I've got mixed feelings about this one... partially fear, and partially admiration. I also did a search to make sure that no one has posted this video here before.
I'm ultra conservative when commuting - I do the hand signals, I ride on the right side all the time, in fact sometimes I hop off the bike and use the pedestrian crosswalks if I have to turn left at a busy intersection, I've got 2 rear blinkers, reflectors, a really powerful set of six 3 watt LEDs for a headlamp, and I stay away from busy streets.
Just riding along...
Submitted by pinkrobe on
I used to hug the right-hand side of the road, but then got hit 5 or 6 times. I don't do anything as entertaining as in that video, but I have been a little aggro from time to time.
There's a guy on bikeforums.net whose tagline is "If you could walk through walls, would you still use doors?" He has videos of himself and his buddies rolling through traffic in Louisiana somewhere. It looks nuts at first, but I can see how it could be done in a "safe" manner.
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Holy Crap
Submitted by PedalFaster on
That is some serious riding whether you like it or not. The guy is pedaling pretty quick too, after 5 minutes I was beginning to think it might be from a scooter and not a bicycle, then the motorcycle passes him and he tags onto the red car for a bit when traffic picks up speed. I have seen video from New York bike couriers doing this too and it is pretty sick. Never had the guts to try it myself and I used to bomb Bow Trail into downtown every day which takes some creative lane positioning in heavy traffic. Crazy or not that takes some hard riding and some serious cajones.
so many cars
Submitted by ride on
All those cars clogging the highway just to carry a few people - most of those cars have only one person in them. Think of the $Millions in infrastructure being spent there to subsidize car use.
Good stuff at 3:25 and 4:05 where the cyclist passes cop cars. Then at 5:12 he hitches a ride on a VW bus to get up a little hill, and at 6:08 he grabs onto a car for a well deserved rest.
Video looks speeded up slightly, which makes it look scary. If the traffic were moving more slowly than it appears, then lane-splitting is often the safest way to ride in traffic - car drivers give each other more room than they'll give you riding along the right-side curb.
How true
Submitted by anon on
"car drivers give each other more room than they'll give you riding along the right-side curb."
How true, I'll never understand motorists and their need to place the front bumper a foot away from other vehicles when stooped.
I think there is a lot more
Submitted by vladster on
I think there is a lot more to driver psychology than most people suspect: if you act like you own the road, other people will respect that. I've found that the more aggressive I am on the road, the better treatment I get from drivers. I now suggest people do the same: ride defensively but aggressively. Take the whole lane if you need it. When coming up on a stop, ride between cars rather than on the right side and risk some bozo making a right turn into you. Go into the opposing lane when it's appropriate. There are a lot more situations like that. Some of them break current traffic laws, but many current traffic laws do not factor in what is safe for cyclists. In any case, follow the old piece of motorcycle wisdom: always assume that all drivers out there are trying to kill you.