A City Cycled

kateziegler:

“I begin to worry that hate crimes will be committed against bikers, people in cars mowing us down for no reason, other than the perception that we are taking their right to that extra 2 or 3 feet of road away.”

Yes. I worry about this, as well. The rage, the spitting, the swerving - it’s all so unnecessary for two seconds I may have cost you in your race to the next red light.

highheelsandtwowheels:

“Expansion of Bike Lanes in City Brings Backlash”

There was only one valid argument against bike lanes by opponents in this article, that they take away parking spaces for delivery trucks. And that was only a few business owners. But everyone else, I don’t understand; especially in NYC…

It’s a big, huge, gigantic grey area. As I’ve said in the past, it’s everyone’s fault. Peds jaywalk and cross into the bike lane without looking, then get mad at a cyclist for almost hitting them. Drivers cut you off and act as if you have no right to be in their lane, despite the fact that NY law says we do. Cyclists act like assholes and blaze through red lights and don’t signal to cars that they need to change lanes. Cops don’t enforce the laws on either side. Department of Transportation hasn’t offered any kind of education - for drivers, cyclists and peds - to keep up with the huge boom in cycling in the city.

The blame goes all around, so there really isn’t an easy answer. This morning a car sped up and cut me off, causing me to almost crash, just so he could make a right turn in front of me. It was the closest I’ve come to wrecking (knock on all sorts of fucking wood) so far. The driver was a complete asshole, and I yelled that at him and shook my first (side note: how pathetic does shaking your fist at someone make you feel? It’s lame and ineffective. It’s like saying “I’d love to do something, but I don’t know what! So here is an action meant to reflect my anger!”). But does that mean all NYC drivers are dicks? No, of course not. Likewise, just because some cyclist was a jerk one time doesn’t mean all cyclists here are jerks. But as is often the case in life, people can focus on the negative a lot easier than the positive.

The city’s culture is changing, and as that happens, there are going to be growing pains. It sucks but that’s just the way it’s going to be. I always wonder what it’s like biking in other cities - is it as intense as it is here in New York? I hope this whole thing doesn’t come down to violence toward anyone, but at times when I’ve been biking, it seems like it’s almost inevitable. Me, I prefer to shake my fist in the air like a grumpy elderly man in a retirement home.

(Source: highheelsandtwowheels)