Monster Track 9 is coming in March
NYC premiere race. Track bikes, no hand brakes...the classic and in its ninth year.
check out the Monster Track website...and prepare.
check out the Monster Track website...and prepare.
posted by Michael Green at 7:39 PM
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8 Comments:
This video drove me nuts. I mean this question quite seriously, are cyclist not subject to traffic laws in NYC?
As a cyclist one of the hardest things I have to deal with is motorist fed up with cyclist. If I had to deal with these cyclists I would understand their frustration.
This guy constantly runs red lights, rushes out in front of pedestrians and hangs on to moving vehicles. This is the kind of behavior that makes my life difficult. I'm against glamorizing this behavior.
The behavior 'we' glamorize is the football, hockey, boxing, auto racing, motorcycle racing, etc... which is perfectly legal, professionally, and results in countless injuries of imitators, and actually, they created an industry around it called sports medicine. Let's pick on those bicyclists again, I mean, there must be 10,000,000's of people watching these Bike Blog posted cycling events and picking up these bad behaviors? Nice bomb to drop on Bike Blog!
Sorry, but I have to agree with rj. As much as I enjoy versatility and excellence in skills, this type of riding is dangerous to others.
No more dangerous then the simple act of opening one's car door without looking resulting in death. What skill does that take? Or disobeying the law and talking in a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. Lets face it Cars Kill, bikes don't. The bike riding you see 'glorified' on Bikeblog is for skilled riders only, please ride at your own risk and for crying out loud "wear a helmet." What ever you do please do not try to emulate what you see in these videos. That would result in more people trying to ride bikes and buying bikes and then the next thing you know more people are on bikes...and we don't want that. Please enjoy your 70 degree weather in January.
i think, in the end, what it really comes down to is the kind of riding you want to do. the bike control it takes to ride like him, in traffic like that is something most average cyclists will never achieve, therefore, jealousy comes through. if you could do what he does, you would. ive ridden those streets on a friday after works out. its insane, but my heart has never beaten so fast with adrenaline. give it a try before you start bashing something.
its ridiculous to bash bike messengers as unsafe when you consider all that they are up against. has anyone tried to ride a bike in nyc? you will find cab drivers, delivery truck and other motorists willing to swerve without looking, driving above the speed limit to get through lights, and yes, even take over the BIKE LANES to get around traffic, unload goods and passengers, etc. thank god there are bike cops- o wait... they don't ticket jaywalkers and licensed motorists breaking traffic rules- they go after messengers.
It is not true that these cyclists are putting others at risk. They may be putting themselves at risk but they won't be running over pedestrians and they are not obstructing drivers either. They may scare the pedestrians a little but there is no hitting them. After all, if you hit a pedestrian while on your bike, you will likely go down and get the worst of it!
At some point in this discussion someone said: "If you could ride like that you would..." I tend to disagree, and instead take the more safe approach to riding NYC streets. Sure if you are quick on your feet you may be able to dodge the endless obstacles mentioned above, but in the end, this is how i think about this: Golden Rule! If you want and expect drivers to respect your place in the streets, you have to be willing to, albeit maybe a boring ride, respect their place as well. I am currently recovering from a dislocated shoulder after a service car ran a red light while I was riding against traffic...I can't blame him because I am just as guilty. Respect drivers and pedestrians and maybe they will respect us as well.
ride safe and enjoy your wheels!
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