My city hates me because I ride a bike. Here's why.
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
- These days, politicians and city builders like to pay lip-service to the idea of bike-friendliness, but when you use a bike for transportation, you quickly realize there is a fundamental disconnect between those platitudes and the reality of a street. So in this video, I do two things: First, I ride a route devoid of any accommodations for bikes, and take note of all the things that make me, on a bike, feel unwelcome. Then, I take a different route full of bike infrastructure and compare the difference. The result, for me anyway, is a reminder about how good bike infrastructure completely changes the experience of riding a bike in a city.
0:00 Intro
2:06 Stop signs
2:31 Residential roads
2:56 On-street parking
3:21 Sidewalks
3:46 Speed limits
4:12 Who pays for roads?
5:12 Bicycle-only signs
5:28 Slow-speed zones
5:34 Painted bike lanes
5:44 Bike parking
5:47 Separated bike lanes
6:26 Conclusion
#bikecommuting #bikelanes #cycling
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Tom Babin is the author of Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling: amzn.to/2EH7EOg - Розваги
#7: Traffic light sensors that aren't triggered by a bicycle, and that remain red until the season changes.
There have been many of these over the years. And yet in parts of greater Seattle they have microwave detection that DOES detect bikes. What is even more is that it follows the first come first serve principle. Cars get the same priority as pedestrians in low traffic times and situations.
Report those! The city needs to update / reconfigure them. They work through induction, so aluminium or carbon doesn't really work, but even the few steel parts on a modern bike should be enough to be detected.
This ☝☝☝☝☝☝☝☝
The most annoying thing when this happens
Yes! If there aren't any cars to trigger it, you have to scoot to the line, check there isn't any impeding traffic, and cross your fingers that there isn't a cop with a power complex nearby while you cross on red
@@Joan-ot9nf Best way to deal with one of those signs? Soft pedal, make sure the coast is clear, then ignore it and go! :)
People look at the Netherlands and say: "See, that is how you build a biking infrastructure" forget that it took us 40+ years to get there. It started with painted bike lanes and a change in traffic law where in case of a car clashing with a bike, the car's driver will always have the initial blame unless it can clearly be proven that the bike rider did something horribly wrong or there really was nothing he could do about it.
And from there, we adjusted, and learned, and adjusted more, and learned more. Other countries/ cities do not have to make the same mistakes we did.
Yeah, that's what's particularly infuriating: While there are examples we could learn from the traffic planners in our cities refuse to do that and basically start reinventing the years, hellbent on taking another 40 years on something that doesn't have to take that long. :(
As a Dutch person, there's nothing that makes me learn to appreciate our biking infrastructure more than looking at how bad it is elsewhere. :-)
Seriously. I can't drive a car and at least here I can still do my own groceries or go to appointments. Otherwise I'd be completely depended on other people to do that kinda stuff for me.
I used to live in Montreal and it really made me appreciate NL so much more. There was an intersection every 500m and every intersection either had a stop sign or traffic lights.
Apart from that even if there were bike lanes, and even traffic lights for bikes, trying to turn left on an intersecrion was still a bit of a death sentence.
Montreal is supposed to be bike friendly so around the universities there are actually quite a number of separated bike lanes which was nice, but two streets over you were sharing the road with the 50km/h cars.
Apart from that there were some tiny things specific to Montreal, like the immense amount of snowfall leading to icy roads and the fact that my bike lock froze shut for a few months.
I enjoyed living in MTL and I made some great friends, but it made me appreciate how easy life in the Netherlands is
I am in awe with other places have done with bikes. It makes no sense, why do we as Americans have to pilot a 3000lb machine to get our basic necessities accomplished? My hometown has so many ghost bike memorials, almost every corner home has damage from a vehicle. 2 months ago a Toyora Tundra made its way into someone's living room at 45mph its gotten so out of hand...
Moved from Croatia to Netherlands and me and my bike are welcomed everywhere,salute to Dutch people for bikes and much more.
As a Dutch person living in Austria I come here just to feel less annoyed with Austria.
I bike in Calgary a lot and agree. Been screamed and honked at for just riding on the road.
Same in Durant, Oklahoma. They also scream at pedestrians.
Just ignore these people, don’t take up more than one lane
Cuz some of yall bikers thinks yall own the road .. i bike myself too but i never get yelled at or whatever ... i guess i just better road etiquette
@@blank-cw6fr it's not MY road etiquette. When I'm riding, I'm hugging the curb. When I'm walking, I'm on the grass unless there's no traffic, in which case, I'm hugging the curb.
@@blank-cw6fr true. Bikes should own the lane but the other lane they need to keep clear
Yes; advocacy matters. But a city does get to a tipping point.
I live in Memphis, not a city known for being forward-thinking. Indeed, it was once deemed one of the worst bike cities in America. But about 15 years ago, the City build a 6-mile bike/ped trail along an old rail line. It almost didn’t happen. The City Counsel just didn’t get it. But, once built, the Greenline became wildly popular. It got extended. Other trails were built. A path was built over the Mississippi River. A 22-mile path is under construction. Frankly, it’s hard to keep up.
The point is, once a city sees the benefits, infrastructure follows. But it takes a little push.
Hard to keep up with barely any bike paths? You consider that cycle friendly? Just goes to show how bad Memphis really is if that's a high point for you.
@@kishascape I think you miss the point.
Can you bike to the grocery store, library, to meet up with friends off the trail? I think trails are great but we need infrastructure on the streets. I live in Chicago and I love our lakefront trail. It's recreational and transportation AND we also have painted bike lanes which I despise. Chicago is a better biking experience than Memphis but there's still tons of room for improvement.
This comment give me hope! "If you build it, they will come"
I hope more trails and bike lanes get built and the city can see the momentum building
The problem with bike lanes is that everything gets put on them: the waste, the construction site, the ambulance and police cars or just anyone who walks, stands or parks there. Also bike lanes often end and make sharp turns. They usually are too narrow to overturn another cyclist safely. The opposite to all of that is the traffic lane. And remember, cyclists are traffic!
This is the way.
