 |
 |
Posted on 07/05/2013 12:11:47 PM PDT by Kevin in California
That’s what brush guards are for.
That’s not nice.
|
|
I was an avid bicyclist in Seattle. I also drove a lot and rode a motorcycle. On my bike and motorcycle my attitude was always: Assume you are invisible.
It saved my butt many times on both two wheelers. I also was actually hit by cars three times. I never went down but all three cars were severely dented and scratched up by my body and my bike (one bright red Porsche turned into me and to stay up I forced my pedal up to rip its way through his front wheel well.
Some bike riders ride like a$$es. Some drivers drive like a$$es. I had a flat bed truck come within four inches of my handlebars as he passed me IN A BIKE LANE just ‘cause he didn’t like cyclists. Another on in Kent valley, as part of a long line of stopped cars for a light, saw me coming up in the bike lane and turned his wheel hard right and pushed it against the curb. It must have ticked him off when I simply hopped onto the sidewalk as I approached his tire and hopped back down when in front of him.
People don’t like it when others have the ability to get through traffic in a way they can’t. But yes, there is a bit of “mob mentality” with some groups of riders. That said, I blow through stop signs all the time on my bike, but not in my car. I’m a “spirit of the law” sort of guy. I’ll stop if there are cars on the cross street.
I stopped bicycle commuting about four years ago. The popularity of texting while driving makes it WAY too dangerous.
Should an EMP hit and my pre 1972 pickup die onthe way out of the city I shall put my bug out bag on and ride to safety on this...
Most bicyclists around here are pretty careful and stay close in their lane when a car is approaching from the rear. Simple matter of courtesy and survival instinct. Even when they don’t have their own lane, and so long as there’s no oncoming traffic, they don’t weave around and one can pass them as you would another car. So my guess is yes, it’s probably a California thing.
It is a 4 lane 50 MPH rd and it is scarey when you are in the right hand lane with a road full of cars when suddenly the car in front of you darts into the left hand lane and you see 3 idiots riding abreast in your path and you have no place to go.
FARKING idiots!
I told a group of my buddies a while ago that if they ever saw me in spandex shorts and a racing jersey to just draw down and shoot me where I was because I know I couldn’t bear to live like that.
Old enough to still call them "tights".
But the worst are the ones for whom a tax payer funded bike lane just isn't enough room.
Trick out your truck messkin-style with these and then get really close to those liberal jerks. Teach 'em a lesson.
Bicyclists are arrogant about the fact they expect motorists to treat them just like a car, yet they are the first ones to run stop signs and even stop lights because suddenly they believe they’re immune from the laws which people in cars must abide by. This double standard is angering.. and they wonder why people in cars have no respect for them!
Grace, what make and model bike do you have?
They gripe about auto drivers being rude but they are by far more un-safe because of the way they ride.
They’re not only arrogant, they’re stupid.
But in Denton we DO have idiot bicyclists like those described.
Always taking up the road, riding two-abreast on a two-lane road. Blocking the lane/road.
Can’t get around them because of traffic on that road and yet they ride along chatting to each other, oblivious. But maybe not oblivious, just arrogant. . .you know the “serious” bicycling type. . .
It is usually the inexperienced or inconsiderate cyclist who doesn't handle the road correctly.
Check your motor vehicle code. If the cyclists are interfering with or otherwise causing problems with the flow of traffic, the police should be notified. There maybe a cycling club involved, in which case the problem could be handled, monolithically, at that level.
In addition, please be patient, they are extremely vulnerable.
If it is any consolation, cyclists are often just as rude to other cyclists. I ride quite a bit, 3200 miles last year, mostly on trails separate from traffic. I routinely encounter cyclists riding side-by-side, or three wide that seem to think I should park my bike to stay out of their way. I always enjoy the look of terror on their faces when I veer slightly toward their group as they pass.
Exhibit A to your point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.