I Forgot to Turn My Camera Off and Accidentally Filmed the Best Ad Ever for Cycling in Los Angeles

[@brett1354]

HA. I counted. Phil -1 117 other poor suckers-0

[@beachedbeluga]

I'm disappointed there isn't power and heart rate data to go with this.

[@gerardnc]

Let me help. Avg power: 310 watts. Avg. HB: 90 bpm. He does this in his sleep...

[@lyssword]

Lol, with those cars braking and swerving, 100w, 200bpm ^^ However, sitting in a car, less watts, same bpm and more rage

[@VaeVictisVII]

Cyclists and car drivers aren't usually the best friends, but seeing so many drivers make way pleases me.

[@YesItsKevin]

Robin V most drivers prolly don’t want to :(

[@YesItsKevin]

RIP drivers hate me even when I bike in the bike lane

[@markconnelly1806]

the car drivers are oblivious to the bike.

[@chriskent4687]

Wow looks like riding in London, but without the smooth road...or the sun...or the mountains...

[@papawhisky2935]

And without the black cab drivers yelling profanities at you...

[@alanwllms5172]

....and Deliveroo mopeds

[@jackglossop4859]

Probably fewer Americans in LA

[@derekjanson2063]

Chris Kent love your comment! Hilarious

[@mlguy8376]

Not today - the sun was shining bright and hot! Definitely feeling the lack of air con for our annual week of sunshine.

[@martins.1472]

Honestly it's an ad for not living in LA^^

[@leszekwnuk5020]

I lived in LA for about 6 months, having ridden in a Utah, Arizona, Florida its simply god awful....i have no idea why would someone even consider living there.

[@joehanchoi]

@@leszekwnuk5020 If you're a motorcyclist in the states, there's no better place due to the year-round riding weather, lanesplitting, and the canyons close-by.

[@krisjaynav]

72 and sunny, 300 days out of the year with an ocean view.

[@jordanhendricks9863]

@@krisjaynav and those 300 days keep getting fewer due to wild fire smoke every year.

[@ChrisP978]

@@krisjaynav That's San Diego. LA is way hotter than that for 6 months of the year.

[@KOMHuntTV]

Audi driver pulling over to give you room 0:47 NICE!

[@AndySaiden]

Definitely a cyclist driving :D

[@jjncravo]

And the number of Audis in that stretch of road...

[@jjncravo]

Although I think the guy giving way is driving a Nissan Z350 or 370.

[@azero79]

rare breed, most of the time they act like some jealous assholes.

[@jjncravo]

@@azero79 exactly. Same here, and I' m 10.00o miles away from California.

[@kylebrown4293]

I forget lane splitting is straight up legal in California. Dear God I could never do that.

[@badcaseofthebajabada]

Why, because you live in Wisconsin?

[@vedhed21]

Too rich for my blood and I'm from here. (California)

[@cgbach]

It’s the only state where it’s legal

[@physicsnerd02]

@@cgbach And Washington DC.

[@cgbach]

ElmoreStJames not a state

[@chrisvanbuggenum871]

My heart rate got elevated just watching this.

[@ChrisP978]

The only part that felt sketchy was when he was past all the cars and had to go back over to the right in the door zone of parked cars.

[@chrisvanbuggenum871]

@@ChrisP978 agreed. It wasnt too sketchy and i thought of doors flinging out as well! I watched this video literally as soon as a laid down in bed . Then strangely i could hear my heart beat in my ears. It didn't look that bad though but i think it stressed me out.

[@JBDazen]

You have a very special idea of what would be an ad for cycling... You know what would be an ad? If there were cycling lanes next to that road.

[@pepas346]

On the lane where there are cars parked? pedestrians? He is clearly being careful and not being rude to anyone...

[@JBDazen]

@@pepas346 ? Maybe you should read my comment again. I'm not commenting on his behaviour, but on the lack of proper infrastructure.

