I ride every day, in the heat, in the rain, in the cold (or what passes as "cold" here in Miami). But the real problem is that I ride in heavy traffic. South Florida has some of the most dangerous intersections in the country, with very high accident and traffic fatality rates. So how do I survive? I've been driving in this hellhole for twelve years - it takes a lot for a bad driver to surprise me, no matter how unpredictable he or she may seem to others.

But as in every city, Miami drivers have a certain way of doing things. Some parts of town are harder to get through than others. Some hours are better for riding than others. Some police departments are harder up on bikers than others.

With that in mind, I'm dedicating a page to commuting tips for bikers. I've ridden through many cities from down here to the Midwest, but the core of my knowledge is about Miami. So I'll stick to tell ya'll about this city, and I'll ask that you guys send me in tips about your city. This won't cover tips on riding - if you don't know about looking through the turn, proper braking procedure, and lane position, you probably shouldn't be commuting just yet. So this page will focus on what to look out for to survive a daily ride through the city.

Please send me your entries here. Any city, any state - any country. Entries may be edited for clarity and length, but for the most part, what you write is what will be published. I'll update the page as quickly as possible, but give it a couple of days after I e-mail you to let you know if your entry is going in (if it's well-written and insightful, it's going in). I'll fix any little format errors, but please try to stick to this setup:

City and State (or Province):

Country:

Best and worst seasons for riding:

Best and worst time of day:

Best and worst time of year:

Best and worst roads to take to work:

General impressions on your fellow motorists:

How cool or grumpy are the local cops:

Your name:

Your bike:

Years/miles riding:

If you have something new to add to a city that's already been covered, send that in as well. I encourage real commentary that comes from personal experience, not just a brief analysis of each question (but that's fine too), but any racial or sexual derogatory remarks will be cut out. Please include, if known, any highways with HOV lanes that can legally be used by bikers. See sample report. On behalf of commuting riders everywhere, thank you!

Illinois:

ChiTown

Ohio:


Cincinnati

New York:

NYC

Virginia:

Fairfax

Woodbridge

Australia

Adelaide