Bike lane, sidewalk, shoulder etc and drivers blame us for slowing them down? Drivers especially don’t need to do that if the road is more than a one-lane/direction road
That’s not “the problem with bike lanes”. That’s the problem with *your* bike lanes.
You are talking about terrible bike lanes. You are also talking about the discredited vehicular cycling theory favoured in the US, which has led to disastrously low cycling rates in that country, as opposed to the Netherlands & Denmark, where bike lanes are usually as wide as car lanes, are maintained & swept first as a priority, take the most direct routes, have priority at junctions...Woe betide a pedestrian or motorist who blocks the cycle path.
@@zivkovicable I’m not trying to discourage motor vehicle users from driving, I’m just wanting it to be clear for those who want to bike
There was a recent study in australia that showed drivers think of cyclists as less than human, most commonly referring to them as bugs
Wow...
What do you expect from a prison colony?
My neighbor drives a bug
@@danieldaniels7571 Your neighbour drives a cyclist? 😱 That's harsh, man...
@Вероника Заглотова sadely there is no cyclistan out there 😅
As cyclists we create a far smaller carbon foot print , produce much less noise, require less space , while being far less destructive to fauna ,countless of which
are found dead and dying on the road. Not to mention being less harmful to people.
The good news is cycling as a means of transport is gaining in strength as some cities and communities around the world realize its merit as a sustainable , congestion free, health focused
activity.
But from one cyclist to another safety is important. A decent light even during day aids visibility .A helmet also is beneficial. You only have one skull and brain.
Politically, the important thing is that bicyclists pay more in taxes than the infrastructure costs, so the city makes a profit on bike routes. They lose money on drivers.
Money speaks very loudly in the halls of power.
I'm a bit on the fence about helmets. I have a very sweaty head and riding with a helmet means that I need to wash my hair even after a ride at a leisurely pace.
There also seems to be a psychological effect that wearing protective equipment such as helmets makes me ride more aggressively and there are even studies that suggest that drivers will do so too when they see a cyclist with a helmet as opposed to one without.
The real problem with helmets though is that I keeps many from driving a bike to get around. Many like me are worried about their hair or just think it's dorky.
Well there is two statistics about that :
- the first is that the first predictor of safety for cyclists is the number of cyclists, in part because cars get used to cyclists
- the second is that the first predictor for the number of cyclists is the quality of the infrastructure
If you have to rely on one inch of polystyrene to survive through your daily ride, something is probably not quite right with the infrastructure. I say survive because if you need it you will be quite likely badly injured.
I am also on the fence about helmets, due to the fact they are generally not as comfortable as riding without one, and are just one more thing you have to strap on before hopping on your bike (though I do wear one most of the time). However you never hear the argument made that drivers should wear helmets. The majority of car crash related fatalities are due to head injuries, especially for young children, yet you never hear anyone advocate for drivers to wear helmets. Truth is helmets do protect you in any situation, including just walking around, but a far more important safety measure (in my view) is to improve the infrastructure surrounding transportation itself. A safe road system provides far more protection than a bit of hardened foam and plastic.
Helmets tend to to be a decisive topic. In Australia they were made mandatory by law and cities didn't bother with cycling safety in any other metrics. They've got their helmets on, why separate them from car traffic? It's no surprise that despite a lower population and stricter laws Australia has as many cycle deaths as Great Britain. When you look at countries like The Netherlands and Denmark, protected cycle lanes attract cyclists in their millions and almost nobody wears a helmet.
By all means, if people want to wear helmets they should have the liberty to choose to do so. They are a proven safety measure and perhaps even saved my life on one occasion. But cycling is a safe activity, cycling is a safe mode of transport. What's making it dangerous is our road infrastructure. It's that which needs to change.
Also, if you look at head injuries in general the highest number is amongst drivers. So perhaps, if we really want to improve road safety, it's them we should be telling to wear helmets too.
The state here just implemented an "Idaho stop" law. Bikes can yield is it's safe. I ride that way anyway, but now it's legal.
Which state are you in?
@@Shifter_Cycling Washington
And I ride year around, I just change at work. But I have a job that no one knows if I stink. LoL
@@Guigui_82 nice , i hope we see similar law here in quebec before i die
I live in Idaho. Motorists don't know/learn bike laws, and will yell at you for the "idaho stop". Its aggravating.
That being said, Boise is becoming super bike friendly.
@@underdgk9 if we all did that, where we’ve considered the law, our contravention of that law and its potential impacts, then the effect would really be nothing. Many things are against the law, but the intent of that Law may not apply to the actions of a cyclist as it does a motorist. Stop signs are to slow and control traffic that normally moves at car speeds. Drivers have less ability to see and hear all activity around them, with multiple blind spots and sitting several feet and often low in a car.
When a bike approaches a stop sign, travelling at less than half the speed of a car, and the cyclist has an unimpeded view of everything in front and to the sides of them, and is not hidden low and in a box several feet back from the impact point of their vehicle, I see no reason why they should have to come to a stop if there is no other traffic their yield would impact.
Laws are important, but so are rational and reasonable human actions based on an assessment of the impact of their actions.
I should do a response video to this showing all of the ways my city (Amsterdam) IS friendly to bicycles, between my home and the park! :)
Actually I've already made videos about most of these things, which you might be interested in, if you haven't seen them already:
No stop signs: ua-cam.com/video/42oQN7fy_eM/v-deo.html
Routes for bicycles that cars can't follow: ua-cam.com/video/c1l75QqRR48/v-deo.html
Bicycle-only roads: ua-cam.com/video/bMJaMy-0ChA/v-deo.html
Almost every street is low-speed/traffic calmed: ua-cam.com/video/bAxRYrpbnuA/v-deo.html
Bicycle priority at traffic lights: ua-cam.com/video/knbVWXzL4-4/v-deo.html
Underground bicycle parking garages: ua-cam.com/video/9HdqTZs3vjU/v-deo.html
Yes, you should make that video! Thanks for sharing. We all have a lot to learn from Amsterdam
hey noice work you do for us bicyclists tom @@Shifter_Cycling !
