View Full Version : %@#&ing ______ don't belong on the road!!!
oboeguy
10-17-05, 06:26 AM
A. Bikes
B. Cars
C. Idiots
:D:D:D:D:D
Seriously, I was thinking this morning as I yet again missed a light because of too much car traffic around me, the notion of bikes slowing down cars struck me as particularly ridiculous. If there were no (or fewer even) cars, I could get across town significantly faster. In fact in the evening I never make any lights because of car traffic. And they say we cause traffic problems!
Heh Its true.
A bike can get a good 20 30 40+ feet ahead of a car on the first few pedal strokes. Corse then you get the jerks that think they have to pass you right back who floor it but thats something for a diffrent topic.
Cars do tend to slow down trafic at lights etc way more than a bike could ever hope to do. I hate getting behind a car at a light as i know im going to be stuck for a while if he dont get going soon enough. Drivers should just let us up ahead of them at stop lights when possible. By the time they get moving at a decent speed we will be up ahead and out of the way. We wont slow them down at all. Not this season but i have had drivers wave me in to the left lane when they notice i was turning. Some drivers are just very respectful of cyclists while others will pass you to make sure they are ahead of you because you will slow them down .
Bleh if they just under stood more about how bikes work and how much quicker a bike is off the line than most cars on the road.
Exactly why a bike "freeway" is a great idea...
And frankly this is also (at the risk of yet another BL thread) one big reason I like Bike Lanes... they allow me to zip past all the bumper to bumper cars.
There is one particular area on my commute that can take up to 40 minutes, in a car, to cover one mile... On a bike, it takes just a few minutes, thanks to the BL.
oboeguy
10-17-05, 08:35 AM
There is one particular area on my commute that can take up to 40 minutes, in a car, to cover one mile... On a bike, it takes just a few minutes, thanks to the BL.
:eek: That's half as fast as walking! :eek:
catatonic
10-17-05, 09:00 AM
heh, I thought genec was in San Jose for a sec, until I saw he's in San Diego.....San Jose's Lawrence expressway was like that....an hour for 2.5 stinking miles....an old man in his walker was literally faster. It was the commute secene from the movie Office Space, only even more demoralizing, since it was real, and happening to you.
Mr. Miskatonic
10-17-05, 10:13 AM
A. Bikes
B. Cars
C. Idiots
:D:D:D:D:D
Seriously, I was thinking this morning as I yet again missed a light because of too much car traffic around me, the notion of bikes slowing down cars struck me as particularly ridiculous. If there were no (or fewer even) cars, I could get across town significantly faster. In fact in the evening I never make any lights because of car traffic. And they say we cause traffic problems!
Zigzactly! It stuns me how bad cars operate at lights. Light turns green, pause, first car lets up on brake pedal, touches acellerator, plods through intersection, next car sees first car going, pause, lets up on brake pedal...
But you just know that if one of these bobo's was behind a cyclist they'd turninto Mario Andretti on Crank, with more blasting of horns.
Brian Ratliff
10-17-05, 10:31 AM
:eek: That's half as fast as walking! :eek:
Too bad you'd have to carry your car on your back! :rolleyes:
heh, I thought genec was in San Jose for a sec, until I saw he's in San Diego.....San Jose's Lawrence expressway was like that....an hour for 2.5 stinking miles....an old man in his walker was literally faster. It was the commute secene from the movie Office Space, only even more demoralizing, since it was real, and happening to you.
Have been on that "expressway" before while in San Jose to attend seminars on software... Hard to believe how bad it was until really there. Was back about a year ago and things had changed quite a bit... partially due to work on the freeway, part due to all the empty buildings along the way now... Sad.
Eatadonut
10-17-05, 10:57 AM
S'truth. I got in a yelling match with a guy when he cut me off, yelled obscenities at me (note that I wasn't yelling back at this point), and then proceeded to go 20 in a 20, whereas I was moving significantly faster.
oboeguy
10-17-05, 10:58 AM
Have been on that "expressway" before while in San Jose to attend seminars on software... Hard to believe how bad it was until really there. Was back about a year ago and things had changed quite a bit... partially due to work on the freeway, part due to all the empty buildings along the way now... Sad.
