keep looking behind them but never move to the left, even as they are about to smack into a pedestrian. Aargh.
I visited Portland from Baltimore for two weeks during Pedalpalooza, commuting from the Lloyd District into downtown and riding around the City.
Overall, I was very impressed at the respect drivers provided me as a cyclist (eg. yielding to me at the blue/green lanes on the east side of the Broadway Bridge or when making a right turn across the bike lane). If anything the extent to which drivers yielded to me was disorienting as I had to shift my typical behavior.
For the most part cyclists I saw treated stop signs as yield signs and signals as stop signs, balancing efficiency with safety.
jonno remarked about the potential for different rules of the road for cyclists. The situation I described above is the law for cyclists in Idaho (see below) and I think it makes a lot of sense. Cyclists should yield to other vehicles when they don\'t have the right of way, but I think some reasonable accommodation is appropriate given the lower risk we pose to other roadway users and the significant risk we assume for ourselves.
http://itd.idaho.gov/bike_ped/ID_Vechile_code_for_Bikes_05.pdf
Recommended49-720. STOPPING — TURN AND STOP SIGNALS.
(1) A person operating a bicycle or human-powered vehicle approaching a stop sign shall slow down and, if required for safety, stop before entering the intersection. After slowing to a reasonable speed or stopping, the person shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another highway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time the person is moving across or within the intersection or junction of highways, except that a person after slowing to a reasonable speed and yielding the right-of-way if required, may cautiously make a turn or proceed through the intersection without stopping.
(2) A person operating a bicycle or human-powered vehicle approaching a steady red traffic control light shall stop before entering the intersection and shall yield to all other traffic. Once the person has yielded, he may proceed through the steady red light with caution. Provided however, that a person after slowing to a reasonable speed and yielding the right-of-way if required, may cautiously make a right-hand turn. A left-hand turn onto a one-way highway may be made on a red light after stopping and yielding to other traffic.
Well, another confrontation between a motorist and bicyclist. This time on Mississippi. Last night around 6:30 I saw a guy run out of the Laughing Planet and confront a guy on a bike. Fists started flying until bystanders broke it up.
RecommendedFrom what I could gather it began with an earlier confrontation which ended with the bike guy allegedly keying the others car following some sort of traffic altercation. The cops were called, but I didn\'t wait to see what the outcome was.
Perhaps a little more cooperation and a little less self righteousness on everyones part is in order.
I commute about 10 miles a day, back and forth. I have to chide myself for my pettiness now that there are a lot more cyclists on the road. In the winter it\'s easy to get where you\'re going, but there\'s some congestion now in the bike lanes, and I really should be happy that more people are on their bikes. I do wish that cyclists would let others know when they are passing, and not pass on the right in bike lanes. I\'m not fast so I try to keep to the right of the bike lane so that faster people can pass - but then someone inevitably tries to squeeze through on the right.
RecommendedAnd if the bikes in front of you are slowing down, there\'s probably a reason and it shouldn\'t be an invitation to go around everyone. The other day I had a truck driver looking left while turning right, and taking up half of the bike lane - looked like an accident waiting to happen, so I slowed down to wait. Then a cyclist flies past, ignores the vehicle and the stop and is almost crushed by the truck. Ack. I really don\'t want to see it! Having commuted by bike for many years, I do miss the camaraderie of a few years back when cyclists nodded and waved to one another.
I\'ve been bike commuting year round in Portland for the past 12 years up until this spring, where I have begun driving daily due to an injury. It sucks not being on a bike. But what really depresses me with the increase of riders over the tears, the proportion of selfish and irresponsible cyclists seems to have grown faster. More newbies? I don\'t know. There seems to be a lot of attitude out there on both sides, but each and every day I see cyclists blowing through stop lights downtown on my commute. And not usually even slowing down at 4 ways in the neighborhood. Also please watch out for those turn signals, god damn, I can\'t tell you how many times I get passed on the right when I have the blinker on. I am already becoming jaded about cyclists in traffic and I am one myself.
Recommended