mdadams1

My strategy for commuting to work. I ride 15 miles one way. I have a cygolite in the front and back. They are very bright and powerful. I wear a very bright orange shirt, full helmet. I go over my bike weekly for any issues. I checked google maps for all the routes to work Look for the least congested safest routes to work. Those with fewest cars, time of morning traffic heaviest...I am extremely alert and anticipate cars pulling out in front of me, door opening....I make mental notes when cars drive unsafe and watch for areas that can be dangerous....I also wave to drivers who are courteous to me.....

Milton Keynes

I think bright lights, wearing brightly colored clothing, and being aware of traffic/your surroundings go a long way in avoiding accidents on the bike.

JoeyBike

That is b@d@$$ed! I was forced to commute 18 miles each way for a year and a half after Katrina ruined New Orleans. That was no joke. My level of fitness was pretty incredible and I am sure you will experience that as well. Sounds like you are taking the safety thing seriously so nice going! Enjoy the fitness level you will attain as well!

Cheers.

Leisesturm

A couple (few?) of quibbles ... a Cygolite front and rear? Seriously? Could you be more specific? Models? Type? If you are using a white light to the rear it is both illegal and uncool. Full helmet? Are you cycling or motorcycling? Bright orange shirt? Solid white is actually an approved Hi-Viz color. Next is the ubiquitous fluorescent green/yellow. Bright orange? Is this a serious post? "Those with fewest cars, time of morning traffic heaviest"? Either English is not your first language or ... ... I'm not sure how helpful I would be to anyone if I wrote to a Dutch message board using my rudimentary Nederlands. I'm giving you Four Stars anyway for the "I also wave to drivers who are courteous to me", yeppers, that is important. I do that too. Yeah, that and, "I go over my bike weekly for any issues". I don't, but I should ...

Jim from Boston

Maybe this will help someone I noted that you, @mdadams, the OP, recently started a thread on the Commuting Forum, “Safety gear for your commute” While there were replies on that thread, as well as numerous other threads about safety equipment and riding styles, several of the replies to your earlier thread emphasized the global attribute of attention above all:FWIW, I frequently post about my safety aphorisms because "Maybe this will help someone."As an example of over-reliance on safety gear:BTW, you didn’t list IMO an indispensable safety item, a rear view mirror.

KraneXL

Is your commute in the developed nations or through the war torn roads of Afghanistan? A bit of alertness when riding on the roads is a good thing. But being in a constant state of panic defeats the purpose. I hope you've found the safe balance between the two. As for customs and courtesies, I prefer they just obey the law, and that need not be thanked.

BobbyG

+1000

mdadams1

Wow..just trying to help. Just in case someone got an idea from me or could share another idea. Did not expect some of the responses. Definitely my last post on this forum.

Joe Bikerider

Google is not the cyclist friend. My street which used to be a narrow curvy country road is now the same road but packed with speeding commuters trying to avoid the highway and get somewhere quicker. We neighbors are working with the city and county to stop this but it’s difficult. As far as I can find out only one neighborhood in the country has succeeded in getting their streets off the Waze (owned by google) routing. Los Altos hills! Home to many Google execs. Those billionaires take care of themselves, don’t you know. Makes riding more dangerous than it should be.

KraneXL

Have you been to youtube lately? Just read some of the negative responses people leave there and you'd consider yourself lucky. Thing is, people tend to spew negatives and insults and never even explain why.

The internet is not always a nice place, but if you let one or two negatives ruin your day then you'll always be running away. Instead, you take your chances and hope for the best. Somebody might get it. And not everyone who appreciates your thread will respond. In the mean time, maybe you should read post number 3 again?

JoeyBike

So true! Especially in A&S for some reason.

My tough skin comes from playing 3rd base from pewees to college baseball. This means that at every game played on the opposition's field the 3rd base dugout was full of the opposition players just a few meters away from my base. Needless to say as the nearest player to the other team's dugout I was the target of abuse constantly. Water off a duck's back! I believe it impossible to get my goat with anything verbal or written about me. A true gift indeed.

Stick around and and have some fun with it OP! You should take nothing personal here because no one knows you personally, right?

