cruentus

Go back and read the entire thread, it's a violation of State law ( I posted the relevant code).

This did not take place on a country road, it took place on a heavily traveled road in suburban New Jersey.

I'm sure that shaving one's legs and wearing pink spandex increases riding speed -- especially when riding through certain neighbor hoods.

Roughstuff

Hee hee...a keyboard pugilist! Just what the world needs. Does Mike Tyson know how to type?

On the other issue: I ride country roads most of the time, living in the berkshires. I also drive these country roads when using a car. As a cyclist, I always try to be riding solo. It is easier for cars to pass ONE CYCLIST AT A TIME when riders are spaced far enough apart. If they are in a 100-200 foot gaggle of riders trying to draft one another (unless a race is taking place under controlled conditions) I think its more of a challenge to sneak by 'em all. Not unlike trying to pass a large semi, you have to be patient as a driver. Was this one of the points you were trying to make?

I try and promote good treatment of cyclists on the road whether I am on my bike OR in my car.

Roughstuff

galen_52657

The fact that you live in New Jersey explains so much....

Regardless of if they were in the country of busy suburban roads, they were within their rights and the law.

Go back and read your own post: "Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway shall ride as near to the right roadside as practicable ". Your post also states that it is legal in N.J. to ride two abreast.

Since I assume you managed to get past this group, were you impeded? I think not.

Mr. Miskatonic

Sorry bub, but when you have that many bicyclists, they are the flow of traffic. Toss as many cars on that stretch of road as you had cyclists and I can assure you that the flow of traffic would be much slower than that group of cyclists.

Ah, here we get to the homophobia latent in the keyboard bully.

Look, Bobo, I ride through Camden, in spandex (black, not pink) all the time. I also bike my way through North Philadelphia. Don't get macho 'tough neighborhood' on us. It don't wash.

cruentus

Your level of reading comprehension matches your maturity level. Like I said, go back and read the relevant traffic code, sound out the big words or get an adult to help you.

Mr. Miskatonic

I have read the code, and I know it quite well. It does not support your tantrums in this matter.

Unless the lane is unusually large, that many cyclists will not be safe unless they take the lane. End of story.

Edit to add: As for your comment about 'maturity', I would point out that you are the one acting like a thug and a bully. If that is your definition of 'maturity' then I will gladly remain a child in your worthless eyes.

cruentus

39:4-14.2, 39:4-10.11 Operating Regulations.

"5) To travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded, but otherwise ride in single file..."

Is "no more than TWO ABREAST " a difficult concept for your childish mind to grasp? That's the law, Herr Leibnitz.

scarry

You had to start a 'I've been riding longer than you re-partre', so here goes. I'm 51 and started riding when I got my first 'big bike' at age 7 and rode a lot as a kid, got a 5 speed when I was 9 and rode in the hills all the time. That means I was riding before you were even born, sonny . Been riding ever since. Have since ridden every pass in the Sierra Nevada many times. Have done most every century ride in California many times. Ride in Critical Mass in SF many, many times.
Ride to work every day year round, and it does rain here. Rode to work in the snow when I worked in the Sierra's. I just completed my 11th Death Ride, https://www.deathride.com/, on a recumbent, and in good time.

Cyclist riding in a group is not childish or idiotic, but the safest and most efficient way for a group of 50 riders to travel. In this case you will just have to act your age and exercise patience and yield the road to them, instead of acting like an angry jerk.

DieselDan

BTW: if walkers, runners, skaters, and other non-motroized users are on a bike path, then it ceases to be a bike path.

scarry

Let me put this in simple words that you can understand.

WE ARE TRAFFIC.

scarry

OK two abreast, but what's the diff. if the group of 50 rode only two abreast, they would still TAKE THE LANE, only for a longer distance.

Seems the concept of CRITICAL MASS is lost on you. Also you think that cars are king. That's not going to wash on this board. I think you might find more sympathy for your point of view here https://dmoz.org/Recreation/Autos/Chats_and_Forums/

Mr. Miskatonic

Is the idea that fifty cyclists riding single file (down the middle of the lane to prevent unsafe passing)somehow an improvement in your mind? They take up a lot more horizontal real estate that way. Seems pretty unsafe to me. A lane taken is a lane taken, doesn't really matter if there's two or four. If the lane can't be shared, it can't be shared.

