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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
(Post 13367688)
I'll raise you a smug Serious Cyclist™ posting on BF about all the untermenchen cyclists who don't meet a self styled Cycling Stud's Standards.
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Originally Posted by dynodonn
(Post 13367911)
My post was not made in a serious vein, just a poke at a collection of some BF so called cycling taboos.
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I was just surfing the A&S forum, when I remembered this: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=&sid=1996050 being mentioned in another A&S thread.
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Originally Posted by Chris516
(Post 13403691)
I was just surfing the A&S forum, when I remembered this: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=&sid=1996050 being mentioned in another A&S thread.
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Originally Posted by Daves_Not_Here
(Post 13404722)
These situations (blind pass leading to potential head-on collision on MUP) are the ones that make me most nervous around here -- it is not that uncommon to have two pace lines pass within a few feet of one another with a closing speed of 40 to 50 mph. The presences of pedestrians and cyclists adds an unpredictable element and some cyclists get irritated if they have to slow down. That said, I've not yet heard of a mass pile-up so it's probably not as big of a deal as I think it is.
I live near the trail mentioned in the link, along with one other trail north of it. The trail mentioned in the link, is a highly used MUP on the weekends, since it goes from Montgomery County(MD) to Northwest DC. I have been on bike trails in Northern VA during a club ride on a weekend, where they were a very highly trafficked MUP. |
Out cycling this weekend with a cub-scout troop and their parents -- 16 adults and children total riding down the San Gabriel River trail between Long Beach and Seal Beach. I'm one of two regular cyclists on the ride, coaching our guys to ride single file and steady on the right and not to swerve into the overtaking or oncoming bicycle traffic.
I made a point to shut up and try to see the experience through the eyes of the adults who ride very infrequently (only when forced by their kids), to understand why they don't ride more. My findings were probably of no surprise to people here: 1. Few are willing to ride on streets, bike lanes or not. They limit themselves to paths with no motorist traffic. 2. More experienced cyclists that speed closely through clusters of slower cyclists and children are perceived as being dangerous, particularly on the River trail, where going off the path can put you into sharp boulders or down a 45 degree wall. Most have observed collisions in the past. 3. Some experienced cyclists are perceived as being haughty, especially when expressing annoyance towards children; although, some of this could be self-consciousness in adults about the obvious differences in weight and fitness, or the sense that the slower, less experienced cyclists are not welcome on the bike path. From the point of view of advocacy and increasing ridership, it seems that making less experienced rdiers feel safe and welcome may be a good first step. |
Originally Posted by Daves_Not_Here
(Post 13442414)
From the point of view of advocacy and increasing ridership, it seems that making less experienced rdiers feel safe and welcome may be a good first step.
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Originally Posted by SBRDude
(Post 13443442)
It would also go a long way for new riders to learn that more experienced/faster cyclists weren't necessarily being haughty or annoyed by their presence on the trail, and that they could fit in really well by learning the etiquette and riding predictably.
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Example -- Riding through groups of pedestrians at high speeds
We provide for your entertainment another installment of Boneheaded Cyclist Wins Friends, Influences People
So it's Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago in Long Beach and I'm west bound on the MUP that runs along the beach from the peninsula in Belmont Shores to Shoreline Village. Anybody that lives here knows this is no place to hammer, especially on weekends, when the path is filled with dogs, pedestrians, cyclists, toddlers, skateboarders, speed-walkers, roller-bladers, you name it. This is a place to cruise, sight see and get your heart rate back down. I get to the Belmont Pool and next thing I know, I'm in the middle of a running event. It's an out and back so the MUP is filled with runners going both directions. I could have bailed and popped up to Ocean Blvd. but there were pleny of gaps, so I just matched runners speed at 5 mph and went with the flow on the right side. No drama, life is good. I saw him coming down the center towards me from about 50 yards out. He appeared to be an avid cyclist (full roadie kit, shaved legs, etc.) and was storming down the center of the path between the two lines of runners at about double the speed of the runners, and angrily yelling, "coming through! That's right, I'm riding here! ..." He was essentially playing chicken with the runners in the center. If they had not jumped out of his way, he would have hit them. What he left in his wake was literally scores of pissed off runners. People kind of glanced at me, as if to say, "what gives with you guys." What is ironic to me is how cyclists resent their treatment by impatient motorists, but when the shoe is on the other foot, they mirror the same behaviors and attitudes towards pedestrians. |
Originally Posted by donger
(Post 13319511)
Perhaps I can offer a perspective from a cyclist/cop view. First, a little bit about me. I'm a cop in Northern CA. I took up cycling almost a year ago. I've logged 3000 miles this year, ridden 1 century, several metric centuries, and several half-centuries. I love cycling and I've also lost 35 lbs.
