[Chupacabra]

I wrote a way too long post about this before the Grizz game. The short story is that there are times when it's perfectly reasonable to roll through a stop sign. But 360° awareness is crucial because you're always going to lose the fight. Especially with a car but with anything else, really. You're the one with all the momentum delicately balanced inside of an inch.

Plenty of people might say you should stop completely at every stop sign but it's often totally fine to roll through if you're paying attention. It really does take a ton of effort if you're in a low gear to get your momentum going again from a full stop. You can disagree and that's ok. I'm not talking about situations where bikes blowing through, but when the street is wide open and it's clear that there's no danger. But you have to be vigilant every single time you make that choice. And calculate it every time with no assumptions. 

The crucial thing is awareness. I appreciate when cars are aware of me but you can never, ever make that assumption. Buddy Teevens had a tragic thing happen to him but there are much, much worse scenarios.

My personal peeve is when I see people riding at night without lights. I've even given lights to neighbors when I've seen them doing it.

So my plea to all drivers is to look at what happened to Teevens. It's terrible and avoidable. Next time you're annoyed by a bike, take a breath and think "I really wish they were riding safer," instead of, "what a damn jerk." Maybe even, at a stop sign where you see someone on their bike and it's your right of way, make eye contact and wave them through so they don't have to stop. They'll be really surprised and greatly appreciate the gesture. I do it and it makes me feel good to know that I've done someone a very small favor.

Remember, riding a bike is a virtuous thing. Riding bikes makes you healthier, saves fossil fuels, and reduces traffic/parking congestion.

And if you're riding your bike: be safe. Constant vigilance. Have (blinking) lights on your bike at night. Reflectors wherever possible. Wear a helmet. Make eye contact with drivers. It can be totally safe (and I'm confident that I am a totally safe bicyclist) if you're taking every precaution. It doesn't matter whose fault an accident is: you're never going to win against a car.

But ride a bike!

I hammer something into my son's head every time we go out for a ride: in any confrontation between a bike and a car, a car always wins and fault doesn't factor at all into your safety. Vigilance, vigilance, vigilance.

Great lessons for your son. I can't tell you how many times I've seen kids (and occasionally adults) pedaling down the bike lane in the wrong direction and against traffic. Tough to see them when you're making a right turn and watching the on coming traffic looking for an opening. Not a fan when cyclists run red lights and stop signs because it's too hard to put a foot down. Riding three abreast, with one in the bike lane is a peeve, as well. Now get off my lawn.

What they both said.  Many years ago I was a distance biker.  I made it a point to never, ever trust cars, pedestrians, or other cyclists. And this was before the age of cell phones.  Today, I'd go pretty far out of my way to avoid busy streets.

Far too many times I've been fully stopped at an intersection, in the right lane with my blinker on, ready to turn, and end up shaking my head at a cyclist whizzing by me on the right without stopping for the light.  There is a point where that bike is in your blind spot and not visible.  And jeez, if cyclists have the same "rights" as drivers, they should also be accountable for the same laws.

Just this afternoon on my way home traffic was slowing on one of our side streets that leads downhill with a freeway on-ramp on the right.  It's a sticky intersection and no fun even when there's no traffic; it's not a full stop.  Two bikers barrelled down the hill on the right sidewalk from behind us and zipped right across the on-ramp -- continuing downhill without even glancing over their left shoulders to see if someone was turning onto the freeway!  Like you say, a bicycle is NOT going to win a collision with a car -- and it doesn't matter who is at fault.

Sorry for the rant but this is one of my triggers.

All the best for Buddy's recovery.

---

This is the opposite of what I am talking about...in a busy intersection you have to be overly vigilant. And I've intentionally used that term a lot. One of the great things about riding in SF over time was that I really got to know the routes and what was safe and where I needed to be even more cautious. I'm getting there in Memphis, even though the climate limits my riding.

But it's always preferable to ride along quiet side streets or specifically dedicated bike thoroughfares instead of busy streets. The Wiggle in SF is great because it's not only flat but it takes you through the panhandle, where you don't have to worry about cars (though you do have to worry about other bikes and walkers not paying attention).

Downtown was obviously a little tougher but there are still route you can take. Market was actually pretty good and that was even before they closed it off to cars. The danger there was streetcar tracks.

Again, you can do it safely but you have to pay attention. I've typed waaaay to many words on this today but it is something I'm really passionate about and I'm sad that bikes seem to have gotten a bad rap in a lot of ways.

Far too many times I've been fully stopped at an intersection, in the right lane with my blinker on, ready to turn, and end up shaking my head at a cyclist whizzing by me on the right without stopping for the light.  There is a point where that bike is in your blind spot and not visible.  And jeez, if cyclists have the same "rights" as drivers, they should also be accountable for the same laws.

Just this afternoon on my way home traffic was slowing on one of our side streets that leads downhill with a freeway on-ramp on the right.  It's a sticky intersection and no fun even when there's no traffic; it's not a full stop.  Two bikers barrelled down the hill on the right sidewalk from behind us and zipped right across the on-ramp -- continuing downhill without even glancing over their left shoulders to see if someone was turning onto the freeway!  Like you say, a bicycle is NOT going to win a collision with a car -- and it doesn't matter who is at fault.

Sorry for the rant but this is one of my triggers.

All the best for Buddy's recovery.

