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Get Your Ass On The Sidewalk!!!

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Get Your Ass On The Sidewalk!!!

Old 04-24-07, 01:42 PM
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You should have asked the cop for his business card and then followed up with a call to his Captain. If you didn't get any satisfaction, you should have called IAD and reported him for delreliction of duty.
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Old 04-24-07, 01:42 PM
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Originally Posted by bkrownd
Hooooold on there - isn't this a hit-and-run incident? Aren't they required to file something? Anything?
I guess in my community it's "no blood... no foul." I wish they would have sent a bike cop. He probably would have got there faster and would have issued a citation. You would think that drivers here would be more considerate and better educated considering that this community has heavily invested in bicycle lanes and MUP's. I think they like the bike lanes... they consider it "free roadside parking."

Hopefully things will get better. I was in the LBS the other day and the wrenches were putting the final touches on 4 bicycles the Sheriff just ordered to patrol a 35 mile MUP.
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Old 04-24-07, 01:46 PM
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You have to be able to sit back and think about the driver of a car and the situation they're in.

Under normal conditions, when I drive, I'm paying attention to everybody else on the road. Now, as a cyclist, I pay extra attention to bikes on the road and try to give a little bit more leeway than most. But I'm going off on a tangant here...generally they're angry because they either aren't healthy due to their lifestyle or they've got 50 other things on their minds.

When I ride, I can clear my head and concentrate on me, even if I have problems to work out, they sort of just ebb away once I get my cadence up and enjoy the wind in my face, et al.

I'm not defending either side frankly, just realize that intolerance is really more a case of letting too many things collide internally while driving a 2 ton machine.
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Old 04-24-07, 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Zeuser
Personally, i don't understand why cyclists who ***** about not having bicycle friendly roads don't use the paths when they are provided for the safety of the cyclist.
Do you understand the cyclists who ***** about poorly designed/unsafe sidepaths being placed adjacent to streets and ***** about mandatory sidepath laws, who ride the street and advocate against such laws/facilities?

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Old 04-24-07, 01:49 PM
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A competent driver should be able to get around any slow moving vehicle in a reasonable amount of time on a multilane road even if traffic is busy/dense.

Competence includes being able to look ahead and plan accordingly instead of tailgaiting only several feet back while fuming about SMV instead of hanging well back looking for a gap in left lane (negotiate if needed) to accelerate into.

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Old 04-24-07, 02:00 PM
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Originally Posted by newbojeff
Best responses for "Get on the Sidewalk!!"?

2. "SIDE--WHAT?!"
I love that one!

Car: "Get your ass on the sidewalk"
Biker: "Side-what?"
Car: "Get your ass on the sidewalk d!p*****"
Biker:"Side-what?"
Car: "WALK... Side-WALK!"
Biker: "Do you see me WALKING numbnuts?"
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Old 04-24-07, 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by bkrownd
They're usually provided and designed for recreation, not transportation. They often aren't very safe, either. (Even less so after the idiot who designed those extending leashes.)
Ah yes... this morning on my commute a guy was on the MUP with his two dogs... neither on a leash. I rang my bell.. no response, I yelled "on your left!".. no response from the walker but his dogs turned and as i passed the walker (i slowed way down) one chased and bit me on the ankle.. next dog - field goal into the fence! The walker yelled at me, "What do you think you're doing to my dog?" My response, "same thing I'm gonna do to you if I decide to turn around!"
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Old 04-24-07, 04:38 PM
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Whutza "MUP"? sorry...
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Old 04-24-07, 04:42 PM
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Originally Posted by amjones
Whutza "MUP"? sorry...
MUP = multi-use path
JAM = jackass motorist
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Old 04-24-07, 05:31 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by InTheRain
Aas i passed the walker (i slowed way down) one chased and bit me on the ankle.. next dog - field goal into the fence! The walker yelled at me, "What do you think you're doing to my dog?" My response, "same thing I'm gonna do to you if I decide to turn around!"
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Old 04-24-07, 05:38 PM
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Originally Posted by N_C
8. Just before she turns right I hear her yell, "GET YOUR ASS ON THE SIDEWALK!!!". To which I yelled, "THANK YOU FOR THE ADVICE I APPRECIATE IT!!!" We were both moving when this happened. As she was completeing her turn & I was continueing straigh through the intersection I saw her window go up. This tells me she put her window down to yell at me.
I look at it this way: If she yelled at you she damn sure saw you which is a victory in upon itself.
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Old 04-24-07, 06:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Zeuser
The I pointed to the little black box in the middle of my handlebar...
I sooo want to know what this setup is! What kind of camera? How is it mounted? How does it handle the abuse of commuting and rainy days? /threadjack

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Old 04-24-07, 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted by ragboy
Do I understand this correctly -- if there is a MUP that parallels the busy road why not use that instead? Maybe that is why the motorist was upset?
That's a good question; I was wondering the same.

