Walter S

I live in Atlanta and commute (one way) 18 miles to the suburbs. I've found for years that people in the city here are reasonably patient with bicyclists. That is less so as I get into the suburban part of town. Speeds are higher there, so maybe that's why.

But I've also noticed, contrary to what my intuition would indicate, that people are more tolerant and friendly to bicyclists on the "bad" side of town. Southwest Atlanta is a very low income "rough" side of town. But I've noticed over the years that when I ride down there many people will wave and smile and greet me as I ride by. There's this one old man in a wheel chair that cheers me on as though he's calling a race and says "way to go man"!

It's nothing like that on the suburban side of town. Everybody's locked inside their SUV and in a hurry and you're in the way.

But then recently there was a real culture shock when I toured south florida on my bike. Part of the trip took me thru the most urban part of Miami Florida. A friend I visited in the area told me to "be very careful down there". I pretty much dismissed his advice, feeling sort of smug that I ride in urban Atlanta all the time and how bad could it be?

Then I rode thru there and it was a major wake up. People were so intolerant. Lots of honking and yelling and passing too close. I had a couple drivers yelling at me to get up on the sidewalk, something I frequently do if the sidewalks are in good shape but these weren't. But feeling the pressure, I did get up on the sidewalk more the next morning. As I approached a man walking I politely called out "good morning - passing on your left". He turned around and yelled "you should be in the road you A-hole!". The irony was just beyond me and a small laugh escaped my lips, at which time he kicked at my bicycle, grazed my pannier, then took off running after me yelling "come back here"! That really shook me up. I was glad to escape Miami for the Everglades!

But what do you think? What's your part of the country like? I think people in Atlanta are really pretty good about bicycles. But it wasn't that way 20 years ago here. It keeps getting better, and we keep getting more bike paths.

RGNY

agree.

my suburban area is pretty ambivalent toward bikes, but once i get into the city drivers ignore you and the cops tell you to "get on the sidewalk".

azesty

What do I think? I think you should get out there and try for some real variation.

Go for a ride in Mexico. Maybe Canada.

Maybe a different continent, there are 6 others.

z

modernjess

I think I shall avoid Florida. Being as I was already this is not a hardship.

B. Carfree

Nearly thirty years ago I met a retired school teacher while touring on the Pacific coast. When he retired he went on a bike tour and essentially never stopped. His stories about riding in Florida were enough to discourage me from ever riding in such a barbaric place. Someone even cut all his spokes while he was in a store getting some food. I think Florida is still in the top few states for cyclist deaths, so it doesn't look like it is my type of place yet.

I fear that by the time Florida is civilized enough to safely ride a bike, it will be under the Atlantic.

jon c. 

I ride mostly in rural north Florida and the drivers are great. I hear a lot of people in other places complain about rednecks in big pickups, but around here they all give plenty of room. (And it occurred to me the other day that these are the guys who often stop and remove downed limbs on the often heavily treed country roads). I don't ride in the city often, but when I do I've found the urban drivers very accommodating as well.

It's a relatively small city and perhaps that accounts for the mellower attitudes. Also, my urban riding does tend to be on the less affluent south side of town. And I never ride in real suburban areas, which here are all on the north side. More traffic and less hospitable roads in that part of town, so I might guess I'd find riding a little less hospitable there. But where I am, I can ride a century without hitting a traffic light and I virtually never encounter an unfriendly motorist.

puckett129

Florida sucks.

koolerb

I was recently talking with a colleague that lives in suburban Atlanta and I mentioned I cycle. He said "mountain biking?" I said "no, mostly road". That's when he let me know what he thought about road cyclist. I wrapped it up by telling him we both have a right to use the roads, and if we're both courteous while we're out there we can co-exist just fine.

Don't think he bought it.

-=(8)=-

Ive moved 10 times in the last 13 years, living from Vermont to South Florida. I concur. Like politics or weather, I would
opine that attitudes toward vulnerable road users are unique to those areas. The best place for bikes Ive ever seen in the
east was Vermont. Except for Rutland, the whole state is very bike friendly. The worst by far, was West Palm Beach area
of South Florida --- bad in so many ways one post wouldnt hold the bytes. But, the people as a whole were the meanest
and most apathetic to other humans I have ever seen, so it is not surprising that cyclists suffer to the extent they do.
Some areas of SC are sadly becoming Floridified too, unfortunately. PA varied, area to area, but I would say it wasnt bike
friendly in most areas. Where I am now in Kentucky, pretty good, KY's major urban cities are pretty tolerant, but get off
into "The Hills Have Eyes" territory, not so much. I have more boring opinions of areas, but for the sake of sanity, Ill
end it here! But yes . . . All areas have a 'tone' that is usually apparent within a few miles.

