Welcome to Ted’s weekly video roundup. See previous editions here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXC6wtTY2BQ
We’ll start the roundup this week with an urban design video, above. It looks at Copenhagen from the British point of view and looks pleasant.*
Next, this Sacramento cross race takes the cake for this week’s cross video. Colorful language warning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOjX2mLuLc8
Some countries in Europe use contra flow cycle lanes, which are a bike lane that goes the opposing direction of a one-way street. They are helpful for giving navigation options in cities that have lots of (often Roman-era) narrow streets, but people don’t think to look the other way on a one-way street.**
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In the “bike theft” category, this Brazilian show is in the hidden camera/Punk’d category, this would probably be entrapment if it was done for legal reasons, but it’s enjoyable for laughing AT people. Perhaps they would have had a better time catching the “criminal” if the chaser was fitter. The action starts about 15sec in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Ngfwr41U4
On that topic, this is an entertaining video of street trial rider Fabio Wibmer “stealing” a bike for a joyride. His monologue includes an entertaining vocabulary that may not be work- or family-appropriate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka3ZA5XRq8Q
Why am I including a video of a CAR? Aren’t internal-combustion engines against almost everything BikePortland stands for? Well, as Carlton Reid discusses in his book, early cars have much in common with bicycles. That’s really clear when you see the Quadricycle. (warning, offensive audio in the last 10 seconds)
River City Bicycles has a feature on an ancient Schwinn track bike. Look at those lovely wooden rims.
Finally, Smith Optics just moved to Portland. This video is on Western Bikeworks’ YouTube feed, interviewing a few of their lead employees. It’s certainly promotional, but it’s great to see more outdoor/cycling companies coming to Portland.
Honorable mentions: promo trailer for the “European Bike Stealing Championships” (perhaps we should sponsor some of our locals to attend this?), River City’s Barton Park vid, another Barton Park cross vid, and what do pro cyclists do in the off-season?
Inclusion criteria: If I’ve missed something, post it in the comments! I’m trying to only include videos published in the last week or so. Note if there’s a specific point in a long video that is worth highlighting. Also note if there is colorful language. When it gets to spring, I may add a rule to deal with racing spoilers.
* Maybe I’ll post a video of me scorching through Paris recently. It was different than being in Portland, though it doesn’t cross into being “pleasant”.
** My closest call ever (that didn’t end in a collision) was from a one-way street in Paris. A car was pulling out of an underground carpark and crossed my path.
— Ted Timmons
Paris’ cycling mode share is ~3%.
Re: Copenhagen video – Notice how all the cyclists are being respectful to the other cyclists, pedestrians, even drivers. No one is riding like the a roided-up-punk-rock-Lance-wannabe on their morning commute. Save the aggressive riding for an appropriate venue. We need to start thinking about a-holes on bikes the same way we think about that a-hole driving a car 40 mph on a residential street, screeching to a halt at the stop sign then peeling out to get started again. Bike lanes and neighborhood greenways are not race tracks, they are modes of transportation.
In America, our infrastructure generally only supports the so-called “brave and fearless” type riders. Generally fit and aggressive, because we have to duke it out with cars when the bike lanes suddenly stop. These are the same people that argue against separated bike infrastructure. European cities have changed the culture for both cyclists and vehicle drivers with safer infrastructure and strong legal consequences for people that cause carnage. Change the infrastructure in Portland, and the behavior will follow suit.
This is very amusing, Sam!
At 45 seconds the video shows dozens of cyclists who are blatantly violating traffic laws.
*Cyclists riding on the sidewalk, cyclists riding in traffic, cyclists swerving across lanes to turn left, and cyclists going the wrong way.
America is all caught up on bikes obeying the rules while cars flout them all.
Brazilian Punk’d is the BEST!!!!
There’s a pretty big difference between someone riding a bike at 25 mph on a residential street and a driver going 40 mph on the same street. To suggest otherwise is asinine.
What you may perceive as aggressive might be someone else just going their own pace or trying to fit some exercise into their busy day. There is always going to be a wide variety of speeds that people want to travel on their bikes. No reason our infrastructure can’t accommodate that.
