Did my first bike commute today

[sc53]

:confused: Why are people so @#$% angry and rude?? I only have 5 miles to my office (including a detour to the coffee shop on the way) but I got buzzed, smoked, honked at, and yelled at at least 8 times. I left my house at 7:45 and got to work at 8:30. Obviously I have to leave earlier so there isn't as much traffic on the road. But my commute is mostly residential streets and the drivers literally act like they're on expressways! They are furious to have to slow down at all for a cyclist! The only drivers that were considerate were the bus drivers, who passed me in the other lane entirely, choosing not to buzz me like the truck and car drivers. I had people cursing at me in several different languages this morning. Not a good way to start the day. I'm going to try again, leaving no later than 7, next week. Damn drivers! :crap:

[spiderlake]

Wow! That sounds like an intense five miles. I hope your ride home is better.

[csm]

must be due to the fact that most of them have long commutes and are jealous that you are riding a bike.
if I had to commute in that area I'd start off in a helluva mood too!

[CNY rider]

:confused: Why are people so @#$% angry and rude?? I only have 5 miles to my office (including a detour to the coffee shop on the way) but I got buzzed, smoked, honked at, and yelled at at least 8 times. I left my house at 7:45 and got to work at 8:30. Obviously I have to leave earlier so there isn't as much traffic on the road. But my commute is mostly residential streets and the drivers literally act like they're on expressways! They are furious to have to slow down at all for a cyclist! The only drivers that were considerate were the bus drivers, who passed me in the other lane entirely, choosing not to buzz me like the truck and car drivers. I had people cursing at me in several different languages this morning. Not a good way to start the day. I'm going to try again, leaving no later than 7, next week. Damn drivers! :crap:


That's sad to hear. I ride to work most mornings and have had very courteous treatment from drivers. I do live in a rural area, so people aren't so harried by traffic on their drive to work. I think that's what turns many otherwise decent people into raving, impatient lunatics. Too bad they can't think of all the good that would come from more people commuting by bike.....cleaner air, less foreign oil burned, less traffic, yadda yadda yadda :)

[catulle]

Damn drivers. :butt:

[Erik.Lazdins]

About a year ago I started riding my bike to work which winds up being a 56 mile loop. In theory it would do all that I wanted:

1. Allow me to feel like a kid again riding my bike to school back in NJ
2. Leave the car at home
3. Get some miles in

52 of the 56 miles are allright some traffic, some hostile drivers but the last 2 miles is literally a deathtrap if you hit it at the wrong time. Over the last 2 years, that stretch of road has had 5 cyclists hit - I don't want to be #6.

I get my 2 hours in before work and don't commute.

I'm sorry to read you had a bad ride. Hopefully you can find a better route with less traffic.

Riding a bike to work should be easy not risky.

[Ginger]

Are you traveling on the same residential streets you'd use to get to work by car? Are there any other routes available? I've found that the same residential streets I use to travel by car, are used by quite a few other people. But other streets, just off route, are often less congested. Not as convenient, but less crowded.

I don't commute by bike if I don't get out of the door by 6am. I have 20 miles...I like to hit the middle 4 before 7am. Too many coffee shops, 7-11s, bagle shops, doughnut shops, and offices in that area to go through later. People just aren't happy in their cars if they don't have something to spill.

[Ray]

:confused: Why are people so @#$% angry and rude??
$64,000,000 question, allowing for inflation. Sorry to hear about your ride Sarah. When I commuted further than down the stairs, I was lucky enough to have mostly safe roads to ride and a small enough community that a lot of the drivers got very used to seeing me every morning and generally were very considerate. There are definitely areas around here that I wouldn't be comfortable commuting through, though, and if that's what you're forced to ride through, I don't have a spec of good advice for you except, don't do what makes you uncomfortable. I guess the question is did you feel threatened or just yelled at? You can get used to hearing the words, but if you're physically having close calls with these jerks, just don't do it. It's not worth it.

