I had just started out on an easy late afternoon ride; I was still on our quiet neighborhood streets. I saw ahead of me a young girl, about 10 years old, on one of those cruiser bikes - lime green, pink rims, high handlebars, complete with wicker basket and bell. She was swerving erratically across nearly the entire street. As I approached, I decided which side to pass her on (the right, because at this point, she was right on the centerline) and noticed that she had only one hand on the handlebar. As I passed, I realized SHE WAS TALKING ON THE PHONE!

I don't know, but perhaps it's her mom who I contend with occasionally in the Starbucks parking lot, as she backs her supersized SUV out of the compact parking space, latte in one hand, cell phone in the other. They teach them young these days

Welcome to 2002.

x2

Are you a good enough rider to just buzz her and grab the phone and ride off. No license plate, Or, are you easy to ID?


Steven

This is the kind of situation where my Girl-Guide-leader reflexes kick in and I have that kid stopped before I think about it...

So sad.....

Oh I have seen adults ride with one hand holding a cellphone and NOT wearing a helmet. These are riders who probably ride for a mile and tell his friends and coworkers he went out for 15 mile ride. I avoid them as much as I can, they are dangerous to serious bicycling community.

I saw a chick on a cruiser one time almost get mowed down running a stop sign while talking on the phone. As we rode past we overheard her telling the person on the other end about these "jackasses that don't stop"; nevermind the warning signs all over that said "cross traffic does not stop".

I hate to admit it, but I've done that (and I commute daily 12mi rt )

I've done that too and I like to admit it. And I ride a lot. I'm even a certified cycling instructor.

wrafl probably hates bike messengers... A lot of them ride w/o a helmet and talk into their radio while riding no-handed. Just don't tell me they ride one mile a day...

Riding with a cell phone is no worse than riding with music/radio in the ears, IMO. Or riding with a handbag hanging from the handlebar.

When you ride, RIDE, don't do anything else. Simple as that. If you do, expect angry looks from other people, as you almost universally will be unable to be a good and safe rider at the same time.

Huh? Does Canada have a bike license system? I can't imagine any other reason for there to be a cycling instructor certification. I can't even imagine what a cycling instructor would do, since parents teach their kids to ride, not professional instructors...

Most parents teach their kids how to pedal and balance a bike. They do not teach them how to safely interact with other traffic and follow the rules of the road. Based on the way I see people riding, it's not only kids that need proper training, but many adults also.

Driving education is supposed to do the same, but mostly fails to do so. Or rather, people don't give a ***** once they get their license. Same thing with bikes. Most people who ride are drivers as well, so they should (and usually do) know the rules...

I never exaggerate my distance. But then again, I can hold a straight line while text messaging.

You're not required to have a license, but you can take nationally-approved CAN-BIKE courses if you want to. Like LAB courses in the U.S. Actually, if you're an employer and your employees are required to ride bikes as part of their job, then you're required to hire an instructor for them and get them certified. Some places require this certification of bike messengers too.

Yep, all those cyclists you see every day weaving, riding the wrong way, hugging the curb, turning without looking are great skilled cyclists who know everything they need to know. Nobody could possibly teach them anything useful.

I nearly got run down myself last night by a driver who was too busy talking on her phone to notice that I was in the crossswalk. No, she couldn't be bothered to look to her right before she made a right turn.

JABs and JAMs, just variations on a theme.

At least people know which side on the road to drive on... for starters...

Bikers might be inclined to give more of a ***** because they have more to lose in the collision.

1) Many people who ride are NOT drivers. This assumption that everyone drives a car is just an unfortunate byproduct of the pervasive car culture. But it is a false assumption - even in North America.

2) There are lots of cycling-specific tips and tricks to learn. You don't just want to cycle legally - you want to cycle SAFELY as well. Knowing the rules of the road isn't going to help you choose lane position when you're biking...

That's insane!

Oh, it's not that they don't know better. They simply don't care, because they think they're immortal. There's nothing you can teach them, since they don't care.

Yet, they don't. I see this every day.

Maybe not in NA, but over here, an overwhelming majority of all cyclists are drivers as well. Most people who ride are 20-60, commuting to work or riding to the local store. Very few over 25 don't have a driver's license.

I find this hard to believe. Besides, one person's opinion on the matter might be quite different from another's. Who's to say your version is the best?

While there's more than one way to do anything, there's often one way that is more effective than the alternatives. I recently read an excellent book on this very subject:
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Urban-Cycl.../dp/0762727837
Available also through your local public library. Highly recommended. Also recommended is an earpiece for the cellphone, either wired or Bluetooth.

To even recommend (and not straight out warn against) any form of hearing obstruction such as an earpiece (with or without sound on), is reckless and irresponsible. If anything is unsafe cycling, it's riding with anything in your ears!!! Few things cyclists do upset me more than wearing those *%£# iPods or mobile phone earpieces!!!

Guilty as charged (except the 1 miles thing). I've got about 70 miles in so far this week. I have no problem talking on the phone without swerving... I do avoid it around intersections... just not enough head movement. I also don't carry on conversations... but I'll check in with people, let people know where I am.

The difference is that a JAM is likely to take out someone else... a JAB is only likely to take out themselves.

That's only true in a car/bike collision. And the likelihood goes down the more people get out of their cars and onto their bikes.

No, I don't hate bike messengers. I am actually impress with these guys for their swift and agile riding manuevers around downtown in heavy traffic. Some cops patrol on bicycles and talking on their radio, but most of them wear helmets. I say some occasional riders exaggerate their ride like few guys I know who doesn't own bike computers but regard the distance in miles by the estimated total time in the saddle. Just as sports fisherman coming home and relating to others that he hooked with a big one but it got away.