Boulevards of Death Alleycat...Sept 25th

This is a set route through Queen's fastest, widest , and meanest streets it has to offer. Starts @ Myrtle Avenue and Woodhaven Blvd @ 3PM. Checkpoint must be done in order, If you don't know your way around Queens, then no need to worry because the manifest is the map. Few Minor details might still change, so if anything changes Ill update it. Brought to you by stoned tone and Raf.

Finish @ 57th st and Flushing Ave (entering through grand ave)

Register @ 3PM
Race @ 4PM
Finis
Awards Ceremony @ the WreckRoom (940 Flushing Ave) @ 7PM
After Party Onwards


Email me rafneg aT gmail dotcom

Let the left turners....turn.

I usually slow down for left turning drivers on two way streets despite me having the right of way. The left turner has pressure from the cars behind him who are honking and egging him on to make his turn and they also have to convince the drivers in the opposite direction going straight to slow down as to let him pass. When they make their turn, they have to be committed to it because they have oncoming car traffic going at them at full speed. I feel bad for the cyclist who is going straight as he is making the turn because he wont slow down for him. Because he rather hit the cyclist then be hit by the oncoming car. Its not on purpose (it might be in the case of some angry drivers) Its just that hes more scared of the 3000 lb car coming at him than he is of the "puny" guy on the bike. Even though you have the right of way if you find yourself in that position, either slow down and give em the right of way or get ready to dodge that car.

Also know that if you see a car waiting to make a left turn and you're the only oncoming traffic he has to face...the driver will try to intimidate you to slow down or get out of his way. Because for the most part drivers do no consider us regular traffic. This is one of the cases where the laws of the road will be broken time after time. So just be aware that left turners are very dangerous.

I know it seems like I'm backing down when I am in the right, but this is an issue where Im willing to be flexible on. Id rather be flexible and alive to keep riding then be with a broken bike or bone paying to get either fixed.

Rant on bicycle lanes part II.

Why I don’t like the separated bike lanes
.. instead of cars we have to deal with pedestrians who consider them extended sidewalks.
..Id rather deal with car drivers any day than pedestrians
..I enjoy going faster than 15mph
.. Cars are easier to spot, less erratic than oblivious pedestrians who are usually zoned out on their cellphones.
... Instead of bike lanes we should just have expanded shoulders or
... the city should promote better riding skills and driver awareness instead of wasting their money on bike lanes.
.. The main skill any urban cyclist needs is to be able to shift in and out of the shoulders to avoid obstacles. The shuffle. If most cyclist new how to do that there wouldn’t be a need for bike lanes.
... now how do we teach that skill on a large scale? I don’t know, I dont work for transportation alternatives. Maybe add the shuffle

Doors

Working as a messenger doors are my biggest fear. "They come out of nowhere" we say, how can you prevent something you have no chance of avoiding. I've been doored about 4-6 times, and they've all been bad. It seems to be at a rate of one door per 6 months. I know I WILL get doored again all i can do is trust in myself that when I do get doored that my super reflexes that I'm known for will kick in and all I come out with is a bruised elbow and not in a hospital. They cost money, more money than I have for one and I just hate that helpless feeling I get when I'm waiting for people to help me.

Shit happens, you don't need to be there when it does.

Doors will open into cyclist's paths, the question is, are you going to be the one who's there when it does. The last time I was doored I sort of blamed myself. Because If I hadn't gotten complacent I would have given myself more space that wold have bought me some milliseconds to act, or get out of the way . Usually when I ride in stalled traffic in between cars I ride slow and my eyes are scanning from car to car to try to spot the signs of door openings. But no, I was in a residential neighborhood, well and far away from the bustle of midtown and I let my guard down.

One thing I learned as a messenger is that there are zones in space which are dangerous to be due to the likely hood of someting bad happening there. Overtime you learn to spot these zones and also to not get greedy and put yourself in these zones because you don't want to slow down. I have slowed down alot from the time that I was a fresh green rookie three years ago and I hope that I will keep slowing down even more to avoid getting hurt. I don't ride like a madman in the side streets because there is no flow to the traffic there. Cars are always pulling in or out, pedestrians are jaywalking, cars slow down to look for parking and sometimes even speeding up catch the yellow light. Hit me up on an avenue though with green and I'll bet your ass Im trying to haul exactly that... ass.


Remember, doors will open but you don't have to be there when they do and if you have to be there go slow enough so you can react to it in a way that doesn't involve you going to the hospital.

Where and when car doors open mostly..
In stalled traffic - motorist and passengers are concerned about their own personal safety, not yours. So when they look outside the car to see if they can open the door they look to see if traffic is in motion, if there is not traffic in motion they sense no danger therefore dont think to look behind them to see specifically if theres anybody in the path of the door.

Do we really Need Bike Lanes?

