Idiot of the Week: That Guy on the L Train
February 13, 2008 – 10:36 amIf you ride the L Train regularly, you probably know which cars are the most crowded when the train rolls towards Brooklyn. Since the exits for the first four stations after Union Square are primarily at the rear of the train, the rear two subway cars can be packed, while the middle of the train is virtually empty.
This isn’t just true during rush hour - it’s especially true during rush hour.
That’s why this week’s Idiot of the Week is that scruffy hipster who decided it would be a good idea to bring his bike on an L Train at 6:30 last night.
Not only did he bring it onto the train - he brought it into the rear car of the train.
I shared the disdain of my fellow passengers as he tried to board the train with the bike. It was clear he had been waiting for the L Train for a while and could have chosen any spot on the platform… yet he chose the most crowded part of the train. When one passenger walked over to wait for the rear car, she audibly stated, “are you serious?” Apparently, he was. So serious, in fact, that he had to wheel his bike off and back on the train at 3rd Avenue to allow riders out that he had blocked in when getting on the train with this monstrosity.
He had the choice of any car on the L Train. And he chose the car that is almost always crowded.
At the very least, he could’ve been smart enough to use another car. But the world revolves around him, apparently. His bike stops for no one!
And wait a second! He has a bike! Why doesn’t he just ride it home? His bike was covered with snow in the wheel wells, so clearly he had already been riding it around in the bad weather last night.
Maybe the bike wasn’t a bike at all. Perhaps it was just one of those freaky hipster art pieces. Whatever the reason, he still brough a hulking piece of metal onto a crowded subway train, and that makes the goddamn hipster with a bike the Idiot of the Week.
23 Responses
was it a fixie with no brakes?
By courtney on Feb 13, 2008
you see, missionary is a sexual position. and reverse cowgirl is a more exotic position wherein the girl…
… you know what? forget it.
By lozo on Feb 13, 2008
What a selfish prick! I will never understand how people can be so inconsiderate. If I take the L, I have to ride the last car so I can race like hell up the stairs so as not to miss the B61. He did NOT need to be in that last car! This moron had no excuse for his selfishness.
By Sheryl on Feb 13, 2008
PS I was really hoping you’d say that he was forced to stay out of the train at 3rd Ave…
By Sheryl on Feb 13, 2008
Um, the MTA requires that bike riders use either the first or last car of the train. So your issue is with them, not the guy with the bike. He was following the rules.
By sean on Feb 13, 2008
Oh, I thought that asshole had this award wrapped up.
By brookLyn gaL on Feb 13, 2008
But surely he could have used the not crowded one at the other end, sean? and since when have rules applied to new york cyclists anyway?
By E_in_NYC on Feb 13, 2008
damn! Sean is dropping knowledge!
By Chris on Feb 13, 2008
sean: Since when? I’m looking at the official MTA guidelines for bike safety and it mentions nothing of the first or last car. It only recommends to “stand near either end of the subway car,” not the train.
Also, this is one of the two official subway rules applying to bicyclists:
You risk eviction or fine when you violate the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, Chapter 21, Section 1050, governing the conduct of the public in using the transit facilities. In particular, rule 1050.9 (g) deals with bulky items like bicycles:
You might be confused with the LIRR rules, which state that bicycles are only permitted in the end cars on weekdays.
By Chris on Feb 13, 2008
Chris: No, he wasn’t dropping knowledge. Knowledge generally involves facts.
By Chris on Feb 13, 2008
Perhaps the poor hipster was mistaking the L train for the LIRR…you really should cut him some slack.
Um…no you shouldn’t.
By Paul on Feb 13, 2008
I’ve had the misfortune of riding my bike in the city only to get a flat, broken chain or some other issue that keeps me from continuing. Yeah, a flat can easily be fixed but other times I’ve been forced to take the subway. Not a fun experience. But this “hipster” sounds like a douche. There are cyclists and there are hipster cyclists… the latter are ALL douches.
By City Cyclist on Feb 13, 2008
Would you rather he drive a car to the subway station? Seriously people. get a life!
By g on Feb 13, 2008
i know that the SIRR (staten island rail road) [yes there is one], does not allow bikes during the morning or evening rush. The conductor will not allow it. Waits until the person leaves the train. Unfortunately, there is not as much time for the conductor to enforce the rules (not that they would care to).
By sean on Feb 13, 2008
Sorry, I must have confused the LIRR rules with MTA.
Still seems like a general guideline as far as I can tell. I usually see bikers in the first or last car. At the very least you can perhaps understand why someone might think that was the right place to go.
By sean on Feb 13, 2008
I do believe Sean is partially correct about the last car and bikes. I didn’t want to comment before because I couldn’t find the link (still can’t), but there are signs floating in the subway system that say that people with large packages, suitcases, strollers, bikes, and anything else bulky are to ride in the last car.
But still, bikes on the subway is just a douche move, with or without the rush hour.
By eric the beehivehairdresser on Feb 13, 2008
But still, bikes on the subway is just a douche move, with or without the rush hour.
That I disagree with.
Anyway, the MTA should probably just adopt the WMATA’s rules. And really this is the only time I’d ever say to copy the WMATA. Rush hour trains are crowded enough without bikers, and if you’re taking your bike in the subway because of the weather, it’s probably a good idea to check the weather before taking your bike out for the day.
By Ben K. on Feb 13, 2008
Oh please, cry me a river. It’s $2 public transportation. Get a car if you’re going to be a baby about it.
By matthew on Feb 13, 2008
Bikes on the subway is not a douche move, if one has a flat and can’t ride it anymore. It’s happened to me, and it sucked. I hate being the asshole with the bike on the train. But it happens.
People who take their bikes on the train during rush hour, because they don’t feel like riding them–douchebags.
By I Like Cheese on Feb 13, 2008
What I Like Cheese said. The only time I’ve taken my bike on the subway was when I was having mechanical difficulties with it… but it totally sucks to have to lug it up and down the stairs, and it sucks even worse to be in someone’s way.
That being said, I was also under the impression that one was supposed to be in the first or last cars (and there are cyclists who are vigilant about rules, despite what E_in_NYC may wrongly believe).
HOWEVER, on trains like the L where the first/last cars are the most crowded, it is sheer asshaberdashery to try to cram a bike on as well. The funny thing is, the EXACT SAME THING happened to me yesterday when I was in the first car of the 6 (which everyone piles into in order to make a fast transfer at Bleecker to the B, D or F)… some idiot with a fixed-gear bike got right in the front.
By Gwin on Feb 13, 2008
And yet, if I start sceaming at people on the subway, I’m the asshole… Man, I can’t win in this city.
By Todd on Feb 14, 2008
believe me… the middle cars are just as crowded!
By meghan on Feb 19, 2008