I know that motorist can be jackasses and ignorant when it comes to cyclists. I also believe that some cyclists are also jackasses and ignorant. It's like how some of the public view cops...you don't remember the positive contacts but the negative contacts will be forever ingrained in your mind. It's the same with cyclists. As a motorist, I've come across riders on a one lane mountain road, 3 riders across, effectively blocking the lane and making passing the cyclists unsafe. I've encountered a single rider on the same road, riding in the center of the roadway with the bike helmet strapped onto the handle bars. Today, while working, I had a cyclist in a busy intersection who was stopped in the left turn with no cars in the lane. The light didn't change for the cyclist and, as I drove by in my police car, he looked at me, raised both arms and yelled at me (as if I could do anything about the light). Here's some information that might help everyone here. If you encounter a signal light that won't change for bicycles, don't yell at the cops. Call Traffic Engineering and tell them. I guarantee that a normal citizen complaining will hold more weight that if a cop calls them up and tells them. About cars making right turns at an intersection where there is a bike lane. The CA Vehicle Code (CVC) requires drivers to make a right turn as close as practical to the right curb or edge of the roadway [22100(a) CVC]. Also, the driver can be in the bike lane to make a right turn 200 feet from the intersection, even if the dotted lines aren't 200 feet long [22109(a)(3) CVC]. Now, about riders riding side-by-side. 21202(a) CVC says for cyclists going slower than the normal flow of traffic is required to ride as near to the right hand curb or edge of the roadway AS PRACTICAL EXCEPT WHEN: (1) overtaking or passing a cyclist, pedestrian, or slower vehicle, (2) preparing to make a left turn at an intersection, private road or driveway, (3) REASONABLY necessary to avoid hazardous conditions or debris. 21208(a) CVC requires cyclists to use the bike lane when traveling below the normal speed of traffic. The same exceptions listed above also apply here. I hope this bit of information helps and it is not my intention to offend or upset any riders here. Feel free to ask me questions if you have any. |
Originally Posted by Daves_Not_Here
(Post 14460792)
We provide for your entertainment another installment of Boneheaded Cyclist Wins Friends, Influences People
So it's Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago in Long Beach and I'm west bound on the MUP that runs along the beach from the peninsula in Belmont Shores to Shoreline Village. Anybody that lives here knows this is no place to hammer, especially on weekends, when the path is filled with dogs, pedestrians, cyclists, toddlers, skateboarders, speed-walkers, roller-bladers, you name it. This is a place to cruise, sight see and get your heart rate back down. I get to the Belmont Pool and next thing I know, I'm in the middle of a running event. It's an out and back so the MUP is filled with runners going both directions. I could have bailed and popped up to Ocean Blvd. but there were pleny of gaps, so I just matched runners speed at 5 mph and went with the flow on the right side. No drama, life is good. I saw him coming down the center towards me from about 50 yards out. He appeared to be an avid cyclist (full roadie kit, shaved legs, etc.) and was storming down the center of the path between the two lines of runners at about double the speed of the runners, and angrily yelling, "coming through! That's right, I'm riding here! ..." He was essentially playing chicken with the runners in the center. If they had not jumped out of his way, he would have hit them. What he left in his wake was literally scores of pissed off runners. People kind of glanced at me, as if to say, "what gives with you guys." What is ironic to me is how cyclists resent their treatment by impatient motorists, but when the shoe is on the other foot, they mirror the same behaviors and attitudes towards pedestrians. |
Originally Posted by CB HI
(Post 14464230)
Bet the running event did not have the required permit. Otherwise the path would have been closed for other users.
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Two incidents which really irked me (as a driver):
I was at a red light, with cars waiting on both sides of the intersection. My girlfriend noticed an odd flicker in a car's headlight across the way. After much squinting, she realized there was a ninja cyclist in the line of traffic opposite. The light turned green, and I proceeded to cross when a dark shadow sped across the front of my car, and I missed the unlit bike and rider by a few feet. I was immensely glad I had been warned. Cyclists riding without lights has been getting so bad in that city that there was a give-away of simple blinking lights to anyone on a bike who would take a set. These: http://www.kikkerland.com/products/b...ghts-set-of-2/ On another occasion, I was driving down a moderately trafficked road which has side streets but few all-way stops or lights. I was about ten yards from one such street when a group of local riders streamed out in front. The lead cyclist had his arm extended to signal a left turn, but they didn't stop, slow down, or even check to see if the way was clear at a nearly blind intersection. I stomped my brakes, tires squealed, and I missed taking out a line of them by a very short margin. At work, some cyclist coworkers expressed their chagrin with some of the local riding clubs for being just so consistently stupid. In two years of living there, these are the only two examples that stand out. I don't mean to sound like it was something I encountered frequently. |
Blinkie -- what city are you in? New York? I keep reading about this invisible Ninja cycling behavior but have never experienced it here in Southern California. Maybe it's a purely urban thing. Maybe they're so invisible I never see them. Maybe that's what those loud thumps were about.
