spirochete to cyclists: I HATE YOU. I hate you so much and I hate your next 15 generations
I hope your bikes melt down and your little helmets crack and and you lose a bike seat up your butt.
Do you ride on the bike path RIGHT NEXT TO THE STREET? HELL NO! You ride right in the street and hold up traffic.
Do you ride single file as traffic goes by? HELL NO! You ride in pairs while blocking traffic and we're all at your mercy driving at bicycle speed for miles on end.
Do you ride in a responsible manner? HELL NO! You cry that you have just as much right to the street as I do in my car yet you run EVERY SINGLE stop sign, turn without signaling and whatever illegal maneuvers you can think up while wearing a Doritos branded spandex team shirt.
I seriously hate cyclists so much.
Original Post by floggingsully:
Original Post by theshockwave:I just want to know what makes cyclists think that they have special rules just for them when it comes to stop signs?
Probably the same thing that makes motorists think they have special rules just for them when it comes to speed limits.
And apparently for SUV drivers, there are NO rules.
Original Post by amethystgirl:
And apparently for SUV drivers, there are NO rules.
No, you're thinking about motorcycles, but that's another thread.
Original Post by oit:
In Tokyo, the bike path is part of the footpath, which just means the footpath is a wide one with a line roughly down the middle marking one side for pedestrians and one side for cyclists. Never works, people always walk on the whole of the path.
You mean you have to navigate around people who are allowed to be on the path who go slower than you? It doesn't work you say?
I'm picking up an awesome vintage Schwinn World Sport on Monday.
Plan on riding that sucker with COMPLETE DISREGARD.
/joking
Original Post by spirochete:
Original Post by oit:
In Tokyo, the bike path is part of the footpath, which just means the footpath is a wide one with a line roughly down the middle marking one side for pedestrians and one side for cyclists. Never works, people always walk on the whole of the path.
haha
nm
Original Post by dcyounts:
Original Post by atech:
I bike commute 2 - 3 times a week and cars scare the hell out of me. I have a 4.5 mile commute and often see 3 - 6 other cyclists on the road. The roads I take have no bike lines but I do ride on the shoulder as do the other cyclists I see on the road.
I've never seen a cyclist run a red light and it is something I would never consider doing. And yes, I have even stopped at a red light when there was no traffic coming from any direction. You have?... just once?... or was it twice? OMG, would you like a cookie? I stop at every red light, every time, no exceptions, on my bike and in my car . . . and yes, I would like a cookie.
I will admit, I often only yield at stop signs but, at minimum, I always yield. Illegal. If it is a 2 way stop and someone is coming, I stop. If it is a 4 way and I know I can get through before a car coming up to the 4 way stops, then a go for it. Illegal. This should in no way inconvenience the other car, unless he/she wasn't planning on stopping at the stop sign. There are lots of crimes that might not "inconvenience" other people, but they're still illegal. The original post was about irresponsible cyclists; there are ways to still be responsible while, yes, breaking the law. You can yell at me all you want about only yielding at stop signs, I'll only yield every time as long as there are no cars (or other bikes or whatever) that have the right-of-way. Let the record show, I have stopped at a 4 way stop. Chocolate chip or almonds on that cookie? I prefer chocolate chip, with the big chunks of chocolate, not those sissy chips.
When I ride my bike my main goals (in order of importance) are my own safety and not pissing off arrogant drivers around me (not all drivers are arrogant but it is the arrogant ones that tend to get pissed off at cyclists even when cyclists are following all traffic rules). I wonder what would happen if we all considered ourselves first and the rules of the road were an afterthought. Have you never been on a road or even interacted with another human being? Most of humanity already does this; which is exactly why I put my safety first (which usually entails following the rules of the road) when I'm on my bike.
In an attempt to propagate mutual understanding between drivers and cyclists, here are a few of my main concerns (in no particular order) while I'm on my bike:
1. Drivers simply not seeing me; I guess we now know why they wear that ugly spandex. Personally, I don't wear the spandex. I prefer to constantly flail my arms and legs in all directions while swerving my bike back and forth and braking at random in order to be seen by drivers who are shaving, putting on make-up, eating, reading, checking out the "Barbies" in the car next to them, talking or texting on their cell phone, changing the radio station, yelling at the kids in the back seat, etc.
2. Debris.
3. Cars on the shoulder.
And, chew on this (this is a Utah law):
Rules of the Road: Bicycles Laws
41-6a-706.5 Operation of motor vehicle near bicycle prohibited.
An operator of a motor vehicle may not knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly operate a motor vehicle within three feet of a moving bicycle, unless the operator of the motor vehicle operates the motor vehicle within a reasonable and safe distance of the bicycle.
I can't even count the number of times a motor vehicle has gotten close enough to me that my left mirror nearly touched it. It isn't just cyclists that think they own the road.
