biking in detroit

[Retroit]

This thread cracks me up! The argument over street vs. sidewalk and left side vs. right side needs less absolutist thinking and a little more common sense. I actually agree more with izzyindetroit's original advice, but of course there are exceptions.

If you absolutely have to ride your bike on a busy road, then, yes, ride with the traffic. However, it is often possible to get where you want to go by using roads that are not as busy. Instead of using the main road, consider a side street that parallels the main road. You may not want to drive a car down them because they slow you down, but on a bike, the speed is the same, with a lot more safety [[traffic-wise), less noise, a change of scenery, etc. Be flexible - your bike gives you this ability. Experiment with different routes.

If the sidewalk has many pedestrians, then stay in the street. If less peds, a simple "excuse me" should do the trick. But a blank prohibition from using the sidewalks is unreasonable. No statistics can convince me that riding a bike a foot away from passing cars is safer that riding a bike 10-15 feet from them.

As for getting hit by turning cars: if you are riding against traffic, you will be able to anticipate cars turning by their turn signal, pulling to the side, and slowing down. Absent these indicators, you will be in the best position of avoiding them since you are looking at them!

As for getting hit from the back vs. the front: If a car taveling 45 mph hits you, the few mph difference in your speed will mean the difference between dying in 1 second vs. dying in 2 seconds, i.e. no big deal.

I've ridden my bike almost every day, weather providing, for over 30 years and have never had an accident. I only ride for pleasure, so I admit I am a lot more flexible on where I choose to ride. My general rules of thumb:
*Busy street and the sidewalk is unavailable, I'll ride in the street with traffic, but I avoid this if at all possible.
*Less busy streets with adequate room in the right lane [[driver's perspective), I'll ride in the street against traffic.
*Busy streets with adequate sidewalk, I ride on the sidewalk against traffic.

Just remember, there are a lot of careless [[and drunk) drivers out there. Give yourself the widest margin of safety and the most control over the situation as you possibly can. Don't get complacent. Don't assume that people value your life as much as you do. Always think SAFETY!

And I only ride old, ugly bikes that no one would want to steal.

[gravitymachine]

This thread cracks me up! The argument over street vs. sidewalk and left side vs. right side needs less absolutist thinking and a little more common sense. I actually agree more with izzyindetroit's original advice, but of course there are exceptions.

i won't disagree that there are practical exceptions based on certain situations, but the thinking about the sidwalk issue isn't "absolutist" out of self-righteousness, its because there are laws regulating the use of bicycles on sidewalks and in the street, hardly enforced sure, but they are there. my take on it is that when a greater number of cyclist's behave in a more standardized fashion, it will lessen the unpredictable nature of cyclists, as seen by motorists, and foster some sense of greater trust between the two over time. encouraging people to ride any which way doesn't really contibute to the overall cause

[wolverine]

This thread cracks me up! The argument over street vs. sidewalk and left side vs. right side needs less absolutist thinking and a little more common sense. I actually agree more with izzyindetroit's original advice, but of course there are exceptions.

As for getting hit from the back vs. the front: If a car taveling 45 mph hits you, the few mph difference in your speed will mean the difference between dying in 1 second vs. dying in 2 seconds, i.e. no big deal.

And I only ride old, ugly bikes that no one would want to steal.

I absolutely agree that a lot of it is common sense. I think what people are providing though are some helpful tips. Of course on any quiet residential street it's pretty much all yours for the taking...but of course many destinations are on busy roads, which is where safety is more of an issue.

Please be serious though on the right vs left. I participated on a non-motorized plan for the city of Chicago and being hit from the front vs the back by 35 mph traffic DOES make a difference. Assuming the biker is wearing a helmet, they are much likelier to walk away from an incident if they were going with the flow of traffic...which is why it's the law. They haven't made this off a few people's experiences or what seems like a good idea, but solid data and injury reports. Yes, on any side street you can relax a bit because there are fewer cars, but Detroit does have a lot of busy roads that you will eventually use.