Originally Posted by
3speed
Ooo, ooo, I want a turn.
I bike enough in all situations to own a pretty nice MTB, a commuter, a nice road bike, and a nice grocery getter single speed. I love putting miles on my road bike when the MTB trails are wet.
I also hate those d-bag road bikers who ride in the road on roads that are either really busy or have speed limits above 35 unless it's a road that isn't very busy at all. Those self centered pricks love to block traffic around here sometimes. And you can "blah blah blah, they have a right to the road too, blah blah blah" but no, the roads are not built for bikes. They are built for cars. That's why they have 55mph speed limits and car lanes. Yes, you Can Legally ride a bike in the road if you want to, but that doesn't mean it's not a self-centered prick thing to do on many roads.
One thing many people don't know, and maybe it's just a WI thing, is that you're actually supposed to honk your horn to let a cyclist know a vehicle is approaching. I suggest that everyone encountering a cyclist in the car lane on a busy road holding up traffic or a narrow higher mph road without safe passing should make sure they lay on the horns for a good long time as they pass to ensure the safety of the cyclist you're approaching.
OK, you had your turn, now go back to detention.
NO, ROADS WERE NOT BUILT FOR CARS -- THEY WERE BUILT FOR THE PUBLIC! And there are NUMEROUS sources that will tell you, PAVING roads was the result of advocacy of 19th-Century CYCLISTS. If, in the past 50 years, roads have been built to handle high speeds, that does not change that THEY ARE FOR THE PUBLIC, NOT JUST ONE USER GROUP. As I said before, INTERSTATES are the roads built for cars -- some allow bike access, most do not, because they are high-speed auto routes.
There are two-lane roads, numbered and classed by "County", "State", "U.S.", that are signed 55mph; some, in remote areas, HAVE no speed limit. Does that mean the cyclist who lives on that road can't ride it? Grow up.
The auto horn is a device designed to alert another road user of imminent danger or hazard, NOT to say, "HEY, I'M BEHIND YOU!" Since another poster has already called BS on you with a source, I'll just say that you seem to be speaking from opinion, not knowledge. Here's a thought: opinions are like sphincters; everyone has one, most all of 'em stink. I teach my kids: "Don't THINK something is a certain way, FIND OUT, so you KNOW."