Yes, being in NYC has something to do with it. But think about other situations (e.g. when I didn't live in NYC), waiting to get your bike on the road when leaving work because cars are whizzing by at too-high speed -- that probably takes more time than any of those drivers have to *woe is me* wait to get around a bike rider.
I don't quite get why drivers have a tendency to project option 1 on all cyclists. It doesn't make sense. Do I get some perverse pleasure when zipping by stalled traffic? Sure. Do I get some perverse pleasure when I'm "blocking the road" when a bus is feet from my arse with a red light not 50m ahead? Heck no (same thing happened to me as did the OP, BTW, a couple of weeks ago). Do I get some perverse pleasure from looking at pics of Fausto's spandex-clad, shaved legs? You decide that one.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,584
- 985
- 126
I've seen cyclists ride down the middle of a lane in certain areas where the speeds are very low and there are pedestrians and stop signs galore. I think it's prefectly fine to do so in those situations. I wouldn't sit out there in the middle of a lane on a 35mph road though were there are none of those hazards. I would stay as far right as possible and expect people to pass when it is safe to do so.
Aquila76
Diamond Member
I'm with Poulsonator on this one. I used to ride my bike to work every day during the fairer weather (about 8 miles). Lately, though, there has been been a massive influx of terrible drivers (I blame NH people working in MA for this). I don't feel comfortable driving in my CAR to work, forget the bike. This week alone, I've seen a van scrape down a jersey barrier for a good quarter mile (you could literally SEE the sparks), countless idiots making left turns from the right lane (or vice versa), people passing down the breakdown lane when the rest of the traffic is travelling 70 in a 55, it goes on and on. Also 90% of the roads around here are under construction with raised castings, open sewers, pipes, etc. so the drivers are swerving all over the place - including the sidewalk - to avoid them. I could ride a bike to work, but I would need to wear Depends to contain the bowel leakage.
I often have to work on days that most people have off, so I ride in then, but I mostly just take a couple weekends a month and hit some of the trails/mountains nearby with some friends. It sucks that I can't ride to work regularly, especially in light of the gas prices, but it's not worth my life.
good move by OP
if i were in this situation, i'd pull over or stop and let him pass. HOWEVER, if i were Harassed like OP was, i'd take all those actions that he had taken
i do not and never will ride on sidewalks. that opens you up to getting hti by people pulling otu of parking lots, into parking lots, turning into streets, etc. it is WAY more dangerous to ride on the sidewalk than on the road. you dudes who say otherwise are sloths in your automatic car, or dudes riding mountain bikes on the sidewalk at 5mph.
what i dislike, as a biker, are other cyclists who break the law. ie im riding next to a bike and we come to a stop sign with other cars on the cross-street. i come to a stop and the other biker blows right by. he upsets the people in the car, and creates an awkward situation for me...
also, on a large and busy street here, the city rightly designated a bike lane. however, there are many retards going to school on teh OPPOSITE direction on the bike lane. im going in the bike lane, in the proper direction... and i see a moron listening to an ipod going straight at me. bike lane is too NARROW for 2 bicycles .. there is brisk-moving traffic to my left... and i have to move onto the street to yield for this cheesedlck who's oblivious to the disruption
if i were in this situation, i'd pull over or stop and let him pass. HOWEVER, if i were Harassed like OP was, i'd take all those actions that he had taken
i do not and never will ride on sidewalks. that opens you up to getting hti by people pulling otu of parking lots, into parking lots, turning into streets, etc. it is WAY more dangerous to ride on the sidewalk than on the road. you dudes who say otherwise are sloths in your automatic car, or dudes riding mountain bikes on the sidewalk at 5mph.
what i dislike, as a biker, are other cyclists who break the law. ie im riding next to a bike and we come to a stop sign with other cars on the cross-street. i come to a stop and the other biker blows right by. he upsets the people in the car, and creates an awkward situation for me...
also, on a large and busy street here, the city rightly designated a bike lane. however, there are many retards going to school on teh OPPOSITE direction on the bike lane. im going in the bike lane, in the proper direction... and i see a moron listening to an ipod going straight at me. bike lane is too NARROW for 2 bicycles .. there is brisk-moving traffic to my left... and i have to move onto the street to yield for this cheesedlck who's oblivious to the disruption
You're right he's wrong -- not much to discuss. Anyone that says to ride on the sidewalk is high on drugs. Anytime I ride I'm in the road, pal.