- mico
Around 5:30 into your video, you talk about a painted bike lane being a start of some bike infrastructure. These type of lanes are far worse than no infrastructure at all. Bicycle organizations should fight these type of lanes ever being built. They are incredibly dangerous to cyclist for several reasons. Cars have to cross the lane to park and reenter the road after parking. Many motorist look at the outer line of the painted lane as a boundary and drive along it giving the cyclist very little room to maneuver and as we all know, the cyclist is totally set up to be doored by your average motorist who just tosses their door open. There is no punishment for this either. A cyclist was killed in Vancouver in Jan/2019 in a bike lane like this and the motorist who doored him and knocked him into the path of the truck that killed him, received a fine of less than $100. Whenever I encounter a lane like this, I leave it when passing parked vehicles and take the driving lane instead. We need cycling infrastructure but these painted lanes outside parked cars are garbage and should never be built.
I can't argue. In fact, I made a whole video that pretty much agrees with you: ua-cam.com/video/Fztvoxj_pds/v-deo.html
@@Shifter_Cycling Thanks Tom. I recently discovered your site and have subscribed. I just watched your linked video which points out that this kind of infrastructure is poor. I just think we need to emphasize how bad it is every chance we get. I like your site a lot and keep up the good work. I bike several thousand kms a year in Edmonton and we have many of the same problems as Calgary. Hopefully, things will keep getting better in both places.
It is the same in Europe a police officers opened his door injured a cyclist luckly he didn't die.
The officer didn't even get a ticket.
(He wasn't even on a emergency call at all.)
The law doesn’t Help either. Not harsh enough for motorists at all. Leading them to be careless and not fear repercussions for that
Exactly, these things are extremely dangerous and for this reason almost useless, but they let the officials say "see, we doing something!"
"A society that puts the car on a pedestal quite obviously favors the motorist." - Somebody way smarter than me
I favor the motorist, in all cases. I have an 18-mile commute that I have to try and complete in 25 minutes, with roughly 90 pounds of equipment on a light day. A society that favors cyclists and pedestrians would be hell for me.
No, it wouldn't if planning will not based on hatred of car drivers.
Painted bike lanes tell car drivers that it doesn’t matter how close you are to the cyclist, so long as you’re in your lane. It tells drivers to disengage their brains. Whereas no cycle lane encourages the driver to think as they overtake.
Also bike lanes fill with road debris.
@Miraj I mean, driving is the transportation equivalent of watching TV
I agree. I live in the UK. Here, we have a rule that drivers should pass cyclists with a clearance of at least 1.5 metres. As a cyclist, I do tend to get that clearance on a normal road with no cycle lane (usually).
However, on a road with a cycle lane, they all seem to pass me with only inches to spare. They must think it’s ok as long as they don’t move into my lane. My issue is, if I were to fall off my bike suddenly caused by a pot hole or something. I could potentially fall into the path of a close passing car which could kill me. Motorists don’t seem to anticipate this.
That is why bikes should have a meter long flag pole out the left of the bike, parallel to the ground, not sticking straight up!!!
I live in Brazil and I’ll tell you how frustrating it is down here. In my city the traffic is very dangerous for cars and there are a ton of motorcycles which makes bikes squeeze in between very narrow spaces in order to get going. The only bike lanes we have are only bike lanes during Sunday and they are located around parks and areas like that, which means that bikes are still seen as leisure and not a mean of transportation, the only actual bike lakes don’t even sum up to 40km...
You forgot how potholes are a definite unwelcoming feature for bicycles. And when you have to avoid potholes in the margin you have to move into the space that cars use.
U could also come to a crawl, or stop, and walk your bike over potholes. I'm just saying there are more ways to deal with issues like deteriorating road conditions, because plan A is not always possible!
@@sandasturner9529 I'll do that when you put your car in neutral and push it over a pothole. Miss me with that.
@@Kevin15047 I know you're frustrated but all I'm saying is don't let the small stuff screw up your daily grind.
@@sandasturner9529 if I walked my back over every damn pothole I would just walk.
@@Kevin15047 hope the sidewalks aren't as bad over there. I almost always use the sidewalks because I don't trust motorists. Too many unfocused drivers out there. Stay safe and informed
In Finland, driving and owning a car is so heavily taxed, that only ~20% tax revenue go back into road infrastructure. And still there’s not enough money for proper road maintenance everywhere, or for renewing bridges.
In the Netherlands when we go for our car driver's license we are taught to keep about 1 meter distance between the car and the cyclist when you overtake them on a road where there are no seperate cycle paths. If you fail to do this on your final car license exame you can fail that exame and you have to go for another one?
Well at least that's how it was 36 years ago when I took my car exame!
Should be the same here! It’s so undeveloped here in the USA!
Yup :) and my driving instructor also told the story of a student who was taking his exam, didn't make a single mistake, but then got out of the car without looking... And failed. Because that's how cyclists break bones. Driving instruction is a great place to change attitudes and safety.
Depending on the conditions 1 meter is not enough. If you are in a pickup or large SUV overtaking me at 80 kph on a dirty or wet road it should be more like 2.5 m.
If it's a big semi trucks it should be more than 3.5 m.
This isn't based on laws just personal feelings.
@@ymi_yugy3133 3,5 m? Well then a lot of roads won't be open to you (or not to the trucks, but I doubt traffic will be arranged like that). But yes, traffic of more than 50 kph (ideally 30) shouldn't have to mix with bicycles and vice versa.
@@Snowshowslow Upon reflection 3.5 m might be a bit much.
That said, where I live the standard width for busy fast roads, i.e. where one might travel at 80 kph, is 3 m per lane. So as long as you cycle fairly far to the right, 3 m is definitely possible as the maximum width of trucks is 2.5 m.
It just means trucks can't overtake you when there is oncoming traffic and no other lane.
Regardless I don't think drivers should overtake cyclists at 80 kph. Just slow down! It's even worse considering that there are roads here shared by drivers and cyclists where the speed limit is 100 kph. That is just madness.
