On the way in this morning I was keeping up pretty well with another rider who was (so it seemed) trying to drop me. We were haulin' along and he got away because he pulled a move at a red light that invariably pisses me off when I see it. Here's an illustration courtesy of the gPedometer. I call it the right-turn fakie 'cause I waved bye to him as he made the right, then as soon as he got past the median on the cross street he did a u-turn and kept going the original direction past the light.

My position is, you missed the light, take your lumps. Unclip, stop, and have a sip of water. The fakie is dangerous and probably illegal.

I blow off lights in NYC all of the time. Of course the streets are very different from what you have pictured. I'd never pull a move like that.

By "trying to drop you" do you mean you were right on his wheel drafting him? I find that about 60-70% of the riders around here really hate that crap Which is funny since most of those same riders will happily let you tow them up over the bridge but freak out if you stay too close after they pass you.

I figure if folks don't have the juice to get some seperation why are folks so hot to pass people

all that said... following too close in traffic is dangerous.

OK. But he didn't want to wait. The way I see it, he is free to do whatever he likes - if he gets a ticket or gets hit, that's more his problem than yours, eh?

Well, socks, what you say is true, but the fact is his behavior also reflects on everyone who bikes not just himself. It's irritating to see other people do stuff you'd never do, then to hear people (or see news articles) be critical of bicycle riders because of that sort of behavior.

But on the other hand, nothing you can do (unless you get a chance to chat with the guy later), so no need to get hot about it... that just takes years off YOUR life.

Yeah, but it still reflects on all cyclists. I see light jumpers from time to time on my commute while I am patiently waiting behind the 2nd or 3rd car... so do drivers then expect me to jump the light too... or worse, do they then expect me to filter forward so they don't have to wait the nano seconds for me to clip in a get up to speed?

There is one paticular intersection where I used to see cars drivers doing a 'right fakey' all the time during rush hour because it got really backed up. Now the intersection is being redesigned while under construction.

At a light where there's already cars ... wouldn't usually do it. But here's the thing -- if a car isn't at a light, you can sit literally all day waiting for a light. The little detectors in the tar don't know you're there. Its not really fair to say "obey all the laws exactly like a car" but then create an infrastructure that treats bikers like 3rd class citizens (pedestrians are 2nd class -- they at least get a button to push).

I used to get all bent out of shape over drivers on the interstate passing on the right and going slow in the left lane. It's illegal and dangerous and it reflects badly on all drivers, but guess what? it's not worth the headache.

Anyway, few drivers know what the hell to expect from a bike anyway - most expect bikes to stay off the roads entirely. I don't ride safely to help drivers be sympathetic to cyclists; I ride safely so I don't get squished. As one post mentioned, it's the infrastructure that needs fixing, not cyclists' little cheats that are necessary to make the roads sensible for bikes.

[QUOTE=Mr_Super_Socks]I used to get all bent out of shape over drivers on the interstate passing on the right and going slow in the left lane. It's illegal and dangerous and it reflects badly on all drivers, but guess what? it's not worth the headache. [QUOTE]

in case it wasn't clear, this anecdote describes a phenomenon I experienced as a fellow automobile operator, not as a cyclist (since generally bikes aren't allowed on the interstates and, anyway, you certainly wouldn't find one in the passing lane -- hmm . . . then again, maybe Boardman on a steep downhill ?? ??)

No, I passed him once and when he passed me I just hung back about 10-20 yds. It felt like he was sandbagging at 200 yds out from an intersection and then pouring it on in the last stretch, like I would get caught at the red.

But I freely admit that my competitive spirit kicks in at times like this, and I could have been imagining things. I guess I was disappointed because I didn't want to lose the psychological push from having somebody faster out front.

I do that all of the time. If you are not getting in anyones way or impeding
anyones progress why would it be a big deal at all ?
Its just like anything else. Even the most simple manuevers....if you are
smart about it and choose when to do it and when you should stop carefully
its not big deal.

