Are you seeing a lot of commuting cyclists these days?

[herr_oberst]

A local reporter counted over 1300 cyclists over a bridge into the downtown area in two hours one weekday morning a couple of weeks ago, I see a lot more people riding now that gas prices are ridiculous and I wonder if it is the same everywhere (Portland is pretty well known for it's robust cycling community)

As an aside, I also see a lot of riders after dark wearing dark clothes without proper lighting - this could get ugly this winter if this keeps up.

[john walker's workshop]

yup, seen a lot more of them running red lights and any other traffic law they can ignore.

[lendaddy]

Yep, tons of them and they're riding on big 55mph divided four lane roads. Many are going to get drilled.

[IROC]

I see alot here where I work and the interesting thing is that most of the facilities here are not close to any residential areas (it's a large DOE reservation) so most everyone is riding a substantial distance. A guy in my group rides to work often and he lives almost 17 miles away. He said it takes him a little over an hour, IIRC.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I don't ride my bicycle to work as much as I used to. Our offices moved and the route is much more dangerous. My previous commute was about 17 miles one way, alot of it on a bike/pedestrian trail, and like your friend, took about an hour. 20-30 minutes more than driving if traffic wasn't too bad. About the same if it was real bad.

John, I understand your frustration. As a bike commuter, it drives me crazy when others don't pay attention and abuse their situation by ignoring traffic laws. I almost got out of my car the other day to yell at some punk that wouldn't put his damn feet down and was circling other cyclists at a light. Idiot.

I bought an old motorcycle to ride in decent weather, will have to get my exercise some other way!

[MichiganMat]

Bike commuters in Portland? Thats unpossible.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nope. But this is, afterall, KS. I'd be suprised if the local commute here is more than 10 minutes, and gridlock is something we see on TV (and laugh).

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I find them hard to see 'cause they're thin and in shape, unlike the fat loads in the cars, who are relatively easy to spot.

Sorry, if someone's going to turn this into a generalized attack on cyclists, someone has to be their advocate and speak up with a (semi tongue-in-cheek) generalized attack on drivers.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thin and in shape vs big and fat.........your odds aren't looking too good in a collision.

[Jims5543]

I was riding every day until the afternoon thunderstorms started, too much lightning for my liking so I am driving for now until we get out of this season. Which will be until Oct.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

You're just jealous of our awesome ripped calves.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

You're just jealous of our awesome ripped calves.

Naw, we're just jealous of how you get to show off your packages.

[stomachmonkey]

Been 100+ every day for the last couple o weeks.

Don't know how the guys on motorcycles are doing it with full face and black armor.

[Paul K]

Lots more cycling here than I've seen before. Ditto on them ignoring stop lights/signs.

Considering writing a letter to the local paper, for all the good it'll do...

[billwagnon]

I was out running yesterday - quiet residential streets, just barely room for two cars to pass each other. I'm on a sidewalk approaching the crosswalk, a car is approaching their stop sign on my right and is slowing. I start into the crosswalk and damn near ran into the car, because they decided a) the crosswalk didn't mean anything and b) "stop" is a relative thing.

[85eurocarrera]

Yep. I almost got hit in my 911 w/ my mt bike on top, by a roadie. He was blowing through a red light. How ironic would that have been?

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

As an aside, I also see a lot of riders after dark wearing dark clothes without proper lighting

That's something I just don't understand. Darwin in effect? I mean, it's one thing to be a casual cyclist, who unintentionally gets caught out after dark, and doesn't have proper nighttime visibility aids. But sheesh, a headlamp goes for $50, a reflective vestie thingie goes for $20, and a blinking taillamp goes for $15. Voila. Less than $100 and at least you're semi-visible. How is it that people who commute--meaning they're regularly riding around dawn and dusk--don't have the sense to get this stuff and give themselves some semblance of visibility? After all, regardless of fault, when it's car v. bicycle, it's usually the cyclist who gets the business end of the stick.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Don't know how the guys on motorcycles are doing it with full face and black armor.

Perforations. (In the leather.) And a decent helmet with vents that actually work. Just keep moving, and it's actually pretty breezy.

Or just do the squidly thing, like most that I see, and wear sneakers, jeans/shorts, and a t-shirt.

[DavidB911]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Perforations. (In the leather.) And a decent helmet with vents that actually work. Just keep moving, and it's actually pretty breezy.

Or just do the squidly thing, like most that I see, and wear sneakers, jeans/shorts, and a t-shirt.

You look rather gay if your wearing spandex to class. Thats what I wear to school with my hat too. Its not too hot considering what your wearing.

[djmcmath]

My commute is through a residential area with no shoulder, narrow winding roads, and a lot of blind entrances. For whatever reason, the bicycle types seem to think that it's wiser to ride in the road with the cars -- who are invariably doing 15 over the limit -- than it is to use the bike trail 20 feet off the road. I'm sure there's a good reason for it, I just don't understand.

I don't struggle with the bicycles much because I ride a motorcycle -- easy to get around them, for me. And like Noah says, if you wear well-ventilated stuff, it's pretty pleasant as long as you're moving. Some mornings, the humidity is just crazy, though. I showed up at work this morning feeling like I was just damp all over. Blech.

Dan