I have been yelled at because I didn't stop at a stop sign but where I live I don't need to. Man this lady that was behind me was pissed, I wasn't even blocking her, I turned right into the shoulder, not the road, and she was still pissed. She stopped in front of me blocking the shoulder and started yelling at me saying I need to obey the law. Tried to tell her the law didn't require me to stop on a right hand turn but she wasn't having it, she peeled off and flipped me off. I don't think I was the cause of her road rage though, I'm pretty sure as I did not impead her in anyway. It was mind boggling to me why she even did that.
Personally people like that need their motor vehicle privileges permanently revoked - don't care if they're having a bad day. It's literally the same as someone yelling at you over something trivial while being wrong about their horseshit with a firearm holstered on their waist.
That must had being scary.
@@bleiv1924 she wasn't very big, she wasn't intimidating. I got mad though and was mad for a while.
Hmmm your pfp :) a man of culture is see
My city also hates me. Bike racks are few and many that do exist are not secure and nobody cares about stolen bikes. Great blog tnx
I live in the United States. During the height of the pandemic, it was just pure bliss to cycle about, but now that the motorists have returned to the roads, it is something else. Politics are becoming very strange. It was reported Joe Biden was seen pedaling a bicycle without a helmet. I wonder why neither candidate has mentioned building a sustainable transportation network; nor, building adequate nationwide bicycle infrastructure, as a key plan for their administration. This lack of interest indicates how the ruling parties in my country feel about cyclists and the reality of the street. I have joined the Baltimore Bicycle Club, Bike Maryland, and the League of American Bicyclists to combat this indifference. I am hoping for change. However, employing passive, non-violent resistance to achieve this change, may be the only solution.
I live in the south, the peak of car obsession. I think cars are too much of American identity for people to let go soon. Also, cities like Houston have experienced such insane amounts of urban sprawl that building public transportation/bicycle accomodations is completely unviable due to the massive distance between homes, businesss, and so on.
@@stevewilkens5134 I agree with you, this type of attitude kept man from landing on the moon, but with persistence, some how Neil Armstrong managed too. We can make our streets and roads safe to travel on - it is all about caring for our fellow human beings.
Its because people are lazy
@@stevewilkens5134 houston has solutions, built better mass transit that takes people where they want to go, and improves on the at least decent busses. and then add dedicated bike lanes taking people away from the tranist hubs. if they make those changes they will see an massave improvement in how people get around, heck even opening up more commerce in residential area's would make a massave difference if people did not have to go miles to get to a corner store. there are solutions that can fix the city. by reducing distance to needs, and increasing flow to needs though more effective methods.
Dude! I love this video--really great points. I'm a commuter in a town that advertises bike-friendliness and in our downtown areas pretty much is. By the way, I kept thinking I was listening to David Byrne in this video--another bicycle advocate :)
Thanks for watching. Glad you love in a bike-friendly town!
Man Tom, I've been watching your channel since I read your book 2 1/2 years ago, and I'm just loving what you're doing. Keep up the important work; loving it....
You too! I check out your videos all the time
I love your videos, keep it up! They are getting better and better. I just love the new dedicated bike lanes in the downtown core - I guess they aren't that new anymore. Especially when riding with my kids through downtown, they make this experience feel really safe. I don't think I would ride with my kids through downtown if they weren't there. A very welcome addition.
Hi I'm from Jakarta, Indonesia. our city become more friendly to cyclist. the city recently expand its bike lane, and more people commute with bike.
at the same time rules for cyclist has also improve, we required to wear helmet, and needs to intall bell and mydflaps, even if you use mtb or roadbike.
anyway, thanks for nice video, and have a safe ride.
Dude...you are a inspiration. We really need to have a better outlook in order to make this change possible it's a cultural change more than just a city planning change. We already have the Dutch case to pickup from and learn from the mistakes they made. I hope to see people in position of power realize how sustainable this change and upgrade would be. And like you said it's in ours hands to change their minds. You are truly a leader for this cause. Cheers!
P.s what commuter is that, it's sweet!!!
Thanks so much! You are totally correct about us already having the knowledge we need to make this change. (Bike is an SE Tripel, about 7 years old).
A very interesting perspective and I agree with all of them. I specially like the one about people parking their cars on public roads. I had so many close calls on that one. Maybe you should do another video about why the people in your city hate cyclists.
I have seen a marked improvement in the way drivers treat me over the years, but we have a long way to go. I like to think most motorists don't hate me, they just don't understand how to deal with me. Maybe I'm a bit of a Pollyanna that way!
This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Cars that park in painted bike lanes. I just wish there was something we could do about it but apparently where Im from a painted bike lane is considered a shared lane for cars to park, its nit illegal at all. How dumb is that
Hi there, greetings from Edmonton where things are pretty much exactly the same. Great video! I got lost in Calgary when I ended up there in the rain during my 2017 coast to coast adventure and thought it was pretty bad, until I discovered some parks. Happy trails!
Greetings from the Bronx, NY where we finally have a few protected greenway bike lanes. Keep up the good work!
What do we do to actually make a difference? I would love to get involved to improve bike infrastructure in my city.
I live in your city and I am an avid cyclist . I’ve put thousands of KM’s on my bike using the bike infrastructure and city streets as part of my commute downtown . I have to say we live in a fantastic city to cycle in . I find it hard to find more than a couple issues in Calgary as a cyclist . My biggest pet peeve is shared pathways , I avoid them as much as possible , cycling on streets is much easier than among pedestrians . Overall YYC rocks as a cycling city
PS - please consider wearing a helmet , safety first !
Pedestrians don't like cyclists either.....
@@arbjful Are these the same pedestrians walking 2 abreast down a shared pathway paying no attention to on coming or passing pathway users? The same ones jogging in the center of the pathway with headphones on completely oblivious to the world around them? The same pedestrians walking the pathway late at night or early in the morning with no reflective gear or lights to speak of? I won't be shedding tears for people who wont even try to protect themselves, the same goes for infrastructure abusing cyclists I come across that dont use bells and travel at far beyond posted speed limits on these pathways with no regard for the safety of others, these people are often MAMILs. A scourge to bike rider kind, but pedestrian traffic alike.
