trailz 

I hope you all find 3 minutes to watch this video from Orland, FL.

https://bikeportland.org/2010/10/25/f...509#more-41509

trailz 

I mean, Orlando.

sorry

ClimbTheHill

This video gives me hope for the future. Thanks for sharing.

RazrSkutr

This is the happiest thing I've seen on this forum in months. Thanks for posting. It's great to see something like that. Just riding bikes to school for all the right reasons and in the right way. Wish I could do something to encourage them, but it looks like they've got it sorted.

tligman

awesome

zeppinger

Bicycle car pooling. Its a good idea, especially for a lot of beginner who don't know how to change a flat or don't feel safe riding alone on the street. Its looked wonderful to me.

Brian Sharpe

Nice to see them showing the initiative.

CommuterRun

Hmm, neat idea, but they are plainly riding as if the entire group is a vehicle which in FL it is not. Each individual bike is a vehicle.

Also I didn't see any bike lanes on their route so I wonder how they comply with the new mandatory bike lane law riding two-abreast.

Other than that; it's great.

San Rensho 

"Kidical" Mass. This is great and I'm even more impressed its in ultraconservative, car loving Orlando FL.

caloso

Pure awesomeness.

billdsd

More like "Kidical" Manners, since they seemed to be making an effort to keep the group obeying the rules of the road; even signaling.

billdsd

I'm not from Florida and so not familiar with this law. Can you give a pointer or brief description?

zeppinger

It looked to me like they were riding two abrest and since they were taking up the whole lane the two abrest behind them could not pass. Since no single vehicle is causing the other vehicles delay then they do not have to pull over. This is what has become to be know as "traffic." When you encounter "traffic" the best thing to do is to give it extra following distance and mind your manners.

CommuterRun

316.2065Bicycle regulations.—
...
(5)(a)Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride in the lane marked for bicycle use or, if no lane is marked for bicycle use, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
1.When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.
2.When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
3.When reasonably necessary to avoid any condition, including, but not limited to, a fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, or substandard-width lane, that makes it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. For the purposes of this subsection, a “substandard-width lane” is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.
(b)Any person operating a bicycle upon a one-way highway with two or more marked traffic lanes may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as practicable.

https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/...0316.2065.html

That in blue is the new wording that took effect as of September 1st. The exceptions to the old "as far right as practicable" law didn't change and also apply to the new law in regards to bike lanes.

I got pretty spun up about this law when I first heard about it being passed, but giving it further thought I realized that since the exceptions didn't change, the new law made no change in the way I ride.

It may mean nothing to these high school students and their bike-bus either, as long as they don't take a route that has a designated bike lane.

This law was passed as a rider on a highway safety bill that I have since forgotten the number of. The reason behind it was because of groups of roadies legally riding two-abreast and causing traffic congestion on highways in some cities in S FL. So they got themselves relegated to riding single file in the bike lane. Legally anyway. I don't ride where this was a problem, so I don't know how the new law is working out in practice.

Greyryder

Those lanes weren't wide enough to be considered safe to share with a car. They fall under the "substandard lane width" exception. They're allowed to ride two abreast, because they're allowed to use the full lane.

rogwilco

lol at the guy with the Cervelo, but whatever, good for them; very nice video.

caloso

???

mikeybikes

Awesome work. Videos like this give me hope for the future.

rogwilco

Don't you think it's a little overkill to ride a bike like that for commuting?

caloso

Personally? No, not really.



(cellphone shot from the office parking garage)

CB HI

No

CommuterRun

I have to disagree with you on this one, CB HI.

I have to say it depends. For some, no. For me, I don't feel I could ride a bike like that to its potential. I don't feel I could ride a bike like that to the level that the bike is capable of.

A friend of mine has a very nice, and quite expensive, Trek. He races triathlons. I don't want a bike like his because I don't think it would be as suitable for the kind of riding I do as my old C'dale Road Warrior 500.

caloso

The thing I liked best about the Orlando kids was that they didn't seem to care what kind of bike you showed up on. BMXs and Cervelos and cruisers and mom's old road bike.

(Now to be fair, I don't consider the Cervelo to be my day-to-day commuter, but during the season I'm usually doing a training ride before work, a group ride after, or occasionally both. I don't think I'm riding it to its potential either, but hardly anybody can, unless your name is Jens.)

billdsd

Racing bikes are not good for carrying stuff and riding in the rain without fenders sucks. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with commuting on a racing bike. If you live in a place with little rain (like me) and you can avoid having to carry much stuff, it's fine most of the time.

I currently commute on a touring bike. One of these days I plan to get another racing bike and when I do, I will probably commute on it 3 days a week most of the time. I carry my work clothes on Monday morning and Friday evening though so I'll still ride the touring bike those days. Of course, any day it rains will also be a day for the touring bike.

CB HI

So, whenever you drive, you take that car to the limits of it's potential; driving down the freeway at 100+ mph?

PS - If Lance got on any of our daily commuters, I think almost all of us would find out that the bike was not being used to it's potential.