In my case I also use the road. There is a community MUP for 1.5 miles of my commute. It is about 5 - 6 feet wide and the surface bulges from tree roots, is coated with acorns, tree branches, leaves, and mud. It meanders more than a stream and constantly surges up and down. Riding it would be hazardous to pedestrians, joggers, and the occasional young cyclist. I'd probably maintain 7 mph instead of 19 - 20 mph.
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Old 04-24-07, 06:20 PM
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Originally Posted by boog
I sooo want to know what this setup is! What kind of camera? How is it mounted? How does it handle the abuse of commuting and rainy days? /threadjack

boog
It used to be a samsung scp-something. But i lost that camera on my boat. I was filming, got hit by a wave and it went overboard. oops!

Now I use a Canon powershot sd30 digital elph. With a fully charged battery and an empty 2GB SD card, i can film 640x480 for about 48 mins, more than my usual commute.

The mount is simply a metal bar a u-bolt and some other hardware. Doesn't really work well in adverse weather though.

I'm builing a new spring mounted bracket which will smooth the video a bit.
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Old 04-24-07, 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by N_C
Yes, this is yet another thread about cagers yelling at me to my ass on the sidewalk. I was not expecting this until later in the year though. But it was yelled at me today on my commute home from work.

Here is what happened:

1. Distance into commute: About 2.8 miles.

2. Roadway: Singing Hills Blvd, a divided 4-lane, 35 mph, through a commercial area, both right & left turn lanes at intersections.

3. Parallel to Sing Hills Blvd: Multi-Use Path, or MUP.

4. City Ordinance: States if a MUP is parallel to a roadway cyclists are to use it rather then ride on roadway. This is never enforced & I have ridden with an off duty police officer on a roadway that parallels a MUP. I doubt the cager knows of this ordinance.

5. I was riding in the right half of the right lane, where I was legally allowed & supposed to be riding.

6. She was behind me for about a block maybe, but could not get around me because of a lot of traffic in the left lane. She had to turn right. Which means she had to merge into a right turn lane to do so, she had to wait until the start of the turn lane to merge into it. The right turn lanes start well before the intersection.

7. The light was red on approach to the intersection but turned green just before we got to it, she was in the turn lane, I was still riding in the right half of the right lane.

8. Just before she turns right I hear her yell, "GET YOUR ASS ON THE SIDEWALK!!!". To which I yelled, "THANK YOU FOR THE ADVICE I APPRECIATE IT!!!" We were both moving when this happened. As she was completeing her turn & I was continueing straigh through the intersection I saw her window go up. This tells me she put her window down to yell at me.

I am flabbergasted as to why a cager would put their window down to yell at a cyclist. That takes twice the energy. So why?

I used to yell something rather profane back & flip the bird, not anymore. I just yell what I did. I do not know what the look on her face was, but another motorist who was sitting at the red light on the cross street the cager who yelled at me turn onto, she was oncoming to him when she turned right, waiting to go straight saw & heard it first had this look of agreement on his face when she yelled at me, then a very confused look when he heard what I yelled. Again why?

So have any of you had anything like this yelled at you yet, or is it still to early in the season?
Ignore them unless they come at you with a 4 way then run like h3ll or use your Kung Foo moves and beat the ***** out of them
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Old 04-24-07, 06:41 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by boog
I sooo want to know what this setup is! What kind of camera? How is it mounted? How does it handle the abuse of commuting and rainy days? /threadjack
The cheap Oregon Scientific models were popular a year or so ago. 4-6 AAA batteries and a 1Gb SD card will get you an hour or so of slowish VGA video in a small package, and they come with bike mounting parts. Wrap it in some clear plastic food wrap to make it basically waterproof.
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Old 04-24-07, 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Zeuser
Personally, i don't understand why cyclists who ***** about not having bicycle friendly roads don't use the paths when they are provided for the safety of the cyclist.
The point I think is that in most cases, even though the paths are theoretically provided for the safety of the cyclists, they're not designed by people who are competent, and as a result they are actually less safe than the road, sometimes a LOT less safe.