You don’t need to wear a helmet. In The Netherlands we don’t wear a helmet. That’s because our infrastructure is already safe and we trust our government in that regard. You need to make the infrastructure efficient and safe and then you don’t need a helmet.
@@feedusafetus This is why bike traffic needs to be separated from foot traffic. I think both ways of getting around are perfectly valid but it sucks to deal with people wearing headphones in the middle of the path and it sucks to have bikes zoom past you. I give nice clearance (around 2m) because there's grass around most places I bike and I'm on an ebike so I can accelerate back up to speed quickly, but others prefer standard bikes where breaking your cadence is much more detrimental.
@@RedRocketthefirst Infrastructure is irrelevant anyone can fall off a bike for any reason. Wear a helmet unless you're an idiot.
I agree with everything you said your so right the bike lanes in Alvin Texas disappear into the grass and the ditch on your other side is every bit of 20' deep. And yes we all hope we see you next time if you're still alive and thank you for the video and please have a wonderful day and I wish you all the luck in the world 🌎.I'm a fellow 🚲 bicycle rider 😊.
Shit, this looks like a dream city to ride. I live in São Bernardo do Campo, in Brazil, and it’s hell. The roads are squishy, there is basically no bike infrastructure, drivers are insane and utterly disrespectful, roads have potholes all around and also some absurd inclinations. It really makes me wonder at how much this has made people be kept away from such a healthy and cool hobby that is biking
I would think such conditions turn many many people off of biking. Sad to think about.
I live in Sydney. It shows up as the worst cities for cycling on google top search -_-".
Same problems here in Kyiv, Ukraine. Narrow streets, tons of traffic, crazy drivers, potholes, cobbles, uphills and cold winter on top of that
This is fantastic. I wish my city had protected bike lanes. Nope. This is a great video and an inspiration to continue making videos about cycling in the city. Thanks!!
Go for it! The more voices we have the better.
I live and work in a bike shop in Richmond, VA. which to me feels very bike friendly having lived previously in the country with 0 bike infrastructure. However, two guy I work with have lived previously in very bike friendly cities and say RVA is absolutely nothing compared to where they used to live. We’ve been trying to speak to as many officials as possible get at the very least more painted bike lanes in to make it safe for cyclists.
Nice video... safe ride in your beautiful city
Very nice video! Your positive attitude combined with your rationality are remarkable. Just keep doing your thing man, you get as much abuse from other motorists as a motorist yourself on the roads as you would on a bike.
Totally, we should all do more to get people out of the 2 ton death machines that make people feel invincible, and onto protected bike paths and whatnot.
I live in Calgary as well and it is harrowing to ride a bike and we have only done it in the NE part of the city. My wife has been yelled and pointed at to get off the street because bikes belong on the road (wrong!). She has also been yelled at because we rode our bikes across an intersection. Needless to say my wife is very unlucky. She says people are just jerks. We ride on the sidewalk because it is just too dangerous sometimes to be on the street. Also, some streets are narrow to begin with and people park on both sides and so the street becomes even more narrow. Thank you for your videos and I am saving up for a Priority bike thanks to you and Ryan Van Duzer.
I grew up in that area, so I know how difficult it is to ride a bike there. I hope you don’t give up. Let’s keep working for change!
Amazing video 👍👍👍
Thank you 👍
This is a really good video! I'm just discovered your channel and I'm really enjoying it. Your subject matter is something which greatly interests me because I cycle a lot in an urban environment as well, in my case it is Brighton & Hove city in the UK.
It is remarkable the amount of hostility there is towards cycling in the city in many ways. However the bicycle is still by far the best way to travel around a city IMHO.
Here in Brighton & Hove the local council has started doing quite a good job, I'm delighted to say, about encouraging cycling although there is still a long long way to go.
Something that is great to have in any city is closed secure cycle parking near the centre. This prevents your bike from being stolen or vandalised. We do now have secure bicycle parking by the main railway station in Brighton which is very useful.
Yes! Secure parking is just a dream in my city, but I’ve seen how amazing it can be elsewhere.
Thank you 🙏 for sharing this great information I love this kind of video it’s sad how we as bicycle commuters are discriminated against by drivers bike lanes have no purpose unless they have a destination and sadly the majority of them fall short and you have move in with traffic which is scary all in itself specially for Beginners that would love ride their bike.
Cycleways have reduced amenity without LTN's to feed them. Plus to get more people doing longer trips on cycles, you also need to enable local trips to build culture and habits. Tho not saying you won't get heaps using the cycleways anyway. But it could be so much more, for just a few cheap bollards.
Speed limits are generally just speed suggestions to most motorists. Stop signs mean stop or slow down if you want to to cars. The attitude, roads are for cars. It would be cool if you did a video about how bikes paved the way for cars in the 1890's. At that time bicycles and electric trolleys were viewed as the future of urban transportation. Roads were constructed and paved for bicycles before they were paved for cars.
Yeah it's why in the netherlands the roads are getting more and more build for the speed limit. So lower speed limits mean smaller roads or like speed bumps or other speed reducing obstacles.
@@nulian yes but the road needs to be able to allow for emergency vehicles to speed
@@jayasmrmore3687 Curious that I've literally never heard this as a problem from expats in the Netherlands nor Dutch people themselves.
I ride my bike every day, including to work and even visiting an occasional CV19 shut-in patient.
#1 State of Oregon just implemented the "Idaho Stop" and I love it.
#3 Do you think everything should be about you? Those people who park on their neighborhood streets pay the taxes and you are in their neighborhood!
#4 We are allowed to ride our bikes on the sidewalks in our town, just not downtown where there are many pedestrians. I ride my bike on the sidewalk whenever it is safest and slow down and even stop for pedestians.
Tom, I love your UA-cam channel. Great job.
Congrats man. You're on a roll.
Great video showing the good and bad. I would recommend a helmet & hivis clothing also even if it isn't the law in your area to be extra safe.
And maybe not riding with a selfie stick.