Good luck,

-Ray

[Fixed]

friday is the worst day imho , i find ride sidewalks if you can
cheers

[Onno]

Riding sidewalks can be a good option, if they're mostly empty, and you always give pedestrians the right of way, and you're not in a hurry. I once vowed never to ride sidewalks, but I now climb a steep hill to work on the sidewalk, preferring to go off on the grass now and then to avoid startling a walker than tangling with drivers flying up and down the hill road (which is narrow and curvy.)

[GregL]

Go early, if possible. Less people on the road. The closer you get to rush hour, the more harried the late-arriving commuting drivers are. Try to pick a cycling-friendly route.

My former bike commute took me right through the north side of Syracuse. I actually had to ride for several miles on one of the main arteries in the area (James St.). At 6:30 - 7:00 AM, it was actually quite nice. Few commuting drivers on the road yet, only people out were other early birds (newspaper delivery, food delivery, etc...). Never had a "bad" experience, mostly got friendly waves.

My current bike commute is strictly suburban. All the roads have speed limits of 35 MPH or less. Several roads have wide shoulders. Lots of "STOP" signs to keep the traffic at a sedate pace. I'm usually on the road between 6:30 and 7:00 AM, and at work 25-30 minutes later. My two days per week of commuting are usually my most pleasant mornings.

Good luck!
Greg

[davids]

It could also be the time of year. I find that the first few weeks of the school year are the worst time on the road all year, whether for a cyclist or a car. Everyone's been used to (relatively) quiet streets, summer schedules, etc... All of a sudden, there are more cars, school buses everywhere, and everyone's got to be on time!

[catulle]

BTW, there is a very long bike trail that cuts thru Alexandria and extends from DC to Mount Vernon, isn't there? I guess if it were that easy you wouldn't be having problems with cars, would you? I'm sorry to hear about your experience. It really shouldn't be that way. :no:

[TimB]

My commute is 6.5 miles each way, today I tried a new slightly longer route to avoid a high-traffic road at the end. NONE of my normal commute is along what I'd call residential streets. It's along a 4-lane "Parkway" with a 45mph speed limit that's one of the major commuter routes in Cary, NC. Having just moved to NC from a MD suburb of DC, I can tell you without any doubt I'd never have had the courage to ride a similar route there. It wouldn't have been 'tolerated' by the drivers. Here I've not really had any pproblem. I'm not saying the drivers are pleased by my presence on the road, but no one has made any hostile acts toward me. My experience riding in the DC area - much different! Some of the most hostile drivers in any place I've ever lived.

[sc53]

Hey thanks for the commiseration. I will take a different route home for sure, a little more out of the way but should be quieter streets. Ginger, you're right, I was riding the same residential streets I drive on to get to work--along with everyone else, in a hurry, too late in the morning. I'll change my route going home, and leave earlier next week. I'm just such a slug-a-bed these days, I can't seem to get out of bed at 6 or 6:30 anymore! Is that part of the middle-aging process too??? I'm such a wimp. or just lazy.
Catulle, if the alternate route home tonight doesn't work, I'll have to go way out of my way to use the bike paths, but it's doable if I double my mileage. No harm in that, it'll still be only 10 miles at most. I was just shocked at people's behavior this morning! These are the same people I see every other morning, from the safety of my car or the metrobus window. They just hate bikers, who slow them down.
Thanks all for the tips, I'll be using them to get a workable routine established.

[flydhest]

Sarah,
Ick, that sounds worse than my commute in downtown DC. I think the benefit of commuting in the actual city instead of the suburbs is that, at least on my route, the traffic is so heavy they can't go that fast. I had a near event yesterday as an anally-inserted-cranium driver almost hit me, I gave a "yo, yo, yo" (which has become my shout--non-aggressive--of "I'm over here") and the driver followed me. As I was sidling to the curb to bunny hop and avoid further interaction, the driver apologized. Apologized!

In my years of commuting in the District, I've had no issues (touch wood) so I think finding the right route will make all the difference.

[martianbait]

I'll have to go way out of my way to use the bike paths, but it's doable if I double my mileage. No harm in that, it'll still be only 10 miles at most.

Yup. Good plan. That's what I do...along with leaving early in the morning. We have a bike path that goes through our town, but it is 4 miles out of my way. Nonetheless, if I leave early, there is only light traffic on the route to the bike path, and with the exception of some people walking their dogs or an occasional other cyclist, smooth sailing on the bike path.

