Riding bicycle is playing Russian roulette (Miami, Hollywood: homes, neighborhoods, to live in)

[Wise TibetanMonkey]

Sometimes you are lucky and you suffer no attack. Other days, drivers cut you off or come blasting the horn for no reason. You are at the mercy of the predator, and the bike lanes popping up here and there are simply no help. They don't connect and even when they are there, they are in a blind curve where your common sense tells you not to go. Riding on sidewalks are a different kind of struggle, no less dangerous. Eventually you give up and stay home.

That's what everybody does in Miami, stay in the cage. Survival is the name of the game. Nobody having fun. Ah, some people strap the bike to the car and go to Key Biscayne, that's where the cyclists are. Is anyone trying to roam free in this city?

[fcacciola]

If it is any consolation, I live in Buenos Aires city, down here in Argentina, and it's so much like you descibed that I forgot how to ride a bike. And my preteen kids never learned, as we are supposed to stuff the bikes into a car then drive 15 miles to a park large enough for them to ride it, which we did like 3 times in the last 10 years.

OTOH, bike riders here seem to not care for the danger and they ride along normal car roads like they were just another car. It's true that we have only a few bike lanes so they sort of have to, but IMO, they are risking their lifes well beyond the reasonable.

[richzimme]

Miami-Dade County could do so much better in accommodating bicycle riders. Only limited areas of our cities are safe to ride in. It's a shame since our weather is so conducive to outdoor activities. Unfortunately 5 million or so people are crammed into this narrow strip of land between the Everglades and the ocean and autos seem to be the priority. I ride occasionally alone and with a few local road cycling clubs. I'd like to ride more often and casually, but it too dangerous. I find that a lot of drivers are pretty courteous, but as there are also occasional psychopaths who seem to purposefully threaten cyclists with there autos. It's scary and we are literally taking our lives in our hands getting on a bicycle in S. Florida. That said, I know that many people love cycling and are willing to take certain risks to enjoy the freedom of the sport or simply commuting via human powered transportation.

[Wise TibetanMonkey]

Originally Posted by richzimme

Miami-Dade County could do so much better in accommodating bicycle riders. Only limited areas of our cities are safe to ride in. It's a shame since our weather is so conducive to outdoor activities. Unfortunately 5 million or so people are crammed into this narrow strip of land between the Everglades and the ocean and autos seem to be the priority. I ride occasionally alone and with a few local road cycling clubs. I'd like to ride more often and casually, but it too dangerous. I find that a lot of drivers are pretty courteous, but as there are also occasional psychopaths who seem to purposefully threaten cyclists with there autos. It's scary and we are literally taking our lives in our hands getting on a bicycle in S. Florida. That said, I know that many people love cycling and are willing to take certain risks to enjoy the freedom of the sport or simply commuting via human powered transportation.

None of the people who design bike lanes ride bicycles, so you can expect casual disregard for safety.

[Wise TibetanMonkey]

Originally Posted by fcacciola

If it is any consolation, I live in Buenos Aires city, down here in Argentina, and it's so much like you descibed that I forgot how to ride a bike. And my preteen kids never learned, as we are supposed to stuff the bikes into a car then drive 15 miles to a park large enough for them to ride it, which we did like 3 times in the last 10 years.

OTOH, bike riders here seem to not care for the danger and they ride along normal car roads like they were just another car. It's true that we have only a few bike lanes so they sort of have to, but IMO, they are risking their lifes well beyond the reasonable.

We also drive 30 miles round trip to go and in a park with a degree of peace. At this rate we pollute more instead of saving the planet. And take into account that we must go out of Miami Beach where they have a glamorous but dysfunctional bike sharing program.

This is the way it should be:


It's not Holland. It's Ecuador, a country with limited resources but with the will to make it happen.

[hmontaq]

Youre not safe on Key Biscayne either

[Wise TibetanMonkey]

Originally Posted by hmontaq

Youre not safe on Key Biscayne either

You only enjoy "safety in numbers" there. Watch your property as well. Plenty of hobos in the area. Underpass next to toll is a permanent campground. Windows broken in the area.

