Riding a bicycle in traffic

Damn, y'all should have seen me on my 'bent in mid-town rush-hour
traffic.

That's how I normally ride, and no, you don't need a helmet. Just a
sense of the flow of traffic and pedestrians. It's like a game of
Blackjack, really.


Bike messengers rule!



Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:
Since there seem to have been quite a few (cross)posts about the safety
of riding a bicycle in traffic, I thought this video [1] on the topic
would be instructional.

[1] http://www.digave.com/videos/sfx-web.mpg.
[2] And no, Ed Dolan, you will not get a virus by clicking on the link.
--
Tom Sherman - Behind the Cheddar Curtain
Post Free or Die!

My ex roomate was loosing movement in his legs falling down a lot, and told
me barely has any feeling in his legs to this day. He rear ended a ladies
car, guess the mini stroke had something to do with this. BTW he's 62 if it
matters. They took his license for a few months, then the doctor ok'd him to
drive again. Howd ya like having him driving behind your bike! Comforting,
they'll let anyone drive if they can afford it.
Dave
http://www.noweldrecumbent.com

"NYC XYZ" wrote in message
oups.com...
Damn, y'all should have seen me on my 'bent in mid-town rush-hour
traffic.

That's how I normally ride, and no, you don't need a helmet. Just a
sense of the flow of traffic and pedestrians. It's like a game of
Blackjack, really.


Bike messengers rule!



Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:
Since there seem to have been quite a few (cross)posts about the safety
of riding a bicycle in traffic, I thought this video [1] on the topic
would be instructional.

[1] http://www.digave.com/videos/sfx-web.mpg.
[2] And no, Ed Dolan, you will not get a virus by clicking on the link.
--
Tom Sherman - Behind the Cheddar Curtain
Post Free or Die!

Dave wrote:
My ex roomate was loosing movement in his legs falling down a lot, and told
me barely has any feeling in his legs to this day. He rear ended a ladies
car, guess the mini stroke had something to do with this. BTW he's 62 if it
matters. They took his license for a few months, then the doctor ok'd him to
drive again. Howd ya like having him driving behind your bike! Comforting,
they'll let anyone drive if they can afford it.
Dave
http://www.noweldrecumbent.com


It's true, driving should be a priviledge (it IS, actually, insofar as
one has to be licensed for it), but things have long gotten to the
point that folks think it's their God-given right or something.

I think just one instance of drunken driving should be enough to
permanently revoke the license, for example. Things should be that
strict. Instead, all they do is harp on cyclists wearing helmets and
bull**** like that, while the real problems go unchallenged.

"NYC XYZ" wrote in message
ups.com...
Dave wrote:
My ex roomate was loosing movement in his legs falling down a lot, and
told
me barely has any feeling in his legs to this day. He rear ended a ladies
car, guess the mini stroke had something to do with this. BTW he's 62 if
it
matters. They took his license for a few months, then the doctor ok'd him
to
drive again. Howd ya like having him driving behind your bike!
Comforting,
they'll let anyone drive if they can afford it.
Dave
http://www.noweldrecumbent.com


It's true, driving should be a priviledge (it IS, actually, insofar as
one has to be licensed for it), but things have long gotten to the
point that folks think it's their God-given right or something.

I think just one instance of drunken driving should be enough to
permanently revoke the license, for example. Things should be that
strict. Instead, all they do is harp on cyclists wearing helmets and
bull**** like that, while the real problems go unchallenged.

NYC, drunken drivers are the one thing that I fear the most when I am on the
road with motor vehicles. I am death on them. Hells Bells, I drink myself
but I would NEVER drive after having a few drinks.

Did you know that at one time in Nigeria the cops would pull over a drunken
driver and execute him on the spot with a bullet to the head. Now there is
perfect justice!

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

NYC XYZ wrote:

Dave wrote:

My ex roomate was loosing movement in his legs falling down a lot, and told
me barely has any feeling in his legs to this day. He rear ended a ladies
car, guess the mini stroke had something to do with this. BTW he's 62 if it
matters. They took his license for a few months, then the doctor ok'd him to
drive again. Howd ya like having him driving behind your bike! Comforting,
they'll let anyone drive if they can afford it.
Dave
http://www.noweldrecumbent.com



It's true, driving should be a priviledge (it IS, actually, insofar as
one has to be licensed for it), but things have long gotten to the
point that folks think it's their God-given right or something.

