Daspydyr 

Men's Journal Magazine has an interesting article this issue. They interview 4 Heroic Bike Couriers in NYC. One does stunts for movies. Seems the "experts" still measure their careers in broken bones, teeth and stitches. But then again it is their job to be on the streets 10 hours a day 6 days a week. But they all say its a love they can't get away from.

Maybe that is the answer for the OP. Once its under your skin, you gotta have it.

From an insurance perspective, trauma that results from an illegal or intentional acts by a biker is not covered. If a driver dodges you and hits another car, the biker paying the claim from his own pocket. OTOH, health insurance pays no matter how stupid a person is. In the claims world, "I knew what I was doing, but the idiot reacted the wrong way," is a subclass of claims.

Daspydyr 

This is the best intensity Mountain Bike thread has had for quite a while.

It sounds to me like everyone needs a good lung busting ride. Get rid of all this ugly angst! But we got enough mind reading going on here to start a 1-900 psychic line.

DX-MAN

OK, you had your turn, now go back to detention.

NO, ROADS WERE NOT BUILT FOR CARS -- THEY WERE BUILT FOR THE PUBLIC! And there are NUMEROUS sources that will tell you, PAVING roads was the result of advocacy of 19th-Century CYCLISTS. If, in the past 50 years, roads have been built to handle high speeds, that does not change that THEY ARE FOR THE PUBLIC, NOT JUST ONE USER GROUP. As I said before, INTERSTATES are the roads built for cars -- some allow bike access, most do not, because they are high-speed auto routes.

There are two-lane roads, numbered and classed by "County", "State", "U.S.", that are signed 55mph; some, in remote areas, HAVE no speed limit. Does that mean the cyclist who lives on that road can't ride it? Grow up.

The auto horn is a device designed to alert another road user of imminent danger or hazard, NOT to say, "HEY, I'M BEHIND YOU!" Since another poster has already called BS on you with a source, I'll just say that you seem to be speaking from opinion, not knowledge. Here's a thought: opinions are like sphincters; everyone has one, most all of 'em stink. I teach my kids: "Don't THINK something is a certain way, FIND OUT, so you KNOW."

corvuscorvax

Word. The roads are for everyone.

I'm not sure why people insist otherwise. They must hate freedom or something.

Leebo

Um, 3speed, bikes are traffic. Often times it is much safer to take the lane, and legal too. Ever been right hooked? I do not stay to the right of moving cars through an intersection. Too many M*******s ( good word for the day) drivers do not use turn signals. Do I stay in the middle of the lane always, not at all. I use good sense to try to keep me safest. One of my "fun" sections of busy roads involves a two lane road with the right hand lane being an on ramp for 128 North and south , about 150 feet apart. I bike in the middle of the righthand lane, cars can go around me or stay behind me to get on the highway. Works for me, YRMV.

Stealthammer

Like I said before, no harm, no foul. I am not insulted and I hope that I didn't insult you.

As you said in your OP, you are not here to bash any road bikers, and but you just don't understand why we would want to ride in traffic, and that you think road biking is impractical. You asked a very valid question, and a number of us have answered your question very honestly, and essentially what we have told you is that we simple don't see road riding in the same way that you do.


But if you went on the road bike forum and started a thread titled "Mountain biking, I dont quite get it", and then you said that you are not there to bash any mountain bikers, but that you think mountain biking is impractical, and then went on to say that you don't get why a mountain biker would bomb down a near-vertical and rutted singletrack that is bordered by trees and huge rocks at speed and then repeatedly have to loft their bike 10-20' through the air to avoid parts of the trail that you can't even ride over, and then asked why they don't wear more protective gear and why they are riding at such higher-speeds in such an isolated and unpopulated area and not on some calmer back road or country road, and then asked why would they want to ride in an environment where you might have be helicoptered out of if you crash really hard, then you would have gotten some of the same replies that you got here:

- to you it seems dumb to even be there.
- to you it seems like if we insist on being there, we're doing something wrong.
- to you it seems like there is no point.
- if you think it's stupid then that's fine, we're all entitled to our opinions.
- what we're doing is perfectly legal,so we just don't see what the problem is.
- we guess that anyone who enjoys a dangerous sport that you don't is any idiot.
- experience teaches us signs to look for that help us determine how much of a risk they are taking.
- the guys riding "Crazy" in such conditions seem crazy to you, but to them, they know what they are doing.
- the guys you talk about might seem crazy to you, but they apparently know what they are doing.
- you obviously don't get it, and you probably never will.
- everyone is not like you, and some of us don't ride for "recreation" because to us cycling is a sport.

Again, no harm no foul, but you don't ride a road bike so you don't get it. No worries. Get a road bike and all of your questions will be answered.

Ride Safe!

scyclops

Oh yeah, sure, what if everyone thought that way, then internet forums would merely be places where rational people exchange useful information and ideas - instead of the chaotic, emotionally-charged circuses that they are.

Do you really want to give up all this free entertainment?

MadMechanic

Lol this is turning into a novel

Stealthammer

If this was in P&R we would be at 25 pages by now.....

pablosnazzy

so, the point of your thread is....road bikers should stay off the high speed roads and not slow down cars?

why didn't you just say that from the beginning, clear and to the point?

sknhgy 

Hell. Four pages ain't sheeeit.

corvuscorvax

The "I just don't get it about the mirrors." thread over at A&S makes this thread seem sane and moderate by comparison. Wonder why most people think cyclists are pathetic turbo-dweebs? A bitter argument about mirror use is the cycling equivalent of getting all bent out of shape over the finer points of Klingon poetry.

corvuscorvax

"Homozygote" is a word.
"Homogeneous" is a word.
"Homoerotic" is a word.