Car-"culture" strangling itself? :D
timmhaan
10-17-05, 11:05 AM
yeah, it's crazy how people can glady accept sitting in traffic for hours at a time moving along at a snails pace but honk and scream at the cyclist who takes up only a fraction of the road surface.
The Seldom Kill
10-17-05, 11:43 AM
Zigzactly! It stuns me how bad cars operate at lights. Light turns green, pause, first car lets up on brake pedal, touches acellerator, plods through intersection, next car sees first car going, pause, lets up on brake pedal
There you are in a sense fortunate. In the UK where automatic cars are virtually non-existent then getting off of the lights is very much down to both the character and skill of the driver. Boy racers and sports car drivers see bicycles as a personal challenge and a manual can pop off the lights almost as fast as a bike. London does have a proliferation of ASLs but having to read the driver a lot more is another fun addition to your ride, particuarly where Londoners are concerned.
heckflosse
10-17-05, 12:16 PM
I know how you feel.
I was behind a car today which must have took all of three seconds to pull off, made me three seconds late for work. :rolleyes:
yeah, it's crazy how people can glady accept sitting in traffic for hours at a time moving along at a snails pace but honk and scream at the cyclist who takes up only a fraction of the road surface.
Or yell, honk and scream and then violently pass the cyclist, only to have the cyclist stay right with them in traffic... as if passing that one cyclist was all it took to "clear the road... "
Those actions and behaviours really show that some motorists just have some kind of "bug" about cyclists, period. Has nothing to do with traffic at all, they just are tweaked in the head about cyclists.
It's true that cagers slow us down.
My 3.5 mile commute takes me 17 minutes to work at 3:00 PM and only 14 minutes home at 11:30 PM, when there is less auto traffic and some of the traffic signals switch over to flashing amber.
yeah, it's crazy how people can glady accept sitting in traffic for hours at a time moving along at a snails pace but honk and scream at the cyclist who takes up only a fraction of the road surface.
One time I sat waiting for a 240 car train to pass. When we finally got going, the folks in the car behind me started yelling "Sidewalk" at me because they thought I was holding them up. They were OK with a train delaying them for 20 minutes, but got ticked off because I slowed them down (maybe) for about 5 seconds. :D I had to laugh!
oboeguy
10-17-05, 12:38 PM
I know how you feel.
I was behind a car today which must have took all of three seconds to pull off, made me three seconds late for work.
Riiight. It's not that, it's that it takes a few extra minutes (not seconds) when you're blown off the light pattern by shaky driving around you if you're on a bike, plus, you're in greater danger by spending more time around cars. :P
I forgot to add that today I got proof positive for the case against stopping at all lights. I stopped at a light I would normally blow, but for a traffic cop cruiser in the vicinity. Well guess what? Traffic catches up to me, and everyone is inconvenienced when the light goes green, and I'm put in far more danger to boot. :(
timmhaan
10-17-05, 12:38 PM
One time I sat waiting for a 240 car train to pass. When we finally got going, the folks in the car behind me started yelling "Sidewalk" at me because they thought I was holding them up. They were OK with a train delaying them for 20 minutes, but got ticked off because I slowed them down (maybe) for about 5 seconds. :D I had to laugh!
ugh!!!!!! yep, that's exactly what i'm talking about. it makes no sense!!! other than they are just picking on us because we're doing something "different".
noisebeam
10-17-05, 02:49 PM
Its normal and safe to wait a few seconds after a green to let the red light runners thru. Same when following another vehicle, don't go when they go, give them a bit of a lead cause you never know when they slam on the brakes for whatever reason comes up.
Al
noisebeam
10-17-05, 02:52 PM
Most rush hour traffic speeds me up. I get about a 2mph boost from the side draft of passing vehicles and the extra traffic helps trigger the lights. Sometimes there are 30+ cars behind one red light, I line up and wait with them, but the lights are timed to let all 30 cars thru. But if you go opposite rush hour you find you get a lot more red lights.
Thats just here of course.
Al
jabowker
10-17-05, 03:10 PM
Its normal and safe to wait a few seconds after a green to let the red light runners thru. Same when following another vehicle, don't go when they go, give them a bit of a lead cause you never know when they slam on the brakes for whatever reason comes up.