I make right turns followed bu a U and another right all the time when confronting a rgulated intersection sans vehicles. This is especially true if I already know from experience that the light will not change unless a vehicle is present. Maybe you were racing him but he wasn't racing you

I find using the roads much more enjoyable if I don't think overmuch about the behavior of others unless it directly affects me.

How is this safe?

If the light doesn't work just go straight across... or pull this routine if you have to. But if done just because you don't want to stop... then it does reinforce negative images of cyclists on motorists... "they take up the lane, they run lights... bla bla bla" All common complaints of motorists...

--- The California Vehicle Code says a U-turn (fakey or otherwise) would be illegal in a business district: Then in a residential area, the U-turn is OK if no traffic is coming:Any law-enforcement folks here care to comment?

I wait what would be a full light cycle, then procede as if it were a stop sign. Were I not able to cross traffic due to speed or volume, I'd unclip and walk in the crosswalk (either a lined one or an implied one).

I've seen quite a few guys pull that around here, maybe because the cops don't mind as much as just running a red? I stop, check to see if it's clear, then just run 'em if no one's coming, I don't see any need to ride an extra five feet down the street.
Besides, what can a cop do if they pull you over? Hand out a citation to a John Doe? Not having to carry a license for a bicycle is nice.

On a side note, you could pull it as long as there is a driveway or parking space near. Just turn right, turn left into the drive/parking space, touch the ground with one foot when entering (You just started to dismount and became a pedestrian.), turn the bike back towards the way you came, turn back onto the street, and turn right. Viola, legal and quick!

I had thought that you had to properly identify yourself to police these days (??with picture ID/state ID??), when being stopped for cause-if asked. Claiming to be John/Jane Doe would land one in jail for the few days while the wants&warrants are being sorted out...

I'd just run through the red light. You'd pleasantly find that 95% of all cars in the 6 lanes will jam on their brakes and stop in time before hitting you.

Well, as dangerous and irresponsible as I think it is to pull this on a bike, I saw something yesterday which removed any animosity I felt towards the cyclist last week. A guy pulled almost this exact move in the same neighborhood except:

1. He was in a car
2. It was a one-lane-each-way side street he pulled onto, not a four-across wide street
3. He only pulled one carlength into the side street before flippin' it around, squealing the tires as he went. Musta been in quite a hurry.

Thanks for looking up the CVC, 77Univega. I double-checked and that particular stretch has a No U Turn sign posted, clearing up the question of legality.

DCCommuter you are absolutely right that letting other folks' behavior perturb me is less than optimal. And I'm doing better, really I am. I no longer feel compelled to lecture wrong-way cyclists or motorists who holler at me when we're stopped at a light. I'm down to just b!tching on the forums, post-facto. Another year or two maybe and nothing will be able to ruffle my zen-like tranquility as a pedal along.... maybe

Right on, Sock man.

And the 'unpleasant' encounter with the other other 5%? that's 5% of 6 cars at (say) 3000 pounds each still means getting cleaned up by 900 pounds of car

LOL I'm afraid the math doesn't exactly work that way. It just means that out of 20 cars, 1 will probably hit and kill you. All 3000 lbs of it, none of this 900 lb crap.

I don't think you're required by law to always have official ID on you. That's what the whole national ID card deal is about iirc...
I figure most cops won't stop you because there's no way for them to legally verify your ID, which you don't need to carry because on a bicycle you can't do as much damage as a car.
I've always seen licenses as a liability concern, since you're in a hunk of metal weighing a few thousand pounds going pretty fast. On a bicycle you have a much smaller chance of seriously damaging people and property, and a much smaller need for some form of ID to hold you liable in the event of an accident. If anything, the risks of cycling are greatest to the rider, almost the opposite of driving.

I know a dude who used to pull this move all the time.....in a 1978 Cadillac. He called it "The Hole In The System". I put the caps in there because I could hear them in his voice when he'd say it.