I always love these 'letter of the law' cagers. They always think that there version of things is giong to lead to some bike-free driving utopia.

cruentus

Mommy, "The Jack Booted Thugs" won't let me and my buddies ride our bikes down the middle of Interstate 80 whenever we feel like it.

But we're special, mommy. We all go down to LBS together with our electronic scales and weigh every single, dérailleur, spoke nipple and and chain ring bolt they have. We all wear the same magenta tutus. We all shave our eye brows and pubes.

We're special, damn it. SPECIAL!

galen_52657

better weigh yourself cruentus, you a lightweight

Mr. Miskatonic

Gee. There's a convincing counter-arguement. (Sounds of Eyes Rolling)

Begone, Troll.

scarry

I'd have to say, Troll.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In the context of the Internet, a troll is a message that seems to at least one user to be inaccurate, inflammatory or hostile, which by effect or design causes a disruption in discourse. The word is also often used to describe a person posting such messages. Coming on a cycling forum and sluring cyclists by calling them neon-clad ass-clowns would be one example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
https://yahootrolls.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll

Cycliste

Nicely going thread, moderator..

Bikepacker67

BWHAHAHAHA!
Now that was funny!

cc_rider

I've never understood why bicycles are singled out for special anger. How is being slowed down by bicycle any different than by a truck, or a tractor, or an Amish buggy, or even a slow car?

From a drivers p.o.v. I would rather pass a group of bikes once than pass individual bikes with gaps between. That way I only have to wait for one clear road to pass instead of many. When I ride, I keep that in mind.

Cycliste

Or have you ever heard of drivers honking and shouting insanities to a tatooed guy on a harley holding the lane and riding under the speed limit?

Some cyclists do stupid things, but one must admit that it is far too easy for car drivers to exercise road raging behavior with bicyclists, then bravely disapear in the sunset
Some states have began placing plain clothed cops on bikes patroling on their roadways, a great dissuasive policy in many aspects.

recursive

Unless you want to follow the law, which he seems particularly fond of.

va_cyclist

This poll is hugely flawed and reflects a strong anti-cyclist bias. The problem is mixed domains. There are multiple questions intertwined here:

1) are you irritated;
2) do bicyclists have a right to the road;
3) are bicyclists obligated to follow traffic laws;
4) are motorists responsible for avoiding them.

The answers aren't mutually exclusive, but the way the poll is worded forces you to agree with choices for one question in order to satisfy another. If I agree that bicyclists have a right to share the road and need to use common sense and follow laws (a reasonable viewpoint), then I am forced to respond that I am "somewhat irritated" with their behavior, which isn't exactly true.

Here's another illustrative example:

Poll: Do you believe President Bush is doing a good job?
a. Yes, his tax cuts have boosted the economy.
b. Sort of, unemployment is still a big issue.
c. Absolutely not, the war in Iraq is a fiasco.

See the problem now? Depending which issue is your hot button, you're locked into a choice by the wording of the poll.

genec

Harley going UNDER the speed limit... no way!

Regarding the speed limit though... too many drivers think that is the "required driving speed..." not a "limit" to which they should not exceed.

Try this sometime... watch the reactions. Drive 5 MPH under the speed LIMIT everywhere. Motorists behind you will go beserk. It is really fun to watch. Sick too as often for some odd reason, they simply don't bother to pass... even on multilane roads. Really shows the strange behaviour of some drivers.

va_cyclist

Reminds me of an old George Carlin routine that went something like: everyone driving slower than me is an a$$hole, and everyone driving faster than me is a godd@mn maniac!

How about those people who tailgate you on the highway when you're driving at or near the speed limit in the center lane with an open left lane. Then when you pull to the right, they ZOOOOM by like they're in a tremendous hurry only to get behind the next person in the center lane. If they're in such a hurry why don't they just pass?

noisebeam

Driving habits are terrible in the US. It is really sad. Similar to your example - when I drive I coast into a red light, often in center of three same way lanes. All to often the driver behind me will aggressively start swerving side to side, then floor it, pass me, swerve back into lane in front of me and brake hard and stop, me coasting right in behind them. This happened all the time on a 5mi stretch of 45mph road with lights timed at 40mph. I could drive at 40 and never have to stop, the whole time keeping up with cars who sprinted to each light, then waited for me at red light to catch up, light turning green just as I approached. What a waste of fuel.

Why:
People don't observe what is going on around them
People don't learn (which requires observation and response)
Driving skills are learned from video games

Al