I need advice for bike commuting

Triathlon Forum
1

Last week I started a thread asking if ‘Bike to Work’ days were irresponsibly being promoted when they are inherently dangerous. I’ve been thinking about it so much that I have ‘almost’ convinced myself that I could actually commute by bike.

Here are the particulars about what I would be faced with… Am I nuts or is this a typical commute?

Place - Jacksonville, Fl

Distance - 19 miles one way

Times? morning 6:00 - 7:30, afternoon 5:00 - 6:30 (assuming 90 minutes each way).

Here is the ‘catch’… I’ve scoped every possible road between my house and my work. My first thought was to travel lightly-traveled backroads. I quickly found out, however, that most of those roads are used by motorists extensively during these times - and they are also basically 2-lane affairs with absolutely no shoulder.

I’m really not excited about the prospect of 19 miles with no shoulder - so I took an alternative look at it.

What if I traveled by mountain bike (instead of road bike) and stayed on 4-lane type roads on the sidewalks? I have found a route that wouldn’t be too bad in terms of the ‘neighborhoods’ i’d be traveling through - I’m just not too sure about this ‘sidewalk’ thing.

I know that in some cases it is actually illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk, however, I don’t forsee that as being an issue in these areas of town. I also don’t think pedestrian traffic is an issue as I very rarely saw anyone on the sidewalks (we’re not talking about downtoan Boston here).

So - what do you guys think?

2

What part of town are you in?

I know a guy who commutes from SR 13 (St. John’s) to Baymeadows area. He uses primarily San Jose because of the bike lane. I would suggest slower at rush hour heavily traveled roads over faster back roads with no shoulder.

Also, 19 miles in an hour and a half seems slow. The guy I know says he averages almost 18 on a convereted mountain bike. I think the cars flying by give you a tailwind.

Good luck and stay safe.

4

I live on the Northside and work on the Westside.

My commute would mostly be on Lem Turner and Edgewood Avenues.

I’m just guessing at the 90 minute number as I haven’t ridden the route yet. I just assumed I’d be pretty slow based on the sidewalks.

5

In this case, sidewalks don’t really mean many driveways as these are pretty heavily-traveled roads rather than residential areas. Very few houses but a bunch of businesses.

My main concern on the sidewalk issue is having to watch my back constantly at every cross street (hundreds on this route probably). I still do that on the roadbike - I would just expect to have to be even more observant on the sidewalk (as there is even less chance the cars will respect my place).

6

I’m not that familiar with those roads, but I would guess that riding on the road with the road bike would be faster and just as safe. There will probably be alot of people pulling in and out of parking lots that time of day and you’ll be more visable as a part of traffic, instead of a pedestrian.

7

. . . do you want to be a vehicle or a pedestrian?

I don’t mean that to sound harsh, but I ride in the street because I see myself on a bike as a vehicle travelling with other vehicles. I don’t want to be bound by the rules of pedestrians, and I want to avoid anyone thinking of me in those terms.

After 10+ years of cycling in regular vehicular traffic, I’ve been doored twice and knocked over by a turning vehicle twice. I’ve never been hit by a car in the regular flow of traffic.

My .02, but I feel infinitely safer and more comfortable riding in traffic than being on a sidewalk.

In the U.K. you’d get shouted off the sidewalk, no matter what neighborhood you’re in.

T

8

sidewalks …a bunch of businesses.

Riding on the sidewalk is really dangerous if there are ANY entry or exit points for cars/trucks. The problem is that vehicle operators aren’t expecting anything traveling at any significant speed to be coming from that non-roadway area. It’s even worse if you are going against traffic, because they have no reason to think anything at all will be coming from the wrong direction - they MIGHT look left and spot you, but they’re not going to look right at all (coming out of a driveway or side street and turning right). In either direction you are asking to be right hooked, turned into from ahead, or centerpunched by an exiting vehicle. The cross streets you describe are just as bad - same problem, the drivers have no reason to expect a fast moving vehicle to be entering and exiting the roadway from the corners. They may be vaguely looking in the right direction to see you, but they’re looking at the travel lane, not the sidewalk. You can watch your back all you want but the reality is you’re going to have to stop and effectively become a pedestrian at each of those intersections if you don’t want to be creamed and have it be your own fault. You don’t want some innocent driver to have to live with maiming or killing you because you came out of nowhere. if you ride it slow enough to avoid problems, it’s going to take you probably 2-3x as long to get there.

