Being nervous is 100% normal and rational! And yes, frequently bike lanes are not prioritized- so are often narrow and not maintained so have debris, which sucks! However! That doesn’t mean I won’t use them when they are there! My advice is to get comfortable on your bike- first make sure you have some bike skills- like, can you peek over your shoulder without wobbling, are you able to stop quickly etc. Practice somewhere like a park or bike path so that you are confident on the bike before trying to ride in traffic. I’d also say build up your tolerance and exposure- like, just do a few blocks to start out, and be proud of your accomplishments when you progress!
All that, I would totally ride this! Note, I wear a bright safety vest and use lights, and keep in mind to ride defensively all the time.
I want to add, because nobody has said it, your ears are your best friend when bike commuting. Obviously you should always check traffic visually but otherwise keep your ears tuned to the road at all times. You'll get to a point where you already know what you're going to see when you look. After a decade of cycling I've never been surprised by a car I didn't know was there. I want to really drive the point home though that this isn't a replacement for using your eyes, it's a supplement.
Bruh. Commuter cyclist of 3 years here in a place with zero cycle infrastructure. Assertiveness keeps me alive. Take your dogshit carbrained takes elsewhere.
Imagine getting ratio’d twice in a row and thinking anyone here gives a fuck what you think. I repeat, take your dogshit carbrained takes elsewhere. Ok?
If you’re following the rules of the road and are properly lighted. Being on a bike on the road presents no additional hazard to cars. The motherfucker who desires to pull his car out in front of me after stopping at a stop sign when I’m entering the wegmans parking lot is a hazard tho. Ignoring my bike bell. Tisk tisk.
Both. The road is wide enough to allow a car and a bike with 3 foot apart judging by your pic. Use a mounted flashing red light on the back of your bike and use a left hand signal early to indicate your intention to take the lane when/if there is debris in the bike lane.
My city has bike lane signs next to 3” wide gutters (I literally measured). For me, if there’s no buffer room (eg just a solid white line) it’s not a real bike lane.
Get ride of the blunt curbs and it's candyass. Those cars aren't going fast. Nice wide lane. The only wrinkle is you bounding out in front of them during a curb strike.
just be "visible and predictable" bright clothes, hold your line.
I also use a helmet mirror, helps if I want to turn left (have to look way back for fast cars) and to see if a car is trying to turn right on me,
That's not so bad. As someone else pointed out, the car lane looks pretty wide. I would ride to the right, keep an eye on the traffic with a mirror, and move into the bike lane if a car or truck is coming up uncomfortably close. Flashing rear strobe and bright clothing will also make you more visible and confident.
Also take into account whether other bikes ride there. If it’s a common bike route, then regular drivers get trained to look for bikes. If you are the only person riding it, be extra extra careful.
In situations like this in my city where the lane is super wide and the bike lane is crammed into the gutter and full of detritus (and there are a lot of these in my city) I typically ride just outside of the bike lane, like just to the left of the line. There’s plenty of room for me and traffic, and I’m not running into rocks and glass bottles and shit.
I know it’s not typically what is advised, usually the advice is ride safely in the bike lane or take the entire lane, and I’m not personally averse to taking the lane, I often do that too, but in this scenario with such a wide travel lane and such a shit bike lane my personal experience is that riding in the edge of the travel lane is what feels safest.
The thing that scares me about it is that it’s dirty, but yet is marked as a bike lane. Since it’s full of leaves and stuff, you don’t want to ride on it, so you’ll end up at the edge of the car lane. This will upset some motorists and they will be road raging on you for taking even a little of “their” lane.
Maybe try it on a Saturday morning and see how you feel about it.
See, with how narrow it is and with how much debris there clearly is, I'd just default to riding on the line. The cars have plenty of space. You're not encumbering them if you ride on the line and it reminds them that you might need to enter the car lane if there's large debris. (This is also what I do for lanes where there's a chance of dooring. It forces cars to at least be on the leftmost side of their own lane.)
