City Riding

[Corzhens]

Some of my friends go on a city riding spree sometimes. The target destinations are cultural spots like old parks with monuments, museums and old structures. In Manila, there are so many places to visit for a cultural trip, the reason why city riding is getting popular over here. When I was younger, I would probably have joined such tours that would spend the whole day in roaming around as if looking for treasures in the city.

 

[Froze]

A lot of people live in various cities and even small towns all over the US and very few know any history about where they live.

 

[9lines]

I do avoid city riding because of traffic jams. I can only go riding in the city when am forced to collect something or going to the movie. I like riding in places where there are no traffic jams, hence avoiding stop overs and accidents.

 

[sunshiney]

I try to avoid city riding as much as possible. Luckily it doesn't come up too often for me. You see people biking all the time in downtown Toronto and I don't know how they do it. The traffic is so intimidating, even in a car!
Ultimately I'm not confident enough in my riding skills yet to attempt to negotiate like 6 lanes of traffic. I'd much rather stick to the trails.

 

[Keyan]

I think I would do it for the fun and pleasure of seeing a new place with interesting parks and museums as you have said then finish it off with a stopover a cafe with wifi connection. Take some photos and let the world know about it via social network sites. Anything is possible now.

 

[Froze]

I try to avoid city riding as much as possible. Luckily it doesn't come up too often for me. You see people biking all the time in downtown Toronto and I don't know how they do it. The traffic is so intimidating, even in a car!
Ultimately I'm not confident enough in my riding skills yet to attempt to negotiate like 6 lanes of traffic. I'd much rather stick to the trails.

I don't want to push you into something you don't want to do, but I thought the same way when I moved to Los Angeles California years ago, but I had to ride the streets because there was very little in the way of bike paths and no bike lanes. After awhile you just get hardened to it and the fear goes away. I know people who think I'm nuts for riding in the city where I live now, but to me Fort Wayne Indiana is nothing compared to Los Angeles! I never ridden in Toronto but everything I've read on the internet suggests that Toronto is better then LA is on surface streets in today's world, but I think LA has a better bike path system now then you do. It seems that the bike paths you have, according to map I saw online, were designed by someone with ADD like the person who designed the ones where I live in Fort Wayne In, they don't connect to each other and don't go far, in fact don't even leave the city from what I can tell of the Toronto cycling map, so if you want to ride far either get use to the city traffic or drive your bike out of town and ride in the country.

If you obey all the rules of the road like a car and stay alert watching and listening for traffic constantly you should be alright, I only had one accident in Los Angele in the 8 years or so I lived there and I rode a lot back then because I was involved in racing. That doesn't mean there weren't close calls but I prevented those from becoming accidents because I saw or heard something that wasn't right and took action.

Here is a good site that can help you to be a better more confident rider in traffic: http://bicyclesafe.com/ Notice the section titled "The Red Light of Death", this is what I mean by taking the lane. I don't like using crosswalks while on a bike, but if the intersection is too intimidating (because maybe it's very busy and you need to go left and get across lanes of traffic to do so) then use the crosswalk but WALK your bike don't ride it and only do so when the light says so, then cross again by walking to get heading in the left direction. Also I take the lane like I mentioned if I'm able to keep up with traffic, I never pass cars because they don't expect you to be passing on their right, this is also true with cars vs cars! You increase the chances of an accident when you pass on the right. If there is a wide bike path on the right with no driveways or cross streets coming up then you can pass cars on the right. Always signal your intentions to motorists, I even gone as far as to tell motorists that I needed to make a turn or was going straight ahead. Make eye contact with the driver whenever possible this acknowledges to you they see you. Make sure you can see the driver of any car in their mirrors, if you can see them they should be able to see you. Large profile vehicles like trucks and buses, they have a huge blind spot, don't ride along side of those vehicles either on the left or right. Here's a great video on the blind spots of large profile vehicles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV-rhiGRFTE While this example shows the riders on the left the same applies to the right.

 

[gavinfree]

City riding is all right, and I do live in a rather populated area, but I prefer taking to the mountain trails and whatnot. It's more fun being out in the relative middle of nowhere, and I've already seen everything in the city anyways. In fact, there are over a dozen cities in the county that I live in, and I've seen most of the attractions that you'd want to cycle to. I much prefer being in the mountains.

 

[Jojo83]

City riding can also be fun, you just have to be extra aware of cars and traffic to be able to ride safely. Air pollution and heat can be a nuisance when riding through city streets, especially in heavy traffic areas. Some of the drivers can also be rude, so I just try to avoid them. I try to ride in bike lanes whenever they're available to be on the safe side.

 

[Froze]

Like I said in my earlier post I use to ride in LA Calif, this was back in the days when you could only see the Hollywood sign from LA a couple of times a year, today the pollution levels are a lot lower and you can see the Hollywood sign most days, and yet I rode and never choked to death. Heat can be an issue, I would rather deal with the heat than the below freezing temps but that's a personal thing of course. If the smog levels are too high the weather stations will all report the problem and advise people not to exercise outside thus any other time is fine, and the earlier in the morning you can ride the better it is for both smog and allergens..

I also liked riding in the mountains, but I also liked riding along the beach, but I had to ride through the city to get to either of those two areas, I wasn't much for putting the bike on a car and driving10 miles or so when I could ride.

 

[Corzhens]

I also liked riding in the mountains, but I also liked riding along the beach, but I had to ride through the city to get to either of those two areas, I wasn't much for putting the bike on a car and driving10 miles or so when I could ride.

This may be off topic but I am reminded of a new road here from the province of Batangas going to Manila via the new highway in the province of Cavite. A friend had accidentally lost his way and found that new highway which is a delight, he said. And speaking of cycling, it is an ideal highway since there is a long stretch where you see only the sea on the left and the mountains on the right. How I love to try that highway even only in the car.

 

[Runnerdo]

I rarely go riding in the city due to the traffic. I am better able to ride on quiet roads and do even better on trails. City folks always seem to be in a hurry and one can get bumped from the back easily. I try to avoid cycling there.

 

[Djordje87]

I love city riding for many reasons. You don't need to prepare too much. Someone calls you and you just go. You can go at any time of the day unlike when you go outside the town when it is better to go early and avoid riding in the dark. My town is not so big and i can go where ever i want to. I live ten minutes from the centre of the town and basically all directions are at same distance. Also i live near the river so it is always nice to mix nature and city riding. I got used to it during the years because first i got used to city running and when i wanted a company i had to start riding a bike because no body wanted to run with me.

 

[pwarbi]

For me I don't mind city riding but I generally only do it when I have to, it's not something I'd do for pleasure put it that way.

While sometimes it will be a lot quicker, especially these days with the amount of traffic on the roads, it's still dangerous and so ice found you rarely get the chance to enjoy your surroundings as your too busy concentrating on the roads and other vehicles around you.

 

[mayasupernova]

City riding is a great way to get to know more of your city. You know what people say, you have to first learn about your town, see all the places in your city before you are to set foot somewhere else. Well, cycing is one of the few ways that one can take advantage of to get on the adventure throughout town. There are so many places in my small town that I have not yet set my foot in. A bike is a great means of moving yourself from point A to point B especially because you can carry bike if need be; bikes are so thin they can be pass through the thinnest alley - so many advantages of a bike.
One just has to be super alert and cautious of the traffic in the city, pay special attention to everything going on around themselves, more so in the bigger city.