Fifty Plus (50+) - Ever do this?

I did a lot of riding around town this weekend for short errands and rides where I would usually take a car. And I'll admit it right here: riding on residential streets, especially empty on a holiday weekend, I don't even slow down for stop signs. Why lose the momentum when there's nobody else in sight?

So yesterday afternoon I had to take a longer ride in my car, which I hadn't driven for a couple of days, and right off the bat I blow through a stop sign! Again, I was looking and was 100% clear, but I was well into the intersection before I remembered that I wasn't on my bike (yet another "senior moment" :rolleyes: ). Oops...

So how many of you have been driving your car and done something that you usually reserve only for bike riding?

I haven't figure out how to bunny hop a chicken with a Samauri yet, so I just end up squashing them... And I have to drive about 30 miles to even find a stop sign. I kid you not.

Among dozens of other reasons, that is one of the ones for stopping at stop signs.

Uhhh- not to be critical or anything, but do you mean you don't stop at stop signs when you're on a bike? That's a ticketable offense in these parts. Not to mention not particularly smart, given that there are plenty of cyclists who do ignore the law, and you just never know when you'll come into contact with one of them. Just sayin'...

Uhhh- not to be critical or anything, but do you mean you don't stop at stop signs when you're on a bike?

Stop by where I live and I'll show you what I mean. Quiet residential streets. Nothing in sight moving (neither vehicle nor pedestrian). And many of the signs placed there only as a speed-brake to keep cars from tending to go 40 in a 25 zone. Near downtown with traffic and people around, you betcha I stop for them.

Hey, my judgement can't be all that bad since I've made it to 60 and counting and haven't had a traffic citation in over 25 years, either (car, motorcycle, or bicycle).

That sentence about the citations is in the past tense. Sounds like it may not hold if you keep going,,pun intended...
We all have 'things' that we do but sometimes we have to pay the consequences for those 'things'.
... ... ... ... ...peace

I had a scary moment just last Friday, on my drive home. Pulled up to a 4-way stop, allowed the car who was there ahead of me to go, hit the gas, and then a biker comes flying through the intersection, crossing in front of me, who never even hesitated at the stop sign. I had to slam the brakes to keep from hitting him.

Then as he passes in front of me, he gives me "the look" for getting in his way.

If I had slow reflexes, they would have been scrapping him off of the pavement.

Yeah, just this weekend I reached for the brake hoods to downshift while driving my VW.

I had a scary moment just last Friday, on my drive home. Pulled up to a 4-way stop, allowed the car who was there ahead of me to go, hit the gas, and then a biker comes flying through the intersection, crossing in front of me, who never even hesitated at the stop sign. I had to slam the brakes to keep from hitting him.

Then as he passes in front of me, he gives me "the look" for getting in his way.

If I had slow reflexes, they would have been scrapping him off of the pavement.

Would you have felt guilty? Or, do you know it would have been the cyclist's fault?

I have to admit I'm guilty as well. I slow down when approaching an intersection and when it's clear then I zoom away. But when there are pedestrians or automobile traffic, I come to a complete stop and cautiously monitor around me and try to cross safely.

As I was concluding my ride this morning, a driver stopped in the middle of the intersection after I made my crossing. If he approached the intersection much sooner, he would have hit. I was going to turn around and tell him where he should have stopped but then I realize it could be perceived as road rage and me and my bike are no match to his SUV if he chased me for saying something.

I can't believe how many times I've tried to check my helmet mirror while driving my truck and, of course, it just isn't there. I have to look a different direction for my truck mirror.

The question that goes with this one is: how many times have you done something on one bike that should only be done on another? I've called out "Coast" so many times on my tandem to announce to my wife to stop pedaling, but when I do it on my other bikes, whoever is riding beside me gives me a funny look.

When I ride my bike with down tube shifters I usually push on the brakes sidways at least 2 or 3 times per ride trying to shift it like my regular bike.

When I ride my bike with down tube shifters I usually push on the brakes sidways at least 2 or 3 times per ride trying to shift it like my regular bike.
Took me a while to remember where the brakes were on my new roadie. I was used to flat bar brakes!

Ummmm... no. I do a pretty good job of telling my bikes and my car apart.
Even when they're together
http://home.comcast.net/~96omi/Heading_Home.jpg

Would you have felt guilty? Or, do you know it would have been the cyclist's fault?

I would not have been found guilty, for it would have been 100% the cyclist's fault. But I certainly would have re-lived the accident several times in my mind if I had seriously injured anyone. For I've never done that.

If I could have use a laser to give him a flat, I would have. He deserved it.