I don’t like bikelanes, I think they give inexperienced cyclists a false sense of security that makes them complacent and entitled as opposed to being defensive and flexible. DOT thinks that by adding more bike lanes that they will make cycling safer. No, in reality they are just another two lines that can be crossed by any car and constrains you in an area where you are going to be doored and right hooked. It does encourage cycling in the city, which in general raises awareness of us in the minds of cars and pedestrians. Manhattan is safer than the outer boroughs for cycling only because there are so many of us, so SOME drivers are going to look for us before they make that turn, open their doors or pull out of a parking spot. But that’s a direct result of our numbers , not the bike lanes. Go out to queens and ride in a bike lane and get ready to for some old fashioned dooring and sideswiping.
A good urban cyclist is flexible, she knows that just because there is a bike lane doesn’t mean that the car that’s wants to pullout/in in front of here is going to look for her when she rides, therefore she is prepared to ride out of the shoulder and into the car lane at any moment to save herself. When I first started riding I thought that just because I was in the right...that I shouldn’t ride defensively. It was the drivers responsibility to look out for me and if they didn’t they were wrong and, they SHOULD stop before hitting me. That mentality got me into many scary and expensive collisions and scary moments. Just because someone is supposed to do something doesn’t mean they will, that’s why we have this word called "irresponsible" I think bike lanes encourage that sense of entitlement that many inexperienced (and sadly also some experienced cyclists) seem to have. "I’m entitled to be here therefore YOU WILL STOP YOUR CAR"... and then Wham! These are the people I see stopping to argue with drivers to try to persuade them that they are in the wrong. Can anybody say Futility?

Complacency is another behavior that bike lanes encourage. Apart from bicycle lights, helmets, high vis clothing, etc, the greatest safety mechanism is a brain on full alert. There are times when I'm riding where I open my eyes wide open beyond what’s normal, just to remind myself to be extra alert.

Don’t even ask me about pedestrian plazas/ extended sidewalks....oops I mean separated bike lanes. Disasters if your ask me.

No matter which way you put it Urban Cycling is dangerous, just as urban driving is. The only way to remain safe is to be aware and flexible. Pushing bike lanes thinking that it promotes cycling safety is an exercise in futility.

I treat bike lanes as an expanded shoulder. That’s all.

I went to queens copurt to answer a summons ticket I received two weeks ago. Just to be told I need to come back 30 days later because the ticket is not even in the court systems yet. I dont really like being in the subways, and since I didnt have my bike I decided to walk back home through forest hills and flushing meadow park into my neighborhood of flushing.

I love the apartment buildings of forest hills, they're so humble but yet still beautiful without the arrogance projected out by these new fandangled glass tower condominiums.

I know this is the old bell telephone company grate, but I've never seen this pattern before. I wish I could carry around a tire Iron so i could just explore every manhole I see in the park. You know without beeing looked at like some guy whos about to kill somebody. Maybe theres an easier and smaller tool I can use to open these babies up. I remember trying to open a cap about a few years ago in flushing meadows and the undercover cops didnt seem to apreciate it one bit. Ever since 9/11 theres no such thing as innocent exploration of this city. One of the reasons I wish I was younger is that I could explore areas of the city where I dont belong without being looked at like some criminal or terrorist as opposed to just some scrawny kid with too much curiosity. The consequences for the former are handcuffs and an interrogation , while the latter they'll just tell me to scram.


This is the park I spend most of my time exploring.

When the waters of the meadow lake overflow into the asphalt paths and end stagnate all the oil particles clump up together in these really cool and nasty grease patterns.

There are so many parts of FMP that are pretty much just let to be, like this area was used before for taking mulch and letting it ?compost? but now it was just abandoned, I think all these little hidden areas including their deterioration add to the mystery that is FMP.

This I think is part of the flushing river that still flows through its original path. This river has been altered beyond its original path many times over. And from what I hear they plan to get rid of the Fountain of planets in the park and "moonlight" the river. Which means redivert the river into its original course after they diverted it underneath the fountain of planets.

Harness Shmarness

Who Needs a Harness? Me and my brother were riding around in far east queens when we found this obstacle course in Alleypond park. I always wanted to find and Adult playground type course without having to join the military or have to hand over a money to try one out. The sign on the wall said something about no trespassing and that climbers should be supervised and wear a harness at all times. The first time I made up my brother gave me a boost up. I did not make it to the top because my forearms just started giving out. I could have tried to make it to the top but I was afraid that at the highest point my arms would give and I would fall 20 feet to some really hurt ankles. Or even if I did make it to the top, that I wouldnt have the strength to climb back down to the bottom. But I always wanted to learn to climb but I didnt want to have to join a gym or be supervised by other people trying to make sure I have as little fun as possible beceause they have to cover their liabilities. Now I got to learn how to increase my grip and the endurance of my forearms, because after this, I couldnt even throw a frisbee. My forearms felt like theyr were full of fluid and about to burst. Scary and fun, scary because I know how to fall and put all the downward energy of my "measly" 180 pounds into forward roll but I cant do it if I fall facing the wall. Or maybe I should just practice a reverse roll. Anyway I have a new skill to acquire, once I learn this I'm going to try actual boulders.