looky looky
click on “drag race NCY” for great fun.
Insanity!
Hardcore, but way to give bicycling a bad name.
Yes, not recommended for us unicyclists, of which there are far fewer. You can see bike messengers doing that stuff probably every day somewhere in NYC.
And David Stone.
Notice how many cars got passed, rather than passing the bikes? But also the number of red lights they blew through.
So if you ever think ice climbing or skydiving are dangerous, remember how much adrenaline rush you can get right downtown!
Note: At least in NYC people are used to seeing bikes in traffic (insane or law-abiding). It’s probably a little safer there than in cities where bikes are rarities.
I’ve seen those videos before. Different style of road riding than I’m used to.
It’s all good fun until someone loses an eye!
Kudos to the camera man…at least he had a solid reason for doing that.
In extreme sports terms, the “exposure” there was pretty significant…every red light run, every double column of cars split that could have constricted. One of my best friends–a very gifted athlete–ended the active athletic period of his life playing “white line fever” on his bike in the streets of Manhattan. Doing that kind of crap and a car zigged when it should have zagged. Presto, welcome to the ICU without insurance. Enjoy your double collarbone break, wrists, femur. Oh you’re a cook? Too bad about your double arm slings. No girlfriend at the moment? Good luck getting food into your system for a while. This happened to him at 35, and totaled his life’s savings. Ten years later, he’s still living hand-to-mouth, still paying off the medical debt, and no longer able to enjoy the sports–like basketball and ultimate disc–that he once excelled at.
Maybe I’m being a Debbie Downer, but I’ll keep my distance from that race.
What a load of utter twats 
Makes me feel almost ashamed to be a cyclist. 
Tom, I wondered where this line of thought was leading… 
If your friend is a NYer and played ultimate during that time-frame, I’ll bet I know him, or know of him. What’s his name, or if not, what’s his initials?
Youre just jealous because they have more skillz than you 
But that was a cool vid… seen other stuff like that too.
Its an alleycat race- Its not like those guys ride that intense everyday.
The only thing I didn’t like (eventhough it was cool) was the guy sticting on the back of the car.
Cars take over the streets, cyclists should be able to ride too, just as aggresivley as cars.
[QUOTE=DK]
Youre just jealous because they have more skillz than you ;)/QUOTE]
There’s about as much skill involved in that as with those dickheads who film the speedo of their cars as they drive through town at 120mph or whatever. Riding flat out at a crowd of people and hoping they move before you hit them or swerving between cars and hoping they don’t hit you isn’t really a skill. It’s more like Russian roulette - some courage is involved, but not skill.
From what I’ve seen, messengers (not all) ride similar to that every day, just not as far.
Uh, farther actually, because they do one run after another.
Is that because he was cheating (not pedaling), or for some other reason? He was in no more danger holding onto one car than zooming between taxis and busses, or zigging through red lights.
That’s what Critical Mass (search on it) is all about. But there’s one problem with that idea: physics. Physics can’t be legislated. No matter who’s right, the train always wins. Car vs. large truck? The truck always wins. Any motor vehicle vs. bike? you get it. So in other words, if the cars don’t accept the aggression of the bike, it doens’t do a bit of good. You can only intimidate a driver who fears hitting you.
And of course they have to see you first for that to work…
Just watching the first video makes me want to go out an ride. 
Also, it’s easy to criticize cycling etiquette, and to some degree I do agree that we need to be as polite as is safe. But at the same time, a cyclist puts his/her body on the line, so it’s easy to go over board. Certainly NYC has very different traffic patterns than most of us are used to, so I think we should remember that what may be considered rude in one circumstance may be the safest action in another.
Lol, since when has riding across the path of a moving car been the safest thing to do? A friend and I often race across Oxford in a similar (although less extreme) style. Due to the huge cycling population motorists expect cyclists to be either completely useless and unaware of what’s around them, or suicidally aggressive, so it is perhaps different to riding in that style in other areas. I think it’s not too dangerous aslong as you don’t rely on cars doing what they should be i.e. signalling before they turn etc. which is my genreal rule when riding.
That film made me want to get a fast bike with skinny tires…
Its just that he made contact with a car… If I were a driver and someone grabbed onto my car, I’d be kind of pissed / scared. When they are zooming through traffic, they dont hit cars, theyre just doing some car slalom- the drivers arent involved.
besides, dont take my opinion seriously, Im 14 and R St0opiderz tahn u gUys
I think its funny that you’re ok with them nearly careening into pedestrians at full bore, but get mad because he touched a car.
NYC driving
Let me add to this film’s obvious impression of insanity that the driving in NY is full-on wacko.
I’m not a downstater, but I’ve always had reasons to got to the city. Definitely I’ve driven into and around the city hundreds of different days.
Driving a car there is like a free-for-all. Whoever gets to the next light first wins, there’s dents in this car and I don’t give a f*** if I get another one, five lane wide jungle. If you drive with a less-than-aggressive attitude you get trapped in lanes behind double and triple parked busses, cars, taxis, meat trucks, and hot-dog carts.
And these riders, obviously incredibly skilled on their razor-like bikes, are doing a sport which adds the danger of vehicle swerves, as common in NYC streets as, well, something that’s really common. You could die.
Lee Harvey!
He couldn’t feed himself…a girlfriend could have helped. I suppose his Mom could have too, but she was 1000 miles distant.
Actually it’s not that complicated. All you have to do is remember a few simple rules:
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Those lines painted on the ground don’t mean anything. If your car fits into a space, that’s where you go (or someone else will).
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Taxis have the right of way. Give it or not, they’re going to take it.
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The crappier your car looks, the more people will “respect” you.
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The nicer/newer/more expensive your car looks, the more you have to defer to others.
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Your object is to get through any intersection before the pedestrians block the crosswalk.
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Hitting those guys on the bikes would inconvenience you, so try to miss them.
How am I doing, New Yorkers, accurate so far? It’s been a while for me…