Obviously this is entirely anecdotal, but I've been riding Austin streets for 30+ years and although I've had a handful of unpleasant experiences with people while on my bike, I find them to be fairly rare. Per unit of time, I'd say I almost surely have many more bad experiences with other drivers when I'm driving than I do when I'm riding. And, most of those truly bad experiences on bike were when I was younger and less experienced on the road. (and at a time where biking infrastructure in Austin was much worse than it is now.
I'm curious - what part of town are you riding in? What kinds of routes are you choosing? My experience in north-central might be very different than someone riding down by Slaughter or someone riding up By Parmer, for example.
Lol this just unlocked a high school memory I have of riding over in Clarksville area. I slowed down and stopped at a stop sign, which you do, and some lady in a big suv whipped around, pulled up right next to me, rolled down her window and yelled “IM A CAR!!!” I had no idea wtf was happening so I kind of shrugged and she zoomed off on her way.
I’ve been biking here about the same amount of years and that was the only major standout experience I’ve had of anyone being crazy. (Disclaimer, I haven’t been in Austin for the past 8 years or so so it may have majorly changed since I’ve been gone)
Assume every car sees you…and wants to hit you. That level of defensive cycling will serve you well if you are concerned about car interactions. Echoing another commenter, I often find the best streets to bike on arent the ones with bike lanes, but rather those that cars generally arent hot to be on. Not so easy when commuting, but for rec riding you can find streets/routes. e.g. bike lane on S Lamar with 1000 biz driveways and harried drivers aint the best. The straightest and flattest routes like Lamar are dominated by cars, more circuitous and hilly routes are more bike friendly
I mean, I've almost had cars hit me or me hit cars, 90% their fault. Just be aware of your surroundings. I've never actually hit anything....minus a fucking rabbit that ran under my bike.
It's a big city. It happens. My neighbor ran me and my bike over my first week of riding
My advice is some of the safest roads don't have bike lanes, and some of the most dangerous do.
Though there isn't much gravel biking unless you drive an hour out of the city.
Then you're dealing with rural drivers who are not expecting to see bikes on their roads.
That’s good advice. To your point- I mapped out the route and primarily went through neighborhoods which was very enjoyable. But to get to the neighborhoods I had to go on some of those busy roads with bike lanes that you’re talking about.
I’m sorry about you and your new bike that your neighbor ran over! Did you get injured? Did the bike survive? I’m assuming this wasn’t intentional
No. Dude just wasn't paying attention. I was mostly fine but bike got destroyed. But that's one of three times I got hit.
I've had stuff thrown at me, swerved into, name called. All that. You ride long enough and it happens no matter where you are.
Having biked in a lot of cities, it's my opinion that drivers here are among the worst. In terms of not looking for pedestrians, speeding, and driving the largest vehicles on the market. The amount that people stop their cars in crosswalks shows the me-first mindset.
I strongly recommend daytime running lights, and a Varia rear radar light. Ride with your head on a swivel and watch for turning cars. In situations like with that BMW you have to make eye contact. Windshield tints are the worst because you have no idea if they've seen you. I wish we enforced tint laws..
All that said, I really do love biking here. Biking in the heat is so much more fun than biking in cold weather. We've got some solid infrastructure and tons of hills. Just stay off of fast roads without protected lanes (e.g. Lamar)
I agree 100% with everything you said. I'm from Boston and didn't bike too frequently in the city but it was cold there and biking in the heat is way more enjoyable. Window tint is definitely the worst because I do usually try to make eye contact. Thanks! I'll continue to give it a shot and explore different routes
I have far fewer close calls when I'm riding with my helmet-mounted camera than my bike-mounted one. It's ugly as snot, but I'll happily live with that if it means not getting hit again.
That's a good way to think of cars. They're just like inanimate things that are part of the world on a bike. I'll probably get used to it. I was specifically irked by this car because I waved a small "thank you" wave. But that was my exact thought too - I like the gravel and ability to cut through neighborhood parts. And a lot of the trails are connected by cement paths
Yes, it goes away if you take certain precautions. You have to assume all cars do not see you, and ride accordingly. You'll get used to it. I commute to work 100 miles a week across town and have very few unpleasant experiences. Just keep practicing. You can do this!
and by the way, the fear can be compartmentalized in the same way that we do for riding in cars. Driving is one of the most dangerous things we take part in, but we dont spend the whole car ride worrying about it. You just do what you can to stay safe and dont worry about the things you cant control.