[@om1kron]

There is a cycling lane, you can clearly see it, but people are also trying to park, most of the time people are walking or running in the cycling lane as well. It's pretty frustrating and to be honest I'd rather be stacked in the middle of the cars and make them nervous than to thing I'm safe in a bike lane only to have to move into traffic to avoid collision and then get hit by a non attentive driver. Sure it's annoying to cars, but so is dying or being in the hospital. that's pretty annoying too.

[@imightbebiased9311]

@@JBDazen The white line to the right that he finds at the end of the video IS the cycling lane. Problem is that it shares real estate with the parking spaces.

[@bikekeith5646]

The center/median is where the bike lane should be.

[@scottbradentx]

man I am a grizzled, long time urban roadie and elbow rubbin crit racer but the CA lane splitting (and other places) always puckers my sphincter!

[@rydermoran3724]

yeah because cars are not nearly as comfy and forgiving to smash into as a few crit racers. very very big difference.

[@ynotnilknarf39]

That's because you probably have not being in that type of environment or limited exposure to that type of riding. here in the UK I and many others have been doing this sort of things since we can remember, for me that's the mid 80s as a teenager in a small city (compared to US) but very condensed, far heavier traffic than shown in the video 35 years ago. Much like I'm not a crit racer (rugby was my sport as a kid and still is) and would feel uncomfortable cycling that close to others, this isn't in your comfort zone. However I see crit racing in the last 15 years or so (I watch a lot and even some stuff in the US) has gotten worse in terms of risk taking/crashing So from my POV, I see cycling past motors going in pretty much a straight line as a piece of cake and far less threat of harm compared to the risk of being inches from guys competing at 25-30mph and too many of them not giving a shit about safety far too often. You know what I mean, there's always a handful in races that are complete cunts ;o)

[@rydermoran3724]

@@ynotnilknarf39 not really up for debate that hitting a car on a bike does a great deal more damage than hitting another bike racer. i wish you good luck.

[@jameseaves71]

My anxiety went through the roof watching that ☺️ slightly terrifying. Well done sir 👏

[@WatchMeEDC]

Awwwhhh Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu... bumper to bumper traffic with gorgeous views of the ocean. Making me homesick Phil!

[@adamweb]

Whoa I thought this was Terry Barentsen's channel for minute!

[@DamianJames]

...Hotline...

[@lucinvic]

the comments here don't have quite the same stoke for how much fun riding like that is

[@swishbuckets8795]

Haha, good to know there’s some fanbase crossover!

[@zamoranyc]

Nah way too mellow of a ride,. NYC you have way more intersections and pedestrians

[@sammatysen]

I used to ride my bike in a big city and since quarantine happened I work from home. Even though I've got some great cycling roads here, nothing beats waving through traffic for pure fun and excitement! (responsibly of course and often out of necessity due to the lack of bike paths and/or shoulders)

[@bdumais1]

Phil you have amazing faith in the drivers you are “sharing” the road with! What gets me is why traffic was so backed up, as you went down the lines of cars and finally broke free, ah, there was no stoppage, light, etc? Cool vid!

[@siriosstar4789]

the thread is freaking out at this guy " lane splitting " but what he is doing is a lot safer than riding in the parking lane because if someone opens their car door or steps into the street to access their car , he is toast .

[@shanew634]

In the UK, cars would be cutting between lanes to try and gain a place or two so that would be a hairy experience filtering / lane splitting on a bike.

[@gamecat1923]

Not only that, you get cars closing the door on you because 'if I can't move neither will anyone else' mentality.

[@KOMHuntTV]

Yep!

[@mynewcolour]

I dunno. When the sun shines (both times) British people mostly let cyclists do their thing.

[@tobig8632]

same here in germany. i'd be dead within 60sec

[@julianbailey2749]

Not really, I used to commute like that pre-COVID in Birmingham, though a bit slower. The main issue being 15 sets of lights in 3 miles and people going through red lights rather than driver behaviour in lane swapping. In 3 years I had 1 walking pace bump, driver pulled out in front of me and I could check my speed but lost my safety gap, driver pulled out in front of them and all the brakes went on, bump.

[@MustardKetchupMayo]

This is honestly how it is all over LA. More times than not you’re going just as fast as the cars, if not faster, yet they still try to zoom by you and almost clip you with their mirror!