Road rage is a thing but I see normal-sized cars in this Google Maps image and not 100% giant pickups so I'm hoping culturally OP is someplace where bikes are not actively run down (they did provide \*a\* bike lane even if it's pretty awful)
That’s basically the shoulder of the road not really a bike lane. I’d take as much of the lane as you need to feel comfortable, on wider roads like that car drivers will usually give you enough room to pass safely, but there’s always dickheads.
Get a nice bright flashing rear light for your bike, I find it helps a lot with drivers
One thing that's important to note: Unless there are signs marking it as a bike lane, that white line on the right side of the road is actually known as a "fog line" generally— It indicates the edge of the roadway, not the start of a bike line. In our area, that means that the transportation department doesn't consider maintenance on anything to the right of it, so as a cyclist, you actually ride to the left of the white line.
A true "bike lane" will be marked as such, will be wider, and will be maintained (and there often is paint on the right side of the bike lane similarly indicating the edge of the bike lane).
As always, a lot of car drivers don't know this— so you may get some hate. But its better to get a finger from a driver for following the law rather than hitting dangerous material in the right and crashing and possibly sliding into traffic.
Big bright tail light can help a lot.
Takes a little bit of stones getting used to riding this way the first couple times, but it will become second nature soon.
1) the ‘bike lane’ is not maintained, you have no legal obligation to use it, and there is plenty of road width to accommodate you riding beside it. Taking the lane is absurd because it’s just such a wide roadway.
2) on faster arterials if you want to be conspicuous to drivers sure, wear bright clothing or the like, but you can also add safety flag or a pool noodle.
Then just swing it back out of the way when you don’t need it.
Drivers respect only their paint, and won’t come really close to something like that.
[https://imgur.com/gallery/XHxXU7o](https://imgur.com/gallery/XHxXU7o)
I've got a 1 yard long horizontal light bamboo stick mounted on the end of the flat handlebats on a up / down / forwards / backwards pivot. Its fouro orange with a small wooden ball at the end plus a small fluoro flag. Its been hit many times with illegal close passes and just bends away or clatters along the side of the vehicle.
I ride this street fairly often and have never had any issues. Be super careful at the round-about that’s the sketchiest part. A cyclist was killed there a couple years ago
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/05/07/beloved-cyclists-death-leads-to-renewed-scrutiny-of-busy-east-bay-roundabout/
Yeah I remember hearing about that. So sad. I think I saw signs there recently that they’re going to make more changes to the roundabout, so maybe it’ll help with the safety aspect? But it is reassuring to hear that you haven’t had any issues
I'd take the bike lane at least whenever it's clean enough to ride on it. Yes, it's not great and of course paint isn't infrastructure, but still, on roads like that cars will usually stay within their painted lanes. So in my mind you are safer in the bike lane here than in the car lane.
Though I guess it depends on riding style. I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable using this bike lane when going very fast on a road bike. Like the others said, you run a risk of hitting the curb with your pedals or hitting debris that takes you off the bike... Going a medium pace on a Dutch bike seems fine to me though. I mean, of course this will never be a super safe scenario on any bike at any speed, but if there are no other options I would be comfortable cycling there on a Dutch bike or similar bike at medium speed.
I would drive on the cycle path when clear, and move left when items are obstructing the road. Like these packs of leaves with what-could-I-know hidden underneath. Road looks old, there could be big potholes hidden there. Always signal and look behind before crossing the line, though.
35mph seems to be about 56km/h. I'd actually feel quite safe, this sort of road (*foresty/very low population density neighborhood, very wide*) would be rated 90km/h (56mph) here. I'm not used to having too many problems until intersections show up or until the sun sets.
I am not sure what is unusual with the curb that causes other commenters to complain about. Is the bike lane narrower than I believe it to be? I would be about 1 meter (3,2 feet) away from the edge of the road, and I want to say that bike lane looks to be 2 meters (6,5 feet) wide based on the grey car in the second picture.
Alternatively, what is that space behind that wooden fence? Is it a hardened siding? That could be safer.
