I have no problem with him taking the lane, nor do I have a problem with him riding with no helmet, although I am sure he was under 18 and the law requires it. My main concern was him riding with no hands on a very busy and, at times, unpredictable street. He has zero control of his ride and I think my frustration was that all of that coupled together bothered me. Just seems more dangerous, the no hands part, than anything I could envision doing. Maybe it is because I have a family I have to come home to and this dude is a super hero teenager who thinks he'll never die. I dunno. From the California Safety Tips for Bicyclists, "Be prepared to stop or take evasive action" He clearly was not.

The kids doing dumb things is what drives me nuts about that situation. I used to ride to school when I was about his age as well but I still rode aware of my surroundings regardless of how funny a wheelie might be.

I am relaxed it just points out why some drivers would have problems with cyclists in the road. I take the lane all the time when I ride now but I try not to be a nuisance and I follow the rules. I act as if the other drivers are incompetent and take my life into my own hands. I don't rely on the drivers to give a rats @$$ about whether I make it home or not. The 2 examples I stated in my first post are where my mind does not compute because they are totally reliant on others watching for them.

That's all.