Steve B.

In today's Newsday;

Bike tour barred from Oyster Bay Cove roads - Newsday

Papa Tom

I can't figure this out, but I can tell you that I'm seeing an inordinate amount of reckless, irresponsible cycling along that route lately. I've been ending just about every summer day by either bicycling or driving to Teddy Roosevelt Beach, and virtually every night, I come across cyclists riding like the total maniacs people think we are, spreading out two and three abreast in the middle of Cove Road, blowing EVERY traffic light and STOP sign, weaving in and out of cars, and riding on the wrong side of the road.

Mind you, these are not newbies, but older, well-equipped adults, most often wearing Lycra jerseys with the names of bike clubs and racing teams scrawled across them. Perhaps the folks in Oyster Bay Cove think these are the people who will be hooting and howling through their quiet neighborhood in packs of fifty and a hundred. Or, even worse, maybe they realize that the actual participants in the Gold Coast ride will be LESS experienced and, perhaps, even more careless and/or rebellious.

As a Town of Oyster Bay employee, I will admit that our elected officials are VERY cautious -- maybe overly cautious -- about lawsuits. But maybe we, as cyclists, need to keep asking ourselves WHY we constantly provide them with reasons for such caution.

Steve B.

You make some good points, Tom.

i have mixed feelings about stop lights and signs. Idaho allows a roll thru of a stop sign and there are good reasons for it. Often, a cyclist has a better view of traffic and conditions and can well judge if a full stop is required. If there's no traffic, it makes sense for a cyclist to be able to maintain momentum and roll thru a stop sign. Traffic lights almost always require at least a stop and observe, but with no traffic it makes sense to allow a cyclist to proceed, especially if the light intersection is not designed to sense the presence of a cyclist. Some states allow this kind of common sense approach, recognizing that bikes are not cars and the same laws applied to both make no sense in some cases.

I think a lot of riders who spend a lot of time on their bikes have realized that this common sense approach should apply to them, even though the law is not behind them. There's also a lot of of the attitude of "I'm entitled and it doesn't apply to me" that you witness amongst both cyclists as well as motorists.

But in truth, I have have zero patience with somebody who complains about me running a stop sign. I will only do so when I know the intersection is clear and if that troubles a motorist, tough s- - t. Motorists rarely obey the speed limit, so what are they complaining about. Speeding cars cause far more injuries and deaths, so just shut the f--k up about errant cyclists.

The bigger issue is that in a lot of communities, the north shore of LI in particular, motorists don't like being inconvenienced by too many cyclists on the road. The entitlement problem rears it's ugly head again and they all feel that the roads belong to cars and screw everybody else. Too friggin bad. Cycling is getting more and more popular, they will thus have to learn to deal with more cyclists on the road and some of them are not going to be smart and safe cyclists, but neither are many drivers of motor vehicles. Get used to it.

Papa Tom

I think you just told me to shut the f--k up, but I will sum up my point anyway.

Yeah, I, too, often feel ridiculous sitting at a red light in the middle of upper Brookville when there hasn't been a car in site for 25 minutes. And yeah, I am probably more of a danger to traffic when I have to start from a dead stop, find my way into my pedal straps, and get up to speed as quickly as the vehicle next to me. Perhaps the laws can be modified to be more practical for cyclists, but so far, they haven't been. Same thing applies to cars. These damned right-on-red cameras are shooting up everywhere, and every time I try to make the required 3-second stop at one (to avoid another $80-90 ticket), I almost get rear-ended and I ALWAYS end up being honked and yelled at by the guy in the 10,000 pound redneck pickup that came up behind me at 60mph and had no intention of stopping. If we don't ALL obey the law, somebody is going to get hurt.

Anyway, I will give you your opinion about red lights and STOP signs. But YOU KNOW the type of cyclist I am REALLY complaining about. I don't know if the renegade bicyclists I see all over the north shore actually live up there, but they sure do seem to suffer from that same "entitlement problem" you used to describe the residents who complain about them. There are two guys I have identified, in particular, in the Oyster Bay Cove/Oyster Bay Downtown area that are just total menaces. Forget about stopping at lights and STOP signs. These guys ride beautiful bikes and wear outfits you can spot a mile down the road. That's unfortunate, because they generate a really bad impression of cyclists when they weave in and out of traffic, zip across four lanes of two-way traffic to make a left turn five or six cars short of a red light, and engage in all kinds of other childish foolishness. THESE are the cyclist people think of when they hear there is a bike tour passing through the neighborhood.

Steve B.

No you read that wrong (or I typed it wrong)

I was telling the self righteous motorist who never, ever themselves break a law while driving, always uses their turn signal, always does the speed limit, never talks or messages on the phone, but then complains about the behavior of cyclists. OK, if you're a saint in a car you can complain about others, but there is no such thing, so best then shut up.

