Rant: I bicycle after lifting every now and then. I dress brightly and respect the rules of the road. But if the automobile drivers want to be stupid and pass by me that closely, why don’t they at least roll down the window and hand me a protein shake?
I’ve been a cyclist in London for 3 years now. Those many thousands of miles have given me an almost instinctive feel for the motorists I share the road with.
Now whenever I see a motorist doing anything out of the ordinary I automatically apply the brakes.
And there are times when you can’t hug the curb so fuck em, get out in the middle, you’re traffic as well.
Yeah, I hate the idiots that beep the horn at you even if you’re on the sidewalk/bike path…like what the fuck is with that…are they jealous that we’re not fat fucks driving around in their vehicles?
[quote]dennis3k wrote:
Yeah, I hate the idiots that beep the horn at you even if you’re on the sidewalk/bike path…like what the fuck is with that…are they jealous that we’re not fat fucks driving around in their vehicles?[/quote]
Maybe they are just trying to say “HEY!!! NICE ASS!!”
[quote]Lycurgus wrote:
Rant: I bicycle after lifting every now and then. I dress brightly and respect the rules of the road. But if the automobile drivers want to be stupid and pass by me that closely, why don’t they at least roll down the window and hand me a protein shake?[/quote]
If you were one of those douchbag bikers that thinks he’s cool because he dresses like he’s actually on the Tour de France, then it was probably me hoping to kill you. Those guys are serious dweebs. While I hate people getting close, I also hate those guys that will sit behind you for a mile because they are afraid to pass with you on the shoulder.
In all seriousness though, I read about a study a few months ago where they found out that people that wear bicycle helmets have cars pass 5" closer to them and get in more accidents than non-helmet riders.
mike
In all seriousness though, I read about a study a few months ago where they found out that people that wear bicycle helmets have cars pass 5" closer to them and get in more accidents than non-helmet riders.
mike[/quote]
On a similar topic an article about women cyclists risking death by obeying traffic lights.
I see it all the time - not the death part obviously - but unconfident people waiting at the lights with a behemoth of a truck beside them.
If there are no cars coming or pedestrians crossing…boot it! Don’t fucking hang round!
[quote]Kiwigeezer wrote:
…
I see it all the time - not the death part obviously - but unconfident people waiting at the lights with a behemoth of a truck beside them.
If there are no cars coming or pedestrians crossing…boot it! Don’t fucking hang round!
[/quote]
I agree with this. Get moving, don’t sit in the intersection.
I wish the Lance wannabe’s would use the bike path in my town. Every day some schmuck in a yellow jersey is clogging up traffic on the road with no shoulder while the wide, smooth bikepath is unused 20 feet away.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Kiwigeezer wrote:
…
I see it all the time - not the death part obviously - but unconfident people waiting at the lights with a behemoth of a truck beside them.
If there are no cars coming or pedestrians crossing…boot it! Don’t fucking hang round!
I agree with this. Get moving, don’t sit in the intersection.
I wish the Lance wannabe’s would use the bike path in my town. Every day some schmuck in a yellow jersey is clogging up traffic on the road with no shoulder while the wide, smooth bikepath is unused 20 feet away.[/quote]
I proud to admit I’m not that guy. Roadies have bike path issues. I can’t tell you how many of those guys I pass while on the bike path while on my 30lbs full suspension mountain bike.
What’s really fun is even though I ride on the gravel shoulder, most think they don’t have to give me any room. One of these days I’m gonna throw my water bottle at one of those dicks.
Sigh…
When on a bicycle ON THE ROAD…obey the rules of the road.
DO wait at traffic lights
DO be careful and you have to ASSUME a vehicle…ALL vehicles don’t see you
DON’T be in a blindspot
DO use common sense
From the article:
“Women cyclists are far more likely to be killed by a lorry because, unlike men, they tend to obey red lights and wait at junctions in the driver?s blind spot, according to a study.”
Wait in the driver’s blind spot? It’s not the waiting at the light that will get you killed, it’s waiting in a blind spot…light or no light.
I cycle almost everyday to school,gym,work…sometimes drivers are assholes.