"*****apiens" isn't a word. "**** sapiens" is two words.

pablosnazzy

HEY!!!! everyone knows Klingon poetry is far superior to any other, in fact, shakespear is best read in the original klingon. If you don't see that, you just are blind!!!!!!!

(too tempting, i go for low hanging fruit, mostly cause i'm short and it's all i can reach).

cryptid01

Vogon Poetry is what you should be concerned about, you trekkie nerds.

corvuscorvax

This will make your blood boil:

https://www.wgrz.com/news/article/157...r-Manslaughter

Short summary: a socially prominent Buffalo NY doctor gets wasted at a party at his country club. He and his wife climb into their BMW and run down a teenage girl longboarding home from her after-school job, leaving the girl to die by the side of the road. The scumbag doctor's scumbag lawyers subsequently attempt to smear the victim in order to get the doctor off the charges. It remains to be seen whether or not they will be successful.

MMACH 5

II thought he did say that in the OP.

Stealthammer

Have you seen The Helmet Thread?

Six months and 77 pages, and still going strong.....

ed 

Really reaching to keep this thread going. But yes, it does piss me off.

Daspydyr 

The long board story brings us back to the OP in a way. Pavement is for public use. But if a doctor who has been drinking and is now texting, kills you while driving, it might be your fault. Especially since the doctor can afford a team who checks your social media, mental health records and toxicology.

See how wise MTBers are. They fear the blood test. They stay away.

Psnaz, here's ur cup, give it to ed when your done. And please dry the outside of the cup this time.

corvuscorvax

Bingo. If it is inherently a reckless act for the longboarder (or cyclist) to be there in the first place, it's hardly the drunk, texting doctor's fault, now is it? Especially if the kid is a weirdo goth. This is the line of reasoning that turns a manslaughter into a "tragic accident", and is the reason that I (and apparently a lot of other people) react so negatively to the e-tards who take to the net to complain about cyclists "blocking traffic", and advocate harassment or worse.

3speed

I hope you don't mind, but that's going in my signature unless you say otherwise.

3speed

EDIT: Keeping in mind I already stated that I Do support cyclists on the roads where it is safe to do so...
I can't make someone admit what they're too stubborn to admit.
How did you miss the part I said about "yes, it's Legal to..., but that doesn't mean you're not a self-centered d-bag in certain situations if you do" or something like that?
On both sides of the fence.
We are in a forum for biking. It's only logical to guess how many people feel about it. Just like it would be the opposite if we were in a car forum. Everyone has their own opinion on the matter. I just think it sucks when people are self centered about their opinion. I wouldn't go flying through a school zone at 50mph in my car. Why do Some road bikers think they should block traffic of a high speed road and go 15mph? But we both know the answer to that one.
I don't know what to tell you if you don't already understand it. Things have changed since 1850.
Your kids would learn better by example. A simple google search will tell you that Many states do infact suggest a horn honk to let a cyclist know you're approaching and your intent to pass(Not sure of WI in particular. Didn't bother searching more after seeing many state government suggestions to give the honk, and knowing they did teach us that in drivers ed class.).

If the cyclist can mosey down a 55mph road in the middle of the lane holding up traffic because "Hey, it's legal, right, so **** everyone else. This is what I want to do and it's all about me." Then why shouldn't I use my DMV/DOT suggested action and give them a horn honk? They're using the fact that it's their "right" as a reason to do something that is inconsiderate of the vast majority of the population. Why shouldn't I use the fact that it's my "right" to do something that's inconsiderate of them and hopefully deter them from being inconsiderate to the rest of us.

3speed

You seem like an overwhelmingly nice, considerate person. I'd bet that last sentence you typed there sums up your life in a nice simple motto. You know, if you went ahead up that ramp onto the highway, you could probably feel real good about blocking even more people at even higher speeds, though it does sound like you probably do a pretty thorough job of giving a big "f-you" to everyone around you already. Glad that's "fun" for you.

Stealthammer

I didn't miss it at all, I just find your entire post to be arrogant, naive, and absurd, and your last statement in particular gives us all a clear insight into your true character.

You are arrogant to believe that you have the right to dictate to others, who are being completely compliant with the existing laws, as to where and when they should ride, and where and when they should not: "I also hate those d-bag road bikers who ride in the road on roads that are either really busy or have speed limits above 35 unless it's a road that isn't very busy at all"..

You are naive and completely wrong on the facts with regards to the roads not being built for bikes and then specifically stating that they were built only for cars: "the roads are not built for bikes. They are built for cars. That's why they have 55mph speed limits and car lanes".

You are absurd in thinking that you have the right to limit other people's legal activities simply because you don't think they should be there, and then you insult them for doing something that is clearly within their legal rights: (i.e., "Yes, you Can Legally ride a bike in the road if you want to, but that doesn't mean it's not a self-centered prick thing to do on many roads."


Also, if a cyclist is in fact "moseying" down a 55mph road in the middle of the lane holding up traffic, they are indeed impeding traffic and they should be cited by the police for their violation, but for you to use their infraction as a rationalization for you to assert your own "right to do something that's inconsiderate of them and that (will) hopefully deter them from being inconsiderate to the rest of us" is childish. Grow up. Just because you see one cyclist being a horses *** doesn't mean that you have to be a horses *** too.

In my experience the vast majority of road bikers are conscientious and law-abiding, and your attempt to dismiss all of us who share the roads legally as being "inconsiderate of the vast majority of the population" is pure bull****.


But since you have clearly shown the depth of your ignorance of the law and the rights of others, and that you do not have the slightest clue as to what you are talking about, I suggest that you sell your bikes and buy a pickup, because your are truely a redneck at heart.