What I have learned after week 1 of commuting

[Johnno260]

T Wells is awful for mobile phone zombies, if I'm on 2 or 4 wheels the amount of times I have seen a pedestrian mindlessly walk into the road and never checking to see if it's safe are totally uncountable.

Same with headphones, they don't look and certainly can't hear traffic or a shouted warning.

 

[Johnno260]

Stop it, you're making me feel like a wimp because my commute looks like this:

View attachment 453213

View attachment 453214

Look, look, I have to deal with cars too:

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So there...

I'm totally jealous now! git! lol

 

[Nibor]

a friendlier approach:-

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehh8ZdIMMj4

 

[mjr]

a friendlier approach:-

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehh8ZdIMMj4

There's clearly not enough space for walking or cycling there but there's that huge near-empty carriageway just over the wall to the right that I bet the government there won't reallocate to a new cycleway.

 

[cyberknight]

Heres one from a seasoned commuter
I carry a light waterproof. leggings + overshoes all year around, cant beat putting on wet gear at the end of the day if you dont hvae drying facilities at work so i keep them in the pannier all year around .

 

[I like Skol]

a friendlier approach:-

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehh8ZdIMMj4

Not really. Just another version of the self-important view that your journey should be faster or is more important than the other people travelling the same path. The infrastructure in that video clearly isn't adequate so if you want to go faster than pedestrian pace then find an alternative or ride on the road like a grown up! (Riding on the road may well be illegal in the US, they can be funny like that )

 

[Johnno260]

There's clearly not enough space for walking or cycling there but there's that huge near-empty carriageway just over the wall to the right that I bet the government there won't reallocate to a new cycleway.

Thats Brooklyn bridge I have walked across that and there is zero room, it didn't stop one twonk zipping through the pedestrians on a track bike screaming gtfo my way, he would then turn around and cross again, he also stacked it bigtime, it's the last place I would take a bike in Manhattan.

Edit: the foot traffic in that video is much lighter than when I was there, also the middle of the bridge is a huge choke point.

 

[mjr]

Not really. Just another version of the self-important view that your journey should be faster or is more important than the other people travelling the same path.

At least that seems slightly saner than the slef-loathing view of some cyclists on here that our journeys are less important and should be slowed to the pace of the slowest road user even when there's adequate width (which there isn't there).

The infrastructure in that video clearly isn't adequate so if you want to go faster than pedestrian pace then find an alternative or ride on the road like a grown up! (Riding on the road may well be illegal in the US, they can be funny like that )

Yep, bikes banned from the empty lanes by a sign at https://mapstreetview.com/#o89h5_-181tzo_0.a_2h43 - home of the bully and land of the freeway!

 

[tobykenobi]

Like to OP I have moved jobs and now have a decent commute. Just under 9 miles each way, the bulk of which is on quiet rural roads. Done it for just over a week and loving it so far. Opted to use my ageing Dawes Galaxy rather than the flashier Cannondale as it has fatter tyres, rack for panniers and mudguards.

It absolutely tipped down yesterday morning but I was pleased to find my Aldi "showerproof" jacket I've had for ages coped rather well!

Still need more clothing but will add to the collection bit by bit.

Can't beat it in the sun, however.

 

[icowden]

To be fair, that's how I approach congestion on the bike lane. I just prefer:

To the tune of "Go West":
"Move LEFT - There's a pavement there...
Move LEFT - It is safer there
Move LEFT - Please don't be a square
Move LEFT - To find some cleaner air..."

Or for Smombies (to the tune of Look Down from Les Mis):-
Look Up, Look Up, You'll always be a slave,
Look Up, Look Up, You're standing in your grave...

And sometimes
"HELLO! (pause) Is it me you're looking for?
I can see it in your eyes, that you haven't got a clue,
So let me start by asking - to come through...."

The last one gets the best response if you time the pause right. Initially people think you are just shouting, and then you deliver the rest of the song, and the ice is broken.