fredgarvin7

I finally did something I should have done ages ago: I called 2 local police depts re: bike safety. ie; ninjas and salmon. In one PD the shift Lt. said they already were cracking down on ninjas. But, the shift supervisors of both communities appeared receptive and willing to remind the troops that bikes are also part of their traffic control purview. In early Oct. I'm going to make the dreaded "follow-up call". Maybe if we just remind these folks, bikes will become a little less invisable to patroling cops. Of course I'm doing this from a suburban perspective.

vtjim

I haven't heard of actual enforcement, but Vermont recently updated its laws regarding ninjas, safe passing by cars, etc.

It's now illegal to throw things at cyclists.
I know... It wasn't before? Actually it was, but it was classified as littering.

Salmon drive me nuts. Yesterday if I wasn't paying attention, I'd have squished one with my Tacoma. A sidewalk salmon, no less, on a one-way street.

MitchL

what are salmon and ninjas?

pharasz

Salmon swim upstream. Like a cyclist on the wrong side of the road.
Ninjas operate at night and try to be invisible. Like a cyclist riding at night with no lights.

fredgarvin7

Salmon are cyclists who ride against the flow of traffic: ie "on the left". Like a salmon they "swim" upstream. A ninja is an idiot who rides at night with no lights, while wearing black/dark clothing, as if they are on a stealth attack. The worst possible combination is a ninja salmon. An utter FOOL who rides on the wrong side of the road with no lights while wearing black. I have almost head-oned several of these mentally deficient dunderheaded dolts, and was only saved by my own lights lighting up their pedal reflectors.

pharasz

What I want to know is, how do you REALLY feel about salmon an ninjas?

fredgarvin7

I can take 'em or leave 'em.

Fizzaly

On part of my ride home im a sidewalk salmon, because of one way streets and poor sidewalk planning i dont have much of a choice. (only about a 1/4 mile) and there is only a side walk on one side of the road which has no shoulders and is one way in the opposite way i ride.

himespau 

I didn't realize that there was such a thing as a sidewalk salmon. I rarely ride sidewalks (pretty much only use them when using crosswalks where I can't make a left turn (either because it's not legal or traffic isn't safe for me to get over into the left turn lane), but have seen enough people going both ways on them that I didn't know there was discussion.

Seattle Forrest

I've walked my bike across the Ballard Locks several times ( you're not allowed to ride here, and there are only a handful of water crossings ) by the salmon ladders, but there's never anything but water and diesel fuel in them.

SlimAgainSoon

Here's a Ninja!