[@cjreid0611]

I like it. Some of the drivers were so polite and moved to the side. Good that you said thanks when they did :-)

[@Commerlaw]

I lived in LA in 1986. Did the same exact thing on my Yamaha Seca 650. Thanks for letting me be a teenager again, Phil.

[@loopie007]

I love the end of the clip showing all the cars enjoying themselvs so much they are looping back to do it again.!!

[@jakubmakovech5554]

You forgot to shout Gwagon!

[@CommaCam]

I saw at least 2 of them.

[@jamesdahl6756]

What is a Gwagon ?

[@gerardnc]

Every second of that ride requires complete focus, to have split second reflexes to brake, swerve, speed up, yell out, etc. Even the slightest lapse, could lead to a nasty accident. So yes, that’s a great ad! See you on PCH!!!

[@thomasbarrett2365]

I feel like this is the sort of footage that people who like bikes really enjoy; when I'm showing someone who doesnt bike a video I'm really conscious of how long the video is but when I show my cycling friends we enjoy just seeing the ride!

[@temporalsoliton]

Awesome. I've done this stretch of PCH a few times on the motorcycle and bike. With my legs, it is much more sketchy. It goes from stop and go to 30+ and back often.

[@tkbuz]

That just gave me a permanent smile to start my morning.....

[@GarNBer]

I almost started praying for your safety 🙏 then I remembered I wasn't watching it live, lol. Still stay safe out there!

[@jamesl.a.n6394]

I would never try this in Houston. I’d be in the ER.

[@lauraserdiuk]

Same in FL

[@lauraserdiuk]

@@robertcowling4313 yup, Florida leads the country not only in bicycle deaths, but pedestrian as well. Bicyclists are far more likely to be killed in Florida than any other state. The per-capita cyclist death rate is almost 60 percent higher than the next closest state. That's a stark reality to face... Mix of elderly drivers, tourists unfamiliar with roads, densely packed population. Most commonly reported factor for bicycle fatalities: Failure to yield right of way - 38%. I usually stick to trails, State Parks, gravel, lots of wildlife management areas (but then there's hunting season too) which are plenty and worth exploring.

[@rydermoran3724]

i really think you are being generous thinking that you would be going to the hospital. more likely they will put a tag on your toe.

[@ynotnilknarf39]

@@lauraserdiuk That sounds like a really shit place t cycle for sure, cycled in NY and that was an eye opener, like London except even more shit regards driving standards and just the increased physical size of most cars, just why ffs!

[@lauraserdiuk]

@@robertcowling4313Victim blaming is pervasive and deeply ingrained in this society. I am in disbelief any time I hear someone defaulting to questioning what a victim could have done differently to prevent a crime. It has been proven again and again that victim-blaming attitudes make it harder to come forward and report the crime. Change in attitudes is much overdue around these parts.

[@DG-mf4px]

Super meditative-the sounds, the view, and the forward momentum. I ❤️ PCH (assuming that’s where you are).

[@notaseraf]

I stopped filtering a while back as some drivers would intentionally move closer to the lines/other cars to block cyclists/motorcycles from filtering.

[@RossAndr3w]

Would love to know how many of those cars had only a single person sat in it.

[@fosarvian]

I used to ride a motor scooter in LA and on the freeways during the week I would say most. PCH is usually beach traffic and most people go with family and friends so the ratio of carpoolers is higher.

[@alexgrytsenko85]

I used to take a bus to get to my work and was counting cars which had just one person inside. Believe me almost every single car was with one person inside. When they are moving it's ok, but when cars stop and you see how much space it takes on the road, you feel grateful for having your bike and not sleeping in the car...

[@siriosstar4789]

it's illegal to have more than one person in a car in California . 😂

[@santiagobenites]

It reminds me of my daily after work rides in Toronto. It's funny how the safest place is that narrow gap in between the two lanes of traffic.

[@BruceRobertson]

Where do you lanesplit in TO? Mount Pleasant? Bayview?

[@beeble2003]

If the safest place is between two lanes of moving traffic, I'd definitely be reconsidering my route.

