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Was this cool or what

Old 12-10-04, 06:30 PM
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Was this cool or what

On my commute there's a lot of road work going on and today they busted a gas main at a major intersection and traffic was STOPPED in ALL FOUR directions. Cars backed up for miles. Police, fire, sirens, safety cones and I'm sure a lot of pissed off cagers.

I rode up to on of the cops and he WAIVED ME THROUGH. I actually stopped, and asked him - you mean me? I can ride straight through there? He said "go ahead."

So I did.

And I just had to be an ass and waive at all the cars as I road past. I couldn't help it. It was like a reflex.

At first I thought that they let me go because they figured cyclists were expendable. Then I realized that the real reason is that there would be no risk of my bike causing an explosion (you could smell the gas pretty heavily) like there would be with letting a car pass through.
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Old 12-10-04, 06:54 PM
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It happens to me all the time around here that I can ride past a half mile of cars stopped in traffic In my opinion, it's the best form of bicycle commuting evangelism.
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Old 12-10-04, 07:26 PM
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Pretty high up on the cool-meter.
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Old 12-10-04, 08:13 PM
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You should've busted out a cigarette and made like you were going to light up as you went by the cop. Hah.
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Old 12-11-04, 12:56 AM
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Did something similar myself last week.

https://life-cycle.blogspot.com/2004/12/cop-that.html

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Old 12-11-04, 01:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Diggy18
You should've busted out a cigarette and made like you were going to light up as you went by the cop. Hah.
That would have been flat out stupid.
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Old 12-11-04, 04:08 AM
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Traffic was backed up for a good 1/4 mile or more today and I just rode past the huge line of cars, made a left at my normal point and just kept on riding. Probably annoyed a lot of cagers that a cyclist was getting farther faster than they could in their cars. It made me quite happy to say the least. Probably the most enjoyable commute I've had in a good little while.
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Old 12-11-04, 07:35 AM
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My ride home was 45 minutes. Another teacher at my school who lives in my neighborhood told me it took her over an hour to get home. Normally it's a 15-20 minute drive. So this probably won't happen again.
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Old 12-11-04, 08:09 PM
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You just got to love it when your able to ride past all the stopped cars. The only thing is there is always some moron waiting to door you or try to block your way with their car. I guess their way of thinking is if they have to wait so should you.
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Old 12-13-04, 08:53 AM
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There usually is some moron waiting in traffic. I was riding past a long traffic backup and some guy must have seen me coming in his mirror. So he, of course, lurched towards the curb to close the space between his car and the curb. I saw it coming, hopped the curb and rode back down on the road and by him. I gave him a nice wave as I road away. What is it with some people?
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Old 12-13-04, 01:24 PM
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After 9-11, the base I worked at was closed up tight. Lines to get on base started at 3-4am. It was like this for weeks, this is what really started me on commuting by bike. It would take 15-20 minutes to drive, or 35-45 by bike. After 9-11, it was like 2-3 hours to drive, same time by bike. Gotta love it...
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Old 12-13-04, 02:05 PM
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On my way home I can usually keep up with traffic for about 2.5 miles, sometimes actually beating the cars to the street I live on. Its all stop and go traffic with some pretty bad lights, and I just cruise on by all the stopped cars. Sometimes I never once hit a red light, because I actually get to GO. Its quite a nice feeling, makes me proud to be on a bicycle.
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Old 12-13-04, 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by MrCjolsen
On my commute there's a lot of road work going on and today they busted a gas main at a major intersection and traffic was STOPPED in ALL FOUR directions. Cars backed up for miles. Police, fire, sirens, safety cones and I'm sure a lot of pissed off cagers.

I rode up to on of the cops and he WAIVED ME THROUGH. I actually stopped, and asked him - you mean me? I can ride straight through there? He said "go ahead."

So I did.

And I just had to be an ass and waive at all the cars as I road past. I couldn't help it. It was like a reflex.

At first I thought that they let me go because they figured cyclists were expendable. Then I realized that the real reason is that there would be no risk of my bike causing an explosion (you could smell the gas pretty heavily) like there would be with letting a car pass through.
He also probably figured there's be plenty of oxygen for you with all the wind in your area!!
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Old 12-13-04, 04:50 PM
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I'm in the military and I ride in to work everyday. Most of the drivers have to park off the base and walk about 4 or 5 blocks to the main gate, then an additional who-knows-how-far to get to their ship, office or whatever. For those who do drive onto the base, they have to go through the security gate, which there's always a line-up. Sometimes it's 1 block sometimes it's 8 or 10 blocks. But as a cyclist I always get to go flyin' by all of them, a quick ID card show at the gate and ride up to my building!
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Old 12-13-04, 06:46 PM
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Haha, that's pretty excellent. I don't commute by bike (it would just be a massive pain in the neck), but I often pass stopped cars in rush hour traffic. It's nice because when I do I'm in no hurry and have nowhere to go. I just love rolling past miles of stopped cars with a little grin on my face. I'm just a little scared of getting doored...
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Old 12-14-04, 10:15 AM
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There is construction on my commute too, it's great to be able to go thru even though it's blocked to cagers.
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