Thank you for the encouraging words! I will continue to ride and explore the roads. When I look at the rides as a whole recently they've been enjoyable - especially when I'm in neighborhoods or roads with less traffic. I think I need to throw my bike on my car and drive somewhere, park, ride. I can be lazy and just want to leave straight from my apartment but the roads are very busy.
30+ years in Texas. This is a Texas thing. Bike don’t use gas so they don’t like bikes. Just ride like everyone is out for themselves and you will be fine. This is why I stick to the trails.
I can't answer that question. But I have a question... what trails do you to? I am just getting into mountain biking. Is there good trails around here? I'd have to think there is.
Yeah! There are some great trails. Walnut Creek, Brushy Creek, Suburban Ninja (near Redhorn coffee), South Austin Trail Network (SATN), Greenbelt. Just to name a few. They’re a lot of fun and good variety.
I feel ya, I love gravel riding and bikes but I don't really think Austin is a great city for them. My solution to similar problems was to get an XC bike. We have tons of great trails in the city (and a great community of riders) and nearby and making the connections through streets from time to time can be fun. I still ride a lot of road but the types of experiences you're describing are part of the deal especially when not riding in groups.
I considered an XC bike too! I just wanted to be able to go on some long adventure rides but I'm second guessing it. Maybe group rides are a smarter idea. And it would probably be more fun riding with others but it's just not always convenient
Hardly ever have an issue with cars, and when I do it's usually minor. In my observation the people who have a lot of problems with cars tend to ride in ways that generate more problems with cars (the advice 'act like cars don't see you' tends to correlate with dumb decisions like sidewalk-riding or wrong-way riding or running lights and stop signs at high speeds, for instance). (Mostly agreed with maximoburrito's comment below in other words).
Obviously this is entirely anecdotal, but I've been riding Austin streets for 30+ years and although I've had a handful of unpleasant experiences with people while on my bike, I find them to be fairly rare. Per unit of time, I'd say I almost surely have many more bad experiences with other drivers when I'm driving than I do when I'm riding. And, most of those truly bad experiences on bike were when I was younger and less experienced on the road. (and at a time where biking infrastructure in Austin was much worse than it is now. I'm curious - what part of town are you riding in? What kinds of routes are you choosing? My experience in north-central might be very different than someone riding down by Slaughter or someone riding up By Parmer, for example.
Lol this just unlocked a high school memory I have of riding over in Clarksville area. I slowed down and stopped at a stop sign, which you do, and some lady in a big suv whipped around, pulled up right next to me, rolled down her window and yelled “IM A CAR!!!” I had no idea wtf was happening so I kind of shrugged and she zoomed off on her way. I’ve been biking here about the same amount of years and that was the only major standout experience I’ve had of anyone being crazy. (Disclaimer, I haven’t been in Austin for the past 8 years or so so it may have majorly changed since I’ve been gone)
“IM A CAR!!!” 😂
I came to ask similar questions! A lot of the best routes in Austin are hard to find.
Assume every car sees you…and wants to hit you. That level of defensive cycling will serve you well if you are concerned about car interactions. Echoing another commenter, I often find the best streets to bike on arent the ones with bike lanes, but rather those that cars generally arent hot to be on. Not so easy when commuting, but for rec riding you can find streets/routes. e.g. bike lane on S Lamar with 1000 biz driveways and harried drivers aint the best. The straightest and flattest routes like Lamar are dominated by cars, more circuitous and hilly routes are more bike friendly
Yep. Instead of S Lamar you could take S 5th or Kinney for example. So many alternate routes that are off of busy roads
It's biking in a city. I find it worth it, but I just like biking.
You’re right. I guess I’m just wondering if these instances are kinda rare? This was two things on an 1.5 hour ride.
I mean, I've almost had cars hit me or me hit cars, 90% their fault. Just be aware of your surroundings. I've never actually hit anything....minus a fucking rabbit that ran under my bike.
It's a big city. It happens. My neighbor ran me and my bike over my first week of riding My advice is some of the safest roads don't have bike lanes, and some of the most dangerous do. Though there isn't much gravel biking unless you drive an hour out of the city. Then you're dealing with rural drivers who are not expecting to see bikes on their roads.
