Biking in Munich is a nightmare!

A couple of weeks ago I bought a bike here in Munich, on the one hand because it's nice to ride the bike in nice weather (that really didn't happen yet though), and for the "need" as well since I don't live so close to an ubahn station anymore.

Riding the bicycle here in Munich is a complete nightmare though! There are lots of roads that don't have cycle paths, and in most of the cases it's not clear whether you have to ride on the curb or on the street. And sometimes people come into the opposite direction (knowing they are on the wrong side), but it always looks like if those people have NO idea which way to pass. Even when I keep riding without even steering one bit, the people look confused and have no clue how to pass...

Pedestrians apparently don't care about cyclists. Thank god my bike has a bell on it, because I have to use it every single day, more than once. People just cross the road without even looking left or right, and when I ring my bell, it scares the shit out of 'em. And after that you get a look or comment as if I am not allowed to ride there!!

And so it happened, the day I was actually waiting for it to happen, another cyclist banged in to my side, she didn't have any clue where she was going and apparently didn't look in the direction where possible cyclists could come from. I was almost standing still in front of a stoplight, but this lady wasn't... Apart from a couple of bruises and my groceries all over the curb I'm allright...but I wasn't surprised this would happen one day.

yea, i rode a bike in munich a few times... i had to go so slow that i almost couldnt keep balance.

Every 10 feet you have to either slowdown, or stop for something, or maneuver around things... bleh...

I miss my home country-road bike riding. Where you pedal so fast for miles that your feet are about to fall off and if you could stay on the road, you'd be able to ride blindfolded and never run into anything

dont want to piss on your fireworks but biking is generally an absolute joy here..

i make my comparison from england, where there just aint a bike culture, lanes, facilities etc..non-existent.

it can be a bit scary wild west hit or miss at times here but i blame those wankers on in-line skates mostly.

I have to disagree. I love biking around the city. It's one of my favorite things about Munich actually.

I am pretty sure that it is illegal to ride on the curb, and that you should ride on the street if there is no bike lane. That said, I will ride on the curb if I see a good reason to, and there are no people in the way.


I found most people look out for the bike lanes, unless you are near marienplatz, or Leopoldstr, or some other touristy area, where the people don't know any better.


If you mean people coming the wrong direction in a bike lane, then I find that most people have the understanding that the person with the right of way keeps on trucking, and the person coming the opposite direction moves to the pavement. This always seems to work for me.

Well, don't give it up Sparty. Maybe it will just take a little time to get used to it.

Viel Spass.
-ed-

I make my comparison to Holland, which IS a bike culture (there are much more bikes than people).

I love cycling here. I cycle around 18km everyday, to and from work.

No drama!

I just hate the fact that cyclists are supposed to cycle on the pavement when there is no cycle path and are generally pretty obnoxious about it. Ringing their bells about from about 2 feet away.
Get on the bloody roads, like in England.
Although there do seem to be lots of cycle paths here, maybe not as many as Holland - but pretty good.

Sparty: Offence is the best defence.. Don't bother with the bell...Just kick their shopping bags out the way.

One question though.. if there is a cycle-path, do you HAVE to use it?? alot of the time its quicker and alot safer to ride on the road..

fuck me them's alot of bikes eh.

last time i've seen so many dutch bikes loitering was in murphys during euro2004.

@sparty
your spoilt as you come from the Netherlands (oops almots said Holland!)

Go bike around Dublin for an afternoon. If you survive you will ahve a new outlook.

I don't know if you have to use 'em. We used to have two different signs for a path where you can choose if you want to ride on it, and one that obliges you to take it. The last one had the word "FIETSPAD" on it, so I guess it was just a Dutch thing From what I know, when you see this sign [img]http://www.sparty.nl/pics/fiets.gif[/img], you have to take the cycle path. In some of the occasions you'll see this sign on the curb.


And there are probably as much bikes on the bottom of the Amsterdam canals thrown in ...

I guess all Dutch people are spoiled if it comes to cycling, since I also think it's an absolute nightmare in Munich.