[@BrunoVasco]

in São Paulo this can get a little tense... but I find peaceful to hear mostly the sound of your wheels just "voosh-voosh"ing along

[@jshepard5840]

You may only weigh about 140 pounds, but 50 of that must be your balls. There is no freaking way I would ever lane split like that on a bike. I live in Central FL and have the pleasant advantage of riding almost exclusively on long, winding country roads with very little traffic. Chapeau to you sir.

[@grahamsullivan1237]

That was making my heart pound, thinking any moment someone is not going to see you!

[@johnfarr5415]

Wow...thanks for posting this Phil. If only for the fact that I didn't know lane splitting was legal in Cali. I travel to the Bay area frequently for work and rent cars most times, I was totally unaware that was legal. Good to know for when I drive in Cali in the future.

[@advaitpai7304]

The first video where u are not talking and only cycling... So peaceful to watch😛😜😜

[@chrishampden5261]

Relieved to hear your disc brakes squeaking too! Any ideas how to stop it? Pretty annoying when stopping at traffic lights!

[@Draxel]

It's usually because of two things. 1 - Contamination, as in a small bit of oil, on either the disc or pads, so clean them with a disc brake cleaner (strong stuff). 2 - Pads are glazed due to improper bedding when they were new. You'll have to remove them and file them a bit with rough sandpaper to get them grippy again. There also also disc brake silencer products out there that you put on the pads in order to get the proper grip again. Good luck!

[@jamesdahl6756]

Biking in the Twin Cities is awesome. Tons of dedicated trails. And in the suburbs easy to find low traffic roads. Yeah it gets cold here but then I switch to xc skiing. Love having 2 sports. By end of summer I’m ready to ski and vice versa

[@hogiewan]

The Nissan pulling over was great. The thank-you wave made the whole video

[@stephani043]

that is exactly where I crashed into the back of a pickup truck while going 25 mph!

[@tecnociclista5342]

I am sometimes encountering the same kind of situations when coming back home into the city after a ride outside Madrid...can't say I am enjoying it...

[@desertpoj]

I once had a fellow rider, whilst happening to be climbing Mt Wilson at the same time as me, and when he discovered I was English, comment that it must be a lot better cycling with polite English drivers than amongst the aggressive LA motorists. I soon corrected him. LA drivers, and US drivers in general, are absolute ladies and gentlemen when compared to their English anti-cyclist, ignorant yobs of automobile cousins. A Welsh friend of mine, when descending Mt Wilson on the left side of the road, jet lag was his excuse, flew over the car bonnet of two unsuspecting old ladies minding their own business on the correct side of the road; and they apologised to him shortly before he was helicoptered off the mountain! However, they did love him when he returned from the U.K. two weeks later and delivered flowers to them in person. Dylan Thomas would have been proud of him.

[@2321brendan]

Standard cycling procedure in the big smoke. No1 Rule is watch the front tyres to detect lane changes . No2 dont go so fast as to not have enough reaction room. No3 3 Smile at the cage rage crew as they sqeeze you out and you zip behind them to pass on the other side.

[@jarodjm]

Reminds me of the cycling hack in Grand Theft Auto.

[@robertwaldren6206]

Even as a lifelong SoCal cyclist, that scared the crap out of me to watch. But I kind of want to see a version of the same thing, but filmed on the 405 at rush hour!

[@allanonabike]

Solid ad for narrow bars too.

[@ResmeN]

Very nice, felt like I was watching a Royal Jordanian video

[@betterpreparedness5167]

Remember, you are "protected" by only a glorified coffee cup on your head and 1mm of spandex. Arrive alive. Play the long game.

[@emilioc700]

There was a time when I was OK ducking and diving in traffic, riding close to parked cars. Now, it just gives me the creeps. Be safe brother.

[@michaelnischt6207]

I hope this goes viral!

[@johnprangnell3244]

working your way through the peloton ! :)

[@eykonabike6196]

Im just here for the comments. People think this is so dangerous, however, I would say this is way safer then people think. It pretty easy to anticipate slow moving cars and I'd much rather be between moving cars then ride along a parked row where a door could open at any second unexpectedly.

