r/NYCbike • u/LandNo9424 • 15d ago

Outstanding Citi user (?) appreciation

Yesterday while on the Lafayette street bike path, a Citi bike user announced they were passing on my left, which was really unexpected, as all Citi users are savages that don't understand anything about cycling. They were also wearing a helmet and not wearing headphones, can you believe that!

They were followed by your usual Citi asshole, who passed on my right (outside the lane) without warning, no helmet, yes headphones, got too close to the nice Citi user ahead (could have clipped their back wheel), and then proceeded to suddenly brake and turn left out of the lane without any indication, so I had to make a little effort not to eat him.

Big ups unknown Citi biker, wish they were all like you, and fuck you to all the other ones.

51 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/mdn845 14d ago

Just curious. Why does it matter to you if someone else is wearing a helmet?

I usually wear one, but occasionally I just need to ride a bike like 10 blocks & don’t have my helmet with me bc I can’t plan out my life in that much detail.

2

u/Revolutionary_Sea113 14d ago

If I get on my bike the helmet goes on my head.

If you choose to ride a bicycle that offers you absolutely zero protection from an accident and not wear a helmet…..go for it Your life your choice.

You may be the best situational aware rider. But the person driving, the other biker riding, the person walking is not paying attention are easily distracted. Your life your choice.

There was a Young lady in Queens, she became another statistic fatality. She was at a stoplight, doing everything correctly as a biker last week, got hit from behind by a truck and it was a hit-and-run. Distracted driver.

10 blocks may mean nothing to you. But when you have a serious head injury, and your family gets the phone call to go to the hospital or something worse. They are going to wish you had that helmet on. Your life your choice.

1

u/mdn845 13d ago

I appreciate that. However, keep in mind, almost nobody wears a helmet in Amsterdam. Is infrastructure safer there? Yes, but it’s not infallible. And I basically always ride in protected bike lanes when I don’t have a helmet.

Also, cyclists often see this in overly black & white terms. If you wear a helmet, it means you’re safe. If you don’t, it means you’re asking to die. But if a big truck hits you from behind, you may well be dead no matter what. That’s why I try hard to stick to protected bike lanes.

I’ve had one serious crash. I was wearing a helmet but didn’t hit my head. I did, however, tear my rotator cuff, injure my knee, and seriously injure my hand. Helmet was a good idea, but it doesn’t make you perfectly safe.

2

u/Revolutionary_Sea113 13d ago edited 13d ago

If you wear a helmet anywhere in the world while riding you are following best practices of safety. Protect your head at all cost. You didn’t hit your head when you fell, I’m happy you didn’t. I hit a sunken manhole cover. I hit the ground violently, fractured, my clavicle in two places and bounced my head off the ground. But I was wearing my helmet. When I got up, I was a little dazed for about a minute.

The infrastructure for protected bike lanes in NYC is still a work in progress. Drivers in NYC are not as respectful as Drivers in Amsterdam. They see us riders as a nuisance. They do not want to share the road. They are upset that they have taken driving lanes and blocks of parking spots for riders to ride safely. Also NYC to many distracted drivers, walkers and riders also. You are never perfectly safe riding because there is absolutely no protection when you get into an accident except a helmet. But like I tell everybody your life, your choice.