How to Comfortably Bike in Traffic

Mildly ironic Reasonably Dangerous cycling shirts:

Fixie Famous Shoutout:
Brandon Black
Kelvin Ho
Zane Kolnik
OC Bike Crew
Ryan Witt
Stan Strong 108
Julian Corona
David Klippens
Ellie Lovelace
Justin Javier

Singlespeed Shoutout:
Chris
Javier Lopez
Justin Javier
M.
Martin Mohr
Nick
Scott Palangi
Todd Brannan
Epilektric
Michael Greif

Connect with me:

#fixedgear #bikecommuting #bikelife

[jokofsor]

To add, there's no shame in walking your bike in times of uncertainty. Don't force the issue. Better safe than sorry.

[milescorporosus]

"Nobody is out to kill you. Nobody is out to harm you..."
Even in a car, I was nearly run off the road because some guy thought it was _so important_ to pass another vehicle on the right. I was on the right, he was tailgating another car passing me slowly. He was next to me and just started moving into the right hand lane, counting on me braking before he hit me, just to make an opening so he could pass another car. He 100% saw me. He. Did. Not. Care. So yeah, I get what Zach is saying but some people will _absolutely_ gamble your safety for their convenience.

[BenjaminSmith]

"you're not a car" has been yelled at me last week, so I think I'm doing this right.

[kimrice]

My No.1 Rule. Don’t EXPECT anyone to do anything!!! Protect yourself at all times!

[shopee]

I’m a fixie cyclist and at the same time, a driver in the Philippines. Our roads are narrow. However, I always make sure to give enough space for cyclists to move around whenever I pass them by with my car. The key to safe driving and cycling is to always look far enough to predict the movement of people or other vehicles.

[rickfranklin]

Dood. I got ran over by a drunk driver last year. I can just now walk. And now I got the fear again. Great video. Fear is real. Can’t wait to get back out on the road.

[marctestarossa]

My strategy to get safely through traffic:
- be patient and be nice
- never attack people, even if they're wrong (but that's just how I roll, it's not biking specific)
- be willing to brake, stop and go slow. This sounds stupid but I know that sometimes I catch myself taking "adventurous" routes through the city, because somehow I don't want to stop and just keep going. I think it's a natural behavior, but you need to get rid of it fast. If there's an obstacle, just stop.
- don't use unsafe infrastructure that is meant for bikes like biking lanes between flowing traffic and parking cars
- the more dense, hectic and sometimes aggressive traffic around me gets, the more space I take for myself on the road. So I try to take almost as much space on the street as a car, because I use this empty space around me like a buffer zone between me and the driving cars.
- look for alternative routes. I'd rather take a slight detour to avoid the super busy streets at the hours of high traffic

[heated]

looking at drivers is so key. Getting through traffic got so much easier once I started staring into the soul of drivers

[jokofsor]

I'm a cyclist here in Manila Philippines.
Man I wish car drivers would treat us cyclists like people instead of random GTA NPCs

[brighton_dude]

The fear of the danger on the road is far greater than the reality. Here in the UK studies have shown that the risk of injury on a bicycle is the same as that for a pedestrian over the same distance.

[papoopa]

Also, if you want to make your commute safer, buy the Hornit DB140 bike horn. Its nearly as loud as a car horn and is an excellent tool to caution nearby vehicles of your presence.

[indicababy]

Zach: Nobody is out to kill you, nobody is out to harm you..
*Cyclist in the Philippines left the group chat*

[KarlCityRun]

"cycling saves you money" LOOOL :D

[artvandalay]

Forget eye contact, watch the wheels on a car if its in your way and you’ll see if theyre about to hit you or not

[simplydestiny]

Teaching my son to ride in traffic ! And so thankful for videos like this that are full of honesty!

We both subscribed to hopefully continue teaching him the ways of a bike rider 💪🏼🙌🏼 thank you!

[Brian-qvir]

I love these points. I'm also a big fan of picking your battles. There are some roads that are too fast, too narrow and just plain too dangerous to bother riding down. Yes, technically I do have the legal right to do it in most cases (some highways in Canada ban cycling), but it's just a smarter option sometimes to pick another route where I won't be squeezed up to, and blocking fast moving traffic with no good route of escape if things go wrong.

[ri.e_sk]

i have never clicked so fast on a video before

[christophergonzalez]

Your videos have helped me get the confidence to ride around traffic in CHI, GDL, and PHX. Keep up the good work!

[snunley]

Been on two wheels a long time, thank you Zach you have helped me tremendously! I have a 2021 Kilo TT pro pre ordered and I cannot wait to meet my first fixed

[theoaklandfan]

You should do more video’s where you interact with other fixed gear riders, like asking them for advice or asking questions.

Thanks for the advice on this video btw👌