Busy-ness & Bike Lanes

Date: 20 November 2010
Day of Chronicles: 17
Hours: 3:30-6:45pm
Rides Given: 5

My riding session started, fairly unpleasantly, with a taxi driver on 6th Avenue between 34th & 35th yelling at me, "Why don't you ride in the bike lane?" I, not in the best of moods, yelled back, "Because it's illegal, asshole!"

And there you have the trouble with not allowing pedicabs in bike lanes: Not the actual ban, but the ignorance thereof, on the part of motor vehicle drivers. They expect me to be in the bike lane, and when I'm not they feel free to honk at/swear at/otherwise attempt to intimidate me. 6th Avenue in the 30s is probably the stretch where my expectations and those of my motor-vehicle-driving brethren clash most ferociously - motor vehicles tend to go pretty fast there, and the bike lane is not physically separated from the other lanes. So the motor vehicle drivers think all they need to do is honk at me and I'll scurry over to the pedal-power ghetto, where I belong.

When the pedicab law first took effect, about a year ago, I, like the mysterious trash-bag-covered protester who interrupted Christine Quinn's dinner the other night, mourned loss of access to bike lanes. Since then, I've gotten used to (for the most part) staying the heck out of them, and I can't say I miss them. Why? Because they're so often blocked by taxis, delivery trucks, Christmas tree salesmen, and so on. If I stay the heck out of them, I have less of a chance of being creamed as I attempt to merge into a lane of motor-vehicle traffic, while skirting an obstruction. Also, the average pedicab is wide enough that it would be difficult for a bike to pass it, were both traveling in the bike lane. Why snatch real estate from bikes, for pedicabs? Why not snatch it from motor vehicles instead?

So, no, I'm not bitter about being banned from bike lanes, while riding a pedicab. I just think a public service campaign is in order, to let the city's motor vehicle drivers know that when we're riding in what they think are their lanes, we're right where we belong. Sending a bulletin out to all taxi and limo drivers would be a good start.

And now, on to the rest of  the evening! Which did get better in the wake of that initial altercation!

Gregg (my fiance & seven-year pedicab veteran) said that 4:30-6:00 is the busy time on Saturdays and sure enough, I made about three quarters of my money within that window. I couldn't quit at 6:00, since I still had $14 to make to meet my weekend quota, so I rolled down 7th Avenue seeking fares. At Penn Station, two prospects in a row spat out perhaps the rudest refusals I've ever received: "I'm not going anywhere in that thing!" and "Nowhere you're going!" I thought (too late, of course), to reply, "Just because you're in New York doesn't mean you're required to be rude, you know. A simple 'No, thank you' would do." Alas, Pandora (that's our cat, for those of you who've never met her) got my tongue. 

I must say, rude refusals still get to me. I was wishing I could just head on home, after getting those two. But I had my quota to make, so I continued, and, while drinking water at 7th & 38th, was approached by two women (one of them older, with a bad knee) wanting a ride to Macy's. That brought me up to quota, and not too far from RR. Back to the depot I rode.

I'm beginning to realize that I can recognize the busy times not just by how many prospects respond positively to my solicitations, but by how many people solicit me. Whenever there's a rush worth a damn, I pretty much always get people asking me for rides. A wonderful reversal! I enjoy it immensely (except when the party is too large, doesn't know where they're going, and starts to whine about the price).

Oh, and one more thing! I forgot to note this in yesterday's post, so I'm noting it now. Last night, as I was riding up 8th Avenue, near the Port Authority, with my Hilton-Garden-Inn-bound British couple in back, I witnessed the following mini-scene, which was a first for me: Two young women in heels and fitted trench coats were hailing a cab. Seeing me approaching, one said to the other, "Oh, that looks fun! Let's take one of those!" Then, seeing my passengers, she said, "Too bad! It's full."

I must say the exchange pleased me, though I was sorry I wasn't able to accommodate the two ladies. It's nice to feel sought after, you know?