I'm slowly conquering my fears of biking betwixt and between Boston-area traffic. I really don't mind the cars going past me -- it's negotiating intersections, making lefthand turns, having to actively interact with the cars that makes me nervous. But yesterday I rode down to Union Sq. and back (with a pit stop for a beer and a chat), and that went pretty well, even though Summer St. is pretty sucky, pavement-wise. I had to merge with traffic on Bow St., get to the other side of the road, merge again onto Somerville Ave., and then get over to the other side again, with hardly a break in the flow of cars, and it all went pretty damn well.
Today I rode to work, and decided I just didn't want to deal with a bunch of left turns, so I walked across Mass Ave onto Upland. It felt like cheating a little bit, but I think that's OK for now. No sense in scaring the bejeezus out of myself when I don't have to.
Posted by thevieve at July 26, 2006 11:01 AMAs far as I know, the official correct and safe to cross a busy street is to get off and walk the bike thru a crosswalk.
Posted by: aaron on July 26, 2006 11:41 AMCorrect shmorrect. I wanna be a badass!
Posted by: Vieve on July 26, 2006 11:46 AMToday I felt like a bike messenger. I threw my weight around, passing cars on the left which were turning right, swerved around a taxi (and a fare as she was getting in), and nearly ended up on the roof of a car in davis when they decided to stop in the middle of the road less than 5 feet in front of me. It's a little stressful, sure, but it's also a lot of fun.
Posted by: Chris on July 28, 2006 12:10 AM