Share the road, people.

[cantdrv55]

I'm surprised at how many drivers do not know or don't care that bikes belong on the street and not on the sidewalk.

My wife and I were out biking last weekend and had to stop at a light as we were making a left turn. Of course you can't make a left from the right lane so we were waiting for a green on the left turn lane only. The car behind keep inching up and inching up, must've been trying to get me off the lane while the light was still red. I look at him and he's cursing at us and waving us off the street. Dip***** must have not known that bikes belong on the road and not in the pedestrian crosswalk. This isn't the first incident.

A few weeks ago, I was riding solo on a narrow country road and a lady in a Boxster came so close to me that I felt heat from the car. There was no on-coming traffic and visibility for miles. The sun was not in her eyes and I was wearing an almost flourescent long sleeve bike jersey. I yelled, wtf, but she just kept going.

A long time fellow bike club member was struck by a car in a similar situation. Just suffered bruises and cuts but the car lost his right rear view mirror.

Cycling is dangerous enough without idiot drivers trying to kill us. The worst are the ones who don't know that bikes belong on the road.

[RallyJon]

Bikes may belong on the road, but not in the middle of the lane! We have a lot of problems on the country roads around here with cyclists riding two abreast or otherwise preventing cars from passing.

A little courtesy on both sides makes everyones travel safe and smooth.

[vash]

get off the road, fool!

seriously, when i was mountian biking alot, (we pedaled to the trails back then) i learned quickly that it didnt matter what i believed. i am not the champion of bicycle rights. any bump with a car, i would lose. so i watched my ass. in the above situation i would have hung out on the right, and crossed the street carefully, whatever color the light was. i was only interested in the traffic opening. i was completely vigilant and took care of my asss.

i also hate pedestrians that just cross the street, without looking, just because the "walk" signal comes on. i know it is their right of way. just dont wear it like a chip on the shoulder. the consequences are not worth it.

[David]

Many years ago when I road a lot, I had a cop tell me to get on the sidewalk. He came up behind me, got on his loud speaker, and told me to get off the street and on the sidewalk. I kept going so he said it again. Then he raced around me, stopped in front of me, and proceeded to read me the riot act. I told him at the speed I was riding (I could cruise at a little over 20 back then) I would have no way to avoid a car coming out of the driveway, to which he replied that my other choice was to go to jail. I choose to move over a few streets and ride through a neighborhood.

I called the local bike club and got ahold of their lawyer. He said it was not the cops responsiblity to know the law, so I would have to get arrested and have a judge explain the law to him. Then if I got arrested again I'd have a case against the city. I kept riding on that road and never got hassled again. So much for chance my chance at civil disobedience.

[legion]

Originally posted by vash
get off the road, fool!

seriously, when i was mountian biking alot, (we pedaled to the trails back then) i learned quickly that it didnt matter what i believed. i am not the champion of bicycle rights. any bump with a car, i would lose. so i watched my ass. in the above situation i would have hung out on the right, and crossed the street carefully, whatever color the light was. i was only interested in the traffic opening. i was completely vigilant and took care of my asss.

i also hate pedestrians that just cross the street, without looking, just because the "walk" signal comes on. i know it is their right of way. just dont wear it like a chip on the shoulder. the consequences are not worth it.

I've come to much the same conclusion. When I lived in the Chicago area, I would frequently have drivers stop, look me in the eye, see that I wasn't going to stop (as I was on the road), and pull in to me anyway. I don't think I ever got knocked of my bike, just hit lightly. Apparently they expected me to slam on my brakes and hit the side of their car instead. I always made sure to dent their hoods with foot.

[vash]

i got a $75 dollar ticket for mountian biking thru Golden Gate Park. they were doing some landscaping and the gardeners took down the no mountian biking signs. so some quick photos, to show the judge, i got off scot free. the girl i was with was too lazy and stoned to set up a court date, so she paid the fine. my proudest moment was the fact that it took the cop some serious throttle on his dirt bike to catch me. i had my headphones on for inspiration, so i pretended not to hear him calling for me. there are some great trails thru there.

