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Bike lanes are becoming very prevalent in New York City and throughout the country.
It's making it a lot easier for new cyclist and experienced cyclist to ride around the
city and get around the city. Usually it's going to be safer but in certain cases a bike
lane can be more dangerous. Bike lanes are usually on the left-hand side of the road.
They're going to be indicated by two white strips about four feet apart and they're going
to be dedicated just to cyclist going in one direction. Bike lanes are designed for cyclist
to commute and get around the city in a safe way. They're designed to have cyclist separate
from cars, so that the cars are not going to be in the bike lane, and the cyclist aren't
going to be in the car lane. Proper etiquette for riding in a bike lane is never going in
the wrong direction, always go with traffic. You usually will not be passing too many people
in a bike lane but if you are you're going to want to past to the right or in the outside.
Although bike lanes are definitely safer than riding in traffic in most cases, bike lanes
also put you in what's call the door zone. You are going to be riding right next to where
a passenger of a car can open their door. This is one of the most dangerous parts of
cycling in New York and one tip for avoiding the door zone while in a bike lane is staying
to the far right, pretty much hugging the right hand border of the bike lane. When you
encounter a bike lane it's not mandatory that a cyclist must ride in it. If you find that
pedestrians are using it or if you find that a car's parked in it, it does not mean you
have to stay in the bike lane, it's your choice. If you feel that riding in traffic is a safer
option, you are totally allowed to do that. Also, when you're riding in a bike lane with
a group of cyclist you want to avoid riding next to each other, you want to give each
other a good amount of space, single file. In my days as a messenger I found that it's
very important to be visible to both to both cyclist and pedestrians by either making noise
with a bell, or whistling, or calling out is a great way to make sure people aren't
going to be walking in your path, or someone is not going to open up their door in front
of you, or a car isn't going to pull out in front of you. These are tips for ride in bike
lanes in New York City.