While I agree with the sentiments regarding the dangerous randomness of drivers, I take issue with these statements. Pedestrians generally walk in a straight line forward, but not always. I have seen one instance where a ped thought it was a good idea to jump into the path of a biking delivery guy.
I ride in the road. Sometimes I yield to traffic when I have the right of way (typically a car turning left across my path aggressively) if I feel that forcing the issue could be dangerous. If I want to use the sidewalk, I walk my bicycle.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,584
- 985
- 126
Agreed, what about avoiding a pedestrian with a dog...or a child. Sidewalks are no place for bicycles.
Some places a bike is subjected to the same laws as a moter vehicle. The politician who came up with that idea needs to be shot after being severly beaten.
I follow the law of weight. a 30 ton semi truck has more right away then a 1500 pound sedan.
Sure he may get a moving violation but it does'nt do you any good of your a smear on the road
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,584
- 985
- 126
Hey genius, it's not like we're asking which one will win in a collision. We're just asking for a little common courtesy and respect. Is that too much to ask?
skyking
Lifer
- Nov 21, 2001
- 22,786
- 5,941
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I was going down a 4 lane road with a Dump truck towing a trailer with one of These on it.
I had to slow down a bit to take the left lane, and the cyclist gave me the good wave. Hell, I'd rather slow down or stop for a cyclist with the loaded truck than most of the idiot 4-wheelers..........
I had to slow down a bit to take the left lane, and the cyclist gave me the good wave. Hell, I'd rather slow down or stop for a cyclist with the loaded truck than most of the idiot 4-wheelers..........
- May 18, 2001
- 24,117
- 2
- 0
I'd do the same.
There were obstructions on the sidewalk side of the road(the left, here) and I had signaled and moved out to avoid smashing into the parked cars. When cars are parked on both sides of this street it's a close call for two cars passing sometimes, let alone a Bus passing a Bike passing a car coming the other way. There was NO WAY I was going to expose my self to the chance of being crushed into parked cars as he passes me and realises halfway through the overtake that he has no room. Defensive Driving is what I practive in my car and also on my bike.
As for holding him or anyone else up. Yeah, if I am holding up a line of traffic, or even one car for that matter, I'll pull over and let them pass. The thing is, I was still travelling at 20Mph in a 30Mph zone and all he was going to do AS SOON as he had passed me was....stop. So he would have saved the sum total of NO time passing me and was simply being a dick. I was ensuring my safety and ironically the safety of others, as in the scenario I described above. I was not trying to be a dick, just ensuring that no harm comes firstly to me and secondly anyone else. Not to bad a sentiment, anyway you look at it.
The other thing to note is that there was only one passenger on this bus, a girl of around 18-20. While I was yelling at the guy when he came up to me and opened the door, she was shouting at me too and giving me the finger. I really didn't notice her that much tho, I had the tunnel vision as I was so mad at the cockmaster who was driving. I can only think that part of the reason for the event was that he was showing off to her, as she was standing just by his driving position, not seated.
This is easy to talk about as being trivial on an internet forum, but it's a real danger. A competitor in the Tour got killed this year whilst out training. It happens and riders die. I'm just making sure it isn't me and if any driver can't understand that then he needs a reality check.
so much for sharing the roads, then. cyclists want to bitch about cars, but then why are they riding on roads with no bike lanes, and in my case, no shoulder even? if car drivers are so stupid and impatient, why put yourselves at risk like that?
and you hit the nail on the head about the DOT. fact is most roads were built for cars, not bikes. motorist are using them for what they are designed for. so if cycling is so important, why not try to pass some legislation to add bike lanes? if its the cyclists right to use the road, then it shouldnt be too hard. a little leg work, but a labor of love, right?
for the record, ive never put a cyclist off the road, and always give as much clearance that i can when passing. its just tiresome the attitude that cyclist have towards drivers, when they are the ones putting themselves at risk, and are just as much of dicks and assholes as the drivers they love to condemn.
there is no shoulder! so who wants to take that risk? the 4 lane main highway has a 5 foot shoulder, plenty of room for a bike. why not take that? sure, it may be a little longer, but much, much safer, and everybody wins.
good for you. your type i dont mind. but just as some cyclists are courteous and safe, the same can be said for drivers. its the ones that think they own the road that are annoying. just like in cars.