I think just one instance of drunken driving should be enough to
permanently revoke the license, for example. Things should be that
strict. Instead, all they do is harp on cyclists wearing helmets and
bull**** like that, while the real problems go unchallenged.


Drunk bicyclists can be a danger to themselves. Many years ago, someone
I knew was stopped at a red light (in her car) and was run into by a
bicycle. Seems the bicyclist was out bar-hopping and didn't want to
drive (ok, that part is a smart move), but he got so drunk he rode right
into the side of her car (put a nice dent it in). He ended up with a
trip to the emergency room.

Janet

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 05:13:58 GMT, Janet wrote:



NYC XYZ wrote:

Dave wrote:

My ex roomate was loosing movement in his legs falling down a lot, and told
me barely has any feeling in his legs to this day. He rear ended a ladies
car, guess the mini stroke had something to do with this. BTW he's 62 if it
matters. They took his license for a few months, then the doctor ok'd him to
drive again. Howd ya like having him driving behind your bike! Comforting,
they'll let anyone drive if they can afford it.
Dave
http://www.noweldrecumbent.com



It's true, driving should be a priviledge (it IS, actually, insofar as
one has to be licensed for it), but things have long gotten to the
point that folks think it's their God-given right or something.

I think just one instance of drunken driving should be enough to
permanently revoke the license, for example. Things should be that
strict. Instead, all they do is harp on cyclists wearing helmets and
bull**** like that, while the real problems go unchallenged.


Drunk bicyclists can be a danger to themselves. Many years ago, someone
I knew was stopped at a red light (in her car) and was run into by a
bicycle. Seems the bicyclist was out bar-hopping and didn't want to
drive (ok, that part is a smart move), but he got so drunk he rode right
into the side of her car (put a nice dent it in). He ended up with a
trip to the emergency room.

Janet

Still significantly better than driving while drunk.

Edward Dolan wrote:


NYC, drunken drivers are the one thing that I fear the most when I am on the
road with motor vehicles. I am death on them. Hells Bells, I drink myself
but I would NEVER drive after having a few drinks.

I've been extremely lucky and have never come across one, whether in a
bike, or driving myself, or under any other circumstances. Almost
every week there's some report of it -- and every other month it turns
out to be an off-duty cop! -- so when I really think about it, it's
almost enough to make me give up bicycle commuting! I don't know why
the law is so lenient on drunken drivers, but here in the City it's a
crime to ride your bike on the sidewalk (thankfully 97% of beat cops
are very sensible in this regard and don't even bat an eyelash). What
happened to all the MADD and SADD campaigns?

If you ever want to kill someone in New York, make sure you do it with
a car. That doctor who blew up his $9 million townhouse to spite his
soon-to-be-ex-wife should have ran her over instead. With a DWI/DUI,
he would have gotten, what, a year in jail or something like that.

Did you know that at one time in Nigeria the cops would pull over a drunken
driver and execute him on the spot with a bullet to the head. Now there is
perfect justice!

Great idea -- but Nigeria is one of the most corrupt places in the
world (Colin Powell himself said this on his Africa tour), so I'm not
sure if they even shot the right guy!

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

Janet wrote:


Drunk bicyclists can be a danger to themselves. Many years ago, someone
I knew was stopped at a red light (in her car) and was run into by a
bicycle. Seems the bicyclist was out bar-hopping and didn't want to
drive (ok, that part is a smart move), but he got so drunk he rode right
into the side of her car (put a nice dent it in). He ended up with a
trip to the emergency room.

Janet


Wow, that's kind of funny, actually. (Ahem.) I hope he paid for the
damage, as well as fined and whatnot.

I never understood the beer thing at the end of a bike ride (or kayak
trip, for that matter). I never understood alcohol to begin with,
actually. What the hell kind of celebration is that, taking gulps and
gulps of Nyquil???

It takes a pretty warped sense of values to think riding while drunk is
significantly better than driving while drunk. Chances are somebody gets
seriously hurt or dies either way.

"dgk" wrote in message
...

Still significantly better than driving while drunk.

Edward Dolan wrote:
NYC, drunken drivers are the one thing that I fear the most when I am on the
road with motor vehicles. I am death on them. Hells Bells, I drink myself
but I would NEVER drive after having a few drinks.

That might be a counterproductive fear. Here's a study that
found that during a 3-year period (1995-1998), driving while
intoxicated was a factor in only 4% of NYC bicyclist fatalities.

http://rightofway.org/research/cyclists.pdf

--
Steven O'Neill
Brooklyn, NY