I have read about the horrors of bikes and FL, can’t imagine I would get on a road there.
If there is no rideable shoulder I will OWN my lane in commuting traffic (I only have three blocks where I have to do this but no one seems to mind or trys to cut me off when I’m riding in the middle of the lane vs. riding on the righthand strip).
I am guessing no-one in car gives a rip about a newbie riding the wrong way on a sidewalk, they are probably going pretty slow, probably are stopping at stop signs and red lights and probably slow down when encountering most foot traffic. But I am guessing that many people in cars do get angry about a small spread out group of five or six “real” riders stretched across a road, or riders who do the rolling stoplight/stop sign or are riding between the stopped cars.
Its not the newbies that are pissing off the car drivers, its the “real” cyclists. The newbies are more likely be so scared to be in traffic they are doing everything they can to avoid being in anyones way or breaking any laws. As a long time newbie, I go way out of my way to get to the least congested streets and I’m still terrified of traffic.
The question was asked about bike maps, when I was Denver there was an office just for community biking that put out a great Metro area map. For the newbie thats going to commute by bike you are never far from a bike path that will take you Downtown or the tech center or anywhere for that matter, newbies aren’t as concerned about making the best time as getting the safest route to where they are going.
Now if we could do something about the frost on my commute this morning (27 degrees), can’t wait for the ride home (65, sweeeeeet).
The roads ARE more dangerous than they have ever been in some ways, yet they are safer in others. Sending newbies out there may not be the best strategy. However, at the very least, Bike to Work days get people thinking. The problem is people who have grown up in a car culture have no idea of distances. 5K to them is a LOOONNGGG way. Yet, it’s something they could walk in about 35 minutes or cycle in 10minutes. It’s just a totally foregin thing to them. The default action is to get in the car and drive that distance.
Illinois has the entire state “bike rated” here, http://www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/STATE.HTM
Not sure how accurate these maps are for cities as a good deal of city roads are not shown. But once you get out into the country they are fairly accurate.
Apparently the roads are rated by, posted speed limit, should size, road surface, amount of traffic.
Roads are shown in 4-5 range of colors and size from dark green to dark red.
I used these maps last year to make routes, combined with Delorme TOPO. Did a different long ride nearly every weekend so probably 20-30 long rides. Only had 1 or 2 that something was wrong with and had to “improvise” a way back home.
The nice thing is that they are free…or at least free to get I’m sure we already paid for them.
Interesting answers from everyone. I guess I’m taking a few things away from this:
Sounds like Florida (or at least Jacksonville) is much worse in regard to traffic/drivers than many other states are. Jacksonville is a HUGE city (area-wise) - it is nothing to have a job that is 15 miles+ away from your home. Do most of you that commute ride that far each way or are you guys covering 5 or fewer miles?
A big obstacle in this city is the St. Johns river. We have something like 7 bridges that cross the river throughout the city - but only one of them allow bikes. The vast majority of them would be extremely harmful to your health to ride on them. I have always been on the unfortunate side of living on the opposite side of the river from my job (many people in the city are in this situation).
In regard to my comment about bike lanes not providing much help…
You guys who said - it is better than nothing - are absolutely right. I would much rather ride on any road with a shoulder or bike lane than I would a road without. My real concern is that I think the gov’t powers to be think that putting the lane in is the solution… While I agree, it is part of the solution, an important step is for them to educate the drivers what rights we cyclists have. Riding in a bike lane isn’t any safer form someone who has a grudge against cyclists and wants to ‘make a point’ by brushing you with his mirror.
I’d like to see Police take a more active role in going after people who drive aggresively against cyclists. They seem to do a fine job prosecuting/arresting people after they have already killed a cyclist. What they don’t seem to do is actively give tickets and warnings when people do things like cutting cyclists off - or not yielding the right of way to one (when they have it of course).
You see them all the time running radar in neighborhoods when the homeowners complain about rampant speeding on a road. Why don’t they sit on the side of a road frequented by cyclists and write tickets for people harassing them? NOT doing that is almost the equivalent of saying it is acceptable behavior.
You guys who can commute to work every day really have me jealous. I’ve looked at the possibility 4 or 5 times over the past few years and I just cannot find a route that I would feel comfortable commuting on day-in, day-out. Either traffic is a huge issue or the route may force me through some of the ‘less desirable’ areas of town. Not really excited about going through some of those areas in the dark on a bike…
I think that in many cities Bike To Work days are just impractical. I work in Boston and live thirty miles away in Framingham, so it isn’t really a possibility for me, especially since we have no bike racks, showers, or other facilities in my building. But riding in Boston for most people is just unsafe. Heck, so is driving. All the major roads that lead into and out of the city are crowded, poorly paved, and difficult to navigate. Even many of the rural roads near my home are poorly paved and too narrow for both bikes and cars.
While there are lots of places like Cambridge and Newton where plenty of people ride, they do so despite the danger, and are often either riding on the sidewalk or on the road impeding traffic.
So I think that to a large extent, yes, it is not practical or safe to have bike to work days. Keep in mind that I live in Boston, which is considered a very bike unfriendly city.
I saw comedian Jake Johansen a month ago, and he summed it up nicely: “To all you Bsotonians riding your bikes down the good half lane of road in town here: Don’t! It’s hard enough to navigate the roads without killing myself, never mind trying not to kill you, too.”
I am in complete agreement - we see alot of very unsafe riding during the bike to work month (July). But what is worse is the monthly critical mass ride. That is really annoying to me as a cyclist, as it really pisses off drivers, which as a general rule is bad things simply because they have more steel than we do!