Every Thursday here in Houston there’s a huge bike riding event at downtown with hundreds of people riding their bikes
What is it called
Hi Tom, just discovered your channel! Fantastic and informative. Iv been a commuting cyclists for years and now I dont own a car. Your video raises some very good points. I wonder what the world would be like if it was set up for bikes and not cars. Keep up the good work and I look forward to the next instalment. From one cyclists to other
" ill see you up the road" best wishes.
It's not a mystery, check out some of NotJustBikes videos on the Netherlands' bike infrastructure. He even did a video with Tom to compare biking to the hardware store in Amsterdam vs Calgary. Great channel.
#4 really hits home for me. Where I live, you actually are allowed to cycle on sidewalks (provided you yield to pedestrians, which in most cases means running off into the grass or even onto the road if you’re unlucky, and provided you aren’t using certain types of e-bike), and many drivers get really aggressive about people cycling on the road, but in practice the sidewalks are mostly in horrible condition (uneven sections all over the place, sections falling apart to a degree that would be fixed within a week if it were a road, and generally very heavily textured surfaces), the ordinance dictating that sidewalks must be kept clear is essentially never enforced except for really egregious violations (so you regularly have to deal with cars parked across sidewalks in people’s driveways), and low-hanging branches at just the right height to smack a cyclist in the face are all over the place. If I ride on the sidewalks, I end up getting where I’ going roughly 30% slower, and I usually feel exhausted when I get there because I’ve had to fight all the bumps, rough surfaces, and small gravel pits along the way to keep moving.
I ride a bike a lot and there's no way I would be wanting to ride on a sidewalk, even if I was allowed to. It is dangerous to have to dodge pedestrians on that narrow strip. Riding on sidewalks limits your speed severely, increases the chance of severe damage to your bike from uneven sidewalks, curbs, etc., and cars aren't expecting you and don't see you like they would if you were on the road. Nope, there is no way I am riding on the sidewalk.
Agreed. Riding on sidewalks is also a good way to get hit by cars turning or coming out of a parking lot or driveway.
I live and bike in Toronto but spend the winters in Florida. Bikes, in FL, are legally allowed on sidewalks at a safe speed to accommodate pedestrians.
Sidewalks are worse than roads...it’s called a road bike
The worst think recently were bins left on the cycling lane in the dark. Pretty nasty.
@@GrayFox-xd9ww a "road bike" is a specific category of bikes.
We have roads in The Netherlands with reasonably high speed limits as well when it comes to bike users sharing it with car users, but in driving school there is a huge emphasis on moving as far to the left when passing them, and also reducing your speed so you are not causing the kind of shock effect for the cyclist you talk about.
(The same goes for pedestrians using the cycle path should there not be a sidewalk but only a cycle path or cycle lane that is painted on)
In the US, about the best you can expect from a car driver passing you on a bicycle is that they give you just enough distance that their mirror misses you by half an inch (a bit over 1 cm, for people using civilized units of measurement).
@@russlehman2070 I think part of the reason is that pedestrians and cyclist are classified as vulnerable participants in traffic in the Netherlands. The law acknowledges this in such a way that in an accident involving a car and a cyclist or pedestrian the driver of the car is held liable for any damage caused. There are certain exceptions but these are pretty though to prove, all this makes it that cars are more cautious around cyclist. And as everyone in the Netherlands cycles there is a greater understanding of what a person on a bike will behave in traffic.
@@trugoras I don't think the law changes the behaviour of (most) people, at least I'm not extra careful because of the law, but because I don't want to cause an accident in which anyone gets hurt. We are more aware of cyclists because most people cycle regularly and there simply are a lot of bicycles, so we are used to them and know how to behave around cyclists. I don't think a law like ours will help a lot in countries with people that aren't aware of cyclists (and I can't imagine that a law like that would pass in the US, because most (car driving) people would think it is unfair.)
In my country we drive on the left side of the road, moving as far to the left would probably take you onto the sidewalk lol
Good video!
I love finding a channel and subscribing after < 2 minutes of watching👍
Mine too 😭 but I still cycle to grocery shopping
We know cycling as transport is hugely beneficial to health and well-being over the long term, this covid thing is positive in the end. Greetings from the Netherlands.
New subscriber here! Great videos, Tom! Keep it up! Cheers from Manila! (Also, I feel like my city wants to kill me when I'm riding my bike, but I just love riding so much.)
I so agree to how we don't feel comfy riding on main roads. I'm in cape town and it's so scary at times riding on narrow roads.
Hi Tom, I’m a young 62, and just bought a nice bike for the first time. I caught your channel just Doing research on bike safety and theft. I must’ve watched 40 of your videos Over the weekend. You come across intelligently and friendly. I appreciate all the tips. Looking forward to getting back into shape. Keep the videos coming!
Tim
Subscribed
I live in southwest Georgia and there are no bike paths of any kind in my area. There are a few signs that say "Share the Road" with a drawing of a bicycle and that's pretty much it.
Most drivers around here seem okay with sharing the road, though some do pass closer than seems safe to me.
Most people I see riding bikes seem to prefer riding against the flow of traffic even though the law specifies that cyclists should ride with the flow but the cops don't seem to enforce the law. Or the one that says bikes ridden by adults don't belong on the sidewalks.
This is a confusing place to ride a bike.
That sounds confusing. Although having motorists who respect cyclists is a huge first step.
At least in GA it's legal to ride two abreast at all times!
Hey man, love your videos! May I know the make of your pannier bags?
One of my pet hates which we often see here in the U.K. is the way they put bike lanes in the easy bits like stretches of straight road but as soon as things get complicated - like a junction or roundabout - the bike lane just disappears and the cyclist is left to completely fend for themselves. And of course these are more dangerous than the simple stretches. Another example of lip service by the authorities
What's it like in your city?
Very few roads in the city are having cycling lanes, tht toooo are covered with huge vehicles. Very few rules are being implemented for cyclist. Thts all abt pune,india
There’s no respect for bicycle commuters
Ranjit Rajput Vehicles seem to be getting bigger everywhere. Over here, this is leading to reductions in deaths of drivers, but increases in deaths of pedestrians and cyclists. That’s not progress.
