TBD Guides: How To Ride a Bike in Prospect Park
Well you've done it. You managed to find a bicycle for sale somewhere. You can now join the ranks of the Prospect Park morning bike warriors*. You can't wait to pedal as hard as you can muster behind all the other folks riding so you can show off your perfectly upright bike computer. Maybe you've even looked up a couple specific workouts to do so you can huff and puff as you zoom past some comrades who all happen to be wearing the same outfit. Maybe they'll think "wow that person is quick they should wear the same bike outfit as us!"
Not so fast! That won't impress me much. Yeah, you've got the looks but have you got the touch? Don't get me wrong, I think it's pretty great that more folks are riding bikes, but that alone won't keep us in the good graces of the Parks Department.
Because of the amount of cyclists (new and old!) I've seen misbehaving, I have taken it upon myself to lay out a few simple rules for how to ride a bike in Prospect Park. (Editor's Note: most of these rules apply generally to riding a bike anywhere with anyone.)
1. Your workout is not more important than the safety and enjoyment of those around you.
I know it's hard to believe but I promise that if you have to stop pedaling in the middle of your 10 minute threshold workout you will be ok. I've seen so many folks pull off very unsafe passes or maneuvers because they want to get their workout in. Stop, pass safely, and then continue your workout.
2. Stay out of the jogger/pedestrian lane
You are bigger and faster and made of metal and thus you are dangerous to those not on bikes. I really don't know how else to say this. Stay out of the lane not meant for you. Don't even get close to it! If you follow rule #1, then this should be easy for you.
3. Follow the rules of the road
Look at the random things painted on the road. This may surprise you but those white lines aren't just some modern art piece. They are actually there to tell you information about traffic patterns on the road! If you notice the far left lane is for non-cyclists (see rule #2). The middle lane has the english word SLOW written on it. That leaves the far right lane. Through some high level thinking and deduction we can conclude that the right lane is for FAST. Use these two lanes correctly! Generally, you should be riding in the slow lane (there is always someone faster than you) and use the FAST lane to pass. Now this doesn't always work out and there are some folks who ride very slowly in the far right lane, but if more of us Follow the Rules and set a good example, perhaps we can be the change we wish to see in the world (or at the very least, in the Prospect Park cycling community).
Golden Rule.
Obviously I could have and probably should have spent more time coming up with more rules for you to ignore but here I am at the end of my attention span so I will reduce the three rules above along with any other I considered writing but didn't: Yield to those who are smaller, slower, and/or ahead of you. I know you and your boys are doing "last lap race efforts" but I don't care. I know you're in the middle of 30/30s but I don't care. I know the pedestrian crossing at the pedestrian cross walk (or anywhere!) didn't look but I don't care. You, as the bigger faster thing barrelling towards things ahead of you have the responsibility to not scare, intimidate (please don't yell at people), or injure your fellow park users. If you hit someone and they were ahead of you, it is your fault 100% of the time.
There's a lot to learn about this new hobby of yours. I hope these tips were helpful in your journey on this sport you will almost definitely quit in 3-5 years. If any of these tips made you angry, be sure to describe your anger in any comment box you see on our twitter or instagram, or on reddit, or this very post and I'll be sure to address your concerns as soon as possible.
* Also applies to riding in Central Park.
I like British cars, American guitars, Chinese food, and Italian bikes.