-=(8)=-

For my stay in West Palm Beach FL I learned:

☞Never stop at stop signs, you are setting yourself up for getting your bike violently separated from you.
☞Be careful where you use hand signals or you risk having some thuglettes zoom up and ask you "What you need"
☞If you hear "HEY, THATS MY BIKE", pedal like your life depends on it, because it might.
☞Urban camouflage -- Dressing like a homeless guy and riding a beater bike anywhere below Northlake is good policy. Save the good bike for A1A rides.
☞Pepper spray? ☠☠

Dealing with the homicidal traffic will be lesson #2

In all fairness, Florida is HUGE geographically speaking, so I imagine there are lots of places that arent as bad as what I elaborate upon here, but all of this stuff happened to me in my 2 years of bike commuting there.

Walter S

I found Florida overall to be just fine. It was miami specifically that was a problem. I left there and headed for the Everglades and the keys. That changed everything. From talking to other riders down there, my experience was not a fluke.

acidfast7

+1

in the same city does not equal variation unless your spectrum is very narrow

Walter S

I agree. I lived up in Easley SC and people were "OK". Down towards Columbia it was just awful.

acidfast7

EU* >>> US**

*I've only commuted in Frankfurt, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden
**I've only commuted in Wells, ME; Orono, ME; College Station, TX; Bryan, TX; Palm Beach, FL (the island) and Skaneateles, NY.

Walter S

Thats what I long for. For now work and family responsibilities limit me to weekends and occasional short vacations. So discussing topics on the Internet has to suffice.

Walter S

By definition, it is in fact narrow (i.e. limited to that city and that paragraph)

bunkiefd4

I'm still new to biking to work but, here in Louisiana I haven't had any problems (yet). Most people wave and smile when passing by. Also keep in mind that I'm in a smaller town and not a large city. Every now and then we have bikers pass by the firehouse, we normally give them water and let them use the restroom. I'm talking about those guys who travel from state to state on bikes. I use to laugh at that but I'm realizing now how cool that is and would like to work up the courage one day to do it.

acidfast7

-=(8)=-

Old City, SCAD area of Savannah
I never rode it by bike, but someday I would like to do Glynn Co along the coast, Rt 17.
Very beautiful country, in my opinion. Looks(?) like it might not be too bad.

FenderTL5

If you come to Nashville, I think you'll encounter the same/similar attitudes here. I enjoy riding downtown and in the "urban" parts of the city, the suburbs not so much. Every incident with close passes (having my mirror hit 2x), yelling, honking etc - save for one taxi cab, has been in the suburbs. The bigger issue downtown is jaywalker/pedestrians.
I don't ride on the sidewalks, that is a traffic violation here. Our current mayor is very pro-bicycle and has worked to make infrastructure improvements all over the city.

acidfast7

I agree that most people will see a positive correlation between population density and cycle-friendly behavior over a threshold population density that usually correlates with urban cores.

-=(8)=-

Off topic, but maybe not?
Ive never been to left coast Portland, but am planning a trip to do so, hopefully in the summer or fall.
I was on a motorcycle travel forum asking about stuff that might be good to visit in the limited time,
bike travel, etc. Some of the answers I got surprised me. Portland is seen as cycling Mecca to we who
dont live there, but a few of the people who responded to my inquiry said there is a huge possibility
of disappointment because cycling is the new autocentricity there and all the stuff that goes along with
that mindset, ie, cliques, roadrage, anger etc are there in high percentage among cyclists. I was sort of
shocked to read this.
Only opinion, but the first time I read stuff like that and agreed upon by others.

acidfast7

People who don't cycle in CPH say the same thing. The cyclists own the streets. When that is coupled with a 180% sales tax on cars ... I kid you not as I just had a colleague so paid roughly $110k for a new Ford C-Max ... it becomes even more extreme as a lot of people are forced to cycle and/or use public transport.

That 180% auto tax almost never gets reported in articles describing CPH as a cycling mecca. Neither does the disgust of the more rural people paying the 180% tax that subsidizes the CPH-only infrastructure.

-=(8)=-

Another place I desire to visit.
What you posted makes perfect sense, though.
Sometimes I like to get opinions of cycling on non-cycling/non-USA forums because of stuff like this.
Sort of like FOX vs. Al Jezera

acidfast7

To be serious, AJE (Al Jazerra English) is an extremely good channel. I try to balance my news watching between EuroNews, CNN International, N24 (German), AJE and Russia Today.

AJE had excellent coverage of the American election in live time, for example.

I don't know if you get this ... but I'd watch for a few minutes, if you can:

https://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/

EuroNews is nice as well because they coverage more cultural stuff (IMO):

https://www.euronews.com/news/streaming-live/