[hurricaneMan1992]

If you get in an accident or hit road debris or hydroplane at high speed in a car on I-95, I guarantee it's not going to end well. Yes, there have been cyclist fatalities on the Rickenbacker, but there have been many times as many deaths and serious injuries due to crashes on I-95, the Palmetto, and I-75. Driving in South Florida is not all that safe either! It doesn't take much of an impact to shove your leg or knee into the dashboard and cause serious damage even while wearing a seatbelt. Walking is not entirely safe either. Busses and Metrorail are the safest bet if you really think about it. We need more of these, so people don't have to put their life on the line on a bike to get to the train or a bus line with any kind of useful frequency. Not everyone can afford a car in this city, let alone two or more cars per household, and some could afford a car if they live far out of town but choose to live in town without one instead. Even if everybody could afford it, could you imagine the traffic congestion that would result if everybody who currently doesn't have a car in Miami gets one and drives it everywhere??? For you as a driver, it is a GOOD thing that not everybody is driving a car everywhere! We need to make the roads safer for ALL users--motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists, who are all residents and are equally entitled to the fundamental Constitutional role of government--to provide public goods and public safety. We need to expand alternatives to driving since our congested roads are already as wide as they can be without taking out people's homes and businesses and/or ruining the character of neighborhoods. We have some capacity to expand highways out west and south, but not really in the city.

Meanwhile, some basic things cyclists can do to stay (relatively) safer on a bike. Wear helmets, preferably with reflective stickers or lights! Ride with lights and reflective gear at night, bright colored vests or clothes in daytime. Don't hang grocery bags or anything from handlebars. Don't ride against the direction of traffic. Don't listen to music or talk on the phone. Avoid most sidewalks as they tend to be too narrow and have obstacles and irregularities and business driveways. (It only takes a half inch height difference parallel to your direction of motion to deflect a road bike tire, probably resulting in loss of control and a crash!). Don't hug the curb for the same reasons as sidewalks, also because drivers will pass you too closely. Ride in bike lanes or in traffic lanes where the car's right tires would be or where the sharrows are marked, but ONLY if traffic conditions are light enough to allow drivers to easily pass you (residential roads, back roads, NOT main thoroughfares like Biscayne Blvd....it can take some planning, and unfortunately it is not possible the way many of the newer suburbs are designed...). I usually stop a few seconds at curbs after going through intersections and at places where there is street parking to allow any traffic to pass before proceeding--which is most practical if you're on a road with lighter traffic. Don't ride fast when you're in a bike lane beside street parking or with lots of cross streets--you need to be able to stop if a car door opens or a car turns right in front of you. Following these guidelines I have been able to bike regularly between Virginia Key and Government Center, Omni, and across to South Beach (Venetian causeway--I won't try the MacArthur), and occasionally all the way to Aventura, and also from Aventura to Hollywood Beach. I have rarely been yelled at to "get off the road" or been honked at, but on occasionally I have had to stop quickly due to cars turning right or left across the bike lane. I'm sure some people get annoyed, but there are probably a dozen other non-bike traffic conditions that also annoy them just as much and probably more. There are about a dozen of us who have been biking to work across the causeway from the Grove, Roads, Gables, and even as far south at Palmetto Bay without major incident. It is also a good idea to have a camera to record any hit and run accidents (remember, if you are caught on camera causing an accident, you will still get a ticket even if a cop didn't witness it, if it's a hit and run, you may lose your license).

[Wise TibetanMonkey]

It comes to mind that phrase of "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

I'd add to the list of things NOT to do is trust a bike lane/sharrow to protect you. As you go west from the beach on the JF Kennedy Causeway (71st), you find yourself struggling in narrow bridges and sidewalks, and as you enter Miami, where the blind curve is, they throw at you the sharrows (bike painted on traffic lane) and the sign that goes, "bikes may take full lane." The speeds on the causeway approach that of a highway even though it's posted at 30 or 40 mph, so that remains a kind of "cruel joke."

Use all your instincts to survive, and pray to whatever god you believe in. We hear from the people who make it, but never from the people who don't make it. This causeway and the next one over (96st) are particularly scenic but they remain "no man's land."

[MutantShoegazer]

I see cyclists all the time, and there's never really any specific malice towards them. To be honest, our drivers are cruel and inconsiderate to everything and everyone. The way you describe riding your bike makes it sounds like you're in a warzone, when to be honest, it's still more convenient than trying to walk.

Yes, I wish for a day where public transport/bicycling/walking phases out driving in this town, but I doubt that our politicians and fellow citizens have it as high on their priority lists as we do. Yes it sucks that we have to deal with this, but I don't think the issue is so severe that praying for survival each day is actually necessary.