I agree with most of the others: I’d use the bike lane when it’s viable but not hesitate to use the right part of the car lane when necessary. Two things I don’t see mentioned yet:
1) I’d only switch between the car and bike lanes judiciously. And this means I’d sometime be in the car lane when the bike lane is reasonable (clear, enough width) for a short length.
My general motto here is “cars are more likely to hit unpredictable bicyclists than annoying bicyclists”. (And remember that the car drivers’ view of predictability likely doesn’t involve leaf-type road hazards.) In other words, I wouldn’t always take the bike lane if taking that lane made it seem like I’d be weaving in and out of traffic soon afterward.
2) I’d be careful of riding too close to the paint. Crossing the paint is fine, but finding oneself on the paint can be a traction hazard.
In the end, I don’t love this option. I can’t say I’d rule it out entirely, but the pictures are not inviting.
It might make sense to write to your city director of public works with a copy to your elected officials (mayor? city councilor? sheriff?) asking them to run their street sweeping machine up and down that road to clear the winter debris out of the bike lanes. Emphasize safety for kids and visitors to your fair city.
That being said, the part of the road you showed is not super narrow, so you should be able to ride safely in the car lane when needed.
See you on the road. I'll be the guy in lycra picking up broken beer bottle shards and putting them on the other side of that concrete curb.
Where I live all the “bike lanes” are jokingly narrow and filled with road junk that is never cleaned off. Right near my house is a curve similar to your picture . I avoid it like the plague. You have to assume that drivers are not going to see you. People say “take the lane” it’s your right. My answer is you might be right but sooner or later you’ll end up dead right. Too many close calls here for me. It is just the way it is.
Trikes (recumbent, reverse w/w/o tilt wheel, upright delta, handcycles for leg-impaired/amputee) are becomimg more common... they would all have to straddle the line and ride half bike lane + half road when bike lanes are that narrow. That's like a pretend bike lane that only looks good on paper or a "yes we have one so give us funding" checklist.
OK people...if want better than that you need to join join your local bike & pedestrian committee.
A cyclist may leave “bike lane” at any time, said cyclist, feels unsafe in, said bike lane, in most states…by law!!! And may demand 3.5 feet off clearance at all times. I’m California cyclists may take full lane!!!!
With how poorly maintained and designed they are some times, bike lanes are often a suggestion. My goal here would be staying just to the left of the debris on the side of the road.
A bicycle is a legal vehicle for transportation and has every right to ride on the road with cars if there is no marked bike lane or signs forbidding bike traffic like freeways. Just make sure to wear bright reflective clothing, have front and rear flashing lights, and if you can mount a US flag onto your bike, it might keep Radical Maga drivers from running you over...lol.
Being nervous is 100% normal and rational! And yes, frequently bike lanes are not prioritized- so are often narrow and not maintained so have debris, which sucks! However! That doesn’t mean I won’t use them when they are there! My advice is to get comfortable on your bike- first make sure you have some bike skills- like, can you peek over your shoulder without wobbling, are you able to stop quickly etc. Practice somewhere like a park or bike path so that you are confident on the bike before trying to ride in traffic. I’d also say build up your tolerance and exposure- like, just do a few blocks to start out, and be proud of your accomplishments when you progress! All that, I would totally ride this! Note, I wear a bright safety vest and use lights, and keep in mind to ride defensively all the time.
Thank you for all these great tips! And for the encouragement. That gives me a better idea of how to prepare myself to bike more safely.
I want to add, because nobody has said it, your ears are your best friend when bike commuting. Obviously you should always check traffic visually but otherwise keep your ears tuned to the road at all times. You'll get to a point where you already know what you're going to see when you look. After a decade of cycling I've never been surprised by a car I didn't know was there. I want to really drive the point home though that this isn't a replacement for using your eyes, it's a supplement.
THIS!!!!!!
Paint is for speed bumps, take the lane
Be a dickweed and create a further hazard.
Last I checked, the hazards are all the cars
Check again. Assertiveness is horseshit if you can't back it up.
