He does exaggerate that particular turn for dramatic effect though. This is the approach to US 46 bridge over Hackensack River.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=40.850593&mlon=-74.026362#map=18%2F40.850593%2F-74.026362 Bicycling on the sidewalk in New Jersey is not generally prohibited but discouraged (https://www.nj.gov/transportation/commuter/bike/pdf/bicyclingmanual.pdf -> “don’t ride on the sidewalks!”) However on that bridge you have to already know to mount onto the sidewalk (as he apparently knew). Trying to cross that bridge by bicycle in the vehicle lane is suicide, because there is no shoulder and the lane is not wide enough to fit a truck and a bicycle side by side. With the packed 55mph traffic with no follow distance, even if you “properly” turn at the stop sign, you either get creamed by the next truck that is unable to switch lanes due to traffic or slow down, or get creamed by the car tailgating behind that one because they had no visibility on you. The only way to cross is to mount the sidewalk at this corner, but there is no sign or indication to do so. I only knew that bridge was crossable at all because I noticed the annotation on openstreetmap when I was looking for a way through.
That’s the problem with biking in New Jersey Bergen County. There are all these rivers and wetlands that are only crossed by motor vehicle highways. There are no normal streets between the individual city neighborhoods. Most of the bridges don’t even have sidewalks, let alone bike lanes! The challenge of biking to the Meadowlands is to plan this circuitous route linking up the few of these barely-traversable bridges that do exist, sometimes going miles out of your way, and you have to use a map search because none of this is marked.
In the video instead of showing “Whoa! Big truck! Almost killed me! I am so small and shaky, barely dodged out of the way! Heehee, just kidding.” he could’ve said “at this gas station take a turn onto the sidewalk to cross the US 46 bridge, the only bridge across the Hackensack river with a sidewalk for the next 15 miles!” Different goals.
How many times do you think he filmed that particular shot?? He’s not combing through the cutting room floor, looking for the shot that perfectly advances his agenda. He’s got maybe two shots that he filmed himself as quickly as possible, probably setting up the camera while he was still straddling his bike, and he likely picks the least out of focus one.
He does exaggerate that particular turn for dramatic effect though. This is the approach to US 46 bridge over Hackensack River. https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=40.850593&mlon=-74.026362#map=18%2F40.850593%2F-74.026362 Bicycling on the sidewalk in New Jersey is not generally prohibited but discouraged (https://www.nj.gov/transportation/commuter/bike/pdf/bicyclingmanual.pdf -> “don’t ride on the sidewalks!”) However on that bridge you have to already know to mount onto the sidewalk (as he apparently knew). Trying to cross that bridge by bicycle in the vehicle lane is suicide, because there is no shoulder and the lane is not wide enough to fit a truck and a bicycle side by side. With the packed 55mph traffic with no follow distance, even if you “properly” turn at the stop sign, you either get creamed by the next truck that is unable to switch lanes due to traffic or slow down, or get creamed by the car tailgating behind that one because they had no visibility on you. The only way to cross is to mount the sidewalk at this corner, but there is no sign or indication to do so. I only knew that bridge was crossable at all because I noticed the annotation on openstreetmap when I was looking for a way through.
That’s the problem with biking in New Jersey Bergen County. There are all these rivers and wetlands that are only crossed by motor vehicle highways. There are no normal streets between the individual city neighborhoods. Most of the bridges don’t even have sidewalks, let alone bike lanes! The challenge of biking to the Meadowlands is to plan this circuitous route linking up the few of these barely-traversable bridges that do exist, sometimes going miles out of your way, and you have to use a map search because none of this is marked.
In the video instead of showing “Whoa! Big truck! Almost killed me! I am so small and shaky, barely dodged out of the way! Heehee, just kidding.” he could’ve said “at this gas station take a turn onto the sidewalk to cross the US 46 bridge, the only bridge across the Hackensack river with a sidewalk for the next 15 miles!” Different goals.
In the good news, I’m excited about this new greenway under construction! https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/13433606#layers=C https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/urban-state-parks-initiatives/greenway/ It will reuse several abandoned railroad bridges to create a much needed bicycle/pedestrian exclusive crossing through the wetlands.
How many times do you think he filmed that particular shot?? He’s not combing through the cutting room floor, looking for the shot that perfectly advances his agenda. He’s got maybe two shots that he filmed himself as quickly as possible, probably setting up the camera while he was still straddling his bike, and he likely picks the least out of focus one.