Tolerence for high traffic volumes

[Catrin]

Good points Indy, and at this point I am unsure if it is a confidence thing or if I am really a little slow at starting at intersections. I AM trying new ways of starting my bike as the seat-post is higher and is going to get higher than it is.

I had no problem at intersections when my saddle was much, much too low I am now working on the starting thing again, but I can't go back to the old way as I do not want more injuries. This is the primary reason why I want to put off any commuting experiments until late spring or very early summer. This is not a problem with my lightly-traveled country roads, but urban roads are a different animal.

[Mr. Bloom]

Is this Gunnar a roadie? Would you consider getting a commuter to commute?

[Catrin]

Is this Gunnar a roadie? Would you consider getting a commuter to commute?

I would use my LHT for commuting - she can handle anything! She is a bomb-proof comfy tank

The Gunnar is based on a cyclocross frame and will be my go-fast bike, but I don't think I would want to use her as a commuter. There is no way I could afford another bike this year...

[OakLeaf]

Procedural question:

on a multi-lane highway, there's likely to be a considerable distance between the traffic lane and the crosswalk. When you do choose to walk the intersection, how do you get from one to the other - and how do you re-join traffic once you've reached the other side? It just seems dangerous, to me - particularly (presumably) re-joining traffic from a wheelchair cut facing perpendicular to traffic.

[PamNY]

Procedural question:

on a multi-lane highway, there's likely to be a considerable distance between the traffic lane and the crosswalk. When you do choose to walk the intersection, how do you get from one to the other - and how do you re-join traffic once you've reached the other side? It just seems dangerous, to me - particularly (presumably) re-joining traffic from a wheelchair cut facing perpendicular to traffic.

I've only done it in the city, where there's sidewalk. I move to the right just before the intersection. To rejoin traffic, I walk the bike into the street and wait till it's clear. I'm usually crossing a multi-lane road on a smaller street, not rejoining a multi-lane road.

I do it only in really odd situations -- in one case, the bike lane (on the right) just goes away and a lot of cars are turning right. I have no idea what bikes are legally supposed to do. I guess taking the lane would be legal, but New York drivers are not expecting that.

What most cyclists do -- and it's probably illegal -- is go into the crosswalk before the light changes (a time-honored New York custom) to get ahead of the cars, but this particular intersection has heavy pedestrian traffic.

[Catrin]

Procedural question:

on a multi-lane highway, there's likely to be a considerable distance between the traffic lane and the crosswalk. When you do choose to walk the intersection, how do you get from one to the other - and how do you re-join traffic once you've reached the other side? It just seems dangerous, to me - particularly (presumably) re-joining traffic from a wheelchair cut facing perpendicular to traffic.

Where I ride there are no sidewalks or cross-walks...

[PamNY]

Where I ride there are no sidewalks or cross-walks...

Catrin, so isn't it fairly easy to pull over, cross as a pedestrian, and then rejoin traffic? In case I ride in the country...

[Catrin]

Catrin, so isn't it fairly easy to pull over, cross as a pedestrian, and then rejoin traffic? In case I ride in the country...

There actually isn't any place to pull over, not really. The one intersection that intimidates me the most actually does have a bike lane - and the only thing to the right of THAT is a turning lane, so I just stay where I am. For the other few lights I deal with I can see them far enough away that I can finesse it - slow down enough so that it is green when I get there, that sort of thing.

I think much of this is simply due to not really having to deal with lights, or really stopping at all. Even on my 50-70 mile routes from last summer, the vast majority of them have no more than 2 stop lights (if that many), and not many more stop-signs. You know, I just realized that...