Writing yesterday's post got me to thinking, again, about some of the really bad bike lanes I've ridden. I'm talking about the kind that, if they don't enrage you because they put you in more danger than you would have experienced while riding with cars and trucks, they leave you scratching your head and wondering, "What were they thinking when they built this?"
Of course, some of those lanes aren't exactly built: They were merely designated by some lines of paint and a few signs. But there are the ones that make you wonder why anybody bothered to spend the time or money to build barriers or cut through parkland.
Paths like those lead to nowhere. I wrote about such a lane in an earlier post:
A year later, I showed another that ran under the elevated tracks of the IRT #1 train in upper Manhattan--and right into the pillars that support said tracks:
I guess I shouldn't complain, though. No lane I've ridden is quite like this one:
It's in Exeter, England. Hmm...Maybe the Brits have some sort of cycling we've never dreamed of here in the 'States. Whatever it is, it's certainly stranger than riding down this bike lane:
It might be the only bike lane in the world designed for BMXers or downhill riders--though I still rather doubt that whoever conceived it has ever been anywhere near a bike!
Of course, some of those lanes aren't exactly built: They were merely designated by some lines of paint and a few signs. But there are the ones that make you wonder why anybody bothered to spend the time or money to build barriers or cut through parkland.
Paths like those lead to nowhere. I wrote about such a lane in an earlier post:
A year later, I showed another that ran under the elevated tracks of the IRT #1 train in upper Manhattan--and right into the pillars that support said tracks:
I guess I shouldn't complain, though. No lane I've ridden is quite like this one:
It's in Exeter, England. Hmm...Maybe the Brits have some sort of cycling we've never dreamed of here in the 'States. Whatever it is, it's certainly stranger than riding down this bike lane:
It might be the only bike lane in the world designed for BMXers or downhill riders--though I still rather doubt that whoever conceived it has ever been anywhere near a bike!
Some of those, like the one on the stairs, just HAVE to be jokes, right? Please??
ReplyDeleteSome of those, like the one on the stairs, just HAVE to be jokes, right? Please??
ReplyDeleteBrooks--We can only hope!
ReplyDeleteAre these photos from the Warrington Cycle Campaign?
ReplyDeleteSteve--Not to my knowledge. I got the Exeter "bike lane" and stair photos from the Daily Mail of 18 April 2012.
ReplyDelete