froley

I live Rochester, a smallish city in upstate NY. My commute generally doesn’t take me outside city limits. The side streets as well as the main ones are lined with parked cars, and when I ride in the road I am in constant fear that a driver side door will open and send my flying. The sidewalks are usually crowded with people listening to their MP3 player, so my cries of “PASSING” dissipate into nothing.
Also, the roadsides are absolutely littered with debris , garbage, tree limbs, gravel, large rocks, crack stems (no joke) and lots of glass. There seems to be a lot of *******s who think it fun to pick on bikers, especially when I’m at a stoplight.
How do you urban riders cope? I’m new to commuting and I’m finding it very stressful.

Kimmitt 

I take a lane.

Yan 

The solution is to cycle far enough away from the parked cars that their doors cannot hit you. This would also allow you to avoid the debris near the gutter.

Edit: What Kimmitt said.

froley

whoa, you guys ride in a lane*******rysly??
A lane during morning/afternoon rushhour? why does that seem crazy to me??

aley

Because you're not used to the idea, and/or you're not picking your route well.

I avoid most arterial streets because the 40+ mph traffic and three lanes in each direction take most of the enjoyment out of cycling. In most cases you can find perfectly acceptable streets that are smaller, slower, and have less traffic, and it's a lot more comfortable for a newer cyclist to start taking the lane.

Be assertive, but avoid being a jackass about it. Make it clear that you belong on the road, and that you know you belong on the road, and you'll be surprised at how many drivers will simply accept your presence on the road.

TheRealNicola

Couldn't have said it better. I stay on streets I can stay up with traffic on. No need going on a 45 mph street. I stick to most side streets with way less traffic then the busy street next to it.

Also it does take some experience to get used to it. I was exactly the same when I would read people writing about taking the lane. After doing it for months it just becomes natural.

froley

very good. thanks.
I think I'll stick to the side streets for now...

exile

Choosing a good route is probably the best advice. It does not have to be the fastest or the most direct route, but it should be the safest (for you). If that means you have more stop signs or stop lights plus more time added to your commute; but you encounter less traffic, less hassle, and less people trying to mess with you, then its a sacrafice commuters have to make sometimes.

As far as car doors go, ride about 3 feet away from them. I also check through the back windows when approaching (if possible) to see if their is movement inside. Doesn't alway work, but it helps.

politicalgeek

I tend to stick to side streets, but occasionally the commute leaves me with no other options. We have a lot of one way streets through our downtown. In a way they are great for riding with all the available lane options for drivers to get around you.

As others said, take a lane and be assertive. I typically ride about where the right tire would be on a car. When I approach a red light or stop sign, I gear down and merge over to take the full lane and be visible at the intersection. Eye contact helps, I've found, as you approach intersections with stopped traffic and you have right of way. I stare the drivers down so they know I am there. Lights help with this as well.

making

Indianapolis just painted bike lane on two busy city streets I commute on. I appreciate it and think it is a net gain, they painted it exactly like I have been riding it for years, except. About a mile is down a line of parked cars on the right. Before I used to just take the lane and ride like teh curb was where a car door could possibly get me if opened at exactly the right moment, in other words just out of reach. This is a major city 5 or 6 lane street with crazy heavy traffic. Now I feel more obligated to stay in the bike lane, which does put me in range of a suddenly opening door. But I stay as far to the left as I can, know where cars are so I can swerve out if I need to, watch windows etc, but mainly if I cant get out of range I slow down. It is only a mile and an open car door can do a lot of damage. Actually I kinda perfer city to suburban riding. City drivers seem more used to us.

tsl

I too live in Rochester--in the city, on Goodman across from the Art Gallery. I work at three neighborhood branches of the public library--Winton and Atlantic, Bay and Webster, Joseph and Avenue D. These last two are firmly in "the crescent".

We must live in parallel universes because I have a completely different impression of the city. I ride between 5,000 and 6,000 miles every year--in all four seasons--80% of it in the city. Even riding Joseph Ave I find the roads clean and in good shape, drivers decent and respectful. True, I did get honked last night on East Main at the Inner Loop, but I had made the mistake. I had drifted too far right in the lane and the idiot thought they could squeeze by on my left. I can't remember when the time before that was.

Get thee to the public library!

At Winton Branch we have two copies of The Art of Cycling: A Guide to Bicycling in 21st Century America by Robert Hurst (an occasional poster here.) It's on the shelf in non-fiction at 796.6. (Bonus: Come in on Friday or Saturday, and I'm the guy behind the circ desk who checks it out to you.) Or you can have it sent to a branch nearer you. (This service costs 50¢.) You can even do that online, here.

