You should try a traffic skills 101 or confident cycling course. I was so impressed with how well this works that I became an instructor. It really is possible to ride downtown at rush hour.

I asked what intersection your coworker collided with and left the injured cyclist, I also asked what route you took through or to downtown.

Not all downtown cyclist/vehicle collisions are reported, having this information public could help novice cyclists decide which routes to avoid.

I did not ask for advice.

"confidence" appears to kill and injure more cyclists than caution.

Timid cyclists -- those that ride on sidewalks and in gutters -- are involved in far more crashes than assertive cyclists.

I've found that as I assert my place as a driver on the road I'm treated better by other drivers.

Bicycle education -- TS101 and other training -- changed the way I ride. I'm now more confident, more assertive, and rarely have any close calls.

End of sermon.

I didn't ask for your advice either.

I don't appreciate being preached to nor have sales pitches flung at me in the process.

What works for you, works for you. And I'll stick what works for me.

there has been few too many regulars here who end up in fatal collisions with motorists and I tend not to repeat the mistakes of others.

hmm. I rode through downtown at 5PM heading home from a quick stop in NE. I found it to be quite an exiting change of pace. Oh well, I just like to ride bikes.

You are misrepresenting my post. At no point did I state that my coworkers "left" the cyclist. Did you not read it, or are you just twisting this for dramatic effect?

But _V_, it's not working for you. To quote you:" Its a real hassle. I can't bike past Grant Street, I have to bike around it due to people who work there and don't live there during daytime weekdays. Absolutely sucks."
Confidence and caution can ride side by side at the same time.
While you are not asking for advice, maybe you should try and figure out why things that work well for others don't work for you.
And I would like to know what regulars here have ended up in fatal collisions with motorists. Seems like you just made that up.
Anyway, if what's not working for you continues to work for you, ride on in peace. And this is not preaching, more of a wish you well.
Personally, I'll continue to ride like a vehicle with confidence, caution, and courtesy.
Best, Bill.

Sorry you didn't state either way, but to get to a settlement, to get litigation in front of a judge; documentation of fault has to be established.

Leaving the scene of an accident is an excellent way of establishing fault.. Its one of the few ways to credibly establish fault. A motorists stays at the scene its difficult to establish.

So now we are left with the questions you refuse to answer.

1. Where did this collision between your Co-worker and this cyclist occur, which downtown intersection?

2. What route/streets do you use to get inside downtown? That's if you don't use a bike locker at a parking ramp and just walk in past the crush of motorists trying to park or flee to hwy exits.

3. And why do you think you have the right to push your advice on someone who didn't ask for it?

Mostly it appears you leave very relevant details out of your collision stories, in order to avoid a critique.

Again did I ask for your critique, advice?

How often do you ride through downtown Minneapolis?

I know folks who moved from dinkytown to loring and then to North East.

Cycling from North East is a lot less hassle.

Again how often do you cycle through downtown and when?

Its always the same characters who dish out advice and will not establish why.they assume they are an authority.

And for.the record 100,000 people live, work and go to school within what is an essentially a 30 block area.

Hwy 55, 94, 394, and 94 have a combined 10 or more entrance and exit ramps in and out of downtown.

Now compare that to South Minneapolis past 35th street or northeast past Broadway.

Also factor in my mtb cycle is my sole means of transportation, and 40% of my trips require going through downtown or past 3-6 of these exit or entrance ramps of these hwys.

Not something any of the persons who chose to give me advice.or a critique that was not requested has done or will do.

6 years of year round cycling in which 3500.to over. 4500 miles a year in the decade I have lives downtown west.

And you fellers who see not 1/3 of the motorized traffic in the confines that is a small fraction spatially of the entire city.

Kinda fantasist I'd wager. You've got my goat, but I've clearly outdone most.

I wanna rest, sooner or later my flophouse of an apartment building will be raised to produce high end condos for baby boomers who want to walk every where anyways. Let them fix the equilibrium between suburban downtown cubicle monkey and peds.

_V_. I must admit, I seldom ride through downtown, though when I do it's usually between 4-5pm. And while I admit it can be a pain in the ass, I don't have a problem safety wise. Maybe it's cause I can take routes you can't.
I did not want to get your goat. I only wanted to possibly open you up to some alternatives. But you are set in your ways and I will leave you in peace. Enjoy your rides as best you can.
Bill.

Its so nice that you seldom go through downtown.

I go through downtown sometimes 4 times a day, sometimes every 3 days.

And I'd really like to know if you go through north to South, South to north, east to west or west to east.

Since most of the east and west is blocked off by hwy entrances.and exists, it leaves few options.

Because I got two options: South to north or South to west.

5 pm on the weekends is a breeze! Even better if you stop short of grant street or Washington avenue like a many of commuters who work downtown!

You see when downtown is where you start and end for 6 years of daily commuting its rather odd that someone who "seldom" goes to downtown and offers no examples.of an alternative, actually has an alternative.

Now go enjoy a group ride on the grand rounds this weekend and share notes!

I'm a regular here and have been killed by cars plenty of times. Once more and I get a free sandwich.

By posting here, one is implicitly soliciting feedback.

If you don't want feedback, don't post.

You probably didn't really want a lesson in the internet either, but you did ask for it.



What kind of sandwich?

I am baffled as to why you think someone will remember all those details about something that happened years ago to someone else. Dude was presenting an anecdote, not a legal case.

I no longer work downtown, but last summer, I biked from the goat path to the library twice a day, several times a week, during rush hour, taking a variety of routes through downtown just because I felt like it. The first few times going back I got a little lost trying to find the goat path again, but nothing awful. I'd say I started off as a competent beginner cyclist and by the end of the summer was a competent intermediate cyclist.

I never once realized it was so terrible.

Can we just skip to the part where alwaysflat gets banned? I don't feel like doing this again.