noglider 

I took my Rudge 3-speed on the train into Manhattan yesterday and rode to my mother's place on the upper west side. This meant I was riding uptown (north) on 8th Avenue during rush hour. Thousands of people were walking south on 8th, towards the Port Authority Bus Terminal and to Penn Station. In typical New York fashion, they spilled out into the street, including into the bike lane. I got a little pissed but I knew to expect this. I started ringing my bell constantly, and I mean ring, ring, ring, ring, without stop. Some people got out of the way. Some of those who got out of the way did so reasonably quickly. Some were walking towards me and some away from me. Some of them had headphones on or were participating in other equally stupid distractions while in traffic. Since I noticed my bell wasn't 100% effective, I sped up. I passed the violators with little enough clearance that I could hope that I scared them. Still, there were more people violating my space. Not unexpected, but I figured I could be even more assertive. I saw a crowd of people heading my way, so I put my head down, made a freakishly ugly scowl on my face, bore my teeth, and sped up even more. I started to roar like a crazy person. People started scattering rapidly. A car turning off the avenue and crossing the bike lane was threatening to cut me off, so I increased the volume of my roar. The driver stopped for me. I gathered so much speed, that my momentum carried me about two blocks. I'm sure crowds of people were commenting on how insane that weirdo on the bike must be. I let up on my effort, because my heart was pounding, and I had a wheezy feeling in my chest. I pondered over what kind of insanity had just passed through my body.

I finished the trip using less looniness but not zero, either. And traffic lightened once I hit Central Park West.

I was covered in sweat, and I wheezed and coughed for a while after arriving, but I think it was worth it.

spivonious

lol, I wish you had a video of this.

Ozonation

I wish I could have seen this too!

Sometimes, there's not much you can do. Yesterday, I was driving (not biking, sorry) and I had the green light. A girl on campus decides to walk against the red and cut in front of me as I enter the intersection. I was not going to fast so I slowed down, but not only did she decide to just walk illegally with oncoming traffic, she starts yakking on her phone as she crosses! And I swear she even looks up and sees me. I honk - no reaction. I yell - no reaction. If I cared less or was a less conscientious driver, I probably would have hit her.

Stupid, ignorant, and selfish.

BassNotBass

+1.

juggleaddict

https://compare.ebay.com/like/2710552...Types&var=sbar ; ) saves the voice, louder than yelling

BassNotBass

I see it states ~30 blasts but how long can a continuous blast hold out for using a 12floz bottle?

v0_boulder

When I visited NYC a couple times, I have seen this on the BB during rush hour cyclists cranking their bells and shouting, clueless tourists in the cycle path bikes dodging in between people. I love NYC but a commute like that everyday might make me go crazy!

ThermionicScott 

+1. This could be the "When Commuters Attack" segment of TrailViewMount's documentary on road cyclists.

Mr. Hairy Legs

Hahaha love it!

SuperDave

I believe you may be my new hero.

alan s 

AirZound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYkBHGurj-I

noglider 

Hey, thanks for the support, folks! I thought you would chew me out.

I don't work in New York. But as irritating as riding in the city can be, it's still less irritating than driving anywhere. To paraphrase a bumper sticker, a bad day cycling is better than a good day driving.

Talking on the phone while crossing the street is majorly stupid. When I'm walking and talking on the phone and I come to the street, I say, "Hold on" and I hold the phone at my side until I'm across. People on the phone do not have enough spare brain cycles to judge the danger they're in. It's really stupid.

My wife praised me for my episode and also wished she could have seen it. Maybe I'll do it again and have her video it. But I'm not sure it would play out the same.

noglider 

bikeman4you is such a character! A true Noo Yawka!

Trueblood

NYC is a tough commuting environment. I remain unconvinced by the dedicated bicycle lanes which are removed physically from traffic lanes such as those on 8th Avenue. They simply don't work well for someone trying to get somewhere reasonably quickly. And you must use them by law, where available, or face an expensive ticket. In mid-town, I ride up 6th and stay on the left. More dangerous, but you can make decent progress. Other threads have mentioned how a line of parked cars or curb separating the bike lanes from the street give riders fewer options for avoiding pedestrians or obstacles in an emergency. They just don't seem to be designed for anything other than slow leisure riding. Some bike lanes - those that are painted on the asphalt but not separated - such as along northbound CPW, seem to work very well. I have pretty much resigned myself to not being able to make rapid progress through the city without riding in traffic. I think any other expectation leads to frustration.

noglider 

It's true that NYC is difficult on a bike, but I don't blame any of the designs. It's because of the outlaw culture. You could have the most brilliant designs, and people will still work strenuously to break the laws, and I mean motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, dog walkers, push-cart-pushers, everyone. "F*ck the laws" is the prevailing attitude, unless you suffer from someone's lawlessness.

I don't mind the defects of the bike lanes while I acknowledge that they're far from perfect. I've seen better, and I've seen worse. And I commuted in Manhattan when there were no bike lanes. One summer when I was young, I commuted from W 96 St to E 13 St. It was really tough. It was like doing battle.

gmt13

I bet someone made a video. You ought to check out youtube for the next few days.

-G

FunkyStickman

You can have my airzound when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.