Ever biked all the way down the island of Manhattan? This can be a thrilling, exhilarating experience.
There are many positive aspects of biking. You can weave through traffic, rush down hills with the wind flying in your face, and get exercise while traveling.
It's the proverbial killing of two birds with one stone. However, biking in New York City is far from a walk in the park.
What you trade for speed is guaranteed safety, and what you trade for exercise is harrowing vigor.
Read on to discover some of the classic struggles of biking in NYC.
1. Pedestrians
I get it. I commonly find myself in the role of pedestrian too. But when I’m biking, the light is green, and I’m flying down the street, it really throws off my jam when troves of walkers stroll through the middle of the street like they have all the time in the world.
Then I find myself frantically weaving between them. Pedestrians: whether there are cars around or not, please don’t behave as if there isn’t a bike hurtling towards you at full speed. You still don’t have permission to waltz across the street so casually.
[anad]
My bike would still win in a battle. Don’t forget that I’m the one wearing a helmet. How about we all wait until it’s our designated turn to cross the street, shall we?
2. Hills
Ascending a hill in a car is no problem. You just push the gas pedal a tiny bit harder, if you even have to do anything at all. Ascending a hill on the subway or in a cab is also severely relaxed, because, well, all you have to do is sit there.
On a bike, though, hills are like the Wild Wild West. We’re straining our thigh muscles, our lungs are creaking, we’re sweating, and to top it all off, cars are whizzing by us at full speed, occasionally whipping past our clothes.
The cabs ripping by us stir up a wind that almost sends us spilling back down the hill. So yeah, getting up a hill on a bike is definitely exercise.
3. Taxis
Congratulations, taxis! You are hereby officially dubbed the vehicle most likely to honk at an innocent cyclist from today onward!
But really, though, why do you have to be so mean to us, taxis? We’re trying to get to our destination too, just like you.
[anad2]
I’m really sorry that my being in this lane prevented you from zooming to your destination six seconds faster than you would have if I weren’t here, but as it were, you're sort of endangering my life right now.
So if you wouldn’t lie on your horn and send a jolt of panic zinging through me, I’d really appreciate it. Especially since I can’t honk back.
4. Trucks
Trucks are pretty harmful because once I skyrocket past all the cars that can’t drive in the lane where the truck is parked, I need to somehow merge back into the lane with speedy, rushing cars. And if I mess that up, that’s pretty much the end of my existence on earth.
,5. Buses
The empty, sprawling bus lane is so tempting.
There usually aren’t buses there, so I can dart in those lanes with little consequence.
[anad]
Except the thing is that when a bus actually does come, I would stand zero chance against that bus if we ever did collide. I’d be dead.
6. People opening doors
I know I talked earlier about how everyone should only cross the street when it’s their turn, but what is a New Yorker if not hypocritical? So when the light is red, I, like all the other bikers in NYC, weave through all the cars who are trapped in their lanes.
I’m petrified of the moment when someone opens the door of a car without looking around to see if a poor biker is rushing toward them, and they open the door right into my face and break my nose or something.
7. Getting sweaty
Biking to places in NYC is simultaneously exercise and transit. It’s wonderful. It’s great for the environment, as biking releases zero carbon emissions. It’s great because beyond the initial bike purchase, you don’t have to buy anything like pesky gas or MetroCards.
[anad2]
But if you’re on the way to a meeting or a social function, and you decide to ride your bike there, prepared to show up soaked in sweat. Sure, you may claim that if you take the subway you’ll arrived drenched in sweat too. And actually, you probably will.
But if you bike, you’ll be more drenched in sweat. That’s all I’m saying.
8. Thieves
If you want to bike in NYC, you have to buy one of those uncuttable kryptonite locks. They’re usually about $100, and they’re very, very heavy. Once you have one, you’re invincible – you can bring your bike anywhere and leave it outside kryptonite locked to one of the poles or signs or something.
But the thing about these locks is that they’re very, very heavy. So you have to wear a backpack and in addition to legging around yourself and your bike, you also have to carry your heavy kryptonite lock.
Which is definitely better than getting your bike robbed, but still.
Check out 8 Major Differences Between CitiBikers & Real Bikers in NYC.
[Feature Image Courtesy of Jalopnik]