Riding a bike in Russia is a hustle in itself, with terrible roads and angry drivers it’s a miracle to have a day when you haven’t crushed into a bus. The major streets make bike lanes on sidewalks, but 60% of people just ignore that it’s a SPECIAL LANE FOR BIKERS and just walk on it, sometimes even with headphones. That leads to some debates about how we should just take a walk instead of riding a bike. For fixie riders, like me, that is multiplied by two.
Иван Бабушкин I was in Moscow a couple of years ago and did some riding, so I know exactly what you’re talking about. Those ring roads are deadly! I hope things are changing for the better.
I lived in a condo on 12th Ave pre-bike lane and it was terrifying to ride that road back then. I'm glad to see the city slowly adding bike infrastructure despite the protests of some on council.
nice town to ride! Cheers from Buenos Aires Argentina.
Damn, you had right of way @ 3:45. That car did not even blink an eye to slow down.
I hope that here in our town, they will speed-limit all roads at 30km/hr, except the go-through-lanes. They are thinking about it.
If people have a driveway and park on the street when it's empty they should be able to be fined or given a ticket. I've noticed more and more empty driveways with 2 cars parked on the street out front of the house as if it's the new designated place to flop your gas guzzler.
Same with garages. How many people have garages they don’t park in? In my area, many.
Also makes snow removal slower & more difficult.
#8: Where I live, a lot of condo buildings and apartment buildings also don't provide safe, secure bike storage, and also don't allow you to bring your bike into the communal areas (like elevators and hallways) which effectively bars you from storing your bike in your unit as well. And a lot of bike parking is scarce on the public streets, and where they are provided, they are put in a very out-of-the-way spot, out of sight of the main street and on the opposite side of the building from where the main entrances are. i.e., PERFECT spots for bike thieves to go "shopping".
Great points.
For Stop signs it's also double whammy when it's on a hill like that. Coming to a dead stop and starting up again on a bike when facing a decent hill is pretty rough.
Dont forget to wear a helmet! Take care and thanks for the video
It depends on how you ride and where you ride. The Dutch don't wear helmets and they are safer because of it.
@@ex0stasis72 when somebody says it safer to cycle without helmet, I think I've got everithing to finalize my opinion about that person. Doesnt make sence to argue
@@maxroshin2895 In the Netherlands, because nobody wears a helmet, then everyone, including drivers and cyclists, is more careful.
Also, not having to wear a helmet is more appealing and convenient, which encourages more people to cycle instead of driving an oversized deadly weapon thereby endangering other people.
The dutch also ride upright bikes that allow their heads to turn freely to see their surroundings better. Instead of in a more aggressive leaned forward position, riding upright slows cyclists down and if there is a collision, it's usually minor, and you usually land on your feed, not your head.
So, if you, yourself, choose not to wear a helmet without changing your environment in which you ride (the government's responsibility), then you are personally less safe. I will concede on that point. But if everyone stopped wearing helmets for simple daily commutes where speed is not the goal, the collective safety of everyone vastly improves.
@@ex0stasis72 unfortunately there are no any words which protect you head against pavement. Helmet protects. Thank you and take care.
@@maxroshin2895 By that logic, you should wear a helmet while you're walking because you could trip and dive headfirst into the pavement.
In 2018, the European Commission announced that the Netherlands was in the top 3 safest cycling countries in Europe despite being the only country in the world to not only not require helmets but actively discourage it.
The data that is used to determine this was how many cycling-related fatalities per cycled km. That way, it takes into account that more people are cycling instead of driving than ever over there, so even if cycling fatalities rise one year, overall safety may be improving anyway.
But don't get me wrong, I still do wear a helmet when I cycle in North America. But I dream of the day when we no longer need to.
Sometimes I think it's a choice between being a maimed polite person or a safe asshole 😂 great video!
This!
You’re a true pioneer. 😊
It's true biking infrastructure needs a lot work, commitment, money, political will...
But it costs a tiny fraction of the expense to provide automobile infrastructure. And has a massive disproportionate benefit for individuals and society as a whole.
The city doesn't hate you in Calgary, but the weather YES
LMAO Not everyone's allergic to weather my friend
@@michaelstuartesson4377 Try to take a ride with -30° celsius and iced roads
@@wakeawaken430 I do, I live in the Czech Republic where -30c is possible. Now it's a pleasant -06c so if it's warm enough to ski then it's warm enough to cycle.
@@michaelstuartesson4377 Sorry dude, i am from Athens, cycles 24/365
They should add the bicycle lanes to more places.
True wisdom
Great video!! What is the bike you are riding here?
A lot of people have compared you to Not Just Bikes, but you couldn't even get through an entire video without pointing out the positives. You're a breath of fresh air, Tom!
I commute on a bike in a far larger and more bike-hostile city than shown, and all of those "issues" feel like entitlement. Yes, the bike is not necessarily welcome anywhere, but neither side is particularly hostile either if you make certain concessions.
When on the road, don't try to get priority over cars, you can't compete with 2 tons of steel, just make yourself visible and your intent always clear. Follow the traffic rules, don't cut on reds, always signal your direction (and wear light-reflecting gloves for that), be aware of your surroundings, and you'll be fine.
Riding on sidewalk on occasion is completely fine, just bring yourself down to the level of pedestrians. If in doubt, pedestrians always have priority. Ride slowly, signal politely to note your prescense, don't go for gaps narrower than two of you. If the entire width is taken, slow down to pedestrian speed and politely ask to pass.
I am a cyclist. I don't own a car. But man, this video makes me understand drivers who despise cyclists and portrait us as entitled smugs. We will never have the entire road system adapted to bicycles. It's impossible. The best solution I ever saw was here in Korea. Roads are generally very unfriendly to bicycles, but they built separate bike paths along the rivers and streams and it's great for recreational riding. I can ride hundreds of kilometers there and never ever encounter a car. It's very difficult to combine a network where buses, trucks, motorbikes coexist and acting as if you are the center of the universe doesn't help. They are a pain in the ass for us and we are a pain in the ass for them and any attempt to fix traffic issues should acknowledge both sides.
Can you make a video of your 3speed commuter bike specs 😀 I am curious about it.