Buy Effective Cycling by John Forester. Read it (it’s thick…sorry!), learn the techniques and rules it espouses, then decide what the best way to manage your commute is. I think you’ll conclude that using a roadway and cycling in a vehicular manner is best. If there are absolutely no suitable roads where you can control your own destiny to a reasonable degree, then you may be out of luck, and bike commuting may not fit with your current choice of workplace and residence. That’s life in the big city.

Also - regarding a 19 mile one way commute, there’s nothing that says you have to do it every day in both directions - a trick people use with long commutes is to drive in one day with clothes for 2 days, ride home, ride in the next day, etc.

Related to that strategy, if there’s a better route you could take but it is longer, or has an endpoint that’s not at work or home, but you could still save some car miles and get some riding in, you could maybe drive to that location, ride to work from there on better roads, and reverse it to return home. Or, let’s say (hypothetical) you can bike to within 5 miles of work on good roads and then it gets bad, that’s where you could drive in one day, drive back to the good spot, ride home from there (assumes it’s safe to leave your car there overnight), ride in to that spot the next day and drive from there to the office, if that makes any sense.

Good luck, stay safe and ride smart!

9

I say go for it.

Communting by bike is great way to build base miles. However, you may want to re-think it once you get into the racing season as 38 miles to/from work everyday may leave you too tired to do your other training.

Two Lane Road/ No Shoulder - That’s the set up for just about ALL the roads that I ride on. Dress your self up like a clown and light, you and the bike up like a christmas tree and get at it. Car drivers will see you. In most jurisdictions, bicycles have a legal right to occupy space on the road. Most car drivers don’t get or understand this. They will also honk at you if they are held up for even 5 seconds( what’s with that). Ignore them, and don’t give them the finger.

Here’s a cool option:

Ride the bike in the morning. Then run home in the evening. Now that’s some monster training!

Fleck

10

In response to:

do you want to be a vehicle or a pedestrian?

I don’t mean that to sound harsh, but I ride in the street because I see myself on a bike as a vehicle travelling with other vehicles. I don’t want to be bound by the rules of pedestrians, and I want to avoid anyone thinking of me in those terms.

I completely agree with you. I have tried for years to see myself as a vehicle. I have tried for years to tell myself that the cars buzzing by me at 50 mph on a road with no shoulder are really under control - and that the person isn’t on a cellphone and didn’t even notice me.

It’s just not working in my mind anymore.

I totally agree with all the negatives everyone listed about riding on the sidewalk.

I guess the question is: Is it worse than ‘not riding’?

11

My opinion??

Ride on the road, or don’t ride. It’s likely illegal to ride on the sidewalk. It’ll be slow as hell. It is not a fair use of the sidewalks for those few pedestrians that you might encounter.

If you’re not comfortable riding on the road, then don’t. Some areas are just not good for it. If you can’t commute by bike it’s not the end of the world.

12

Definetly ride the road, and “claim your lane” don’t hug the curb, ride a foot or two out if there is no shoulder. I have had way fewer near misses since I started doing this. If you are close to the curb cars tend to stay in your lane and the rear view mirror almost gets you. If you are out a bit more they change lanes to pass you. I’m not talking the center of the lane or anything but don’t feel like you have to ride in the gutters.

13

Yes, if you only have a route without a shoulder, claim you lane. Don’t entirely block it, but make it so the cars have to get over to pass.

Another important point on top of wearing bright clothes (DOT reflective vest) is to ride the same route at the same times of day. Then cars expect you.

38mi a day during racing season is not a problem. Just make sure some of those rides are recovery rides. I go 35mi both ways and do it five days a week. Sometimes I will skip a day if I don’t feel good, but it just takes some time to build up to it.