Serious cyclists should know better.

[Avalanche325]

OK. We can all pretty much tell a serious cyclist from a person riding a bike because they have no other way to get around. This morning, the not serious cyclist comes up on my right side (I am driving) at a stoplight in a right turn lane with my turn signal on. I can just tell that this guy is going straight. The light turns green he goes aroung the corner a bit (a lot of cars would have taken off), gets to the crosswalk, turns back to the left and rides through. OK stupid people = stupid actions. I fully expected this.

This one I did not expect. The other night on the way home from work. Pitch dark. I am at a large intersection. There is a right turn lane. The next lane is a right turn or straight, and the next two are straight only. I am in the straight or turn lane with my right turn signal on. There is a car next to me on the right - turning right. The light turns green. I start to go and turn. I am watching the car to my right to make sure has does not drift into my lane. A cyclist (the serious type - nice bike, cycling shorts, jersey, NO LIGHTS) blows by me at serious speed on the right and goes straight through. 1 second later and I would have squashed him!!!! It scared the crap out of me. (this was in Pasadena at Orange Grove and Colorado going west - if it was you.......you almost died the other night)

Thngs like this are why some drivers want us all off the road. And don't forget I would have been liable had I crushed either one of these guys.

[LittleBigMan]

A cyclist (the serious type - nice bike, cycling shorts, jersey, NO LIGHTS) blows by me at serious speed on the right and goes straight through. 1 second later and I would have squashed him!!!! It scared the crap out of me.
It wouldn't have been your fault. I'm sure you would have felt terrible if he had been hurt.

[The Rob]

I see that kind of stuff almost every day. Almost always roadies, and almost always off the saddle and mashing away at speeds that would make the avoidance of sudden obstacles problematic at best. I'm thankful I don't have the faith in my reflexes that they obviously do in theirs.

[Erick L]

I see this all the time too by both "serious" and "non-serious" cyclists. The difference is that "non-serious" are not going as fast to begin with and slow down at intersections because they know cars can crush them while "serious" cyclists seem to view the road as an obstacle course.

[randya]

I view this 'problem' as mainly one of road design and engineering and not necessarily about the cyclist. Still, IMO, the cyclist should have moved left to the first through lane.

[dirtbikedude]

How serious of a rider could he have been? Would not a "Serious rider" have had a light on his bike since he was riding at night?.

He was probably just another kook trying to look like he knew what he was doing. I used to see riders doing shyte like that all the time when I used to commute to Passadena/Glendale area.

:beer:

[uciflylow]

I view this 'problem' as mainly one of road design and engineering and not necessarily about the cyclist. Still, IMO, the cyclist should have moved left to the first through lane.

I see this in the same light. It is scarry at best sometimes to try and tack your way left in traffic, when you are riding on the right edge of a lane that will force a turn! This is the reason it is important to know the route you ride, if you can, so as to avoid putting yourself (rider) in this kind of posistion.
Riding at night without a light is an unforgivable SIN! You are just asking to be a road kill if you ride with out lights on the street! We have a few serious riders here, and a smattering of the DUI bikers. I came upon one of the latter on my way home from work one evening. He was riding with traffic, but had NO reflectors or lights, and was dressed in BLACK! :eek: Some times I think this guy wanted to be hit! Another time I was coming back into town from a night ride and I see this little glow ahead, it was the front reflector of a wrong way rider in the dark, thank God he atleast had that little reflector. I may have hit him head on had it not been for that.

There is one spot on my way home if I bike commute where I have to make a left turn. While riding on the shoulder of the right lane, I have to tack across a through lane, and murge into the two left turn lanes. The first time I did this I was stupid and ended up on the inside of the two left turn lanes only to find that once through the light I was on the inside lane of two lanes of traffic! I only made that mistake once. Now I make sure I am in the right lane of the left turn lanes so after the turn I can end up back on the shoulder. BTW, passing anyone on the right is just asking to be hooked, on a bike or in an auto!

[Erick L]

The cyclist should have waited behind the cars period. The road design has nothing to do with this.

[Gus Riley]

I hate to say this, but sometimes the herd needs thinned out. Sometimes members of a herd sort of volunteer to be the ones eliminated. Riders like these just about deserve to be the volunteers, I guess.