Just curious, but have you looked at the neighbour city of Airdrie lately? They are growing quickly and I was very pleased when I saw all the pathways that they have implemented in a short time. Interested in your perspective.
I'm gonna be the black sheep. Having cars parked on residential streets makes them narrower, forces drivers to slow down and may reduce thru traffic. That sounds like a good way to make a city more bike friendly.
An even better way is to make, between the car and the sidewalk, the following: solid separation so that cars can't get through /past them, then a bike path, and then the sidewalk. Makes the street narrower too, and makes biking a lot safer.
I understand your points, but man, you should try to commute in any city in Mexico, that should be consider a extreme sport.
even in a car.
It's all about perspective. I live in europe and find the car centric behavior in north america outdated
Weirdly enough, it's more dangerous in most Mexican big cities, but I feel the drivers aren't angry at cyclists.
(Based on many bike articles in the USA, I feel like cyclists are seen as a bother to drivers IMO)
@@salentino In Germany (part of Europe) I would say there is still a lot of car centric thinking. I (no car, 1 bike, 2 legs) have the feeling that the development of car focused cities in the 1950‘s and 60‘s established a birthright of having a car („Free motorways for free citizens!“), and the right of the fittest is rule No. 1. It changes, but there is a lot to do.
As someone who bikes as my main form of transportation I often almost get hit by cars every day because my town doesn't have enough bike infrastructure.
WE NEED MORE BIKE RIDERS ACROSS AMERICA!
Cool vid.
Meh. I am a longtime cyclist and pre COVID I commuted by bike 1-2 times per week, 11 miles in each direction. Even so, I found most of the criticisms of roads off base. The vast majority of people in cities with typical North American geography will be dependent on private cars for the foreseeable future and will never be able to rely on cycling for transportation. Thus it makes sense that roads are mainly built to serve car traffic, not cyclists.
Seems like most of your problems have to do with the interaction between cars and bikes. No one running the city or the country is to blame for that, as there are laws which require that drivers give space to cyclists. If there are a bunch of parked cars on both sides and an overtaking car is shoving you into those parked cars, he was not allowed to make that overtake.
You also asked why there are so many private cars being stored on public roads. Well, because the owners of those private cars are paying all sorts of road taxes, so they earned that right. This also ties in with your point about drivers damaging the surface more than cyclists. Do you pay road tax on your bike? A driver might legitimately ask themselves "Why are there all these bikes on the roads I pay for?" And I understand a portion of your tax goes into roads, but ultimately, car drivers do actually pay more in the end. Or, you know, you could pay extra on your tax to have the city build private parking for other people, so they don't keep their cars in the road any longer. Which do you prefer?
When it comes to sidewalks, the reason why you're not allowed on there is because bikes are also destructive. Hitting a pedestrian with a bike is pretty bad. And unlike car drivers, which not only must obey laws when interacting with cyclists, but they can also be held accountable and easily identified when they break those laws, cyclists do not have laws stating how much space they have to give pedestrians, or when they should give way to pedestrians, and it is pretty much impossible to identify a cyclists running away from the scene of a crime, especially if their face was covered. Bikes do not have registration plates.
Look, we all have a right to use the roads. There are laws in place so that we can all do this safely. If people don't follow the laws, the problem is not with how the city manages roads, it's with how the city enforces laws. And I'm sorry to say this, but this attitude a lot of cyclists have, of "I have the right to do anything and everything I want, to run red lights and cut in front of traffic, and drivers with their loud, polluting vehicles are a menace and need to get off the road" is why people can't stand cyclists. I personally don't have a problem with cycling in principle. When I overtake cyclists, I give them as much room as possible. No room, no overtake. But when most cyclists I see are reckless, endangering their life at the expense of my right to drive, I cannot but feel some level of annoyance towards them.
great vid . In my town the issue i see is that people in cars are just are looking out for cars and i feel like im annoying them or getting in there way when i ride bike .Regardless i still ride Have great day dude
That cold open lol
This guy is a freaking visionary. I would vote for you.
Really? WOW
I don’t own a car. I own a bike. It’s my freedom machine. I pay property taxes. So I am glad more cities are adding bike infrastructure now. I only hope that they don’t start forcing bicyclists to register their bikes. To require them to have license plates like cars etc. I heard some places are actually contemplating this to raise even more money, and that scares me. What I love about bicycles is that they aren’t cars. Forcing people to register their bikes would just deter people from riding bikes.
In my township, the average speed limit in the dense population areas is 60 km/hr and up to 80 km/hr out of the specific areas. We have a few practical bike lanes in Bangkok.
Great Stuff. UK
My city put bike lanes halfway in the gutter in some places, and there's trees with pinecones that have thorns thick enough to puncture my tires seemingly around every corner. I didn't like Minesweeper as an adolescent, so why would I wanna play it in real life with my tires?
I ride in Melbourne and totally agree with you regarding on-street parking especially when people have private driveways and garages and when vehicles parked on what are supposed to be bike lanes take precedence. Infuriating. Ridiculous! Imagine if a car parked in the middle of the road, how quickly it'd be towed!
The speed limit thing is worse than that, at least in the USA. Speed limit for bikes is something like 25-28 mph by electric motor pedal assist. Not sure if you can actually pedal faster than that but it be crazy dangerous to do so anyways.
You're brave riding without a front brake. I have a similar style bike with a coaster brake but I use a drum brake hub in the front as backup.
You need learn how skid on your bike.
I live in a town with no bike lanes! Consider yourself lucky! Zippo bike racks! Do have the Katy Trail which is an abandoned railroad track which goes across the state of Missouri. I can get on it in less than a mile!
Can you do a video on the advocacy you mentioned at the end of the video?
The city which I live in is doing better with cycle infrastructure now, but routes are often broken or just poorly implemented. There’s very few dedicated and separate routes, and where they are present, they are often too short. But… I’ve found the best improvements to be with automated cycle crossings. These have mostly been placed on busy, high speed roads, making it far safer to cross 😀
How wide are the bike lanes? In the Netherlands, they are 2m wide for one way and 4m wide for two-way lanes.