People just don't look out for bikes, they park their cars on the cycle paths without caring about possible bikers and pedestrians cross the street without even thinking about the possibility a biker could pass by.

It might be that other places are even more bike unfriendly, but if you think Munich is bike friendly you're desperately in need of a holiday in Holland.

VDB, most places are less bike friendly than in Munich, not just "It might be". Sure, you have it good in Holland, but then again in Munich you don't have to always triple-lock your bike or take it into your flat with you for safe-keeping.

In Dublin, ruddy great big trucks squish em

Edit: this article is from October 29, 2001. I tihnk it got worse since.

Calls for restrictions on heavy trucks in Dublin
By Paul Cullen

There have been calls for access for heavy goods vehicles to be restricted in Dublin city centre following a spate of fatal accidents involving cyclists.

Figures compiled by Dublin Corporation show that heavy goods vehicles contribute to the vast majority of fatal accidents involving cyclists in the capital.

Of 20 cyclists killed in Dublin in the past six years, 15 were in collision with such a vehicle. One accident involved a bus, and four involved cars.

Ms Tanya Christina Holst, a 32-year-old German, will be buried near Frankfurt tomorrow, a week after she died in a rush-hour collision between her bicycle and a truck. Last June, another cyclist was killed in a similar accident near O'Connell Bridge.

Ms Holst was crossing from Burgh Quay to Aston Quay when her bicycle hit a bump in the road. She hit off a moped, lurched back and was sucked under a passing lorry.

Ms Holst , who had been living in Ireland for the past six years, worked as a computer consultant in the Irish Financial Services Centre.

Last June, another cyclist, Ms Olivia Potterton (36), was killed when a truck turned into her path at the junction of Westmoreland Street and Aston Quay.

Following Ms Holst's death, Dublin Corporation promised that cycle lanes would eventually be opened on the roads where the accidents occurred.

However, cycling campaigners say that serious injuries and fatalities among cyclists can only be minimised by dealing with the heavy goods vehicles that contribute to the death toll.

"If you allow lorries continuous use of the city's streets, you'll continuously have cyclist deaths," says Mr David Maher, chairman of the Dublin Cycling Campaign.

Mr Maher said Dublin's quays are "a deathtrap" for cyclists, with motor traffic reaching speeds of up to 60 m.p.h. on some stretches. There are no traffic cameras on the stretch, and road redesign has meant that lorries are "virtually up on the pavement".

Mr Maher said there should be a ban on left turns by heavy trucks because of the danger to cyclists and pedestrians. In many German cities, heavy goods vehicles are prohibited, goods being transferred to smaller trucks outside urban areas.

The cycling campaign has suggested that heavy goods vehicles should be banned from the city during rush hours, and deliveries made during off-peak times.

I have a wonky brake which will screech at the slightest touch. I find that works brilliantly for unobservant pedestrians who step out on the cycle path without looking. They get a terrible fright and jump back into safety, and you don't have to slow down much.
My biggest hate factors regarding cycling in Munich:
1. grannies with dogs. They will be on the sidewalk, their dog on the grass between cycle path and street. The leash going across the cycle path like a tripping wire. Needless to say, THEY will get indignant if you ring your bell at them.And of course it takes ages to bring granny and dog on the same side of the cycle path.
2. pigeons, the flying rats of Munich. F**ing dangerous. They'll be sitting on the cycle path, completely oblivious to anything going on around them. Munich pigeons are so used to people, they will not move until you're almost on top of them. And then they first turn to look at you, and THEN they fly away in the direction they're looking in, i.e. end up wrapped around the chain of your bike.

.02

Since it hasn't been mentioned, look out for the bike Gestapo...uhhhh I mean police. I saw them nail about 20 people in 5 minutes for going the wrong way on a oneway street.

But there are lots of streets where you are allowed to bike both ways when it's a one way street for cars...

Big C, you're not allowed to cycle on the pavement here, so if there is no bike lane, you have to ride on the road.

What annoys me most are the cyclists who think they own the streets, and don't stop for pedestrians crossing on zebra crossings. Or those who ring the bell at you cos they're trying to get past you on the pavement!! Go read your highway code, silly people!