[@mosescycling1751]

Yup.. it's pretty common in some cities that dont have proper cycling infrastructures, like Jakarta. Personally, I find it very satisfying to ride between cars, especially on traffic jams.

[@cnjlakes]

Felt like a Lucas Brunelle video.

[@samuelmundula2216]

Man, this throws me back to my NYC commutes. Glad I don't do that anymore!

[@michaelglidewell1524]

The fact that lane splitting in CA is legal for motorcycles is probably why this works out so well for you. To be honest, the video is quite tame compared to those I've seen of what bike messengers do in NYC.

[@markacker3013]

It takes a bit of nerve to ride like that, but it's most gratifying to pass all the cars dealing with bumper to bumper congestion!

[@eBikerHowie]

Not nerve, just a total lack of fear and health. I would be shot in Denver for trying that.

[@ynotnilknarf39]

Not really, it's what you're used to, here in UK many of us would see this as a really nice commute into work and frankly far safer than most scenarios we experience from general traffic, I've been filtering like this since the 80s, it's pretty normal to do so though not usually as many cars to pass in such a short space of time unless you're on a long road into one of the bigger cities. It's brilliant to watch, there's a few videos on YT showing this type of thing over here, equally as gratifying :D

[@joelinsb8650]

The point is that in LA at times you get through slow traffic a lot faster on bike than in car. But you have to be ready to brake or react if the cars squeeze you as happened in this video (just one time?). The funny thing is, I just moved to and started biking LA and I choose never to pass between cars like this (unless they are completely stopped in line at a stop sign or traffic light where I know from the timing of the stoppages that I can pass them before they can move). I am not refraining from passing between cars from lack of ability, but because I just have a phobia that when cars are moving forward someone might just move sideways within a couple inches of the car next to us for no reason, not on purpose, just random maybe if the driver can't keep going straight from texting. I know LA drivers know how to drive straight, and that if they did veer into me I could brake or surge past without getting squashed, but that’s my fear/phobia, that it could happen. The other “ad for cycling in LA” should show all the roads where there is plenty of room for bikes and/or low traffic-I am amazed at how you can ride so much of LA without stress without any bike lanes just because of all the choices in routes that do allow plenty of space for biking.

[@RonNewman]

Is this video in real time (which would be about a mile @ 15 mph) or is it compressed and sped up (which would mean a longer distance)?

[@luct6038]

Curious about how fast you were going and what was holding up the traffic. Didn't seem to be anything major before you cleared all the cars.

[@GeoffreyDean33]

This is exactly what we experience on the way to and from the Indy 500 on our bikes.

[@physicsnerd02]

This is my morning commute through DC. In the afternoon it's mostly uphill and I don't have a 5.5 W/kg FTP like some people, lol.

[@ericoschmitt]

Looks better than basically any day where I live.

[@msnoonan]

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I frequently am, but doesn't the CA lane splitting law require that you not exceed a certain MPH and also that your speed does not exceed a certain MPH margin over the splitted traffic? Just sayin' that maybe you might have exceeded those limits maybe?

[@michaelb1761]

I live in a small city, but there are a few roads where this is the experience from about noon to 6 PM, but there's only one where you aren't considered a maniac with a death wish if you are riding your bike (no shoulder and a city of drivers who if they even notice a cyclist their first reaction is "can I kill him?"). It is fun to pass car after car on your bike.

[@15idog]

As someone living in Sweden I now understand why Americans say that bike infrastructure is a waste of space and money... You can just dodge traffic... It looks fun 😅

[@ericwalls4930]

Yesh.....you have more guts than me.......it would be great though to see 1/2 of those car people on bikes!

[@fetjocke]

What if they added a bike lane? Which impact on traffic and accessibility would it have if, say, 10% of the motorists switched to bike?