The big thing about Copenhagen and the majority of the bikes being fixies is the fact that nowhere will you find a hill. Next you will notice a 20 KPH speed limit that is about 12.4 mph for bikes. It is a fairly compact city so that is adequate. If everyone rode at about 15-20 kph there would be no need to wear helmets as the bike paths are laid out so the biggest obstruction is the doors that open to the bikeway or sidewalk MUP. The lack of spandex can be attributed to the generally slower speeds of the cyclist majority. There is no need to have to take traffic lanes and do traffic speeds while trying to keep a reasonable body temperature when riding from 6 mph to 24 mph in mixed bike lane traffic lane riding to get around hills like Portland. The highest of hills would be the bridges with elevation gains are much like Tillicum and Burnside.
As far as I’m aware, there’s no speed limit for people cycling in Copenhagen. Although I imagine people are probably expected to abide by the speed limit that is set for the particular road, which could range from walking speed in Strøget to 70 KPH on a large arterial (within the city). It’s incorrect to say that most of the bicycles being ridden there are fixies. The vast majority of them have internal hubs and some may be single-speed, but fixies are uncommon. A large portion of their bicycles are actually quite sporty and resemble hybrids, in comparison to the more-traditional, upright bikes that are much more commonly used in the Netherlands. But even their hybrid-like bikes will have things like internal gears, internal hubs, fenders, a bell and at least a partial chain guard already build-in. You’re right about the lack of hills, but the headwinds can be neverending. On my last visit back in 2011, I spent a few days just riding around for fun and sight seeing. It felt like going against the headwind almost the entire time. That to me is worst than dealing with the occasional hill on my commutes back in the States.
Pete – we’ve had one fatality and one near fatality in recent months due in part to people cycling way too damn fast on city streets. I agree that a car is a whole other category of danger than a bicycle, but folks cycling at top speed in areas they share the road with cars and peds is pretty foolhardy. You just have to slow down in the city.
That is some serious victim blaming nonsense. Those incidents were the result of drivers paying inadequate attention to the task at hand.
I like to get exercise on my commute so I ride at a good clip. My commute is 13 miles one way so I wear spandex because it’s more comfortable and I don’t get my work clothes all sweaty. I believe I operate my bike safely and generally follow the rules of the road (I’ll admit to my share of Idaho stops, however). I end up passing a lot of fellow riders on my way in, always with plenty of room or an “on your left” if I need to get closer.
Clearly my riding style would not fit in with Copenhagen. That is why I find the neighborhood greenway system so much more appealing. When done well it provides a low stress experience with plenty of space for riders moving at a wide variety of speeds. I’ll take that over Copenhagen’s glorified sidewalks any day.
Cycling too fast? You mean…like 45 down them that hillz?
Copenhagen video: OMG! Where are the derailleurs? Where is the lycra?? Where are the helmets??
If you compared apples to apples, you’d note Portland’s utility and commuter cyclists are generally not wearing lycra.
Loved the Brazilian bike cable lock. I think that one is quite effective.
Minor note, those bikes in Copenhagen aren’t fixies, they’re Dutch style city bikes, usually with hub gearing. People ride them predominantly cause everyone lives close to where they shop and work, and there are bike tracks everywhere, you really don’t need too much more than that.
Plus there aren’t any hills, as mentioned.
I’ve noticed that in truly bike normative cities people don’t really make a big deal about their bikes, by and large. It’s just how you get around.
You can have Copenhagen. Sorry but moving slowly in a huge mass of bikes does not look enjoyable at all.
Riding in traffic in CPH is perfectly fine — no one cares if you violate the mandatory sidepath law.
I’m no where near as fast as this Dane:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aahtm3PXQs
The road is always there waiting for the auto cyclist.
Copenhagen video: Wow “Mutual respect”. Can you even imagine?? We are so freaking far away from that here. It looks very relaxing to me, it looks like a homogeneous society where everyone can trust that everyone else nearby (and all the people in cars) went through the same bicycle school that they did as youngsters. They treat it like driving school. It provides consistency and predictability. Everyone know the same rules, peer pressure means most people follow those rules. Predictability = safety. I can’t imagine we will ever get to that level of consistency here.
Notice how many of the cycle ways are actually wide sidewalks away from car traffic? How many trips to the mecca have our leaders taken…but yet…we end up in the road with nothing more than bollards most of them time between us and f350s?
We have spent millions (billions?) On sidewalks all over the city. Yet…expanding those and striping them is just apparently weird.