NYcycles

I just purchased my first commuting bike, I've never ridden seriously. I'm hoping to commute to and from the local medical center (I'm a college student--doing clinicals at different hospitals). According to google it's a 20 minute commute via bike. I get my bike next week, a Trek FX2. Anyone have any advice on what I should purchase to get started? Money isn't a terribly big issue for me, I can afford to splurge *some*. I could possibly upgrade my bike if needed, but didn't want to spend much more because I know I will definitely upgrade in about a year and want to get experience first before investing much more, but if this bike is really a POS I'd rather know now.

I'm actually quite nervous about starting especially because one part of my commute will be through a lower income neighborhood and I'm a female and will be riding alone. I am considering getting on a bus for part of my commute to avoid this area, but it will likely add a considerable amount of time to my morning commute. What do you all do for safety?

alan s 

1nterceptor

I think the FX series should be decent bikes. Been commuting and riding all over New York City for over 10 years now.
Day and night; no problems so far.

Bigger issue probably is parking. You have secure and/or indoor parking at all of your destinations? If not; I'd think
about getting a folder from BFold. Easier to bring inside; wether or not it's allowed.

Bike To Work by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

robertorolfo

What part of NY are you in? There aren't too many places where you should really need to worry during the day...

banerjek

More than anything else, pay attention to everything around you, trust your senses, and act accordingly. The second thing is that people will mess with you less if you look like you know what you're doing -- bright lights, a calm/confident stroke and sense of control, etc. Looking like you belong there conveys to others that you do. Acting like you don't conveys you don't think you do and that you expect trouble.

Going through low income areas is not a problem in and of itself. You already move faster than everyone on foot, and people in vehicles really aren't worse than elsewhere.

As someone who does a lot of urban riding (including very late at night), I'm all about sight lines and maneuverability. As a practical matter, that means that if I'm in a bike lane and there's someone anywhere near it that I don't trust, I'll leave the lane and mix with traffic. It also means I'd much rather take my chances on the roads at 2am with the drunks than on paths frequented by people high on god knows what.

I seek out roads with regular but not too gonzo traffic -- this seems to lead to more consistent and predictable scenarios.

tyrion

Use the google route as a starting point but understand it can probably be improved upon. And don't be afraid of a longer, but safer and more pleasant route. There might be a way to avoid the unsafe areas, or their might be safer passageways through them. Use Strava heat maps to see where other cyclists in the area go, and talk to other cyclists (in person or on internet) about good bike routes.

NYcycles

I'm from Central NY, not NYC, but my morning commute via POV has some pretty sketchy areas, and at 7 am there isn't a whole lot of traffic or people around. That being said though I did look at google maps and did find some routes that allow me to bypass this one particular area that makes me nervous! So good advice already!

NYcycles

I'm looking it up right now, I never heard of this site, thanks!

DimplePimple

It sounds kinda strange but you could wear a full-face helmet through the hood. They can look kinda intimidating and others can't really get a read on you.

Bigbus

Shoot, why not add chain mail and mount a pummel on the front while you're at it?
Seriously though, I think Banerjek is an ex-cop because he gave you the best advice, short of a reroute around an uncomfortable area. Good luck and enjoy the ride. From everything I've read here it sounds like you made a good decision on your choice of bike.

RoadKill

I definitely agree with using Strava heat maps to see where people in your area ride: https://www.strava.com/heatmap
Look for the white lines, you can be fairly certain that those will be bicycle friendly routes.

wipekitty

+1 on looking like you know what you're doing, and +1 on checking Strava heat maps.

If you're super worried, you can share your location with someone you trust. I have mine shared with my SO through my Google account on my Android; I'm guessing iPhones have something similar, and there's certainly other apps that do that as well.

I've done my time riding through sketchy areas (and in some cases living in them!), and my thinking is that I'm actually safest on a bicycle. A bicycle will move faster than anyone on foot and can outmaneuver vehicles. There is also no automobile to steal. You probably have a helmet. In most cases, people will leave you alone unless you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing. I had a creepy encounter with a van once (but that was at like 3AM, and I managed to lose it).

The main thing I'd worry about, to be honest, is loose dogs.

52telecaster

Now i am a guy so i may see it differently but my gf and i together and seperately ride thru the hood all the time. Its a little intimidating at first but you feel fine quickly. The percieved danger is almost certainly not a real danger. I deliver meals on wheels in low income neighborhoods and the bad actors arent generally out causing trouble most of the time. Plus there arent that many of them.

D1quicksoul

I think the Trek FX2 is a fine bike. It'll do the job.

As for safety, like a previous poster said, be aware of your surroundings and ready to react.

That being said, I would simply try to avoid "dangerous" areas and go around them even if it made my commute a little longer.

Good luck!

Bike Gremlin

+1 on banerjek advice.

I would change address/job/city/country/continent if safety while going to work was a (reasonable, objective) concern. Seriously. You have one life (at least I believe so).

It is one advice people tend to ignore for some reason. Beasts and natural hazards are often more predictable and more easily avoidable than human predators. If you can reasonably expect to be attacked by humans, do whatever you can to not get into such position (unless you love that adrenaline).

