Originally Posted by
mtalinm
I just took a couple months off of commuting after tearing a calf muscle. (mighty hard to pedal when that happens.) drove to work or took the train most days, leaving me to watch the cyclists instead of pedaling alongside y'all. noticed a couple of things while I was away:
Ouch! That sounds extremely painful. How did you tear your calf muscle?
Originally Posted by
mtalinm
Cyclists appear reckless. It seems like most cyclists run red lights and stop signs. As a cyclist myself, I could tell that most of them were slowing down and looking both ways before proceeding, which I confess to doing myself.
Yup, the key here though is
appears reckless. I don't think many cyclists just barrel their way through a red light or stop sign without some sort of effort to see if there is oncoming traffic, though I have seen it before on occasion. Like you I slow down significantly to see if there is oncoming traffic / pedestrians before proceeding through a red light or stop sign. Many times I'm forced to come to a complete stop for several seconds before going through.
Originally Posted by
mtalinm
But as a driver, even as one who loves to commute by bike, I found this infuriating. Mostly I think the problem was "cars aren't running red lights; why are bikes?" though there was also the petty resentment of losing ground on others.
Yes, I think this is jealousy. Drivers are jealous that bicycles can, more often than not, safely go through red lights and stop signs. One of the reasons I love to bike is because I can safely disregard "the rules of the road" which were never designed for bicycles in the first place, and so I arrive at my destinations much faster than if I drove or took public transportation. If people in cars are jealous of bicycles abilities to safely go through reds and stop signs, why not join the fun?
Originally Posted by
mtalinm
Lastly, I was a lot happier when I started commuting again!
That is awesome
I went 4 weeks without riding once because of travel, and during that time I was a bit depressed because I missed my bicycle so much! It felt amazing to get back on it.