[cantdrv55]

Just to be clear, I ride as close to the right as possible. I wear a rear view mirror on my helmet so I can see cars behind and when my family ride together, we go single file when there's traffic.

[strother]

Car drivers who get aggressive with bike riders make me sick, and I don't ride a bike on the street. It makes me think of an adult shaking a baby to death because it has done something bad. Do these drivers who pull out in front of cyclists intentionally or who brush by cyclists believe that the thing on the bike is not a mortal human? WTF?

[JavaBrewer]

I ride to be seen. Hiding to the far right only increases your chances of getting nailed. Turning left at an intersection I regularly use the left turn only lane, and will merge into traffic to get there. Of course I do my best to not impede traffic and obey all traffic laws. Nothing angers motorists more than seeing a cyclist blow throw a red light or stop sign only to hog the lane further up. Fred

Stay off the sidewalks - those are for pedestrians only. If you hit one on your bike be prepaired to get sued. Plus there is way too much stuff to monitor/avoid. The street is your best bet. Just use your head and avoid conflict.

[cbeers]

Chris, you are brave to ride around here with your family. There are so many crappy drivers around here, I won't even get a street bike (motorized of course ) to ride around here.


What I will say is this: BOTH sides of this need to be aware of each other and courteous. Bikers with a 'screw you' attitude only make car drivers more upset and a rude driver makes riders want to take the hard line. So it can be a downward spiral.........



I'll do my best not to get mad at you again next time, I didn't mean to curse in front of your wife. Please offer her my apologies


-Chris

[DonDavis]

Can the bikers hear vehicles approach? Not the loud cars and trucks, but the quiet minivan or sedan. I get trained regularly in the Smith Driving System and they tell us to "alert the cyclist" by hitting the horn as we get near. I don't do it because IMO, it may startle the rider or they may think I am telling them to "get off the road".
What do you prefer? Toot or no toot?

To all you bikers, I sympathize and am always on the lookout for you!

[JavaBrewer]

Absolutely NO toot and yes for the most part we can hear traffic approaching. Biggest danger comes from cross traffic that have a hard time seeing you as they only have a second or two to visually pick you up.

[JavaBrewer]

FWIW - I have no bicycle riding experience outside of SoCal. There is a very large cycling community here in San Diego and I think motorists are pretty used to sharing the roads.

[island911]

Originally posted by cantdrv55
.. . and had to stop at a light as we were making a left turn. .. .

Wait a sec. ... You were on bikes and you STOPPED at a light !?

n'no, cyclist don't obey traffic laws. Traffic laws are just to slow-down the big evil cars. Cyclists are too pure and rightous to need to cooperate with cars. Cars are to do everything for the cyclists.

...well, that seems to be how it works here.

[island911]

. .from another cycling thread

Originally posted by Moses
I just gotta say this Northern California bicycle thing is making me NUTS! I don't mind a group of Lance Armstrong wannabes decorating our roadways, but it has become ridiculous. One of their favorite roads is Danville Blvd., a 2-lane road with well marked wide bike lanes going both ways. You would think that would be adequate, but NO! They have to congeal together in some great wiggly pack like a herd of sperm covering the entire roadway. A motorist has a choice of hitting the brakes or swerving into oncoming traffic to avoid the huge technicolor ejaculate oozing out of the bike lane. What's up with that?

And another thing; Why do they all stuff their asses into those stupid outfits? They look like Spandex sausages. And of course the little Spandex leotards are decorated with the names of all their sponsors! Sponsors? Give me a break! If I drove my 911 around the city wearing a racing suit emblazoned with exotic advertizing folks would rightfully think I was a few bricks short of a load. These leg-shaving, spandex wearing road hazards are really starting to piss me off.

If the good folks of this State have given you a bike lane, stay the hell in it!

[pbs911]

My wife and I were out biking last weekend and had to stop at a light as we were making a left turn.

