BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Sounds like a job for swalfoort.

Hi Karina, I don't know your part of town too well. I started commuting by taking some practice runs on the weekends and comparing recommended routes on Google (they have bicycling directions that are sometimes great & sometimes weird) and the Bike Pittsburgh map. I also found it helpful to go on some of the Friday night rides with the Flock of Cycles group--to get some practice on the city streets. There are quite a few people on this message board who combine bus & bicycle for their commute. It's good to have alternative routes in mind, or a way to bail & catch a bus if you have the kind of job where you might get fired for being late if you have a flat tire &tc.

You could also bring your bike to work on the bus and then cycle home while you get acclimated to the streets & routes.

I love riding to & from work. It is a great way to see the city and, for the most part, very stress-relieving.

Thank you so much! I will keep that in mind! I appreciate your insight!

Hi Karina & welcome to the board. I'm one of those bus-bikers Pseudacris mentioned, & live "northish". One of my paths into town involves [might help to look at this map in another tab] coming in through Bellevue down to the Calif/Benton intersection, going up Benton a bit, R McClure, L Orchlee, R Shadeland, L Woodland, R Stayton, L Hodgkiss, R Brighton. Take the lane coming down the hill past the school. L West Ohio, R Merchant and kinda follow your nose to the ramp up onto the Ft Duquesne Bridge sidewalk, which drops you into Point State Park.

It's a relatively hill-less, relatively less traveled set of streets. Brighton can get busy, but it's a known devil, once you get to know it.

Coming out of town, you could just grab the 16 Brighton bus up to some point near to or uphill from where you live. The nice thing about combining the bus and the bike is that the bus doesn't have to get you home, just get you close to home, and/or get you out past the greater part of the crappy traffic, and/or up some whomping big hill that you'd just rather not deal with at the end of a long day.

I used to live on the corner of Arlington+Elanor, so I took the bus home every day. It's good change of pace, especially on Saturdays and Sundays.

I caught my bus downtown, which is fairly devoid of traffic, and (especially in the spring) just beautiful to ride in on weekends, Sundays specifically. As everyone suggested, take a bus downtown, and then just ride around the triangle, practice using signals while riding, taking the lane, etc.

After the past 6 months or so, I've decided that learning to be comfortable taking the lane is probably the most important thing you can do.

Karina - I can't add much to the advice other than to caution against falling into that mindset of cautious suburban childhood cyclist, induced by many a well meaning parent in a cul-de-sac.

Don't think you have to "get out of the way of traffic". You ARE traffic. Cultivate confidence, easier by joining group rides (there's a ride this Saturday, should be fun, viking gear is optional )

The hardest part is getting on the bike and into traffic. The rest is just logistics!

Karina -- ejwme has given you some good advice.

I would add the following. I think the two biggest things cyclists can have going for them when we ride with cars are:

1. Drivers have to expect to see us. They literally don't until they are trained to do so. That takes time. Pittsburgh drivers are somewhere in the middle of that process. They are on their way, but they still have more to learn. They will, thanks to the city's support of cycling, and the efforts of folks like BikePGH and the indivuduals who post on this board. We also have time and $5.00/gal gas on our side.

2. Ride predictably. As a rule of thumb (meaning generally, but not always depending upon common sense and the given circumstances of a situation) ride your bike the way you drive a car. That helps to make them see you as being predictable and to think of you as a slow-moving car. Like ejwme said, "You ARE traffic." State law says you have the same rights and responsibilities as those driving cars. You have the right to be on those roads just as much as the cars do and the same duties to obey the rules of the road.

Take ejwme up on her suggestion of coming to the group rides. She's right. It's a great way to gain learn how to ride in traffic and gain confidence. Don't worry about being the new kid on the block. Remember, when you show up on your bike you've already said you have something in common with everyone else there.

Drivers have to expect to see us. They literally don't until they are trained to do so.

Truth. The flip side to this is that you also have to be clear in your own mind that you will MAKE them see you, and acknowledge your presence. If you expect not to be seen and allow yourself not to be seen, then you will be disregarded. Ride Big.

I took a 15 mile ride out in the suburbs on Sunday, including on some car-heavy roads (60 thru Robinson, Campbells Run, etc.) and I have to say that drivers uniformly gave me plenty of room, and I had no close run-ins or even deleterious comments. I don't know if the delightful weather made everyone happy or what. One guy came a little close in a pickup, seemed to be doing something with a spoon, making tea or eating soup or something. Odd. That was the only worrisome moment.

You're on the right track though, get out there with some comrades and get your legs and you'll be fine.

Karina - welcome to biking in Pgh! Glad to have you here. I think Flock of Cycles is actually trying to start a "buddy" program, where they'll do 1 on 1 rides with a newbie to show them the ropes. Their website is http://flockofcycles.org, plus they're on facebook, etc. Send them a quick email and ask about a riding buddy for your route.

@lyle - +1.

Thanks for expanding on that. It was implicit in what I was saying, but it needed to be expressly articulated. Thanks for doing so.

Im from the midwest where the roads are super smooth, flat, and wide so I was in the same boat. I found that the Flock rides were very helpful when starting out, and from there I started biking the route that I would eventually bike to school or work late at night when the roads were empty. That way I would know which sections of road to jump on the sidewalk at because of pot holes and such in the far right lane, and jsut to get more confident that I knew the route. Might not be a bad idea to try the same.

Jumping on the sidewalk is bad. If there are potholes take more lane to the left. You get a whole lane. Use it.

sarapgh2 is right. Flock is currently working on a "Bike Buddy" program. The official program won't be hashed out for at least a week, but send me an email (nick [at] flockofcycles.org) and we can get something set up for you.

@Karina; I apologize. I've been off the board for a couple of days. I come through Brighton Heights on my way into town (I start on the far side of Bellevue). I'd be happy to ride in with you for a couple of days, and show you the ropes. I'll PM you with my cell phone number.