I was riding my bike (mountain bike) very slowly and carefully through a semi-padestrian street. Even stopping whenever people were not aware of my prescence. I rode past policemen, who didn’t bat an eyelid, I rode past everyone else who didn’t care that I was there. On top of all this I happen to know that I am legally allowed to ride on this ‘road’. Then suddenly an old woman shouts at me - ‘you shouldn’t ride on here’. I wanted to stop and say
“Listen, I happen to know that I am allowed on here, I am being careful, I am giving people plenty of room, how do you know I am not allowed on here? I don’t think you do, I think you are just being a grumpy old nosey bat who seeks out minor misdermeaners to moan about them and stick your nose in. Next time, think of weither you are correct before you tell someone off for doing something”
But all I managed to do was hastily say “can!” while riding away, and then mumbled some unaudible mess in an attempt to keep my cool.
I remember about 10-12 years ago, I was riding my bike ON THE BIKE PATH, got mired in some mud, and took a pretty bad tumble. I was on the grass next to the path, rather dazed, with bloody knees and elbows, and my friends were doing the basic friends thing - “Are you ok?” “Can you move your arms?”, etc. etc. Next thing you know, a couple old bats came walking by, and start bitching at us because my bike was in lying in the middle of the bike path where it had fallen after the accident. Now, granted, it should have been moved asap, but give me a frikkin’ break - I could have had a broken arm or leg, or been hit on the head. The first thing going through my mind and everyone else’s mind was NOT the bike - it was making sure I was whole and alive. Bloody old busybodies…
I am not clever enough to figure out if people are being sarcastic here.
And, Mr O’rourke [well people who agree with him or believe him] - there are ass-holes everywhere the particular way they choose to be an asshole is not the thing to blame, it’s the fact that they are an asshole that’s to blame. So don’t be anit-cyclist. be anti-asshole. I am a cyclist and not an asshole. There is nothing about my cycling that can be criticised.
PJ O’Rourke, besides being one of the (IMHO) better satirists of modern times, also used to write columns for one of the big car magazines. You can imagine he’s a bit biased in these matters.
Huh? I’m not being the slightest bit sarcastic. I used to ride an awful lot, and I noticed that the motorists who gave me grief were almost always elderly.
OK, you have a right to ride on the road. Granted. But if you decide to ride in the car lane, when there is a considerable amount of traffic, doing 15-20 mph,don’t be surprised if I vain all over your ass as I go by!
Ah. That feels better.
I just crossed a bridge that is being worked on (and will be for the next two years). It has been changed from 4 lanes to two–one each way. The other side of the bridge is open to pedestrian and bike traffic while it’s being worked on.
So, where do the bikers ride? In the traffic lane–where there’s no room to go around them. Not on the sidewalk. Not on the entire free side of the bridge. No, they’re in front of the cars, holding up people for blocks.
I have no problem whatsoever with people riding along the side of the roadway as long as there’s enough space for cars to pass. But, I gotta tell ya…you may have an absolute right to right there, but you will lose an argument with a bumper every time.
I’d prefer not to kill anyone. I’d rather not blast someone over the guardrail down to the Mississippi River several hundred feet below. I will try to avoid you. I would probably swerve into oncoming traffic if you weave in front of me.
Probably. But you might not leave me enough time to maneuver. In that case, I’ll just say I’m sorry in advance as you perform the world’s highest swan dive into the muddy waters below.
If there’s enough space for you to ride in an area where there’s no traffic, please use it.
You’d prefer us not to ride where we’re supposed to, and instead cycle on pavements where we’re not supposed to, against traffic laws? Cycling on pavements presents great danger to pedestrians and is against the law, at least in this country.
Sensible cyclists, like myself and Lobsang, are trying our hardest to abide by traffic laws and cycle without danger on the roads. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been driven into the curb by a driver too concerned with getting to their destination 2 seconds faster to care about the danger they’re putting me in. It can be hard work and frightening sharing the road with large metal vehicle, particularly one with a driver that has this attitude:
I mean, really? I know this. That’s why I cycle sensibly. If you can’t pass me on that particular stretch of road, well how about you wait until you can pass me instead of putting me in danger because of your overwhelming desire to get to your destination two seconds quicker.
We all have out place on the road. Cyclists are much more vulnerable that people in cars and are constantly made aware of it. I dismount at roundabouts, at junctions. I keep as close to the curb as I can. But I have every right to be there, and I don’t appreciate being told that I’m the one presenting the danger to everyone else when I’m not the one driving up the cyclist’s ass just because they’re trying to abide by the law.
Back around the turn of the 20th century, bicycles were considered immoral because they allowed young lovers to get away from their parents to have sex. For a long while it was considered undignified to ride a bike, especially for a woman. So, maybe that’s what’s going on.
You know, I’ve discovered a simple and almost fool-proof way to distinguish between intelligent cyclists and their moronic counterparts. If they’re wearing a helmet, chances are they’re smart cyclists and should be given due respect; if they’re not, feel free to run them over (you’d be improving the gene pool). I’ve biked in to work every day for years and have yet to see my little rule invalidated.
FRANCESCA, as a dedicated pedestrian, both to and from work and for excercise, I thank you and other considerate cyclists for staying off the pavements (sidewalks) and in the road where you belong. No, I’m not being sarcastic.
*sub]effing bicycle messengers, zooming down the sidewalk and shouting at people to get out of the way[/sub]
That’s the point I was trying to make. A conscientious cyclist doesn’t put him/herself in a position where either one of us will need to be making a life-or-death decision soon. The numbskulls I was talking about were in the lane! There was a whole half of a bridge available to them, but they decided to hold up traffic by riding where there was -no- room to pass. (They’ve put up those plastic lane divider sticks that prevent cars from moving to the other lane to get around them.)
I cross that bridge 6-10 times per week. I’m going to try and avoid it because traffic is usually tied up there anyway, and nobody needs the extra frustration, especially at rush hour, when some stupid dressed-like-Lance-Armstrong-but-riding-at-10-MPH biker exercizes their right to risk serious injury.
Again, what I was trying to say is that you (the generic you) have to be aware of the limitations of the traffic. I really wasn’t copping an attitude about all bikers–I just don’t want to be the one who launches one over a bridge.
I will say this, though…were I a cop, and I saw those cyclists, they’d both get tickets for obstructing traffic.
99% of the bikers pose no problem for me. It’s just the ones that claim they have a “right” to be in the traffic lane (and I don’t believe they do) that give me heartburn.