Jim from Boston

Maybe this will help someone IMO, if you posted to describe your commute of 15 miles one way, that’s an admirable distance; my minimal commute is 14 miles, and from other threads, I think 20 miles one way is a maximal practicable daily distance.However, you give no description of the commute. For example, see this thread, “Describe Your Commute.” So I think your intent was to provide specific suggestions of frankly fairly obvious gear and practices to these otherwise experienced cycle commuters, kind of like “bringing coals to Newcastle.”

As I noted above, “you… recently started a thread on the Commuting Forum, “Safety gear for your commute” … there were replies on that thread, as well as numerous other threads about safety equipment and riding styles…” yet you left off a “IMO an indispensable safety item, a rear view mirror.”

Just saying', FWIW.

genec

Wow, using google. Oh man, how amazing. And yet, google still tells me the same thing that paper maps show... there is only ONE road going where I need to go. Go figure.

berner

I'm only familiar with cycling in my own area. It seems there is an ever increasing number of people riding bikes and most are drawn to the East Bay Bike Path in Rhode Island but I also see in increasing numbers riding on the road. I see their bike by the library or post office and other locations around town, Many of those people are likely to be fairly new riders. For them, being inexperienced, tips on equipment and the mindset useful for safer cycling would be helpful.

mcours2006

Hey, thanks for the post. I'm sure some who are new to commuting will find it helpful. Don't let the one idiotic post drive you away from what is a great place full of great people with lots of experience and knowledge. A few around here are always antagonistic trolls. You learn to recognize who they are and then just ignore them.

livedarklions

As a rider, I don't find "least congested" to be synonymous with "safest". Often the low-traffic side streets are low-trafficked for very good reasons, bad pavement, blind curves, excessively narrow, circuitous routing, etc. I find that the main roads Google Maps is always trying to divert me from are more often than not better to ride on than the side streets and paths it is pushing on me. I've learned that the hard way on some very long rides.

Planning your route is good, but there really is no substitute for getting to know the roads yourself. There's only so much you can learn from available maps.

eja_ bottecchia

Welcome to the new BF, where a post, no matter how helpful or well-intended it might be, is immediately shot down by the resident “experts,” with more free time than common sense or courtesy.

Stick around, there is hope.

livedarklions

Wow, badger the witness much?

You seem to be stuck on the word "serious" a bit, so I'm going to ask you do you seriously not understand how obnoxious this style of writing is?

If you wanted to add some points, fine, but really, accusing someone of not being "serious" because they didn't mention the shirt color? That's over the top, even for you.

mcours2006

We also must learn to stop feeding The Troll.

wphamilton

Eh there's always a gripe, especially in A&S. A quibble with any of that would be mostly situational in my opinion.

The route planning, and Google is very useful with that, is often overlooked or neglected.

Leisesturm

They mentioned the shirt color. Is that the only takeaway for you? Look, it was not the most helpful post ever on BF. Being completely unsolicited makes it all the more fit for critique. No one twisted the o.p.'s arm and forced them to post. Signal to noise. It's about the signal to noise for me. You are no less obnoxious when you feel like it. You just can't resist an opportunity to criticize my opinions or my writing style. Sigh, somehow I will have to bear up ...

livedarklions

Unlike you, OP's heart was in the right place. Nothing about your reply to the OP was helpful, and yes, you were the one who chose to "quibble" with a "is this a serious post?" to the choice of orange.

I usually ignore your posts because frankly "ride to the right" is your answer to everything, and I'm just not under the impression that you actually know much about riding. But this was a gratuitous example of picking on a newbie who was trying to be helpful, and your dressing down was especially "noisy" and obnoxious.

livedarklions

But, but.... Sam's Club had a bulk special on troll kibble 3 years ago and I couldn't help myself. I only have about 4 years' supply left though. Would you like some?

mcours2006

Should request mods to move this to Commuting. Folks there aren't quite as crusty, and are probably more receptive to a post like OP.

Paul Barnard

A quick review of the OPs history shows he's no troll. For the life of me I do not understand or find value in people routinely turning on an OP. When you see these mid-thread spats between members, there are common denominators.