On 5/13/2018 11:15 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 5/13/2018 2:24 PM, David Scheidt wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:
:On 5/12/2018 6:49 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
: David Scheidt writes:
:
: Frank Krygowski wrote:
: :On 5/11/2018 4:10 PM, David Scheidt wrote:
: : Frank Krygowski wrote:
: : :On 5/10/2018 11:19 PM, David Scheidt wrote:
: : : Frank Krygowski wrote:
: : : :On 5/10/2018 6:15 PM, John B. wrote:
: : : :
: : : : I suspect that you, like I, are what might be
called a sensible rider.
: : : : RE, door zones, just slow down a bit so you
have time to dodge the
: : : : door if necessary.
: : :
: : : :Um... no, that's not sensible.
: : :
: : : :Consider what happens if you're riding just 15
kph and a driver pops his
: : : :door open as you pass his rear bumper. There's
no way to stop in time.
: : :
: : : :If you're lucky, you'll hit his door squarely
and crumple beneath it. If
: : : :you're unlucky, you'll snag the door edge with
your right handlebar, the
: : : :bike will steer to the right, your body will be
thrown down to the left,
: : : :and the motor vehicle you were worried about
will run over you.
: : :
: : : :Unlike mountain lion attacks, dooring really is
a danger. Most states
: : : :don't record it as a car-bike collision,
because they record those only
: : : :if the car was moving. But Chicago did keep
track, and found that
: : : :something like 20% of car-bike crashes were
doorings.
: : :
: : : And we have a $1000 fine for causing an accident
by dooring -- and the
: : : cops write the tickets.
: : :
: : : on't ride in the door zone. Just don't.
: : :
: : : Yeah, you live in smallsville. If I don't ride
in the door zone, it
: : : takes me three times as long to get to work.
: :
: : :Why are those the only choices? Details, please.
What happens if you
: : :move a few feet left?
: :
: : My commute invovles riding past a mile (literally,
one mile) of cars
: : that are stopped at stop signs or lights. Riding
between them and
: : parked cars gets me to the light or sign in one
cycle. Moving to the
: : left puts me in stopped traffic.
:
: :OK. That's an unusual situation, one that I think is
quite rare. We
:
: Sounds like progress. Several years ago I described
riding past more
: than a mile of cars on a typical commute (not even
properly in the
: city), and you simply refused to concede that such a
thing was possible,
: never having observed it in your global travels.

:I was being nice. I'm still pretty skeptical. Example:
David says the
:backup is "one mile (literally one mile)" but he says if
he rides past
:in the door zone he gets gets to the light in one cycle.

multiple lighs, Frank.

I'm in chicago. The interesting part of my ride, for this
purpose,
are shown on this map:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ys...&usp=shar ing


These are the areas where I pass stopped cars. It's rare
that I'd be
doing the whole distance drawn, which google tells me is
1.75 miles, but
the section on kimball, especially between foster and
lawarance is always
bad (There's a high school there.). The section of
montrose is full
of cars, always, at my commute time. How much of that I
ride through
when the lights are red and the cars are stopped depends
on the day,
but typically I hit the light at california, and there are
cars backed
up from the light at Virginia, and often all the way to
Western, and I
ride faster than they do, even if they're moving. When
school is not in
session, I take a route that's further north and doesn't
have as much
traffic, but it has an elementary school full of stupid
parents who drive
their kids there, and let them get out where ever, so it's
impassable on
a bike (or car).

I guess I don't understand. First, it sounds like you're now
talking about far less than a mile of backup.

Second, it's a very dense grid layout. I don't understand
why you can't choose parallel streets with less traffic. It
looks like Bernard even has a bike/ped crossing over a
creek, which should cut way down on N-S car traffic.

Obviously, I don't know the area. But my first thought in
looking at the map is "Wow, look at all the choices!"

Way, way back (1977) when I first started near-daily
commuting, I discussed my route problems with an older
cycling mentor. He said "I'd absolutely go a couple blocks
out of my way if it gave me a more pleasant ride." I think
that's good advice.



Neighborhoods vary. Regarding Bell School in Chicago (where
my grandsons once attended) the minor streets have crappy
sightlines at the intersections with enough random cross
traffic as too not make a reasonable route. Morning and
afternoon minivan congestion blocks everything near the
school as Dave noted.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971