What happened to the law that people on bikes are to stop at an intersection and walk their bikes across?

I feel for you, but bikes really have no place in crowed traffic lanes. Don't you have bike paths you could take the family instead? My city spends millions on bike paths just for bikes. If cars operated on the bike paths I think the bikers would get a little pissed.

The thing that gets me about bikes is they want the advantages of being considered "traffic" but do not obey the rules. I have NEVER seen a bike come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Instead they just role on through, often in large groups. Riding two, three and four abreast ON THE LEFT of the bike lane is equally ridiculous. All they do is impede the flow of traffic. It's fine when they can keep up wth the flow of traffic, but very, very few can travel the 25mph in a residentual area let alone the 45 mph down the main streets. I have yet seen a bike that can trip a street light for a left arrow so I can see where someone would not want a bike sitting in the middle of a left hand turn lane. It just seems like bikes pick and choose the rules they want to obey and expect people driving car on the street (the only place where a car may legally be driven) to be on the lookout for them.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by pbs911
What happened to the law that people on bikes are to stop at an intersection and walk their bikes across?

Only when using the crosswalk - the whole pedestrian thang.

Originally posted by pbs911
I feel for you, but bikes really have no place in crowed traffic lanes. Don't you have bike paths you could take the family instead?

Even here in SoCal bicycle lanes are few and far between. Trust me cyclists don't like risking their lives riding among cars but in most cases have no other option.

Originally posted by pbs911
The thing that gets me about bikes is they want the advantages of being considered "traffic" but do not obey the rules. I have NEVER seen a bike come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Instead they just role on through, often in large groups. Riding two, three and four abreast ON THE LEFT of the bike lane is equally ridiculous. All they do is impede the flow of traffic. It's fine when they can keep up wth the flow of traffic, but very, very few can travel the 25mph in a residentual area let alone the 45 mph down the main streets. I have yet seen a bike that can trip a street light for a left arrow so I can see where someone would not want a bike sitting in the middle of a left hand turn lane. It just seems like bikes pick and choose the rules they want to obey and expect people driving car on the street (the only place where a car may legally be driven) to be on the lookout for them.

100% agree. Cyclists are supposed to follow the rules of the road. And there is a trick for tripping the magnetic traffic light sensors. Lower the bike to the side bringing a crank arm close to the street surface. That usually works pretty well. The weight/pressure sensors, well, those not so good. I usually pull far enough up so that a car wanting to turn can get onto the sensor too.

[mattdavis11]

I'm with Island on this. I see cyclists blow thru reds all the time here. Living in the land of Lance, and having umpteen thousand wannabees makes it even worse. If he wins tour de france #7, which I hope he does, the city of austin probably will make the left hand lane of IH35 bicycle only. It has flat out gotten way out of hand. I don't know what it is about a bike that gives them the balls that pedestrians don't have.

[island911]

Originally posted by mattdavis11
. .. I don't know what it is about a bike that gives them the balls that pedestrians don't have.

I think it's the crotch padded spandex. . . it lifts and seperates.

[greglepore]

Well, I can agree with the "blowing reds" comment to a point. Simply riding thru a light is stupid and arrogant. However, if I stop, and can see clearly that no traffic is around, I'll occasionally ride thru a light, as the sensors don't usually work for bikes, plus sitting next to a car radiating heat when its 90 out and you're not moving is hell.

I've had the same experience as cant55. Got off my bike, walked back to the dude, and took my cell out and suggested we have a conversation w/ the officer. Made it clear I had his plate. Older guy, maybe 60ish. Saw another dude literally run a handicaped woman (she's got a learning disabilty) off the road in a similar situation, and boy was he shocked when I pinned him against the curb with my pickup and did call the cops. Guess he didn't see the track and road bikes in my bed beforehand.

Simple physics-you're in a 2000lb + weapon and I'm on a 16 lb bike. If you intimidate me with your weapon, its a crime, no less than if you brandished a pistol in my face to make a point. Car to car road rage is no better.