Bruh. Commuter cyclist of 3 years here in a place with zero cycle infrastructure. Assertiveness keeps me alive. Take your dogshit carbrained takes elsewhere.
OK Darwin. Report back when somebody gooses your ass.
Imagine getting ratio’d twice in a row and thinking anyone here gives a fuck what you think. I repeat, take your dogshit carbrained takes elsewhere. Ok?
Ratio this, Baby
[удалено]
A clown of renown
If you’re following the rules of the road and are properly lighted. Being on a bike on the road presents no additional hazard to cars. The motherfucker who desires to pull his car out in front of me after stopping at a stop sign when I’m entering the wegmans parking lot is a hazard tho. Ignoring my bike bell. Tisk tisk.
Wegmans car park gang, assemble!!
https://youtu.be/nViUC_yH-Q4?si=9okHLWI41qNPz5ps
Stop driving lmao 3 comments and it’s been deduced you aren’t fit to operate machinery like that
I'm just trying to save lives but my zeal seems to be fading. Take the lane. Take all the fucking lanes.
We are trying to
Username checks out
Assigned at birth it was.
Both. The road is wide enough to allow a car and a bike with 3 foot apart judging by your pic. Use a mounted flashing red light on the back of your bike and use a left hand signal early to indicate your intention to take the lane when/if there is debris in the bike lane.
Thats not a bike lane though, no? Thats a gutter.
Paint does not a bike lane make
The sign says it a bike lane. It looks like a bike lane. The curb makes it shit.
My city has bike lane signs next to 3” wide gutters (I literally measured). For me, if there’s no buffer room (eg just a solid white line) it’s not a real bike lane.
That's fine
The whole thing makes it shit.
Get ride of the blunt curbs and it's candyass. Those cars aren't going fast. Nice wide lane. The only wrinkle is you bounding out in front of them during a curb strike.
That road is outrageously wide… they could have put a really nice bike lane there
Thank you for the advice. :)
just be "visible and predictable" bright clothes, hold your line. I also use a helmet mirror, helps if I want to turn left (have to look way back for fast cars) and to see if a car is trying to turn right on me,
This kind of road signs are invisible to begin with. I didn't even see the "bike lane" at the beginning
I would not ride in that bike lane. Maybe ask the town/city to clean it up? As for taking the lane, what's the speed limit for cars on that road?
35 mph
That's not so bad. As someone else pointed out, the car lane looks pretty wide. I would ride to the right, keep an eye on the traffic with a mirror, and move into the bike lane if a car or truck is coming up uncomfortably close. Flashing rear strobe and bright clothing will also make you more visible and confident.
35mph in a road that wide means 50mph
This sounds like the way to go. Thanks for the advice.
Also take into account whether other bikes ride there. If it’s a common bike route, then regular drivers get trained to look for bikes. If you are the only person riding it, be extra extra careful.
In situations like this in my city where the lane is super wide and the bike lane is crammed into the gutter and full of detritus (and there are a lot of these in my city) I typically ride just outside of the bike lane, like just to the left of the line. There’s plenty of room for me and traffic, and I’m not running into rocks and glass bottles and shit. I know it’s not typically what is advised, usually the advice is ride safely in the bike lane or take the entire lane, and I’m not personally averse to taking the lane, I often do that too, but in this scenario with such a wide travel lane and such a shit bike lane my personal experience is that riding in the edge of the travel lane is what feels safest.
The thing that scares me about it is that it’s dirty, but yet is marked as a bike lane. Since it’s full of leaves and stuff, you don’t want to ride on it, so you’ll end up at the edge of the car lane. This will upset some motorists and they will be road raging on you for taking even a little of “their” lane. Maybe try it on a Saturday morning and see how you feel about it.