You're sound like a freaking retard, man. With that attitude I highly doubt you have never done anything to piss off a cyclist on the road (Like Revving your exhaust in their face or something). The first roads were built for bikes, they started the change over from cobble roads to paves lanes (that is what JulesMaximus was saying). Also, you want to pay for the bike lanes, again, be my guest. They have tried to pass legislation and even got more funding this year for exactly that, but it isn't enough. Most of that funding went to fixing regular roads. That is bureaucracy for you.
Put it this way. Most road ragers will only cause problems if they think they have the upper hand. Most of the time they do with bikers, so they attempt to kill or hurt someone. Most of these people are cowards, who are pissed off about traffic but only want to take it out on someone who can't fight back (namely someone without a car), who will run you off the road even when they are in another lane, or even when the bike is on the bike route. This happens quite frequently. Most bikers will ride on low traffic rodes, so as not to piss anyone off, but this causes problems becasue then there are no witnesses and it gives cowardly car drivers a bigger reason to hit you and get away with it.
Also, bikes are extremely dangerous on the sidewalk. And it is the law.
I hear car drivers b!tch and complain about truck & semi drivers all the time, and I agree with them too. For the same reasoning. Cars have just the same amount of rights on the road as a semi, bus, or truck, yet these always tend to tailgate and muscle cars out o fthe way. You don't like that either, I figure. Bike riders don't like it either. That is the point. In fact most riders I know are more courteous than most drivers when it comes to letting people pass, at least in Houston. Most cars here will muscle there way around even if they are holding up traffic. A bike rider, will get to the side of the road. It is bike edicate. But most of the time they get hit anyways.
This is a prime example of regular stuff that happens on low traffic roads.
I know I posted this before, but this kind of stuff happens all the time. I agree that bike roads would be great, and bikers constantly try to pass legislation. They even have regular rides to raise funds for it, but it isn't enough money to do anything.
Zenmervolt
Elite member
- Oct 22, 2000
- 24,514
- 44
- 91
I don't mind being "held up" by a cyclist. However, I will laugh like hell if I ever see one of those cyclists who run stop signs and red lights get hit by someone who has the green. That's a pet peeve of mine. I don't know how many times I've had a green light and been going through an intersection only to have to slam on the brakes to avoid some moron on a bike who just ran through his red light.Originally posted by: ggnl
:beer:
And a big fvck you in advance to anyone that comes in here bitching about cyclists. I've been nearly run over too many times to care anymore if I'm holding up some prick in a car.
- May 18, 2001
- 24,117
- 2
- 0
Police just called. They're getting CCTV from the Town Cams and from the Cab cams if the Bus Co. hasn't wiped them already...
I can feel the ownage building...
I can feel the ownage building...
Keep us ITK.
And shimsham, your arguments are a flimflam. Cars share the road bith big-a55 buses and trucks so why can't bicycles share the road with cars and everydoby else? :disgust:
That bus driver is about to get an @$$ beating from his boss
If you sued,
Get the evidence
Teach the driver a lesson
Make enough money to retire
.
.
.
Profit
At least that is the "American" thing to do <sigh>
You might want to update the OP...
In any case, I'm with the cycling camp on this one. When I ride, I get the bike map, and I specifically choose a route that has the most bike friendly streets. Past that, there isn't a whole lot that you can do on a bike. There are always portions of my ride that are on not-so-friendly streets. Under those conditions, I try to ride on the right side, but you usually are risking getting smashed into a curb, or having someone open a door into you.
I've taken to riding in the middle of the road on occasion, but I try to pay attention, and I don't keep long lines of cars waiting behind me. Sadly, because of the dangers of street riding, I have cut down my riding quite a bit... I really only ride the trails now and rarely get to bike somewhere instead of driving.
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