But reality check time. There is no way that every cyclist is going to behave and be a perfect saint on a bike. If it isn't the lycra clad Euro Pro wannabee on his 8 lbs carbon road bike, blowing lights and signs galore cause his Strava time is faster that day then he's ever done before, or it's going to be a new to the States immigrant riding his bike to his minimum wage job at 4AM, the wrong way in traffic, or the Dad on his beach cruiser riding the wrong way in traffic cause his kid is along side on the sidewalk.

There is always going to be people doing stupid things, on a bike and in a car. We can't change everybody's behavior and if we know not to lump EVERY motorist in to the same category with the few that drive stupid, then cut the same slack with cyclists and don;t close the roads to a charity ride claiming the actions of a very few justify hurting everbody.

Steve B.

No you read that wrong, or I typed it wrong.

I was telling the self righteous motorist who never, ever themselves break a law while driving, always uses their turn signal, always does the speed limit, never talks or messages on the phone, but then complains about the behavior of cyclists. Have you ever seen such a motorist ?, I haven't. OK, if you're a saint in a car you can complain about others, but there is no such thing, so best then shut up.

But reality check time. There is no way that every cyclist is going to behave and be a perfect saint on a bike. If it isn't the lycra clad Euro Pro wannabee on his 8 lbs carbon road bike, blowing lights and signs galore cause his Strava time is faster that day then he's ever done before, or it's going to be a new to the States immigrant riding his bike to his minimum wage job at 4AM, the wrong way in traffic, or the Dad on his beach cruiser riding the wrong way in traffic cause his kid is along side on the sidewalk.

There is always going to be people doing stupid things, on a bike and in a car. We can't change everybody's behavior and if we know not to lump EVERY motorist in to the same category with the few that drive stupid, then cut the same slack with cyclists and don;t close the roads to a charity ride claiming the actions of a very few justify hurting everbody.

Papa Tom

Yah, but when elected officials have to make a decision on something that has the potential to put their city, village, or township at risk for a lawsuit (or even worse, a character attack by Newsday), they can only go by what they see, and what too many of them see is reckless riding by cyclists who, seemingly, should know better.

Gotcha on the point that we are all imperfect and that we all have a little rebel in us, but it's the "stupid things" that stick out...NOT the regular boring stuff that happens the rest of the time. My suggestion is that the Oyster Bay Cove people would rather err on the side of caution than bother to really research who will be participating in the Gold Coast Ride.

Dave Cutter

Why would any cyclist be surprised? Let's be honest bicyclist aren't any politer than motorcycle groups/clubs. We just make a lot lets noise. But the finger flipping traffic clogging mob-like disregard for others... remains the same. I don't blame the sport of cycling... or the participants or organizers ether. People tend to be less polite anymore... and groups of people can be outright rude. Even the local charity golf shindig... is a total PIA.

Bacciagalupe

Sounds like a bit of a d**k move to me.

If local cyclists are disregarding traffic controls, that's a problem. Forcing a single club's annual ride to detour to a more dangerous road is NOT the way to fix that problem.

Papa Tom

I'm not totally familiar with this tour, but I don't think it's just a club ride. Posters go up everywhere, and anybody who has a bike in the garage is invited. I've known about half-a-dozen really inexperienced cyclists who claim to have done this ride and, knowing how they handle their bikes, I can imagine it gets pretty sloppy.

A club ride has a leader, and club members usually have a decent understanding of how to behave on the road. When you open the narrow, winding, hilly roads of the North Shore to once-a-summer bicyclists, you never know WHAT is going to happen.

FIVE ONE SIX

while "anyone with a bike in the garage is invited" it's not a newbie ride at all, at least not for the people doing more than the 12 mile or 25 mile versions. it's actually the hilliest club sponsored ride on LI, that i highly doubt a "once-a-summer" bicyclist will want to be a part of for longer than 25 miles and that's pushing it. and i personally love the fact that you made the Gold Coast sound equivalent to the Five Boro Bike Tour, while you're "not totally familiar with this tour" at all and when in fact the 100 mile version is pretty much the toughest sponsored ride on LI...

and yes, Bacciagalupe is in fact correct, it IS a d**k move! but hey, it's Oyster Bay, so they can do whatever they wanna do. it's not the first time they've changed a bike route in that town. like in 2010, when they changed the bike route in the Tobay Tri so it didn't go all the way down Berry Hill Road, only because it was a Sunday and they didn't want the town residents that were leaving the church on the corner of Berry Hill Road to have to deal with the cyclists in the tri. So instead of the normal route, that was in place for years, you had to make a right on McCouns Lane and take that s**t show of a road that was covered in branches and sand from a storm earlier that week to East Main Street cause the residents of Oyster Bay didn't want the tri passing front of it's church on a Sunday. and a little fyi, that change didn't hold up for long, this year the bike route passes in front of that same church...

