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since moving to Bushwick, each ride now requires I bike on Broadway. This is the worst place in the universe to bike. The horribly paved street doesn't have enough space for a bike lane and it is entirely lawless.
You have to bike more stupid on Broadway than the city usually requires - which is a lot. The payoff is the yelling and/or car-thumping though. I go for a "whoa whoa whoa" more often than a "HEY!"
I wear a helmet when the fit allows, but rest assured. When I die, it will be biking on Broadway.
god gave you what you can handle!
Nov 3, 2023
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Idk why I only got hip to this method of transport as my primary one this summer as this is my 4th year living in New York. I was notoriously 30 min late everyday to any class before 12pm in college or any class I didn’t care about purely because my method was train or bus then train and I’m one of those people that always just thinks they have 20 minutes to spare when it takes so long for them to put a perfect outfit together and they then negate breakfast every morning. I was often late to morning shifts of retail jobs for similar reasons or the bus just was late late late… Or I’d oversleep so much going to class didn’t even seem worth it.
But now. I realize. If I had just taken a fucking bike. I really wouldn’t have been the latest girl in the world all these years. And I love biking; it’s literally how I survived lockdown. my daily routine was get high all day and ride my bike around my suburban hometown to different locations and keep smoking (until this led to an actual psychosis.)
perhaps I was intimidated by nyc chaos. I will admit electric Citi bike is not for the faint of heart. I’ve almost gotten hit numerous times. And once somewhere around Times Square on my way to the JT concert, a strange man with a high quality camera took a picture up my skirt? Hopefully it was blurry as I was going the speed of light but idk. so many of the docks are broken which may cause insurmountable frustration? And there was one time this summer I went to 5 different stations and every dock all of them were dead and it felt like the electricity system was conspiring against my ability to meet my friends at Mott Street Eatery.
Regardless. I’ve felt safer transporting myself at night without the fee of an Uber. I’m more often at time. I feel like I’m flying. Ive gotten to reconnect with my passion of the bike ride. I love to whip around with my friends who equally love biking. And I feel unstoppable.
My dad wants me and my sister to invest in collapsable helmets but that feels embarrassing like borderline voyeuristic - and I’d have to really commit to the bit as I bike probably average 4x a day now. he says young people avoid safety precautions because we have huge ego. Considering the amount of accidents these fast ass bikes cause: he has a point.
Live love laugh electric Citi bike. It’s an art you should master. I have a need for speed.
Oct 7, 2024
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start small! I built my courage biking around prospect park (one of my fave places on earth) and from there I felt braver to navigate the streets.
also, act like a car when you’re on the road. keep an eye for pedestrians, flick off drivers that get too close, and for the love of god don’t try to bike across the Brooklyn bridge or you WILL run over a toddler ppl do not pay attention nor care.
Sep 25, 2024
- Invest in bike lights and reflectors - make yourself KNOWN on the road
- Invest in a HELMET, better safe than sorry!!
- Bike lanes are there for a reason; if you have them, use them! Just like car traffic, the right side is for going, the left side is for coming back
- If you don't have bike lanes, stay to the right side of the cars and try to mitigate weaving between traffic - even if you're a great biker, the CARS are the unpredictable ones, and you can't be lucky 100% of the time
- ALWAYS BE ALERT, ESPECIALLY BEFORE MAKING A TURN
- TO PASS SOMEONE (pedestrian or biker), YELL "ON YOUR *insert side you intend to pass on here*" BEFORE YOU REACH THEM - BE LOUD AND CLEAR, RING A BELL IF YOU'VE GOT ONE, IF THEY DONT HEAR YOU, KEEP YELLING AND GO AROUND WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO
- HAND SIGNALS (as seen on attached image) are KEY for communicating with other bikers and drivers! Learn them and use them to better telegraph your intentions to other people on the road!
- Stay OFF the sidewalk as much as you can! I know it's right there and it's easy, but pedestrians are unpredictable too and it's there for them, not you
- Cars and drivers suck. If they start to ride up on you, play it safe and get out of their way. They can run you over and likely not even be charged with anything. If you get harassed at traffic lights, start recording with your phone and get a pic of the license plate in case they decide to do something dangerous for both of you
3d ago
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Apr 1, 2025
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when i’m reading a hardback book on the train i may as well die. who do i think i am
Feb 10, 2024
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yoooooooo
Dec 10, 2023