[Chupacabra]

I wrote a way too long post about this before the Grizz game. The short story is that there are times when it's perfectly reasonable to roll through a stop sign. But 360° awareness is crucial because you're always going to lose the fight. Especially with a car but with anything else, really. You're the one with all the momentum delicately balanced inside of an inch.

Plenty of people might say you should stop completely at every stop sign but it's often totally fine to roll through if you're paying attention. It really does take a ton of effort if you're in a low gear to get your momentum going again from a full stop. You can disagree and that's ok. I'm not talking about situations where bikes blowing through, but when the street is wide open and it's clear that there's no danger. But you have to be vigilant every single time you make that choice. And calculate it every time with no assumptions. 

The crucial thing is awareness. I appreciate when cars are aware of me but you can never, ever make that assumption. Buddy Teevens had a tragic thing happen to him but there are much, much worse scenarios.

My personal peeve is when I see people riding at night without lights. I've even given lights to neighbors when I've seen them doing it.

So my plea to all drivers is to look at what happened to Teevens. It's terrible and avoidable. Next time you're annoyed by a bike, take a breath and think "I really wish they were riding safer," instead of, "what a damn jerk." Maybe even, at a stop sign where you see someone on their bike and it's your right of way, make eye contact and wave them through so they don't have to stop. They'll be really surprised and greatly appreciate the gesture. I do it and it makes me feel good to know that I've done someone a very small favor.

Remember, riding a bike is a virtuous thing. Riding bikes makes you healthier, saves fossil fuels, and reduces traffic/parking congestion.

And if you're riding your bike: be safe. Constant vigilance. Have (blinking) lights on your bike at night. Reflectors wherever possible. Wear a helmet. Make eye contact with drivers. It can be totally safe (and I'm confident that I am a totally safe bicyclist) if you're taking every precaution. It doesn't matter whose fault an accident is: you're never going to win against a car.

But ride a bike!

I hammer something into my son's head every time we go out for a ride: in any confrontation between a bike and a car, a car always wins and fault doesn't factor at all into your safety. Vigilance, vigilance, vigilance.

Great lessons for your son. I can't tell you how many times I've seen kids (and occasionally adults) pedaling down the bike lane in the wrong direction and against traffic. Tough to see them when you're making a right turn and watching the on coming traffic looking for an opening. Not a fan when cyclists run red lights and stop signs because it's too hard to put a foot down. Riding three abreast, with one in the bike lane is a peeve, as well. Now get off my lawn.

What they both said.  Many years ago I was a distance biker.  I made it a point to never, ever trust cars, pedestrians, or other cyclists. And this was before the age of cell phones.  Today, I'd go pretty far out of my way to avoid busy streets.

Far too many times I've been fully stopped at an intersection, in the right lane with my blinker on, ready to turn, and end up shaking my head at a cyclist whizzing by me on the right without stopping for the light.  There is a point where that bike is in your blind spot and not visible.  And jeez, if cyclists have the same "rights" as drivers, they should also be accountable for the same laws.

Just this afternoon on my way home traffic was slowing on one of our side streets that leads downhill with a freeway on-ramp on the right.  It's a sticky intersection and no fun even when there's no traffic; it's not a full stop.  Two bikers barrelled down the hill on the right sidewalk from behind us and zipped right across the on-ramp -- continuing downhill without even glancing over their left shoulders to see if someone was turning onto the freeway!  Like you say, a bicycle is NOT going to win a collision with a car -- and it doesn't matter who is at fault.

Sorry for the rant but this is one of my triggers.

All the best for Buddy's recovery.

---

This is the opposite of what I am talking about...in a busy intersection you have to be overly vigilant. And I've intentionally used that term a lot. One of the great things about riding in SF over time was that I really got to know the routes and what was safe and where I needed to be even more cautious. I'm getting there in Memphis, even though the climate limits my riding.

But it's always preferable to ride along quiet side streets or specifically dedicated bike thoroughfares instead of busy streets. The Wiggle in SF is great because it's not only flat but it takes you through the panhandle, where you don't have to worry about cars (though you do have to worry about other bikes and walkers not paying attention).

Downtown was obviously a little tougher but there are still route you can take. Market was actually pretty good and that was even before they closed it off to cars. The danger there was streetcar tracks.

Again, you can do it safely but you have to pay attention. I've typed waaaay to many words on this today but it is something I'm really passionate about and I'm sad that bikes seem to have gotten a bad rap in a lot of ways.

Far too many times I've been fully stopped at an intersection, in the right lane with my blinker on, ready to turn, and end up shaking my head at a cyclist whizzing by me on the right without stopping for the light.  There is a point where that bike is in your blind spot and not visible.  And jeez, if cyclists have the same "rights" as drivers, they should also be accountable for the same laws.

Just this afternoon on my way home traffic was slowing on one of our side streets that leads downhill with a freeway on-ramp on the right.  It's a sticky intersection and no fun even when there's no traffic; it's not a full stop.  Two bikers barrelled down the hill on the right sidewalk from behind us and zipped right across the on-ramp -- continuing downhill without even glancing over their left shoulders to see if someone was turning onto the freeway!  Like you say, a bicycle is NOT going to win a collision with a car -- and it doesn't matter who is at fault.

Sorry for the rant but this is one of my triggers.

All the best for Buddy's recovery.