True, but if bicycles were really going 40 mph, they’d be keeping up with most city traffic and wouldn’t be the rolling roadblocks that drivers are claiming.
When I’m driving, I hate cyclists on the road. When I’m biking, I hate cars and pedestrians. When I’m a pedestrian, I hate bikes on the sidewalk.
But I *always *hate roller bladers.
On a good road, 30 mph is pretty terrifying on a bicycle, if that one cyclist was doing 40 in the park, it was kph.
If you can’t manage to ride a bicycle without either dying in the street or barreling over pedestrians, despite this being something that a literal four-year-old can do, then I’m afraid that leaving the house just isn’t for you. You have failed at life. Find a substance or a MMORPG to get addicted to and start rotting away cause man, you just can’t cut it out there.
:rolleyes:
Oh come on, just for some real numbers here, off my bike’s Garmin for the ride I did Sunday.
20 miles total distance
average speed 14.9 MPH
Top Speed 33.2MPH
It was not terrifying.
Now I am a fat, old, and slow cyclist. Above about 50 is where things get exciting for me.
So why do you insist on riding on the wrong side of the road then? One car every 5 minutes and you are worried about being hit if you ride on the correct side of the road? 
I truly don’t get it.
I got kind of pissed off at the cyclists on the way home this evening. There were mini-peloton clusters along the way, and many of them were threading the fogline. I mean, really, shit or get off the pot. Ride in the road or in the garbage lane, but fail to do this split-the-difference BS.
About 10 years ago I was rollerblading along the pavement in a city in Scotland. All of a sudden a policeman steps in front of me, arms stretched out, prompting a very panicked hockey stop. He berated me for a good 5 minutes for skating on the pavement, emphasising the risk I posed to pedestrians, and told me that anything with wheels goes on the road. I apologised for the mistake, waited for a clear spot in traffic, then stepped into the street and skated off.
I got about 300 yards before another policeman ran out, grabbed me, pulled me to the pavement and started swearing at me for skating in traffic, what sort of bloody idiot was I, didn’t I appreciate the risk and inconvenience, etc. I was a fuck of a lot less polite with this one, funnily enough.
Personally I say we just ban cars. Car drivers are boring, and prone to heart disease. They’re statistically more likely than pedestrians to have 11 items in their basket in “10 items or less” lanes. It was a car driver that invented Secret Santa. Fuck’em all. Ban cars, and you immediately decrease reliance on oil imports, improve national health and obesity levels, improve traffic congestion, reduce road deaths, and a myriad of other benefits. City air quality will increase. Children will be safe to play in the streets. It may well end war, bring North Korea into line with worldwide politics, and bring back unicorns. Frankly why it’s taking this long to implement the obvious is a big disappointment to me. Seriously humanity, get your shit together.
I read on Matt Yglesias’ blog when he went to Europe that in a lot of places pedestrians, rollberbladers, scooter riders, cyclists, and cars share the same streets and things work out pretty well.
In the US, you’ve got roads which are designed to speed cars along as quickly as possible and sidewalks meant for pedestrians. Cyclists and scooter riders, while supposedly having the right to be in the road, aren’t very well appreciated, since American drivers have an expectation of rapid movement and don’t like to have to slow down and wait to get around someone.
Have you been watching this documentary again?
Today’s total:
Four cyclists, all over 12.
Two on the road, two on the sidewalk.
One of the cyclists on the road blew through a red light at a high rate of speed.
One came up behind me on the sidewalk - no bell or beep. I said something to him about riding on the sidewalk, but I don’t think he heard me since he had his headphones on.
In some places it may not be common knowledge about where you are supposed to ride your bike at what age. I can remember being 14 and riding on the street in my neighborood (I had a delivery service deal I had set up where I would go to the store for elderly or shut ins and pick up basics in amounts I could safely carry) and had a cop yell at me because if a sidewalk was available I should be on the sidewalk…I checked later and found I’d been in the right, but here I had a cop yelling at me.
Just as a helpful hint for American dopers: By “pavement” he means what Americans call a “sidewalk.”
Here, riding on the sidewalk and wearing headphones while riding, are both illegal.
I predict that one day I will be injured by a bicycle on the sidewalk. Almost everyday on my walks, some crazy person on a bike scares the bejeesus out of me. It would be one thing if they were traveling at a slow speed and gave me ample warning. And some of them do. But there are plenty of those who don’t.
I have been successfully riding on sidewalks for over 25yrs, where I live. I don’t go fast. I ding my bell as I come up behind, so as not to startle, I always cede the sidewalk to pedestrians by going onto grass or road, I stop for cars pulling out or in always, and always obey the traffic lights! I never hesitate to dismount and push my bike, if necessary.
I choose the route people are less likely to be walking, avoid busy streets and congestion.
I don’t know about where you live, but round here everyone is driving almost always. I can see 3 blocks either way, and not a soul is on the sidewalk, why would I ride with cars and buses if there is an obvious safer alternative available?
I am fully prepared to fork over $90 for the fine, any day, any time, with a smile on my face, and consider it a tax on my safety! I do so right in front of the police, quite often, as I live very close to the central station. They seem indifferent when you are obviously not displacing anyone, and being considerate of others.
Yes, I know it makes some people rabid, but I don’t really care, I feel much safer.
And I can understand how you feel, I have seen how drivers are in the GWN :dubious:
GNW?
Good Night Wankers?
Say what now?
Great White North