Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

A Good Sign

11.09.2014 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

During the summer, I expressed my concern over the resurfacing of streets in our neighborhood with chip seal. Chip seal is irritating, because cyclists are riding through small, loose gravel until it become tamped down to a sort of smooth surface.

That tamping is pretty much taken care of now, and on a ride the other morning, I saw some crews striping the streets. The striping doesn’t just trace the marking that had been in place previously. Instead, it accommodates cyclists better. Here’s a look at what I mean:

The new bike lane might be in the door zone, but there's still some room for bikes to miss doors.
The new bike lane might be in the door zone, but there’s still some room for bikes to miss doors.

One irritant to me when riding in the morning or mid-afternoon was the number of helicopter parents who drop off and pick up their kids at school. They had no qualms about parking their cars in the bike lane, forcing bikes out into the traffic lane. That wouldn’t be a problem, since everyone was moving at a snail’s pace, but a bike mixed in with all those cars caused consternation on the part of drivers — many of whom had no idea what to do. Of course, indecisive drivers can be a bigger hazard to cyclists than blocked bike lanes.

Well, the new markings angle that problem. There’s a parking lane for cars next to the curb, then a bike lane. The traffic lane is considerably narrower than it had been before.

It’s not perfect. The bike lane could put bikers in the door zone. But it’s a little wider than most lanes that are in the door zone, and frankly, I’m not too concerned. It appears the city is listening to cyclists and making improvements in traffic markings.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Categories // Safety Tags // bike lanes

Bike Lanes Are Inadequate

01.25.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

I’ve noticed that more bike lanes are popping up around town. I think that’s generally a good thing. My attitude is, if I stay in my lane and motor vehicles stay in their lane, we should have no problem.

Of course, we’ve all had experiences with drivers who can’t seem to control their vehicles and cross into the bike lane from time to time. In addition, bike lanes tend to become repositories of broken glass, gravel, and other debris that can make riding there hazardous.

Still, if I have the option to use a bike lane, I generally take it.

But during the week, my attention was drawn to an interesting collection of infographics regarding bike lane design. In essence, the infographics suggest that a three-foot wide bike lane is inadequate to meet the safety needs of cyclists. They’re part of a web site called “I Am Traffic,” whose stated goal is to achieve equal status for bikes with other vehicles on the road. Some of their information is new to me, and quite thought-provoking. Here’s a sample:

BikeLane

Click the image to enlarge.

To see the whole collection of infographics, and get an in-depth dose of cycling infrastructure ideals, visit I Am Traffic.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Categories // Safety Tags // bike lanes, infrastructure, Safety

The Hidden Danger of Bike Lanes

12.01.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Normally, I’m a fan of bike lanes. In my area, which is a subrban-style neighborhood, they’ve been striped on most of the arterials. It’s reassuring for me to know that if I stay in my lane and the cars stay in their lane, we can all just get along.

That rose-colored glasses view of bike lanes fogged over last weekend when I was on a short ride with my wife. We do a nine-mile round trip from the house. It takes only about 40 minutes, but she considers it a good ride, and it’s often the only ride I’m going to get anyway, so I’m happy to do it. We ride the bike lane along a broad, two-lane street out to a busy highway, then turn around and double back.

I like to crank it up on the way back. There’s a nice stretch of almost two miles that’s a little bit downhill, and it’s easy to build up some decent speed. I’ll usually charge through there and then stop to wait for Pat at the last side street before we have to make a left turn at a stoplight and head home.

So I was moving at a pretty good clip, approaching a side street that entered from the right. Without warning, a white Toyota Camry sped up to the intersection. The driver was looking to his right. I was coming from his left. Instead of stopping even with his stop sign, he kept coming until the nose of his car was sticking out into the bike lane — just as I got there.

I flicked the handlebars over and passed in front of him. He didn’t see me until I was right on top of him. The whole thing happened so quickly, I didn’t even have time to yell, “On your left!” or some such thing.

The situation could have been very dangerous. Well, it was, but it could have had serious consequences. When I moved to my left to avoid him, I darted into the traffic lane — without looking. I had no idea if a car was behind me in that lane or not. (I had a pretty good idea none was, since I had not heard anything. But with today’s quiet cars, you never know.)

As I continued riding, I thought about the close call. I was still thinking about it about a half mile down the road when sure enough, another car — this time a black Mercedes driven by a soccer mom type — enters the intersection from the right, and doesn’t stop until it’s completely blocking the bike lane. This time, I wasn’t quite as close as in the first incident, so my move into the traffic lane was done more deliberately, and I even signaled my move –but I still didn’t look for cars coming up behind me.

Now, I suppose I could make the argument that I should always just take the lane anyway and not both about bike lanes. But I don’t think that’s necessary. I prefer to maintain an entente cordiale with motorists, and in four years of riding along that street, I really haven’t had much to complain about. But an entente implies that two parties are involved, and I’d sure like to see drivers acknowledge that marked bike lanes are another traffic control feature that must be observed, just like yield signs and double yellow lines.

In the meantime, I’ll be riding that route with a heightened sense of alertness.

Bike lane picture from University of South Florida Bike Club.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Categories // Safety Tags // bike lanes

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 259 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d