Al
I'm glad some of ya'll get longer lights. The ones I deal with most frequently take a long time to turn green the direction I need and even if I jump as soon as I get a green I can't get more than about 2/3's through the intersection before it's yellow.
noisebeam
10-17-05, 03:48 PM
I'm glad some of ya'll get longer lights. The ones I deal with most frequently take a long time to turn green the direction I need and even if I jump as soon as I get a green I can't get more than about 2/3's through the intersection before it's yellow.
That happens whenever I ride perpendicular to rush hour traffic.
Al
I'm glad some of ya'll get longer lights. The ones I deal with most frequently take a long time to turn green the direction I need and even if I jump as soon as I get a green I can't get more than about 2/3's through the intersection before it's yellow.
Jhonson road light is same way here. About 3 to 5 secounds after the last car it begins its yellow red cycle.You have to hope a car pulls up behind you to trigger it as well because your bike wont. Ive called about it about 8 times this season and still nothing has been done. They simply dont give a crap because it doesnt effect cars i presume.
Yellow light 3 to 5 secounds after last car red 3 secounds after yellow and bikes cant trigger it.
I agree: I would cause more traffic delay if I were driving a car than I do riding my bike. I only wish it were possible to explain this to the cagers sitting in hour-plus traffic jams or waiting in a two-mile line to turn left. They just don't get it.
- Warren
Dchiefransom
10-17-05, 10:34 PM
Car-"culture" strangling itself? :D
Jobs moving overseas.
If people think cars are bad about starting up when there's a lot of them, try being about 15 or so bikes back from the light and waiting for everyone to click into their "road" pedals !!!!!
huhenio
10-18-05, 06:10 AM
^^^ LOL
One foot down, you good to go.
The Seldom Kill
10-18-05, 06:18 AM
People wait until they've clipped up before moving? This is not a wise course of action. Get rolling and then pop in on a down stroke.
Of course it would be better if everyone could do track stands but I suspect that this just won't happen.
As an aside I do love the SPD symphony at times.
sbhikes
10-18-05, 08:30 AM
I don't find that cars slow me down very much. But I do get great satisfaction when I can keep catching up to them at lights. With my very noticable recumbent there's no way they can't be thinking that maybe riding a bike isn't so slow after all.
When I get my trike I won't ever have to unclip. And I'll be able to take a nap at some of those lights that don't change for me.
oboeguy
10-18-05, 09:11 AM
I got a good jump on a light today so I thought I'd make the mythical "three crosstown lights in a row" but alas! the cars caught me and promptly got in the way before the 3rd light (as usual). If the street were in better shape I think I'd have an easier time, but I spend too much time and energy on dodging potholes and similar road obstacles.
Dchiefransom
10-18-05, 09:32 AM
People wait until they've clipped up before moving? This is not a wise course of action. Get rolling and then pop in on a down stroke.
Of course it would be better if everyone could do track stands but I suspect that this just won't happen.
As an aside I do love the SPD symphony at times.
The people push off and pedal with the one foot still clipped in, but can't get that other "road" pedal in right away, so they screww around for a few seconds, sometimes coming to a complete stop again. I use double sided SPD pedals on all my bikes to avoid this inefficiency. ;)
People that track stand are usually not motionless, at least the ones I've seen, and take up too much space at a stop light. Remember that we have pretty wide lanes here, so it's easy for a lot of riders to que(sp?) up at lights.
I use double sided SPD pedals on my mountain bike and commute bike. I use Look single sided road pedals on my road bike. I find both pedal types easy to clip the second foot into within half a pedal stroke.
I start with my left foot clipped in just past the top of the circle stroke. After starting, by the time the left foot has stroked to the bottom of the circle, my right foot is clipping into the pedal at the top of it's circle. Pretty easy to do with just a little practice.
Hope the description was clear.
The single sided pedals are weighted, so they are at a 45 degree angle when not clipped in. By inserting the cleat toe first, clipping in is easy. Double sided SPD pedals can rest at any position, can sometimes make it harder to clip in.
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