Ummmm... no. I do a pretty good job of telling my bikes and my car apart.
Even when they're together
http://home.comcast.net/~96omi/Heading_Home.jpg
You need to park those things in front of a white garage door. :D

Sorry, I've got to rant here.
From the military motto: "Train the way you fight, fight the way you train". People who blow stopsigns when "they" perceive them to be useless will eventually blow a stopsign because the fail to see a valid reason. Its pure muscle memory or Pavlovian response.
Would you pick up a gun pointed at you head because you were sure it was unloaded.
The smartest most competent people in the world make big mistakes all the time because one little thing was different from all the times before that they performed a function.

If you do it on a bike, its your head, Darwinism at work. If as you admit you have trained yourself to do it in a car "by mistake" then you are possibly getting ready to kill someone.
So to answer your original post. No, I don't ever do that.

Rant ends here.

Many of us will know what you mean about those quiet residential streets. I regularly cycle at about 07:00 on Sunday mornings, right in the heart of London's commercial district - it's a ghost town. Complying with traffic rules is distictly resistable.

That sort of anarchy is a slippery slope..you reap what you sow. The big beef in London now is red traffic lights, stopping at which now appears optional. Driving can now be a pretty exciting experience and with the general aggression of city cyclists, increasingly enlivened by violent altercations between the two wheelers and the four. What remains of our police force are almost exclusively occupied with going on courses to learn how to complete forms or arrest people without hurting their feelings - so the situation deteriorates.

The payoff for this - which we're likely to get soon - is cycling licenses and bike license plates.

Making up explanations for the actions of others without even asking them
is at best error prone. OK, now I'm over my efforts at rationalism. I feel
better already.

Reading posts here many of us are motivated by mileage. Stop signs are
modest interference. Some are concerned with our average speed. Stop
signs are a major interference here. Is that you DougG??

My most motivating factor is my workout so re-accelerating is just another
part of the ride.

maddmaxx and others: I hate it when you are right!!

The payoff for this - which we're likely to get soon - is cycling licenses and bike license plates.

Frankly, I think this is a good idea. I'm a very firm believer that we have every bit of rights to the road (OK, except interstates), as any vehicle, but rights always carry responsibility, and how can a cyclist (or anyone, for that matter) exercise either when s/he has never been educated and required to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required to use our vehicles responsibly.

Maddmaxx, I agree with you 100%. Besides the "mindset thing, here are a few other reasons why we cyclists need to obey traffic laws:
1. Because they are laws, and in every jurisdiction I can think of, they apply to us as much as an SUV driver. And there's a reason for these laws- the orderly and safe flow of traffic. Sounds good to me- much more reasonable than some laws, like no wearing blindfolds when you're operating a vehicle (no kidding- check out this site (http://www.lawguru.com/weird/part01.html)).
2. Drivers will take us more seriously if they see us obeying the laws in a consisten, predictable fashion. The biggest complaint I hear from motorists about cyclists: "They're so unpredictable- I can't tell what they're going to do next because they think they're exempt from the law, and they show it too." Show respect and get respect.
3. #2, but replace "drivers" with cyclists.
4. #2, but replace "drivers" with pedestrians.
5. We're in a great position to set an example for others in so many ways- we're older, but exercising instead of couching, for instance. What message does it send to kids (our own kids/grandkids) when they see us flaunt traffic laws?
6. Ultimately, it's about safety- of others and of course, us. You just never know when you're going to get a surprise while riding through a stop sign or red light, or riding on sidewalks, or not signalling- you name it.

OK- 'nuff of the rant. But one last word- head_wind, you got the right idea: stop on a big ring and feel the pain when you start up after a stop- it's all about the workout :D

Ok, now the unrant.

I don't want to be right here. I too want to run those early Sunday morning stopsigns that seem so useless.

Cyclists have to remember though that we are the minority out there in the world. Trouble with cars is trouble for cyclists. Licenses will ultimately be more trouble for cyclists than motorists. Conflict with the public leads to more trouble for cyclists.

My point here is that the downside to all of these conflicts is much larger for cyclists than the upside is. I wont even comment on the fairness of this. The world isn't fair.

You have to take your lumps, ignore it or try a little at a time to improve it and hope that the tourista's don't get angry so we can enjoy this hobby of ours.

PR is more important than right......:eek:

I thought running stop signs was something that was confined to under-30 people.

Paul

Took me a while to remember where the brakes were on my new roadie. I was used to flat bar brakes!

I have a similar problem when I switch between the Madone and the 1800C. The 1800C has the extra set of brakes on the handlebar and the Madone doesn't. I find myself squeezing the handlebar on the Madone and it just doesn't help one bit to stop:eek:

Yes I have.. to answer your question.

I've been known to roll a stop sign when on my bike, by that I mean I slow down, check to be sure there's no traffic, then speed up without coming to a complete stop. I can recall going through a stop sign while driving a car twice. Both times I pulled over to allow my heart rate to slow down after realizing I wasn't paying attention and could have been in a serious accident or worse.