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Originally Posted by CB HI
(Post 14464230)
Bet the running event did not have the required permit. Otherwise the path would have been closed for other users.
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Originally Posted by Blinkie
(Post 14465316)
Cyclists riding without lights has been getting so bad in that city that there was a give-away of simple blinking lights to anyone on a bike who would take a set. These:
http://www.kikkerland.com/products/b...ghts-set-of-2/ He said that he did not wear any lights or reflective gear as he felt this would cause people to hit him on purpose. So he rides without them and HE avoids the vehicles. That's what the guy said......honest. |
Originally Posted by digger
(Post 14466024)
Back in the early 90s I was finger wagging at one ninja about the lack of lights.
He said that he did not wear any lights or reflective gear as he felt this would cause people to hit him on purpose. So he rides without them and HE avoids the vehicles. That's what the guy said......honest. |
Originally Posted by chipcom
(Post 13331285)
I used to play submarine with shopping carts...I'd grab the side of a cart and peddle my ass off towards my intended target (usually a gaggle of other shopping carts...or the store weenie who was hollering at me to stop) then let go of the cart to let its momentum take it (hopefully) into the target. Did the same thing in a car when we were kids too. Does that make me a submarine driver...or just a dick? :D
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Originally Posted by dynodonn
(Post 13366801)
I'll see your salmoning mom and child, and rise you with a young woman riding in traffic without a helmet, large shopping bag strapped to the handle bars, no mirror, listening to music with both ears covered by head phones, and drinking coffee/chocolate from a large coffee cup. ;)
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Originally Posted by Daves_Not_Here
(Post 14465350)
Blinkie -- what city are you in? New York? I keep reading about this invisible Ninja cycling behavior but have never experienced it here in Southern California. Maybe it's a purely urban thing. Maybe they're so invisible I never see them. Maybe that's what those loud thumps were about.
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
(Post 14468519)
I don't get why this is behaving badly. Did she weave into traffic, or something like that?
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
(Post 14465731)
What makes you think so? A local ordinance where you live?
As a minimum, RAGBRAI obtains county permits. |
Originally Posted by chipcom
(Post 13331285)
I used to play submarine with shopping carts...I'd grab the side of a cart and peddle my ass off towards my intended target (usually a gaggle of other shopping carts...or the store weenie who was hollering at me to stop) then let go of the cart to let its momentum take it (hopefully) into the target. Did the same thing in a car when we were kids too. Does that make me a submarine driver...or just a dick? :D
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I've got one. Inconsiderate slow cyclist filters to front and jumps the light intersection after intersection requiring other cyclists to repeatedly overtake.
I was riding home from work today (in the bike lane) and stopped at a light. As the light turns green and I'm just getting going a cyclist overtakes me to go through the light. Fair enough, because she never had to stop for the light, but I was already thinking "Oh great, you're going to make me have to pass you in a few seconds...". Of course I couldn't be sure the girl who passed me was going to be slower, but judging by her dutch style cruiser bike with the saddle way too low for full leg extension I was 99% sure. And, I was right. There was no traffic behind us and I easily passed her until a minute later I stopped at another light. Several seconds later the girl I passed pulls up behind me, and then filters in front of me into the pedestrian walkway. As soon as the light for the through traffic is yellow, she's gone. This time I'm thinking "freakin hell, now I have to pass you again!". She seems completely oblivious. This time there are cars behind us, and we've caught up to a third even slower cyclist. I shoulder check and see a car approaching. The girl in front of me then pulls out to pass the slower cyclist, with not as much as a glance. As she realizes that she's about to be sideswiped by a car (its too late for the car to stop) she squeezes the cyclist she's overtaking into the curb nearly taking both of them down. What a dolt. After that gem, I had a good mind to have a chat with her at the next light about the etiquette and safety of filtering, overtaking and shoulder checking but I held my tongue. After the car passed I overtook both cyclists in front of me only for the girl to catch me again at the next light. The girl again tried to jump in front of me. I really wanted to tell her to wait her goddamned turn, but figured it probably wouldn't be a productive conversation for either of us. Instead, I also jumped the light so as not to let her get ahead of me (I don't like doing it, but didn't have a much better option). I made the subsequent light, while she didn't, and so was finally rid of her for good. So, blond ponytail girl on the Dutchi bike with with designer shades and filp flops: If you're reading this please please please don't force other cyclists to repeatedly overtake. And if you like jumping lights, please don't force other cyclists to also participate in this illegal behavior in order to stay in front of you. Damn Freakin' Straight. |
Spunkj, are you in Chicago? And does this particular cyclist look like this gal?
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