Should I take a more direct route, I know I would have to fight the wrath of Massachusetts drivers, who can get pretty ugly sometimes.

[72gmc]

i've been bike commuting for... i forget... four years straight now? five? there are always going to be jerks on the road. look for bike paths, slower streets, out-of-the way routes, and wide right shoulders. search out good routes when you're in your car doing errands. notice the "no parking" times on streets where you would otherwise be within a door's reach of a parked car.

and wave and smile to motorists who give you space to live in. even if they don't realize they're doing it.

[Ray]

As I was sidling to the curb to bunny hop and avoid further interaction, the driver apologized.
Fly, a little OT, but how do you bunny-hop on a fixie? I can always unweight and get through rough sections, but curb hopping on a fixie never seemed real feasible to me. Is there a technique?

-Ray

[flydhest]

Ray,
I was actually on a geared bike at the time, but I can bunny hop the fixie. It took me a lot of practice that I did while out of view of others as I no doubt looked like a total dork. Once I got the feel, I stopped trying to think about what I was doing and just started trying to bunny hop a dozen or so times each way to and from work for a while. As I recall, one key--as it so often is--to to stay relaxed. Otherwise, you make things stop all of a sudden and throw yourself or you land and aren't smooth into rolling again. Second was to get rid of the notion that I needed to "set up" like on a geared bike. Obviously, you can't so the set up is all mental. Once the rear wheel is off the ground, it's just like on a geared bike and you can pull up. I once tried to learn to bunny hop like BMXers with flat pedals and sucked at it. They really know the drill--I'm just a poser, I pull up.

[Fixed]

I dont have much trouble with driver 's
i think they feel sorry for me
little old street urchin
cheers

[tab123]

I also just started to commute. I live in Chicago, and it is not a long ride to my office in the Loop (6+ miles each way). Riding sure beats the bus or a cab (the former is too slow, the latter has become too scary).

As one friend said, riding in the Loop is either scary as hell or exhilarating depending on one's mood. I knew I was a real bike commuter when a guy in a Hummer yelled at me to stop hogging the road! (Well, I was a whole 3 feet from the curb at the time.)

[Benjamin]

oh man. reason #9834598 i live in nyc. while it may not be "safe" riding on city streets, drivers are at least so used to bikes that you're never harassed (just hit).

[Bud]

Sorry to hear that some of you have rough bike commutes. Stick with it and refine it if you can. Commuting by bike makes the world a better place and keeps you healthy. Recently, I have also noticed that it is really improving my bike handling skills.

I am thankful that I have a decent commute and a good route. It would be hard to move to a place where I could not ride to work.

[djg]

Sorry to hear about that. I ride into DC (around the mall) from north Arlington and most of my ride is car free. Not all of it, however. There are a few corners where I know I need to be especially careful, and if there's any traffic at all I try to watch both my line and theirs. Once in a while somebody gets nasty or agressive, but most of my concerns have to do with folks being oblivous. Most drivers are fine, and some people are downright considerate. Mostly it's fine.

See if there's a nearby MUT that would be helpful. Some of these are crazy crowded during the weekend--especially if the weather is nice--but that can give you a misleading impression of what they're like during commuting hours--IME, they tend to be well used, but mostly crowd and hassle free.

[Marcusaurelius]

Riding sidewalks can be a good option, if they're mostly empty, and you always give pedestrians the right of way, and you're not in a hurry. I once vowed never to ride sidewalks, but I now climb a steep hill to work on the sidewalk, preferring to go off on the grass now and then to avoid startling a walker than tangling with drivers flying up and down the hill road (which is narrow and curvy.)

I don't know where you live but there's a $75 fine for cyclists that ride on a sidewalk. Frankly it really annoys me when cyclist ride on the sidewalk and I have to dodge out of their way. I cycle every day but I will never ride on sidewalks.

[Fixed]

yeah yeah yeah never say never
cheers

[shinomaster]

Commuters are A-holes...try riding in Boston....
Even Portlanders are effed up with road rage on their way to work.