… who felt compelled to yell at me to get on the sidewalk as I was biking to the park on my lunch hour today. If reading is something your family is genetically capable of doing may I kindly direct your attention to City of Houston’s FAQ on shared roads which you’ll notice says that bicycles are vehicals and have every right to be on the road unless expressly prohibited!
Get it? When I’m on my bike I have the right to be on the road, when I’m there I have the same privileges and responsibilities as you do. Under most conditions we can both occupy the right lane, but when I determine that it’s not safe to share I have the right to use the whole lane and you have to deal with it until I determine it’s safe to let you pass. Not that this was the case today, the road we were on was plenty wide for the both of us, even taking your bloated, cottage cheese ass into account. In fact you were safely sharing the lane while yelling at me to get on the sidewalk! Fuck you bitch!
Understand that bitch!?!? Just because my vehical is powered by waffels and roast beef sandwiches instead of exploding dead dinosaurs doesn’t make it any less of a vehical. Sidewalks aren’t for vehicals, they are for people walking by the side of the road, hence the term sidewalk Roads are for vehicals.
I’m riding on the road because it’s safer than being on the sidewalk. Do you know why it’s safer? Because I’m usually riding over 20mph. That’s pretty fast. That’s really fucking fucking fast compared to the speed of your average pedestrian. Maybe if you got out of your fucking car every once and while you’d notice that the sidewalks in this neighborhood aren’t in great shap, lots of heaves, cracks and low hanging tree branches. Not to mention that most of the curbs don’t have ramps. Bunny hopping a pair of curbs every 50yds at 20mph is neither fun nor safe. Also consider this, two hundred pounds* of rider, bike and gear rushing forward at 23mph (the speed I was going when you passed) is a major hazard to anyone, especially kids, trying to walk on the side walk. If I hit someone I’d cause a lot of damage, to them and myself. So no thanks I won’t be riding on the sidewalk, bitch.
Oh and while I’m on a bicycle commuter rant I should point out that just because I’m on a bike doesn’t mean that I’m unfamilar with motor vehicals so the various assholes out there don’t need to demonstrate how loud your engine revs or that you can sqeaul your tires at intersections or even that you’re faster than I am**. I’m just as unimpressed with you when biking as I am when driving. Oh yes and really there is no need to show off that you’ve discovered how the fucking horn works. I assure you that even your luxury SUV makes more than enough noise that I can here you behind me before you’ve even figured out that I’m on a bicycle. So don’t fucking honk! Fucking asshats.
well closer to 185: 145 for the rider, 25 for the bike, 15 for the backpack, but 200 is a nice round number. People like round numbers. At least that’s what they taught me in business school. I like round numbers in any case.
** However you should be impressed when I get off the line faster than your F-350 disiel, or otherwise pass you when the light goes green.
This is one of two major reasons that I never ride a bicycle in this city. The second major reason is that I’ve already experienced the consequences of bicyclist-motorist encounter. I do not want to go through that again. You’ve got my sympathies on this, but Houston isn’t and probably never will be a bicycle-friendly place. Good luck with your future bike-riding though.
Oh lord, here we go again with the “overweight” thing. First thing I said to myself, I said, “Self, someone’s gonna jump his ass for criticizing her weight – and her cottage cheese ass – sure as God made little green apples.”
Bingo.
**And I’m not exactly a svelte young thing myself, but hey, I really think we should allow some leeway in a rant when it’s man on bicycle v. SUV!
Bicycles, in the road, in Houston are a bad idea. I know, it’s not fair, but the people here can’t drive CARS. They don’t care about you and your bike, sad to say. They all have big TRUCKS to drive as quickly as possible, with no regard for other cars, why would they care about a bike?
The only time I get irritated with cyclists in Houston is when they decide that rush hour is a good time to get a bit of exercise on really busy roads.
Sounds like my old commute home from work on Memorial Drive. I used to get irritated with the bicyclists, but, almost always without fail, a driver in front of me would react in some way to the bicyclist that I’d become more ticked at the driver.
Yeah, cars that won’t share the road bug me too. I’ve had problems with the other extreme, too: cars that try to defer to me when I’m on a bike, even when it’s dangerous to do so.
“No, don’t wave me through the intersection. See that octagonal thing on my right? That’s a stop sign. That means you have the right of way. So go. Go. GO, you rat bastard!”
Well, the fat bitch* deserved it! It’s the “white trash” part that gets me riled up! Some people!.. Maybe Ultress will come along and smack him upside the head!
Yes, I know that “fat” is one of the most despised adjectives on this board and my use of it was just dogpiling on the trainwreck (can one dogpile on a trainwreck, or do you just dogpile?? I digress…), but white trash is not exactly my idea of an epitaph without baggage. Perhaps if the OP had a cite of the socio-economic standing of said fat bitch I could go with the white trash…
I used to be an overweight white bitch, but I’ve always tried to be courteous to anyone biking. So I don’t think it has anything to do with having those qualities.
Maybe her rudeness was the result of driving a Trans Am. Or maybe it was the red tank top she was wearing – or those braidsThat’s it! People with braids are much more likely to be asshats – right?
Hmmm…maybe she was just ignorant of the rules and rude to boot. I agree that she was behaving like an ignorant asshat. Just give me her license plate number and she will rue the day that she met you!
Wakimika:
To whom? The overweight people who are a part of SDMB
Please note. When talking about the people that piss you off, it’s most wise to take out the fat, overweight, large, huge ass…you get the idea, I hope…you will come under fire as noted previously.
Skanky ass bitch that basically ran you off the road will be well enough for acceptance.
Dude, I just drove thru Memorial Park today. They have just completed a paved trail for non-motor vehicles. Totally cool.
The rule also applies to skates. I love it when some dumbass rookie cop, usually patrolling on Washington, tries to start shit. We protest. They call in. They learn soon to leave us alone.
With that said, if there are back roads, even if it is a little longer, it is wise to take them.
Better yet, don’t say anything about the people who piss you off. If you say “white trash” you’ll get jumped by the whiteys and the garbage men. If you say “bitch” you’ll get jumped by the feminists and the dog lovers.
Hell, why not go all the way and just don’t rant about anything? You wouldn’t want to offend all those Trans Am drivers who yell at cyclists, now would you?
