[flickr]photo:7039288123[/flickr]
Photo taken by Melissa.
A smattering of #bikeCHI posts from the last half of (warm) March I forgot to post earlier.
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The last tweet is a little unsettling — how does breaking the law keep cyclists alive? Riding on the sidewalk maybe?
I don’t think the message says breaking the law keeps the author alive. I think it says they will do what they need to do to be safe. In a system where infrastructure was not designed for safe cycling, some people make adaptations.
There are some situations in which bicyclists are better off acting differently than the law would suggest. An example: Say I’m riding outbound on Elston, and the light at Armitage is red. I know that once that light turns green, all the cars will race each other the very short distance to Ashland, and will weave back and forth with some significant number of them making a right turn from the left lane. They do this wherever I happen to be, and they’ll usually turn right in front of me or, if I’m not careful, through me. I’ve found, though, that if I run the light at Armitage (which is easy to do safely), I’ll be at Ashland out of the danger zone before the cars get the green and start their fighting. It’s safer for me to run the light.
Now, I’m not saying it’s always safer to act this way. Just in this specific situation.
Today I was reminded why I don’t bike on Elston: there is lot of large truck traffic, tons of gravel in the road, no bike lane, no pavement markings, and fast automobile traffic.
I, too, find it odd that lanes increase their width at intersections. I believe this is to reduce delays caused by turning movements, but one is not allowed to turn right onto westbound Armitage from southbound Elston.
Hey! Thanks for using my picture for Grid Chicago. That day/ride was so much fun, we did a long stretch of the Fox River trail and ended up at Handlebar for dinner that night- perfect day.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Thanks for posting it! Post some other photos to the Grid Chicago group.