[@williambob111]

Midwesterner here...what I find absolutely amazing is all the gaps between cars and general civility. Maybe that's due to it being a beach crowd. Who knows. But here in Detroit, bumper to bumper is the protocol. People be right up on your ass and no self respectable mid west driver would leave, FFS, a 2 car gap between themselves in stop and go traffic! :)

[@ericfleetwood6744]

The car leaving the gap is on their cellphone or texting.

[@CaliforniaArchitect]

Tons of fun, but I'm afraid to cycle on PCH especially in Malibu where this is.

[@matteomacri427]

raw footage Phil, this what we like!

[@PersonaN007Grata]

You know what gets rid of stubborn disc brake squeal? Brake pad grease from your local auto parts store. Apply a thin film on the back of your pads. Easy and no more squeal.

[@palmer3977]

Imagine having to do that twice a day, every day, insane.

[@williamortiz13]

Gorgeous looking ride! Love PCH! New sub and strava follower👍 hope we can ride someday

[@cstew78]

Are those 720mm Drop bars or do you have 28mm Shoulders?

[@scottamy404]

Wow...I just kept thinking door! door! door! door!

[@BigByrd-gy8qk]

I think the wide angleness of the lens makes this look a lot more harrowing and faster than it actually is. That said, if I was still Phil's age then I would probably do the same. At my current age, I would just do it a little slower, because you can see the shoulder is packed, and I think it is better to have vehicles in motion on both sides of you, rather than only one side. The number of safe pockets is much higher.

[@chromebomb]

I've toured the entire Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico. The closer to you get LA the worse it gets

[@MJ-iu4oh]

Aw man tough break; all that team car drafting and you still didn't get back to the peloton, some days you eat the road and others the road eats you. Keep on keeping on😉

[@djstubed]

I kept waiting for someone in the right lane to decide to open their door and get out. This feels like riding next to street parking, except every car is currently occupied and may decide to get out at any moment.

[@worstretirementever]

Do you see people jumping out of moving vehicles very often?

[@djstubed]

@@worstretirementever No, but I see people get out of their vehicle quite often in stopped traffic. It's just my paranoia.

[@graffix11us]

All I can think of is all of the exhaust you have to breathe. Still glad I moved from the Bay Are to Colorado. Be safe out there!

[@MotoErgoSum]

Isn't this Malibu, though? I like that you're splitting lanes at about the same speed as a sane motorcyclist when traffic is that slow.

[@garettsimpson1396]

That was intense and exciting... is that a normal experience?!?!

[@Ex89tvMJ]

Nice video! Thanx! As we say in swedish "Cyklist - Javisst!" :)

[@chrisbriggs9717]

Best part is how you're passing so many of the cars.

[@jb6879]

Kept thinking you were gonna get doored

[@NeilMohamed6791]

Who opens their door on a moving vehicle?

[@gordon415]

This makes me miss living in LA. ❤️❤️❤️

[@fserrajana]

what camera are you using on the handlebar?

[@ronelljenkins9712]

BOSS LEVEL: ACHIEVEMENT (Balls huge..!)

[@marshallsokoloff]

I do this in Toronto a lot... but cars are usually just sitting still. All gridlock, all the time.

[@hambonec171]

I used to drive that road a lot when I was young, dumb and 21 on my way to LA for the weekend… people drive like straight up a holes through that area.

[@davidhofmayer1031]

All you are missing is a speaker blaring out motorcycle revving noises so the cars know you’re coming (I started writing this as a joke, but have persuaded myself)

[@jameslefleur1970]

I used to do that in my early 20s... Not anymore now in my 40s. The scary part is that back when I was in my 20s no one was texting while driving.

[@tylerebbert4816]

Phil should try mountainbiking

[@keiyumamiya8920]

Is that the same road that the Nicholas Ride goes down?

[@RF-gj3uz]

You'll never keep up with SAFA Brian riding like that!!! 😉 but I think he'd approve

[@FennMichaelAllen]

Terrifying! Now I know why I gave up biking and went back to running- I have no guts and no ability to handle a bike like Phil.

[@davidmulligan42]

I can't get over how much space the drivers leave between cars! Around here, if you leave a car length between you and the car in front, there'll be a car in it soon enough.

[@avoycendeether8869]

One of your best vids....