Stupid Is
 

I've seen cyclists being their own worse enemies but yesterday morning took the prize for how many things one person could do wrong.

We had hellicious rains yesterday morning during rush hour - it wasn't just raining it was raining so hard it felt we were getting our annual rainfall all at once. Sitting at a traffic light I watched a man on a bike, approaching (1) riding the sidewalk; (2) riding against traffic; (3) riding off the curb to cross against the light (people to his left and right had a green turn arrow); (4) no lights on his bike (it was dark enough lights were required); and (5) he was wearing clothing that blended in more than stood out. The cyclist then ran right into a car that pulling forward to turn left.

Luckily no one was hurt and apparently no damage but there were so many way that entire situation could have gone so far south. Sometimes I think the stupid really do want to thin out the gene pool but get protected in spite of themselves.

Calling another person stupid without knowing all the circumstances of the persons life is stupid.

I cringe every time I see a cyclist ride in similar manner described by the OP, and I hope nothing becomes of it while on my watch, since I do not like to be one of the first persons on the scene if something goes awry.

I see a number of garbage riders doing similar things every day (minus actually hitting the car). They'll rapidly switch from sidewalk to road, often swooping in front of cars in the process. It seems insane to me, almost like they have a death wish. I don't understand the mentality behind simultaneously being so afraid of cars that you prefer to ride on the sidewalk (and mind you, I often see them do this even on streets with nice, wide bike lanes) while also being so bold that you'll swerve right into their path.

Feel better now, or are you already satisfied just knowing that you are superior to those cycling low-life you like to disparage?
Do you really feel superior to those cyclists unaware of your standards on the right way to sidewalk cycle or dress up for correct cycling?

I don't care about how people dress, or what kind of bike they ride, or anything like that. For me, the ONLY thing that places them in the "garbage rider" category is the way they ride: namely, in the way I described. There IS an objectively right and wrong to ride when we're talking about public streets, and they are doing it wrong.

I'm usually too busy paying attention to my own riding and surroundings to notice what other people are doing.

That sounds safe...

You responsed to the OP with "I see a number of garbage riders doing similar things every day." She was smirking about seeing a "stupid" cyclist who among other things was guilty of riding the wrong direction on the sidewalk and didn't wear bright colored clothing. So which Good Book are you reading that defines the objective "right and wrong" on these "similar things?"

I don't take responsibility for every word of other people's posts that I'm partially in agreement with. But I don't need any sort of "book" to tell me that it's stupid to rapidly transition from the sidewalk to the street without yielding ROW properly. The law is one objective standard that says that it's not correct behavior to do that.

The "good book" is the codes of city and state laws that say that bicycles are vehicles and are bound by the same rules of the road as other vehicles--that is, on the right side of two-way roads and in the mandated direction on one-way ones. The law in most--if not all--states says that bicycles ridden at night or in other low-vision situations must have lights. The law in many cities forbids bicycles on sidewalks.

As to why we should obey the law, a clever old Greek explained it a very long time ago; I'll refer you to him.

Those "other things" that you decline to mention are kind of crucial to the story

On what weird planet does the entire string of actions that this one "stupid" cyclist took make any sense?

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Cranky hypocrite.

What the heck your point?

Is A&S going to be filled up with junk posts about seemingly irrelevant matters about people who never visit or read these forums?

Cycling must be a utopia with rainbows and unicorns, if the bike advocates have nothing better to do than talk about how stupid people on bikes are.

I don't know about you, but today I shared a bike lane with a unicorn.

There does seem a run on holier-than-thou Serious Cyclists posters oozing contempt for those cyclists not as blessed as themselves. Posters who seem to have the view that their derogatory/or cutesy labeling and name calling of the other cyclists advances bicycling advocacy and/or safety.

Seems that these self appointed legal scholars and self righteous posters are for more interested that other cyclists strictly comply with both the letter of the law and imaginary "laws" (i.e. bright clothing, "correct" direction of travel for sidewalk cycling, and broad brush declarations of the legality/risk of sidewalk cycling) than anybody else, including the officers of the law.

I suspect you are more likely to share a bike lane with a unicorn, than some of the A&S posters who post about "stupid" cyclists observed and analyzed while the poster was driving about town or cycling in the only correct manner for a bicycle "driver."

I hate when that happens. Stupid unicorn should have been in the unicorn lane.

This thread hit the dirt in a hurry.
Except for the unicorn part, they're pretty.

But what if they're wearing a lycra skinsuit?

There was no smirking nor feeling of superiority on my part, in spite of what anyone might think to the contrary. Nor do I feel someone is beneath me because they are not wearing clothing for "correct cycling." HOWEVER, this guy did five stupid things and three illegal things (unfortunately in Austin it is legal to ride on the sidewalks except in a section of downtown and that's not where this occurred) so yes, that makes him stupid. He was not smart enough to use common sense and not smart enough to learn the law or does not care to obey the law -- all really stupid things and when you do really stupid things that makes you stupid.

As for his clothing, when you know visibility is significantly diminished due to weather, you don't wear something dark to blend in. You need to use some common sense so it's not about having proper cycling gear it's about common sense. Hell I ride in a tee shirt and pair of leggings. I don't even own cycling clothing.

There are more situations than most of us want to accept where people do stupid things not only to their detriment but to the detriment of society as a whole. As a result, keep trying to protect stupid and the end result is we are dumbing down our world and that scares me. So if I get annoyed at the stupid, well there you go. If I feel sometimes the correct result is that the stupid acts results in self-correcting solutions, i.e., the gene pool is reduced, yes I do without regret. I'm not saying I haven't done something stupid myself because I most certainly have and some real humdingers but I learned or learned from watching someone else be stupid. I also don't expect government nor society in general to "bail me out either" or continue to protect me from myself either at the expense of the majority. Sometimes we just have to realize stupidity should be painful for the stupid.

Quite honestly too, if I am too stupid to realize hey it's raining hard out there and dark and since I am going to ride my bike, I should wear something to make myself more visible and do other things that make me safer, and I don't -- well it sucks to be me and yes, I am stupid!

But did its rider have a bag to pick up its poop? I hate those scofflaw unicorn owners who don't clean up after their animal!

The unicorns I see around here have no riders. They move on their own. They of course do not care where their poop may fall.

Thanks for clarifying that.

Uhhhh, are you just picking a fight for no reason or did you draw the short straw in some bizarre "devil's advocate for a day" contest?

So, with minimal visibility the guy is 1) riding against traffic 2) on the sidewalk 3) switching from sidewalk to the road willy-nilly while crossing intersections and 4) not using lights or wearing anything to make him more visible. By all means, let's stand up for this guy! OK, you object to the word "stupid" -- fine, I get it. If that's what bugs you, how about calling him "objectively clueless," "undeniably death-wishy," or "without a doubt lacking in common sense" instead? Feel better now?