When did I become the Commuting Evangelist?

[Dianyla]

Does that lake/bridge road have any sort of pedestrian sidewalk? Some of the bridges here in Portland are pretty icky to ride over (steel grates! ) and so a lot of cyclists use the sidewalk in that case.

Also, you'd be surprised how effective a phone call to the department of transportation or city sanitation can be if you let them know there is a ton of debris on a specific road shoulder. It's worth a try, chances are they'll come out and sweep it.

[Geonz]

The other tactic is to try to find other people to ride with you ... then you become a movement... it *is* tricky. In my experience, on those kinds of roads, drivers don't expect cycles, and they dont' *LIKE* them, and they are hostile. I feel like I'm exercising my rights... rights that are not going to be yielded willingly.
Timing is everything, though... now that there are some forces saying "maybe we shouldn't be addicted to oil," people *might* be more willing to cheer for you and leave you lots of room. On the other hand, change can be very threatening; that guy in the Hummer towing is small yacht may have a certain attitude...

[Dianyla]

Oh dear, this could become a problem. I can't claim personal responsibility for this, but this morning I showed up to work and the bike lock in front was almost completely full of bikes!

[CorsairMac]

Woohoo Dianyla - but of Course you can take responsibility for it! Good on you!!....and gee isn't That a shame that your office needs to get another bike lock??!

and Trek I Love the poster idea!!

and Waverly: you might try riding it on a quiet day say like early on a Sat or Sun morning and see how comfortable you are with the route. My first response to your question was Absolutely I'd ride it - but I ride busy streets every day so I don't think about it. I do - however - make myself visible by wearing bright colours, sitting up at any questionable intersetions, and living in a basically bike friendly community!

[Trek420]

what corsair sed about scouting the route, it took me months of weekend trips, I made a project of it. Even with maps I'd set out east - the Nimitz set out South - Industrial blvd North - Jackson/92 West - into the Bay nice, but not the way to work .... finaly found the ped/bike overpass, it's like they set out to hide it.

[DirtDiva]

They really do seem to be encouraging cycling here. I discovered a fabulous set of maps put out by tfl (Transport for London: buses, tubes, the lot). I've got five of them, but there are 19 in the series (it's a big city). They show all the marked bike lanes and cycle routes in the city as well as the one-ways. They're free too! I still tend to just point my bike in the direction I want to go and then whip out my A-Z when I become "temporarily mislocated" though - I think of it as an adventure.

[tulip]

I'd rather do my 14-mile commute that is two-thirds through northeast and downtown Washington, DC than try to commute in some Mall-land nowhere suburbia USA. Good luck, Jessica! Can you move or get another job? I guess I am a bike commuting fanatic.