Mark Twight on cyclists v cars

Truer words have not been spoken: http://www.marktwight.com/discourse.php?id=45

not sure I agree with much of that. I mean try to keep with the flow of traffic and ride compitently,you bet. Crank those ear buds and run that red, there's some solid advice. Be sure to teach your kids that one.:stupid:

I soon gave up reading that… The first few points might be fine for an experienced commuter / urban strava warrior but try telling a novice cyclist who's coming back from getting her shopping to ride at 30mph in the middle of the road :facepalm:

I don't think he is suggesting that people ride at car speeds. He is saying if aren't doing the same speed as cars think about that difference in relative speeds in how you ride. If you are slow moving traffic, ride accordingly. He could have put that better though but that's how I interpret that.

what a stupid article, it's going to be perfect ammo for all the cycle commuting hating car drivers out there.

wtf andy that is the dumbest thing i've read this week

Mark Twight has a unique view on life that comes with putting him self in situations where death is a very real out come. very few of us can relate in any real sense to what has made him who he is. not only was he one of the top alpine climbers of his era, he has completed the Race Across America as well as other road endurance road events and is one of the founders of Gym Jones. lots of his writing is over the top. I don't think he takes it as definitive. it is out there to make you think. if you don't get that opinions are not always black and white you might not like what he writes.

I never thought I'd be reading bike commuting tips from Dr. Doom, but having read his climbing stuff (Extreme Alpinism was a major influence on my climbing) for many years, it's all pretty typical for Twight.

I fully agree with this:

Ride in what ever way you believe makes riding safer for you. It's your ass that might get smoked so make decisions and take action according to what you believe is best for you in that moment.

Just an alternative wording of the old poem, "He was right, dead right as he rode along, But he is just as dead as if he were wrong."

well , i'm not quite that militant ( or fit ) but that piece pretty much sums up my approach to cycling when there are cars around : if you don't command respect you won't get it , and if you don't give respect where it is due , you might suffer for it .

after having lost a battle with a motorist ( and his car ) i've learned to pick my battles carefully . that was many years ago , and i've been in very , very few since . in fact , i think my " reduce your exposure by whatever means possible , and necessary " approach has made for a great relationship with the motorists i deal with .

i act as though every one of them is out to get me , and if i don't look out for myself , i certainly don't expect they will .

i act as though every one of them is out to get me, and if i don't look out for myself, i certainly don't expect they will.

an article focusing on that and defensive riding would have been so much better.

well , i don't know mark twight ( at all ) , but i read his article like " hey , if that's what is working for ya . . . ".

it just so happens that some of our ideas converge .

not that anyone is likely to print it , but it would be interesting to read a road noobs' perspective and how they approach the game .

as an aside , i just rode from sausalito into san francisco yesterday . i've never seen so many cyclists outside of an organized event . literally hundreds . which prompts this thought : " i remember back in the day when there were hardly any bikes on the road " said 10 years from now in vancouver . if we thought we had bad drivers in cars now , imagine what it could be like if a good number of them decide to get around by bike .

Thanks for posting that.

I also agree with Old Fart on this one. Mark Twight sounds like he has been in the trenches a long long time.

After 5 hit and runs over the last 15 years and countless close calls I ride exactly like he describes minus the Red light burns, but only because I have not had the need to burn a red to keep myself safe.

It really is War on the roads and depending on the time of day or frame of mind that the driver is in can mean the difference of life or death when they use a vehicle like a weapon. We always lose

Take 4th out of UBC for example. That hill going down is a death run. The bike lanes are in place but a few spots it brings you right into the middle of the lane. Bike signs are painted in these spots but almost without fail cars will not yield to you and ether squeeze you into a bad spot or pass you dangerously in the
other lane doing 60-70km.

Your choices are ether take the full lane all the way down to be safe. Or do not ride that area.

Also get a helmet cam.

As a commuter, I agree with some of that, but most of it was over the top.

I feel like that about 1 day/year. (Right after a particularly crappy commute, like 2 weeks ago 7AM when that jackass in a black honda jumped the red at cornwall/cypress and almost obliterated me.)

Worth considering: he seems to be riding in London, which from my experience is very different from riding (or even driving) in Vancouver.