# This is why people hate bicyclists **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 7, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582 "2014-04-07T19:55:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/41 "2014-04-08T16:26:58Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > You must have overlooked the first phrase in the part of my post that you quoted…I bolded and underlined it for you. Still does not make any sense. Making an exercise more annoying may also make it more effective, but effectiveness is not the sole reason people choose a form of exercise. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/42 "2014-04-08T16:30:56Z")
A fast, efficient bike also allows more opportunities to combine exercise with transportation. If all I had was a rusty cruiser bike, I couldn’t afford the 2 hours it would take to bike to work and back. But I can usually afford the 1 hour to ride there and back on my racing bike. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/43 "2014-04-08T16:47:20Z")
But can you ever actually tell whether a rider is riding for exercise or to get somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/44 "2014-04-08T16:51:01Z")
Often it’s both. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/45 "2014-04-08T16:51:19Z")
> [@andros](#): > > As for trackstanding? I can do it, or could, but don’t bother much any more. When I was riding a lot in town, yeah, I’d pause without putting my feet down if I knew it would be a brief stop. Nowadays, I don’t ever ride more than a few miles, and just figure fuck it, I’ll put a foot down. This is it, in a nutshell. This guy was (a) no good at it, based on how unsteady he looked – I figured he was going to topple over and fall under somebody’s wheels any second and (b) doing it at intersections with 3-way stop lights, where he had to maintain his balance (poorly) for a loong time. If he’d been good at trackstanding I wouldn’t even have noticed him. Or if he’d just given up and put his foot down. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/46 "2014-04-08T17:01:21Z")
I’m not understanding how you say he never put his foot down, yet he sucked at trackstanding. HE NEVER PUT HIS FOOT DOWN! Obviously he knew what he was doing. The fact that you, someone who is unfamiliar with the practice, thought he looked unstable is completely irrelevant. And even if he wasn’t the best ever at it, how did this affect you? This entire pitting is simply baffling. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/47 "2014-04-08T17:11:44Z")
Wellnow, it’s entirely possible to be shitty at trackstanding and still manage to stay upright. I know from experience (cf my being hopelessly uncoordinated). If he’s unpracticed and is so focused on not putting a foot down that he isn’t paying attention to traffic or pedestrians, or he wobbles himself right into the intersection…well yeah, that’s fucking unsafe and he deserves a good dopeslap. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/48 "2014-04-08T17:14:05Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I’m not understanding how you say he never put his foot down, yet he sucked at trackstanding. HE NEVER PUT HIS FOOT DOWN! Obviously he knew what he was doing. The fact that you, someone who is unfamiliar with the practice, thought he looked unstable is completely irrelevant. > > And even if he wasn’t the best ever at it, how did this affect you? This entire pitting is simply baffling. Because he was only able to maintain his balance by moving in an unpredictable and uncontrolled and unstable manner, which is not something you like to see in something sharing the road with you. He wasn’t frozen in place; he was wobbling. I thought his feet were locked in (I’ve learned something here) so I thought he was about to fall over in front of a car. That’s how it affected me. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/49 "2014-04-08T17:15:05Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Because he was only able to maintain his balance by moving in an unpredictable and uncontrolled and unstable manner, which is not something you like to see in something sharing the road with you. He wasn’t frozen in place; he was wobbling. I thought his feet were locked in (I’ve learned something here) so I thought he was about to fall over in front of a car. > > That’s how it affected me. We’re sorry you were ‘affected’. Perhaps you can find him and bill him for the therapy. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/50 "2014-04-08T17:15:06Z")
The other thing that is baffling is that, if he is at a stop, duly waiting for a light to change (I cannot think why else he would be trackstanding), that would suggest that the cars would be stopped as well: under whose wheels is he likely to fall? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/51 "2014-04-08T17:20:09Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Wellnow, it’s entirely possible to be shitty at trackstanding and still manage to stay upright. I know from experience (cf my being hopelessly uncoordinated). > > If he’s unpracticed and is so focused on not putting a foot down that he isn’t paying attention to traffic or pedestrians, or he wobbles himself right into the intersection…well yeah, that’s fucking unsafe and he deserves a good dopeslap. Fair enough, but according to the OP, the rider made it through several stops over a few miles, and never once put his foot down or wobbled into traffic or into a pedestrian. All we have is the OP’s insistence that he was “unsteady”. Maybe the rider really was, but given the OP’s obvious prejudice against bicyclists and unfamiliarity with trackstanding, I don’t put a whole lot of stock in his interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/52 "2014-04-08T17:25:34Z")
> [@For You](#): > > The other thing that is baffling is that, if he is at a stop, duly waiting for a light to change (I cannot think why else he would be trackstanding), that would suggest that the cars would be stopped as well: under whose wheels is he likely to fall? A combination of some incredibly impatient drivers or drivers who decide the bike lane is actually a special magic lane just for them to get through the intersection faster. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/53 "2014-04-08T17:27:12Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > A combination of some incredibly impatient drivers or drivers who decide the bike lane is actually a special magic lane just for them to get through the intersection faster. Now that’s just crazy talk. Drivers don’t ignore the rules. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/54 "2014-04-08T17:32:44Z")
Watch some pros [trackstand](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0O8ZzFuMkQ). Even they can’t keep perfectly still. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/55 "2014-04-08T18:13:09Z")
> [@For You](#): > > The other thing that is baffling is that, if he is at a stop, duly waiting for a light to change (I cannot think why else he would be trackstanding), that would suggest that the cars would be stopped as well: under whose wheels is he likely to fall? Right turn on red is legal in all civilized locales. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/56 "2014-04-08T18:55:19Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Right turn on red is legal in all civilized locales. You mean like the 5 boroughs of New York Cit…[.oh no!](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/nyregion/thecity/10fyi.html?_r=0) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/57 "2014-04-08T19:02:48Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > You mean like the 5 boroughs of New York Cit…[.oh no!](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/nyregion/thecity/10fyi.html?_r=0) And about half the intersections around here have “No Right on Red” signs. That doesn’t necessarily stop the cars around here so I keep an eye on anyone in the right lane when crossing. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/58 "2014-04-08T22:31:19Z")
So a person who is unable to see that there is a cyclist lying in their path should be allowed to operate a motor vehicle? Most drivers can see a beer can lying in the road in front of them, and that is much smaller than a cyclist. I think you are overstating the hazard here. Not running into stuff is a driver’s primary responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/59 "2014-04-08T22:35:49Z")
So, let’s do a little thought experiment: you’re in your car, on a busy 4-lane street with bike path. Stopped at a light. In the bike path to your right is a kid on a skateboard, practicing kick flips and ollies. Do you think: (a) What marvelous skill he’s displaying. And keeping his heart rate up, too! (b) Christ, kid, this is a city street not a skate park. And if you kick your board into my car I’ll kick your ass. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582/60 "2014-04-08T22:47:46Z")
Wait, now you’re complaining about skateboarders? I thought you didn’t like bicycles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-people-hate-bicyclists/685582.md?page=4)