Black Mamba

I personally feel much safer on my bike than I do on the bus. Just being on the move at relative pace makes me feel safer. I live in South London and cycle through areas which have very bad reputations and have never had any problems, apart from occasional street harassment. However, there are areas on my commute where I would think twice about leaving my bike locked up as I know how high the theft rate is.

I agree with 52Telecaster: "The percieved danger is almost certainly not a real danger". Familiarity brings a real sense of safety.

Good luck and do what you need to to feel safe and comfortable.

Mitkraft

jade408

noglider 

I grew up in Manhattan in the bad old days. There was a lot of crime. I rode through bad neighborhoods and felt safer on my bike than on foot, though stories of people jumping people on bikes did haunt me. Nowadays it feels much safer, and I'll ride pretty much anywhere in NYC. My wife and I moved back to Manhattan in 2013.

parkbrav

I'm commuting here in Boston. I have a Trek FX that I've found to be very reliable and very good on hills. I've taken the bicycle with me on the bus in suburban and rural parts of Boston with nary an incident, although I imagine it might be different if I was downtown.

acidfast7

I commute in the most dense city in Europe.

My home "ward" would be number 4 on this list as an example that I know about urban riding (17k ppl/km2 or 44k ppl/mi2).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...lation_density

20min ride for me each way would include:

Street clothes. No need for changing/showering don't overcomplicate things.
Rain jacket if required.
No helmet as collisions are at very low speeds.
One good lock, but probably two depending on storage conditions (I have CCTV possibilities, police assistance and good bicycle insurance). It is a heavily trafficked area which works in my favour.
Lights. I prefer bright flashing lights and they grab attention in an urban area unlike solid lights.

That's all you need.

Should be easy peasy.

NYcycles

I meant low income area literally because that is the only information I have about that area. I've only been living in my current city for about 1 year. The risk I worry about is the crime. Especially because I don't know how to accurately gauge that risk as I'm not local to this area, and I don't know anyone personally. On the drive in I do see people milling about in the street. I've seen what looks like drug deals take place on street corners. I've seen mentally ill people or drug users talking to themselves. I think my main concern would be getting mugged.

downtube42

The most likely bad thing to happen is a flat tire. In fact it's a near certainty eventually. So have an idea what you'll do then, like walk to the nearest bus stop or call an uber or just fix it alongside the road.

Actually more likely than that is weather. Cold and rain. So be prepared for that, one way or another. I live in the PNW so it's a virtual certainty that I'll face a cold rain eventually, even on days that start out nice. I carry a wool vest and a rain poncho. A baseball cap under the helmet reduces rain on the face, which turns out to be a pretty big quality of life topic. Maybe your plan is Uber. That's fine, just have a plan.

As far as sketchy areas, I'll take sketch over traffic any day. People driving while staring at their phones concern me more than people hanging out on the streetcorner. That's me though.

I think preparation reduces a lot of fears. Flats and weather. Be prepared for that, and you'll have 95% of the unexpected events covered.

jade408

Well, first you should look at what sort of crime is happening, with a crime spotting tool. For example, in my city there are all sorts of "low income" areas. Some are low crime, some are high crime. Some have violent crime, others have property crime and that is about it.

Generally speaking "mentally ill people" are too wrapped up in their own stuff to notice you, particularly when you are biking by, but you don't want to leave your bike parked there.

You should use some basic urban caution. Talk to you local bicycle coalition to see what the recommended bike routes are and the streets.

Without knowing the scope of the crime, it is hard to be more specific. Generally it is better to stay on the main roads as they tend to be better lit, but in some neighborhoods the main roads are where all the "action" is and they are risky with either speeding traffic, careless/reckless driving, or dangerous crimes like drivebys. In my vicinity, I only bike through a few patchy areas. One has prostitutes, one has homeless people, one is low income and residential, and one is industrial with wide roads, freeway onramps and speeding trucks. I feel a lot safer with the homeless people and prostitutes. The residential area is a designated bike key bike corridor, so you are likely to see cyclists of all stripes at most times of day. But later in the evening you'll run into more unsavory characters sharing the lane or walking around.

I don't bike in the most dangerous part of town for a myriad of reasons, the first being it is really far from where I live and have no need to be over there. Secondly the streets are dangerous - no bike infrastructure, lots of speeding cars. 2 pedestrians/bicyclists have been hit crossing the street in that part of town. I think both were hit and runs. Hit and runs are frequent (mostly car vs car). So that makes me more hesitant.

Anyway this is a really long winded way to say you need to quantify the danger first.

essiemyra

I understand your nervousness about riding through sketchy areas and being female. I am also female(60) and in the past when my commute took me through some sketchy areas I preferred the morning commute( I passed through this area at 5:30ish am) . At that time it is basically very quiet except for the car traffic which was not much at that time of day. I also would say good morning to people I saw(I rarely saw people) but I felt it is better to be friendly if they looked my way. In the afternoon (about 4pm) it was a much livelier place, more cars, more people standing around in groups(my idea of scary), but I rode through anyway and never had any issues. I