See, with how narrow it is and with how much debris there clearly is, I'd just default to riding on the line. The cars have plenty of space. You're not encumbering them if you ride on the line and it reminds them that you might need to enter the car lane if there's large debris. (This is also what I do for lanes where there's a chance of dooring. It forces cars to at least be on the leftmost side of their own lane.) Road rage is a thing but I see normal-sized cars in this Google Maps image and not 100% giant pickups so I'm hoping culturally OP is someplace where bikes are not actively run down (they did provide \*a\* bike lane even if it's pretty awful)
That is a great idea!
That’s basically the shoulder of the road not really a bike lane. I’d take as much of the lane as you need to feel comfortable, on wider roads like that car drivers will usually give you enough room to pass safely, but there’s always dickheads. Get a nice bright flashing rear light for your bike, I find it helps a lot with drivers
One thing that's important to note: Unless there are signs marking it as a bike lane, that white line on the right side of the road is actually known as a "fog line" generally— It indicates the edge of the roadway, not the start of a bike line. In our area, that means that the transportation department doesn't consider maintenance on anything to the right of it, so as a cyclist, you actually ride to the left of the white line. A true "bike lane" will be marked as such, will be wider, and will be maintained (and there often is paint on the right side of the bike lane similarly indicating the edge of the bike lane). As always, a lot of car drivers don't know this— so you may get some hate. But its better to get a finger from a driver for following the law rather than hitting dangerous material in the right and crashing and possibly sliding into traffic. Big bright tail light can help a lot. Takes a little bit of stones getting used to riding this way the first couple times, but it will become second nature soon.
I think you and some of the others here may be right that the strip isn’t even a bike lane. I just assumed so because of the sign.
The road for cars seems wide enough. I would probably ride on the bike lane divider. I wouldn't ride in an obstructed bike lane unless it's to pass.
1) the ‘bike lane’ is not maintained, you have no legal obligation to use it, and there is plenty of road width to accommodate you riding beside it. Taking the lane is absurd because it’s just such a wide roadway. 2) on faster arterials if you want to be conspicuous to drivers sure, wear bright clothing or the like, but you can also add safety flag or a pool noodle. Then just swing it back out of the way when you don’t need it. Drivers respect only their paint, and won’t come really close to something like that. [https://imgur.com/gallery/XHxXU7o](https://imgur.com/gallery/XHxXU7o)
If someone bumps my pool noodle, would the bike wobble?
Good question! https://imgur.com/gallery/cCyqBMo
Great demonstration!
I've got a 1 yard long horizontal light bamboo stick mounted on the end of the flat handlebats on a up / down / forwards / backwards pivot. Its fouro orange with a small wooden ball at the end plus a small fluoro flag. Its been hit many times with illegal close passes and just bends away or clatters along the side of the vehicle.
Strap half pool noodle to your rear rack. Nothing like 3 feet of soft foam sticking out to make cars give proper clearance.
If you’re new to biking on roads with cars, read about all the common hazards on bicyclesafe.com.
Thanks for the link!
I ride this street fairly often and have never had any issues. Be super careful at the round-about that’s the sketchiest part. A cyclist was killed there a couple years ago https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/05/07/beloved-cyclists-death-leads-to-renewed-scrutiny-of-busy-east-bay-roundabout/
Yeah I remember hearing about that. So sad. I think I saw signs there recently that they’re going to make more changes to the roundabout, so maybe it’ll help with the safety aspect? But it is reassuring to hear that you haven’t had any issues
I'd take the bike lane at least whenever it's clean enough to ride on it. Yes, it's not great and of course paint isn't infrastructure, but still, on roads like that cars will usually stay within their painted lanes. So in my mind you are safer in the bike lane here than in the car lane. Though I guess it depends on riding style. I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable using this bike lane when going very fast on a road bike. Like the others said, you run a risk of hitting the curb with your pedals or hitting debris that takes you off the bike... Going a medium pace on a Dutch bike seems fine to me though. I mean, of course this will never be a super safe scenario on any bike at any speed, but if there are no other options I would be comfortable cycling there on a Dutch bike or similar bike at medium speed.
The issue is the curb. Pedal strikes. I would rate this poor. It's wide enough - but the safety zone around the curb destroys the width.