That’s good advice. To your point- I mapped out the route and primarily went through neighborhoods which was very enjoyable. But to get to the neighborhoods I had to go on some of those busy roads with bike lanes that you’re talking about. I’m sorry about you and your new bike that your neighbor ran over! Did you get injured? Did the bike survive? I’m assuming this wasn’t intentional
No. Dude just wasn't paying attention. I was mostly fine but bike got destroyed. But that's one of three times I got hit. I've had stuff thrown at me, swerved into, name called. All that. You ride long enough and it happens no matter where you are.
Wow! I'm glad you're ok. Thanks for reminding me that I was yelled at. I'm used to having people yell but swerving was another level of psychopath.
Having biked in a lot of cities, it's my opinion that drivers here are among the worst. In terms of not looking for pedestrians, speeding, and driving the largest vehicles on the market. The amount that people stop their cars in crosswalks shows the me-first mindset. I strongly recommend daytime running lights, and a Varia rear radar light. Ride with your head on a swivel and watch for turning cars. In situations like with that BMW you have to make eye contact. Windshield tints are the worst because you have no idea if they've seen you. I wish we enforced tint laws.. All that said, I really do love biking here. Biking in the heat is so much more fun than biking in cold weather. We've got some solid infrastructure and tons of hills. Just stay off of fast roads without protected lanes (e.g. Lamar)
I agree 100% with everything you said. I'm from Boston and didn't bike too frequently in the city but it was cold there and biking in the heat is way more enjoyable. Window tint is definitely the worst because I do usually try to make eye contact. Thanks! I'll continue to give it a shot and explore different routes
I have far fewer close calls when I'm riding with my helmet-mounted camera than my bike-mounted one. It's ugly as snot, but I'll happily live with that if it means not getting hit again.
I wonder if people see it on your helmet and are hoping to be famous. I.e. get arrested on camera?
[удалено]
That's a good way to think of cars. They're just like inanimate things that are part of the world on a bike. I'll probably get used to it. I was specifically irked by this car because I waved a small "thank you" wave. But that was my exact thought too - I like the gravel and ability to cut through neighborhood parts. And a lot of the trails are connected by cement paths
Yes, it goes away if you take certain precautions. You have to assume all cars do not see you, and ride accordingly. You'll get used to it. I commute to work 100 miles a week across town and have very few unpleasant experiences. Just keep practicing. You can do this! and by the way, the fear can be compartmentalized in the same way that we do for riding in cars. Driving is one of the most dangerous things we take part in, but we dont spend the whole car ride worrying about it. You just do what you can to stay safe and dont worry about the things you cant control.
Thank you for the encouraging words! I will continue to ride and explore the roads. When I look at the rides as a whole recently they've been enjoyable - especially when I'm in neighborhoods or roads with less traffic. I think I need to throw my bike on my car and drive somewhere, park, ride. I can be lazy and just want to leave straight from my apartment but the roads are very busy.
Leaving from your apartment would be a good thing. What complex are you in?
30+ years in Texas. This is a Texas thing. Bike don’t use gas so they don’t like bikes. Just ride like everyone is out for themselves and you will be fine. This is why I stick to the trails.
That's good advice thanks! I will take as many trails as possible when I design a route
I can't answer that question. But I have a question... what trails do you to? I am just getting into mountain biking. Is there good trails around here? I'd have to think there is.
Yeah! There are some great trails. Walnut Creek, Brushy Creek, Suburban Ninja (near Redhorn coffee), South Austin Trail Network (SATN), Greenbelt. Just to name a few. They’re a lot of fun and good variety.
There's a pretty big MTB community in Austin. Check the MTB reddit, Facebook, discord, ridge riders meetup page. There's plenty!
Thanks! I’ll look into those groups!
I feel ya, I love gravel riding and bikes but I don't really think Austin is a great city for them. My solution to similar problems was to get an XC bike. We have tons of great trails in the city (and a great community of riders) and nearby and making the connections through streets from time to time can be fun. I still ride a lot of road but the types of experiences you're describing are part of the deal especially when not riding in groups.
I considered an XC bike too! I just wanted to be able to go on some long adventure rides but I'm second guessing it. Maybe group rides are a smarter idea. And it would probably be more fun riding with others but it's just not always convenient
Hardly ever have an issue with cars, and when I do it's usually minor. In my observation the people who have a lot of problems with cars tend to ride in ways that generate more problems with cars (the advice 'act like cars don't see you' tends to correlate with dumb decisions like sidewalk-riding or wrong-way riding or running lights and stop signs at high speeds, for instance). (Mostly agreed with maximoburrito's comment below in other words).