Papa Tom

516:

Trust me, I know the Gold Coast Tour is NOT an easy ride, as it's one I avoid all the time(!) But the way it is advertised, they attract lots of people who have no business trying to make that ride. THAT part, I've seen first-hand. That's all I'm saying.

By the way, Oyster Bay COVE, while it lies within the boundaries of the Town of Oyster Bay, is a separate incorporated village with its own mayor and trustees. This was not a Town of Oyster Bay decision.

Steve B.

It's a traditional ride run by the Huntington Bike Club, I know it's been running for more then 25 years and on pretty much the same course, with occasional variations year to year. It's a club sponsored ride, open to anyone and you can register that day. It's one of what used to be a series of tours sponsored by the 4 road clubs on L.I. The SBRA runs the BtB in early June out in Mattituck. The Huntington BC did the Gold Coast in July. The Massapequa Club did the Tour of the Hamptons in late August with the LIBC doing the High Point in Sept. The LIBC got out of the sponsored ride business 20 years ago, then the Massapequa BC move the Hamptons ride to Sept.

The GC starts on Pulaski Rd. near Cuba Hill Rd, heading north into the Huntington Bay area before going thru Cold Spring Harbor, then up 25A (Fish Hatchery), then a right on Cove Rd and into the first rest stop at the OBY high school.

It has 25, 55, 70 & 100 mile routes and as such the 25, which is designed to attract the novice cyclist(s) does not go up Fish Hatchery or into Oyster Bay Cove, instead heading back to the start via 108 then east to Pulaski.

So at the point when you hit the Village of Oyster Bay Cove, the riders are all the 55 mile ride and up groups.

The climb up Rt 25A tends to fragment all the riders and it's rare to see huge clusters of riders after the climb. By the time you hit Cove Rd. you are 16 miles in. Yes there are still a lot of riders rolling thru the area and I assume that's what bothers the locals.

Viewing 2014 Gold Coast 55 | MapMyRide

FIVE ONE SIX

that may be the case, but as far as i remember that part of the route is the second rest stop and only part of the 55 mile tour and higher. no newbie would be on that part of the tour, so it can't really have anything to do with newbie riders causing safety hazards for motorists, cause there aren't any on that part of the ride. it just sounded disrespectful saying that the ride gets sloppy, because the HBC works their arse off every single year to make that ride one of the best rides on LI, and from a cyclists point of view every year they succeed. that's all...

in the end, it REALLY just has to do with rich people throwing their weight around just to make other rich happy and the end result is everyone else is going to be unhappy about it. just like how the Tour of the Hampton's ride, which is sponsored by the MPBC, USED to be at the end of August every summer. that changed about 5 or 6 years ago, because they weren't able to get the permit to have it at the end of August anymore, because the Hampton's residents didn't want it to interfere with their summer. so from that point on, they were only able to get the permit for the ride if they had it in September, because by the first weekend in September all of the people that were spending their summer in the Hampton's were long gone by then. this year it's going to be on September 21st, which is the 3rd weekend of the month. i feel bad for the MPBC, because they sacrifice and do a GREAT job with that ride every year, but they won't get close to the crowd that they used to because not many people are going to want to go to the Hampton's that late in the year. all because someone with some power said you can't have the ride when you want to, cause it's not when i want you to have it...

Papa Tom

All good points. Thank you for clearing that up for me. I guess I was speculating when I should've just kept my mouth shut. Better yet, I should have been out riding, instead of sitting in front of the damned computer.

Steve B.

I think the MPBC actually gets about the same turnout for 2 reasons, 1) Now that it's in Sept. the weather is better with less chance for heat, thunderstorms, etc... and 2) The ride used to interfere, schedule wise, with other LI events, such as the TOBAY Triathlon,. It doesn't now. A lot of clubs run their centuries in Sept., Golden Apple in Westchester, among others.

FIVE ONE SIX

i've ridden it both in August and September, they actually do get less people now. and conflicting with Tobay really has nothing to do with it, cause the Tobay tri is usually closed out a month or so before the race and a road ride and tri are going to attract different people. just like the Ancient Mariner didn't conflict with the Montauk Half, ect. the biggest problem they have now is that there is at least 1 Jewish holiday in the first half of September, so they have to schedule the ride around that, which is why it happens at the end of the month. me personally, i'd rather have the heat than the cold for that ride, cause at 6:30/7:00am in South Hampton in the end of September it's chilly enough to warrant a l/s jersey...