The first edition was titled Art of Urban Cycling. I'm not sure why they renamed it because it remains focused on riding in traffic on city streets. You'll find most of the same information scattered all around this forum--the book pulls it all together in one place.

supercycle62

I have been riding in a major urban environment for about 35 years. I find that when I ride in heavy traffic I tend to be a little more aggressive. I ride like I belong on the road (take the lane), use hand signals and try to make eye contact with car drivers so they know I am out there. I take the attitude that car drivers cannot see me so I make myself visible and let the other drivers know what I intend on doing by again using proper hand signals. Don't worry, it'll get easier with time.
As far as being "doored" this is a constant danger for all urban cyclists. Again, just stay alert and watch the parked cars as you ride...just in case a driver decides to exit their vehicle. I have had to swerve to avoid lots of people opening the driver door but I have yet to actually hit one.

alicestrong

Are there any groups in your area that you can practice urban cycling with?

In Los Angeles there are, and riding in a group that way can help you gain the confidence for solo street riding.

AngryScientist 

i'd also like to point out : it's probably illegal to ride on the sidewalk and otherwise discouraged, bikers have the right to and belong in the road.

making

I am not a purest but riding on the sidewalk in most circumstances is even more dangerous than the street. Entry to the street, exit from the street and crosswalks with peds seem very scary to me. Unless you are going walking speed on a comfort bike, and there aint a thing wrong with that, I would stay on the street.

RobertFrapples

I'm also in Rochester. I live on the east side and work in Gates, so I ride through the city. My experiences are somewhere between yours and tsl's. I had to switch to Armadillo tires due to the debris in the road. Most of the drivers are reasonably attentive and cooperative. But if two or three drivers out of the hundred you see every morning are jerks, it seems daunting.

Vary your ride, you'll find some roads are better than others, in terms of both road quality and driver quality. Where do you ride?

capejohn

You have a typical city commute. Over time you will work out the best routes and get pretty comfortable riding.

How do we cope? We don't have anything to cope to really. I would say that most of us simply saddle up and pedal.

You should print and save this post and read it at the end of the season. You will probably get a kick out of it.

lil brown bat

What makes a "good route" really depends not just on the type of road, but on local conditions. In Boston, a bike fits on pretty much any non-controlled access road (there's probably an exception, but offhand I can't think of one). This is because the traffic is so dense during morning rush hour that you're really not holding anyone up, AND the drivers are used to sharing the road with bicycles.

Do stay away from the doors, and do stay off the sidewalks. Sidewalk riding is really only safe in situations where the "sidewalk" would better be named "non-road strip of pavement with zero pedestrians on it". Pedestrians and bicycles don't mix.

Skoal

Was riding a newish bike lane in Queens NYC the other day. The lane was way to close to parked cars. A open door covered the whole lane. Traffic seemed pretty heavy on the street as well. Think I will stay off that road.

ibcrewin

I live in Queens and commute over the Queensboro bridge. In Queens, I take the back roads and take a lane. If there's a bike lane, I ride on the tape right at the edge of the bike lane.

Going over the bridge it's pretty intuitive.

In Manhattan, I weave in and out of traffic when it's slow or stopped. When the traffic is flowing I pretty much take a lane. I'll sit in the first third of the lane and I usually turn my head all the way around to make eye contact with the car behind me.

lil brown bat

Or just take the lane. The presence of a bike lane doesn't mean you can't ride anywhere else.

rideabike

That isn't necessarily true in NY State. This is from the NYS Vehicle and Traffic law:

Section 1234. Riding on roadways, shoulders, bicycle lanes and bicycle paths.

(a) Upon all roadways, any bicycle shall be driven either on a usable bicycle lane or, if a usable bicycle lane has not been provided, near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a usable right- hand shoulder in such a manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic except when preparing for a left turn or when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions that would make it unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge. Conditions to be taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or traffic lanes too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side-by-side within the lane.

https://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/bike-vt.htm#sec1234

In the end though, I'm going to ride where I feel safe, not where someone thinks I should ride.

oboeguy

Well said. I don't cope, I get from that start of my ride to the end. It's not complicated.

Caleab

+1000

Take the lane. You got a right to be there. Use it.

... and as for those that "pick" on bikers, well they're usually just jealous =)

lil brown bat

Emphasis mine. You were saying?

IOW, the bike lane as described doesn't meet any reasonable definition of "usable". It's unsafe, so don't use it, and don't waste time worrying that some Captain Safety Officer Deputy Dawg is going to try to cite Section 1234 subsection (a) and write you up.