The Newly Painted Bike Lane Around The Moat

[PeaceBlondie]

Seems the biggest problem is farangs who have no spatial awareness blundering along in their

own little world on both motorcycles and bicyles,completely unaware of the guy in the Vigo

(probably half drunk from the friday arvo beers)

coming from behind at 95kmh.

Huh? There is not much a bicycle can do about that except hope the speeding moron avoids you.

I second the emotion. The typical car/truck driver is blithely unaware that he is about to maim or kill a justifiably paranoid rider on two wheels. It is not we who blunder, not even we spatially handicapped cyclists. It is the guy in the Vigo, like the guy who almost swept me into the gutter last week, who is not using his mirrors. And he was as sober at 4 pm as the old guy in the pickup truck two hours earlier in the narrow soi, who nearly crushed me into the wall. The guys in the steel cages,. with safety belts and air bags, are protected. We two-wheeling guys are one soi dog away from the crematorium.

[Drew Aitch]

I've been riding bicycles and motorbikes around CM for about 3 years now both during the day and at night. For me, i expect anything to happen at any given time, be that the 's door of a moving vehicle suddenly open while the driver spits onto the tarmac, a sudden change of lane with no indication, people, dogs, cats, and rats dashing out from between parked vehicles, and traffic driving at speed in the wrong direction. Oh, and lets not forget the aggressive hounds that occasionally chase those of us on 2 wheels!

Sounds pretty perilous doesn't it! So I had but one of 2 choices to make. I either complained about the CM traffic everyday to anyone who cared to listen and consequently send myself nuts, or i developed a riding style to make getting around the city easier. I chose the latter for my own piece of mind. I now ride around with eyes in the back of my head and much faster reflexes. These sharpened skills have become second nature so i can now enjoy the journey.

Of course the bike lane is a fantastic idea. It's not perfect, but it's a move in the right direction and an indication that the authorities are taking the safety of cyclists seriously. Apart from us local expats, there are a lot of tourists renting and riding bicycles everyday too, and the numbers are growing.

I also rode cars and motorcycles in Bkk for 3 years, and Chiang Mai in comparison, is a ride in the park!

Aitch

Edited October 18, 2008 by Drew Aitch

[vagabond48]

I have been using bicycles as my main mode of transportation for nearly 50 years, 35 of them in NYC and almost 2 years in CM. It has been my only way of getting around in CM. I think bicycle lanes are great, but IMHO, they are best for people riding well below 15 MPH/25KPH. You are more at risk of getting hurt if you ride faster, due to lanes being blocked by pedestrians, parked motos and vehicles, forcing you to weave in and out of the lane. I actually feel more comfortable riding in traffic. After riding in NYC, BKK, PP and Saigon, CM is a piece of cake.

Hope someone continues to watch over me, besides me.

[idrankwhat]

Saint Peters Village North of Main line, about 30 minutes to Philadelphia or an hour in to Manhattan.The guy that bought the village was Mike Piazza but he put it in his fathers name 'Mike' so he wouldn't look like the bad guy disrupting our village, anyway more than 75% of the people that lived there have moved feeling this was a violation of their civil rights in one way or another.

Edited October 18, 2008 by idrankwhat

[mcgriffith]

I like the bike lane!

Disclaimer: I don't ride a push bike.

Motorsai, yes.

In the ermmmm late evening, when prudently navigating home, I find the blinking yellow lights somewhat....comforting.

Follow The Yellow Brick Road, or something like that.

I don't feel it really does diddly-squat for bicyclist safety, but it certainly gets my attention while riding. And possibly also does so for Mr. Vigo Hilux with the blacked-out limo tint and the house disco tunes playing in his little steel cocoon...