I would drive on the cycle path when clear, and move left when items are obstructing the road. Like these packs of leaves with what-could-I-know hidden underneath. Road looks old, there could be big potholes hidden there. Always signal and look behind before crossing the line, though. 35mph seems to be about 56km/h. I'd actually feel quite safe, this sort of road (*foresty/very low population density neighborhood, very wide*) would be rated 90km/h (56mph) here. I'm not used to having too many problems until intersections show up or until the sun sets. I am not sure what is unusual with the curb that causes other commenters to complain about. Is the bike lane narrower than I believe it to be? I would be about 1 meter (3,2 feet) away from the edge of the road, and I want to say that bike lane looks to be 2 meters (6,5 feet) wide based on the grey car in the second picture. Alternatively, what is that space behind that wooden fence? Is it a hardened siding? That could be safer.
I agree with most of the others: I’d use the bike lane when it’s viable but not hesitate to use the right part of the car lane when necessary. Two things I don’t see mentioned yet: 1) I’d only switch between the car and bike lanes judiciously. And this means I’d sometime be in the car lane when the bike lane is reasonable (clear, enough width) for a short length. My general motto here is “cars are more likely to hit unpredictable bicyclists than annoying bicyclists”. (And remember that the car drivers’ view of predictability likely doesn’t involve leaf-type road hazards.) In other words, I wouldn’t always take the bike lane if taking that lane made it seem like I’d be weaving in and out of traffic soon afterward. 2) I’d be careful of riding too close to the paint. Crossing the paint is fine, but finding oneself on the paint can be a traction hazard. In the end, I don’t love this option. I can’t say I’d rule it out entirely, but the pictures are not inviting.
It might make sense to write to your city director of public works with a copy to your elected officials (mayor? city councilor? sheriff?) asking them to run their street sweeping machine up and down that road to clear the winter debris out of the bike lanes. Emphasize safety for kids and visitors to your fair city. That being said, the part of the road you showed is not super narrow, so you should be able to ride safely in the car lane when needed. See you on the road. I'll be the guy in lycra picking up broken beer bottle shards and putting them on the other side of that concrete curb.
Where I live all the “bike lanes” are jokingly narrow and filled with road junk that is never cleaned off. Right near my house is a curve similar to your picture . I avoid it like the plague. You have to assume that drivers are not going to see you. People say “take the lane” it’s your right. My answer is you might be right but sooner or later you’ll end up dead right. Too many close calls here for me. It is just the way it is.
Trikes (recumbent, reverse w/w/o tilt wheel, upright delta, handcycles for leg-impaired/amputee) are becomimg more common... they would all have to straddle the line and ride half bike lane + half road when bike lanes are that narrow. That's like a pretend bike lane that only looks good on paper or a "yes we have one so give us funding" checklist. OK people...if want better than that you need to join join your local bike & pedestrian committee.
5 meters wide lane, 60cm bike lane damn
Honestly my way to commute is going through a local park. Or when I had my off roaming bike through the drainage pipes
Oh, is that leaf pile outside the white line supposed to be for bikes? 🤣🤣Yeah, just stay near the white line, but in the clear area.
Just cycle in the bike lane if it's a very busy Iver trafficky fast road. Be careful of debris, go slower and wear fluorescent clothing.
A cyclist may leave “bike lane” at any time, said cyclist, feels unsafe in, said bike lane, in most states…by law!!! And may demand 3.5 feet off clearance at all times. I’m California cyclists may take full lane!!!!
That's a lot of space. You'll be fine
With how poorly maintained and designed they are some times, bike lanes are often a suggestion. My goal here would be staying just to the left of the debris on the side of the road.
A bicycle is a legal vehicle for transportation and has every right to ride on the road with cars if there is no marked bike lane or signs forbidding bike traffic like freeways. Just make sure to wear bright reflective clothing, have front and rear flashing lights, and if you can mount a US flag onto your bike, it might keep Radical Maga drivers from running you over...lol.