Honestly, the problem isn't cyclists and it isn't drivers. The problem is a combination of lack of "sharing the road" education and a lack of common sense among those who are on the road, drivers and cyclist.
I guess the way some motorist look at it is we pay to use the road, cyclist don't.....
Original Post by anndjoe:
I guess the way some motorist look at it is we pay to use the road, cyclist don't.....
That is a pretty weak argument.
Cyclist pay for the roads just like everyone else. We pay property taxes sales taxes and most of us also own cars and pay fuel taxes and registration taxes on those vehicles. The difference is that bicycles don't damage the road like cars do. If the laws change and I need to register my bike I will I don't have problem that. Until then I will ride the streets just like I always have.
Original Post by gmule:
Original Post by anndjoe:
I guess the way some motorist look at it is we pay to use the road, cyclist don't.....
That is a pretty weak argument.
Cyclist pay for the roads just like everyone else. We pay property taxes sales taxes and most of us also own cars and pay fuel taxes and registration taxes on those vehicles. The difference is that bicycles don't damage the road like cars do. If the laws change and I need to register my bike I will I don't have problem that. Until then I will ride the streets just like I always have.
Yes it is a weak argument, but it's they only reason I can think of that would cause some cyclist to think that therefore the rules of the road don't apply to them.
As for paying for the roads via property tax etc, everyone does because whether on foot, cycle, car, public transport one way or another you need to use sidewalks, roads, bus stops and so on, but motorist pay extra on top in the form of the car tax, fuel etc.
I would like to see a motorist get away with going the wrong way up a one way, drive on the sidewalk, continuously jump red lights.....the list is endless.
If you use the road, whether you pay extra to be on it or not, the rules are there to be obeyed, they are there for everyones safety. If a cyclist flouts them and I hit them as a result......don't start screaming Bl***Y motorists.
A little good news for cyclist safety
http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/1 019518,CST-NWS-ride23a.article
There are jerks on bicycles and in cars. I have almost been turned into road pizza from both teams.
However, my biggest problem with cyclists is that so many of them are hobby-riders who do not take time to learn rules, practices and common courtesies. For example, I walked in a local park several different this week and several times, I was passed by cyclists who never communicated about passing me, the pedestrian, ("on your left" or "watch out" or "right behind you"). This is a shared park path with no lanes marked on it and no signs. Another problem with hobby riders is that they do not observe common sense regarding speeds, intersections (on foot paths or with roads) and basic communication, including controlling/supervising their hobby rider children.
Original Post by agelades:
Meh I don't really mind cyclists, in Greece at least there are hardly any. BUT I hate the motorcyclists. They do exactly what spirochete mentioned in her original post. In Greece you can never have a great car ride without:
1. Being cut off while waiting at a traffic light - yes people come and line up IN FRONT of the first person in the line.
2. Having at least 3 motorcycles swerving in front of you and to the side - never having heard of a queue.
I think we should ban motorcycles ;p
Better yet, ban all motor transport and just get people to ride bikes all day, or walk. The environment would be so much better off.
Hey agelades, this is off-topic but in the states motorcycles are called "donor cycles" because of that behavior.
Oh, here's a good one that I saw today.
I'm going down a street that has three lanes of cars in each direction as well as a bike lane on each side. There's heavy traffic, but there is plenty of space in the bike lanes, so there shouldn't be any problems, right? Oh no, a mother and father (I'm assuming) are riding down the street. The father is riding just inside the bike lane line, while there is about 4 feet of space to his right. The mother is riding about 3 feet outside the bike lane (in traffic!) behind the father. Here's why I think they are mother and father: the mother has a baby in a seat behind her!!!!
You have a bike lane! You are in heavy traffic! You have a baby that you are endangering! You two idiots should have your child taken away. You are just asking for someone to clip you rather than ride in the bike lane.
Original Post by gmule:
Like I said Cyclist have cars and pay the same fees for those cars as anyone else. Just because we choose to use a different vehicle on the road at any given time does not mean that we don't pay our fair share.
A little good news for cyclist safety
http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/1 019518,CST-NWS-ride23a.article
Original Post by anndjoe:
Man, I have to print that out and hand it to cyclists. But, since they don't stop, I don't know how to hand it to them. 
My plan! My beautiful, quickly conceived plan!
So if that's the case, we are all likely on the same side. Yet, we are still rather inflammatory with one another.
It seems like we could all agree that there is a group of cyclists that are unlawful and unsafe. As this article so wonderfully pointed out, they annoy not only the drivers but the rest of the biking community as well.
So to all, obey the traffic laws and happy riding/driving.
Original Post by theshockwave:
Original Post by anndjoe:
Man, I have to print that out and hand it to cyclists. But, since they don't stop, I don't know how to hand it to them.
Paste the back of them with glue and slap it on the cyclists legs as they whiz by you 
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