I actually find Amsterdam to be very UN bike-friendly. How the crap are you supposed to balance on two wheels in a town where you can smoke genetically modified weed openly and freely. Jeez, I find it makes walking hard enough.

Als(h)o, those DAMN tram lines make cycling a reet ol' mare in the Dam. Front wheel gets stuck all the bloody time. Also true here though.

Give London a try though, its hilarious, but get some decent private insurance first, don'T want to end up in a crap NHS hospital, they're all like Schwabinger Krankenhaus.

Like I said, I saw the police bust about 20 people who thought the same

@Nathan

The streets I was referring to have bike lanes in the one-way streets. And there are a lots of 'em.

That's a thing when you grow up in Holland. We Dutch people can carry anything on a bike, no matter how stoned we are, that's the culture. I'm happy to be able to speak out loud about this, because our nation is small enough to have a culture at all.

Most of the people I know have had trouble with their BACK wheel getting stuck into the tram lines (so did I twice). But once you get to know about it, you'll be careful enough, because you can't go anywhere without crossing tram lines.

Munich is a breeze!

Cycling home with about 6 mass inside me ...no problem !!!

Don't see the problem... youse need to see a real city to start bitchin' about any imagined problems here!

easy

What an insane thing to say about munich! I have to say my number one favourite thing about living in this wonderful city is the joy of cycling all over the place. i recently moved a little closer to where i work and i miss the 25 minute cycle every morning - now it only takes 10. Of course that said, i would still gladly shove every bell possessed by the bike riding locals up their pendantic asses. "ding ding pass auf, ich fahre hier, pass auf..ding ding..." i wonder if they are aware that it is possible to actually turn the handlebars to avoid other cyclists and it is not ness to announce their arrival along the cycle path..imagine if people did that in cars..."honk honk, i"m driving along the road, i'm approching you...honk honk honk...don't suddenly slam on your brakes or turn sharply without wwarning ...honk honk honk!!!...arschlocher! lol

Munich has to be one of the best cities in Europe for cycling. I also cycled in Holland and found it good too. Dublin is a joke when it comes to cycle lanes, I think that they had to put down a certain amount of kilometres of cycle lane just to pass a certain EU standard. The lanes in Dublin run for about 50yds and then stop. Also they are only for daytime use in some areas and motorists are allowed to park on them in the evening. The lanes are also on the road shared by traffic not like here in Disneyland Munich where you have a good distance between cycle lane footpath and road. I have been cycling here for 5 years and absolutely love it. I am even thinking of getting a snow tyre for my front wheel this winter. I also love scaring the shit out of tourists and pedestrians with my bell. I hate b***ards who cut me up when turning and I have the right of way. I follow these guys and hurl abuse at them. Good way to let off steam! Although one time it backfired on me when I gave the finger to a Turkish guy in a BMW, two of them (2xBMW's) gave chase to me, him and his mate. That was in the Landwehrstr. a one way street, I went backwards to try to get away, they did too! I lost them eventually, but they looked fit to pull me apart.

You have got to be kidding. Munich is biking heaven! Try Washington DC and most any other US city. Then you'd have somethihg to complain about.

I agree. After riding in San Francisco during the rqaging dot-com boom, with all manner of idiots on cell-phones driving SUV's without regard to any cyclist or pedestrian, I find Munich to be the best city for cycling.

And I have had the pleasure once of getting my road bike tire stuck in a trolley car ditch. I said once, because after that, you learn how to NOT do that REAL fast.

Here I can have a fixed-gear running a 42-16 gearing without breaking a real sweat and since there are no hills to speak of, it makes life all the sweeter. And if you DO drink and Ride, please wear helmets. (I know i sound like your mother, but it really does make a difference.)

Ha, ha, ha, biking here is wonderful. If you bike in Boston, people look at your like you're nuts - 'coz you are - only sickos bike on the streets in Boston - mostly because you have a 50-50 chance of making it to your destination alive - seriously.