Bike people are the worst

Whenever I ride my bike, getting hit by a car or doored is almost never not on my mind. Fear is definitely a reason people don't bike more, especially in cities, where bicycle commuting would otherwise make sense—and should, in a good world, be encouraged.

 

Ridership and mileage go up as risk goes down.

Here in NYC, the number of daily trips by bicycle has tripled as cycling infrastructure made riding safer. Access to rideshare programs helps, too.

NYC DOT - Bicyclists - Cycling In The City

 

I love seeing people on City Bike. Manhattan especially seems like a great place to bike bc it's relatively flat and there is a preponderance of bike lanes. The people I see biking know how to bike. The guy I referenced in my initial diatribe was being a yutz.

 

It is, but even with the new bike lanes it's still a real pinball game. The trick here is to ride very deliberately. Slow down to go faster.

And there are plenty of bad bike riders here, too. Don't get me wrong.

 

One of the problems is that quite a few people see a bad cyclist and think "Fucking cyclists." Nobody sees a bad driver and thinks all drivers are bad.

 

Exactly.

Good riders everywhere, courteous riders, bear the brunt of bad riders' stupidities.

 

The problem with the scooters in downtown Nashville is they litter lower Broadway, 2nd Avenue, and the Gulch where it has become a destination for people to get trashed drunk by 10 a.m.
Drunks on motorized scooters, heavy traffic, countless pedestrians, endless construction, etc. is just a bad recipe.

 

One of my cycling club members was hit last night (before dark) while riding solo just outside of town on a rural road. It's a route we ride quite often. Great sightlines, pretty flat and straight with a good shoulder.

His family sent this to the club's email list, "a neurosurgeon removed a blood clot off his brain. He has a severe traumatic brain injury, spine fractures, a large laceration on his back, and who knows what else. He’s undergoing multiple surgeries tonight. The neurosurgeon used the term 'catastrophic.”'

I hope the driver wasn't impeded too much in getting to his or her destination. Must have been in a big hurry since they couldn't bother to stop or call 911.

 

That is awful.

 

I'm so sorry to hear this. Terrible.

PM me if there's anything I can do to help.

 

Man, that's brutal. Hope he recovers as well as he can. Also hope the driver gets found. Given the conditions you describe, I'm guessing someone was on their fucking phone.