If I get hit bu a car I really hope I do some serious damage to the car (and not to myself)
I want bike lanes…everywhere
[quote]Mikeyali wrote:
If you were one of those douchbag bikers that thinks he’s cool because he dresses like he’s actually on the Tour de France, then it was probably me hoping to kill you. Those guys are serious dweebs. While I hate people getting close, I also hate those guys that will sit behind you for a mile because they are afraid to pass with you on the shoulder.
mike[/quote]
I would like to see you ride 70-100 miles in board shorts and sandals.
People clearly get pissed at cyclists but some cyclists are dicks too. There are some that take up the road when they have a bike lane to use…those guys give us who try and stay out of the way a bad name. As far as the funny clothes…I hate them but they do serve a purpose.
[quote]m00se wrote:
Sigh…
When on a bicycle ON THE ROAD…obey the rules of the road.
DO wait at traffic lights
DO be careful and you have to ASSUME a vehicle…ALL vehicles don’t see you
DON’T be in a blindspot
DO use common sense
From the article:
“Women cyclists are far more likely to be killed by a lorry because, unlike men, they tend to obey red lights and wait at junctions in the driver?s blind spot, according to a study.”
Wait in the driver’s blind spot? It’s not the waiting at the light that will get you killed, it’s waiting in a blind spot…light or no light.[/quote]
Bicyclists risk their lives riding underpowered vehicles with no crash protection.
It is foolish to obey those traffic rules that can and do put them in harms way.
waiting at a light is pretty much the same as wearing a sign that says " dump your slushee on me ", “flick your cigarette @ me” or " bark in my ear ".
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Bicyclists risk their lives riding underpowered vehicles with no crash protection.
[/quote]
Well…we DO wear helmets
Seriously though, I agree…but getting up in the morning is dangerous too…as is driving a car…and about a million other things, so I’m not sure I get your point here.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
It is foolish to obey those traffic rules that can and do put them in harms way. [/quote]
Again I agree. If the rules said to ride in a cars blind spot…I would fully support NOT obeying that rule. The simple act of stopping (and staying stopped) at a light…I don’t see where the danger is.
95% (official figure of all the accidents I’ve seen that deal with intersections happen in the middle of the intersection…bicycle, motorcycle or car…
Funny enough the only time I remember a car having an accident while stopped at a light was when a woman CRASHED into a police cruiser, lights/siren were off…but STILL! how do you miss something like that!
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Kiwigeezer wrote:
…
I see it all the time - not the death part obviously - but unconfident people waiting at the lights with a behemoth of a truck beside them.
If there are no cars coming or pedestrians crossing…boot it! Don’t fucking hang round!
I agree with this. Get moving, don’t sit in the intersection.
I wish the Lance wannabe’s would use the bike path in my town. Every day some schmuck in a yellow jersey is clogging up traffic on the road with no shoulder while the wide, smooth bikepath is unused 20 feet away.[/quote]
I agree. It’s the weekend biker that uses the path and the it’s the multiple bikers in the yellow jersey that take up the whole damn road because they ride side by side.
I wish the Lance wannabe’s would use the bike path in my town. Every day some schmuck in a yellow jersey is clogging up traffic on the road with no shoulder while the wide, smooth bikepath is unused 20 feet away.[/quote]
I wish they’d put in some bike paths here. They are few and far between, and I usually end up hugging the shoulder of the road. Cyclists who have them and don’t use them are ungrateful bastards.
As for the tight lycra gear - I’m on a budget, so we’re talking cut-off shorts and a bright vest. On a hybrid. Riding anything without knobby tyres would be asking for a pressure flat.
I can’t stand the cyclists that use the roads around here. They bitch and moan about how they should be treated like any other vehicle on the road, yet they swerve in and out of traffic, they hog the road ever-so-slightly(just far enough to the right to give you that glimmer of hope for a pass, but far enough to the left to make it impossible to do safely), and the ones that don’t swerve hold up traffic by being slow accelerators on the green.
Hell, I don’t even like the bike path cyclists because instead of peddling an extra 50 feet to use the regular intersection, they use the bike path intersection that causes traffic to get backed up considerably.
That said, I want a damn bike!