Too bad they have to also be the bad apples in the barrel though...

[closetbiker]

Gee, based on the last couple of days postings, (Should cyclists follow the same rules of the road as motorists?) are you sure it wasn't someone who posts here?

;)

[ParamountScapin]

I am often amazed at the risks my riding companions will sometimes take when we ride. I am very cautious and don't mind waiting at the crosswalk or whatever to insure that I am seen and don't become a statistic. I get razed all the time about my cautious attitude. But, it is my life and I enjoy it too much to waste . And I really hate avoidable pain. It is challenging enough to ride safely without challenging the idiots in the cars/SUVs/etc. Can't win in any such confrontation.

[The Rob]

...I am very cautious and don't mind waiting at the crosswalk or whatever to insure that I am seen and don't become a statistic...it is my life and I enjoy it too much to waste . And I really hate avoidable pain. It is challenging enough to ride safely without challenging the idiots in the cars/SUVs/etc. Can't win in any such confrontation.

Agreed. It's all well and good to wish, and work toward, a more bicycle-friendly paradigm, but meanwhile we must live in the current one. Regardless, the actions of the cyclists reported in the first post were unsafe even if (fantasy time here) the ratio of bikes to automobiles were reversed. Lamentable as it is, there will always be arrogant, stupid people, and most of them will acquire drivers licenses and some few of them will straddle bicycles. All the more reason to adopt safe and practical cycling habits. Be courteous, be cautious, be seen.

[hayneda]

Just because someone is a "serious cyclist" (nice go fast bike, lycra, hard riding, etc.) does not mean they are an experienced, knowledgeable cyclist. This is a serious problem due to the lack of cyclist education, amoung other things.

Dave

[oscaregg]

Nothing turns a cyclist brain to fecal matter faster than the USCF card in the wallet--hey, I used to be one, racers are often stone morons in traffic!

[mike]

Serious cyclists are the ones that stay alive and healthy by riding predictibly and safely. You usually only get one or maybe two serious run-ins with automobiles before your bicycling career is finished.

[CRUM]

It's odd. I have been what you might call a "serious Cyclist" for over 25 years. When I was young and dumb, I played with the traffic of Baltimore like it was there for my enjoyment. Several serious but lucky crashes smartened me up. Since that time I have endeavored to ride smart and be as unobtrusive when out and about on the streets.

And this is what is odd. I use my bike to go on coffee runs from the bike shop. I usually take the back way so I can avoid the street traffic. Christmas Eve, I headed out and decided to take Main St. to get the coffee. Well, I acted like I was 19 again and rode crazy, ran a light, and almost nailed a pedestrian in the process. I have no explanation as to why after all these years I would ride like I had no brain, but I did. Once I got my coffee and was returning (the back way) to the shop, I realized just how dangerous being a loose dog can be. I almost hurt someone. And even though I apologized profusely to the almost victim, I still feel bad. As a serious cyclist who does know better, I guess we are all still capable of being brain dead occaisionally.

[The Rob]

Aw Hell, none of us are immune to errors in judgment and that's why I'm usually a bit less vociferous in my posts than some others when we discuss motorists. How many times have any one of us (who actually own/operate motor-vehicles I mean) convinced ourselves that we were close enough to that intersection featuring a late-yellow light, only to find we were skating under a red? How many times have we misjudged the speed of a trailing automobile when we sought to occupy the other lane?

One day some months ago I was going for a left turn onto a side street. No traffic behind, and I assumed no traffic would appear from around the rather sharp bend ahead. My assumption was wrong. I was fully into the opposing lane when suddenly there's a car sweeping around the curve, it's driver already stepping hard on the brake. No squealing tires, no profanity, but the front end of her vehicle was perhaps ten feet from me before I completed the turn. I waved at her, the standard thanks-sorry! gesture, and she didn't respond in either a positive or negative fashion. I felt stupid and guilty, and of course my confidence took a nose-dive.

Assumptions can be deadly whether walking, riding, or driving. The occasional skip in logic will happen. Making a habit of flouting the rules, however, and assuming one's arrogance and 'rights' will see one through in all situations is intolerable. And arrogance oftentimes provides it's own punishment.

[el Inglés]

We expect the cars to obey the law , why not us to ?