Advocacy & Safety - No hands cyclists wiggles in and out of his bike lane

And frustrates me as I'm trying to pass him (in my car). I don't want to honk because he could get startled and crash.

He's riding on the bike lane line in an out of the road and can't keep the bike straight. Who in the world rides with no hands for about 30s in the bike lane/shoulder with a bunch of traffic next to them?

He's just asking for an early death doing that kind of stuff.

honk him - what a tool

Just wanted to add that he was trying to adjust something (take gloves off?) as opposed to doing tricks. But he should just pull over to do that!

hmm in that case perhaps i will revise my answer. was still stupid though. maybe a few helpful words as you go past?

Sheesh, what's with the road rage? Just pass safely and continue on to your destination and allow him to do the same.

Nothing wrong with no hands riding--as long as you can control your bike. Maintaining a steady line should be a precondition of riding, with hands or without.

30 seconds...

well that wasn't too long. Maybe he was sending a quick text message. :D

By your own admission, he delayed you all of 30 seconds. You've already spend more time than that whining about it. You need to get over it. And we as cyclists need to get over the idea that everybody on a bicycle is an ambassador for our subculture.

Maybe he wanted you to give him some room, so he rode in a manner that caused you to pay attention. ;-)

Siding with the OP on this one. Swerving in and out of traffic is stupid and reckless whatever the reason may be. If he can't keep his bike in a straight line he should not be riding in traffic.

By your own admission, he delayed you all of 30 seconds. You've already spend more time than that whining about it. You need to get over it.

Yet if this was a driver who was busy adjusting stuff in his car and spent 30 seconds swerving in and out of the bike lane, I bet most people on this forum would be advocating nothing short of a court martial.

Yet if this was a driver who was busy adjusting stuff in his car and spent 30 seconds swerving in and out of the bike lane, I bet most people on this forum would be advocating nothing short of a court martial.

Lol.

I'd honk at him. He's hampering the flow of traffic, like a motorist who's swerving while looking for something that fell on the floor.

NYS VTL requires at least one hand on the bar, but I've never seen it enforced.

Siding with the OP on this one. Swerving in and out of traffic is stupid and reckless whatever the reason may be. If he can't keep his bike in a straight line he should not be riding in traffic.

+1

Just because a person is on bicycle does NOT mean they are above reproach if they behave in a irresponsible manner.

in the bike lane/shoulder

Even cyclists can't tell the difference?

By your own admission, he delayed you all of 30 seconds. You've already spend more time than that whining about it. You need to get over it. And we as cyclists need to get over the idea that everybody on a bicycle is an ambassador for our subculture.

Yet it's not a waste of time to complain about motorists who drive irresponsibly?. I don't see the difference. An idiot is an idiot, regardless of their mode of transportation.

Even cyclists can't tell the difference?

Is it possible that one minute it is BL, and the next just shoulder? Around here anything with a stripe tends to be called a BL... regardless if it really is or not.

if it wasn't really a bike lane, maybe he was just taking his rightful place on the road? I don't know if I would even believe the word "swerve" was applicable. You can only turn so tightly no handed before you fall. Maybe he was just not keeping a straight line.

Clearly you're to blame.

Yes, the cyclist's riding was inadequate. No, there was no need to honk. Yes, growing frustrated at a thirty-second delay is worth being concerned about.

wouldnt bother me unless he got close to the mirror in which case i would startle him by beeping the Razor horn

And frustrates me as I'm trying to pass him (in my car). I don't want to honk because he could get startled and crash.

Honk at him, he's an idiot if he crashes from a honk.

Mind you a little tap, not fall asleep on the wheel honk. Enough to be like "dude you're all over the road".


By your own admission, he delayed you all of 30 seconds. You've already spend more time than that whining about it. You need to get over it. And we as cyclists need to get over the idea that everybody on a bicycle is an ambassador for our subculture.

It's poor riding if he's weaving in and out of lanes, just dangerous. Less about time and more about ending up under a car's tire.

did he look back prior to swerving? Maybe he was taking advice of some people on this forum who say when you want a motorist to notice you and pass you safely you swerve in a controllable manner. Either way 30s is not that long.

The OP is lucky to have seen such an accomplished rider. NHDLLP (No Hands DLLP) is a very advanced technique. It is a variation of Dynamic Lateral Lane Positioning (DLLP), a tactic advocated by a former poster to this forum who was banned some time ago, probably for making up silly names for stupid techinques.

There's a guy I've seen a couple of times on my way to work who does this thing where he comes out of the train station (helmet clipped to his bag), jumps on his bike, waits for a gap in traffic and rides off, then once he's on his way down the road reaches around behind him and fumbles about to get his helmet off his bag and strap it on his head. It's one of those lovely quiet streets with all the parked cars, pedestrian crossings, traffic, etc.

I kinda wince every time I see him do it, expecting he's about to get darwin'd, but so far he's managed to get away with it.

Even cyclists can't tell the difference?

In my situation it was a bike lane. I just wrote it that way (bike lane/shoulder) to indicate that it didn't matter -- the guy had plenty of room to ride on the side.

Wiggling in and out of the bike lane or shoulder is worse than just taking up the whole lane of the road. You don't know as a driver if you can use the lane or not.

By your own admission, he delayed you all of 30 seconds. You've already spend more time than that whining about it. You need to get over it. And we as cyclists need to get over the idea that everybody on a bicycle is an ambassador for our subculture.

The goal of my whining is to make people aware that some cyclists out there do this kind of stupid stuff and that we all should avoid it as well so as to not make cyclists look even worse to drivers.

If I just cared about saving time, I wouldn't have given this a second thought after the incident.

did he look back prior to swerving? Maybe he was taking advice of some people on this forum who say when you want a motorist to notice you and pass you safely you swerve in a controllable manner. Either way 30s is not that long.

No. It just comes across as inconsiderate to the drivers on the road. I'm a regular bike commuter and so I'm pretty considerate of cyclists out there cause I know how hard it can be sometimes.

Imagine you're driving and the car in front of you in the lane to your right is wiggling in and out a foot into your lane. You ask yourself... does he want to pass? Is he drunk? Is it safe for me to pass? What should I do? etc... And then, you find the guy in the car is text messaging and can't keep his car straight. Pretty inconsiderate .. not to mention dangerous to others since it's car you're dealing with now instead of a bike.

did he look back prior to swerving? Maybe he was taking advice of some people on this forum who say when you want a motorist to notice you and pass you safely you swerve in a controllable manner. Either way 30s is not that long.

Buy a light or something, because as a driver, I can say that doesn't do **** compared to a light, well colored clothes, etc.

I rode from my house to high school once with no hands. 5 miles, half suburban streets, the other half included an Interstate service road, an overpass over the same Interstate (I-10) and at least two 10-lane highway crossings.

I made several attempts before accomplishing this feat as I had to catch some traffic lights (and traffic of course) just right to manage that, but it was quite satisfying when I finally did it. However....I could ride in a straight line hands or not.

I bet those fixie kids can do such things much easier because they don't need no stinkin' hands to brake and can track stand a the lights without touching the bars.

Hands on the bars or no, holding a line is crucial in traffic.