Following mandatory sidepath laws when the path is less safe than the road is just leading to another case of being "dead" right. I'd rather be alive and "wrong".
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Old 04-24-07, 07:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Zeuser
It used to be a samsung scp-something. But i lost that camera on my boat. I was filming, got hit by a wave and it went overboard. oops!

Now I use a Canon powershot sd30 digital elph. With a fully charged battery and an empty 2GB SD card, i can film 640x480 for about 48 mins, more than my usual commute.

The mount is simply a metal bar a u-bolt and some other hardware. Doesn't really work well in adverse weather though.

I'm builing a new spring mounted bracket which will smooth the video a bit.
Originally Posted by bkrownd
The cheap Oregon Scientific models were popular a year or so ago. 4-6 AAA batteries and a 1Gb SD card will get you an hour or so of slowish VGA video in a small package, and they come with bike mounting parts. Wrap it in some clear plastic food wrap to make it basically waterproof.

Thanks to both of you!

I think that Oregon Scientific one is the ticket for me, to lazy to build a mount for anything. Google here I come!

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Old 04-24-07, 07:25 PM
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You guys are too kind. I'd just ask to see his badge. If he doesn't have one he can go f*ck off.
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Old 04-24-07, 07:39 PM
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F the cager.

F everyone who thinks the cager is right.

And F everyone else just for the F of it !


Thanks for the advice !
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Old 04-24-07, 07:48 PM
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Cagers do some really stupid crap. Trying to figure out why they sometimes act like complete blithering idiots is a waste of time. Just go on and try to forget about it. You handled the situation correctly.

BTW-There are times when I avoid some of the bike paths around here (of which there are very few-bike paths that is). When people with dogs and small children start using the MUP I think they become more dangerous to cyclists than the roadways. Might as well try to do a crit in a mall parking lot on a Saturday around Christmas time.

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Old 04-24-07, 07:50 PM
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Do I understand this correctly -- if there is a MUP that parallels the busy road why not use that instead? Maybe that is why the motorist was upset?
Personally, i don't understand why cyclists who ***** about not having bicycle friendly roads don't use the paths when they are provided for the safety of the cyclist.
Sometimes separated paths are provided with the intention of making cyclists safer, but in reality make cyclists less safe by putting us in places where we won't be seen-and-noticed by motorists when we approach driveways or intersections. Sometimes, using less-safe facilities is even mandated by law.

Weren't you legally in the wrong then, if the city ordinace tells you to be on the MUP?
It looks to me like N_C was violating a law by using the road, but without seeing the location ourselves it's difficult to judge whether the MUP was reasonable for N_C's use. If in fact N_C was violating a law that's ill-conceived and not enforced, we probably don't care that it was violated.

Cyclists can almost always safely use separated paths that parallel roads. But safe use of those paths often requires pedestrian-like behavior at driveways and intersections and that could lower your average speed by 1% or 50%, depending on how many times you have to stop or slow to a walking pace for intersections.
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Old 04-24-07, 07:50 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by N_C
.....
I am flabbergasted as to why a cager would put their window down to yell at a cyclist. That takes twice the energy. So why?
.....
Don't knock it. Probably the most exercise she got all day.
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Old 04-24-07, 07:59 PM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by Zeuser
Personally, i don't understand why cyclists who ***** about not having bicycle friendly roads don't use the paths when they are provided for the safety of the cyclist.
First, I really have no clue about MUPs as we don't have them around here. All we have are recreation trails which don't go anywhere and aren't suitable for transportation. My feeling is that many (most?) of the cyclists already in the road have no desire to ride on a path. Maybe I'm alone on this though.

It seems like paths, and many times bike lanes, are advocated by people who will not be using them on a daily basis. Things that are nice for a Saturday morning stroll with the kids often don't work so well on a Monday morning commute.

I know there are exceptions to the rules, and I am mainly speaking from a local perspective. If I were forced off my commute into a problematic bike lane or path I would resent it. What I am personally in favor of, however, are straight-line paths that parallel roads inaccessible to bicycles. For example, if there were a bike path along the main highways (interstate and beltlines) I could ride my bike to the major business park situation between several larger cities in my region. Without it, a car is the only way I could get to work in that area.
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Old 04-24-07, 08:02 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by cc_rider
Don't knock it. Probably the most exercise she got all day.
Pushing a button is exercise? I'd be really scared if it was a crank down window.
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