A post in another thread inspired this, and I wanted to avoid a hijack.
I hate a lot of bicyclists because they hold me up. If they’re riding their bike on a wide street, or one with passing zones and adequate gaps in oncoming traffic, I have no problem with them. But some bicyclists around here like to be on main streets with moderate traffic moving around 40-50 mph, and they don’t seem to know how to stay on the side of the road. They’re constantly swerving and twitching their way into the middle of my lane, making it impossible to pass them. Even if they do return the side, passing them is still risky, because chances are they’re going to swerve back.
Don’t even get me started about groups of two or three bicyclists riding line abreast. Talk about inconsiderate assholes. I honk at them.
And some bicyclists seem outraged that drivers have the nerve get annoyed at them. Well, if I’m stuck doing 15 mph on a road where I usually do 40 or 50, I’m going to get pissed off. The road system is for cars and trucks - bicyclists should be glad they’re allowed to use them at all. I wish the police would issue tickets to bicyclists who like to hold up traffic.
I’m sure there are plenty of polite, considerate bicyclists out there, who stay off busy streets and allow cars plenty of room to pass. Obviously, this rant is not about them - it’s always the idiots that stick in your mind.
Bullshit. The road system (even busy streets) is for those who are legally allowed to use it. This includes cars, trucks, and bicycles.
And yes, cyclists can be inconsiderate. When I rode, I made an effort to stay as far to the side as was safe, and, except for (legally permitted) races, I wouldn’t ride more then single-file on a one-lane road. Usually, this ment I was riding within 1 foot to the left of the right-most lane line. Although it may not be noticeable from a car, shoulders usually aren’t safe, because there’s often a great deal of debris in them and the surface isn’t as well maintained as the road. Also, there were times when I would intentionally ride in the middle of the lane to block traffic. I did this when it wouldn’t have been safe for me to do otherwise: sections of one lane roads without shoulders (bridges, narrow passes), the few hundred feet leeding up to an intersection, etc. Yes, this did slow cars down, often times for 12 seconds or more. :eek:
True. I accept that there is nothing legally wrong with everything I complained about. But the fact that something is legal doesn’t mean that it isn’t irritating, disruptive, and inconsiderate.
Actually, some of the behaviour you described is illegal, at least in the jurisdictions that I rode in. Specifically, riding more then 1 abreast is often prohibited on 1-lane roads.
Unfortunately, we all have to tolerate things we don’t like.
I suppose there are courteous motorists as well but their image is contaminated by the assholes responsible for over 50,000 deaths on American roadways each year, not to mention easily as many non-fatal injuries and crashes causing millions of dollars of damage.
Oh, well I’m so sorry that your fat, lazy, ugly, car driving ass had to be inconveninced by someone choosing to use a public, legal travel route, and the fact that they’ve got a better body than you, have more friends than you, and aren’t going out of their way to directly contribute to global warming or consuming finite oil resources.
And since legality isn’t an issue here, I issue a call to fat, ugly car-drivers such as yourself to stay the hell out of downtown. Yes, a car is your means of transportation, and yes, you will be terribly inconveninced by not being able to drive your car in dense urban areas, but let’s face it: bicycles take up much less road surface and can obviously move faster in downtown areas (why else would we still have bicycle couriers even in this day and age) while causing less congestion, so you’re just being an inconsiderate ass for even thinking of bringing your 2-ton POS downtown where us considerate people wouldn’t have to worry about your stupid ass running us down, throwing bottles out of your car, generally being incapable of holding a line, cutting us off on left turns, or generally making an ass out of yourself.
Since you are so concerned with being a considerate, non-disruptive, non-irritating individual, I just know that you’ll be happy to no longer drive your car in downtown Boston. By the way, MIT, isn’t that a place for smart people? :wally
Oh, yes, and to balance out my response before, I’ll agree that cyclists that do illegal things or do more to impede the traffic flow than necessary for their safety can be pitted.
Hey, I’d have no problems with automobile drivers if they obeyed traffic laws and (fill in your favorite traffic annoyance here).
Since I do a bit of both, I try to be considerate to cyclists when I’m driving, and to cars when I’m cycling. I stop for red traffic lights, ride on shoulders and bike trails where possible, stay as far to the right as I can when I’m in a traffic lane, and all that. I frequently come to something less than a full stop at a stop sign, but that’s a common behavior for motorists too, so I don’t feel guilty about it.
I, too, get annoyed at cyclists who ride in the middle of the traffic lane when it’s not really necessary. But there are certain situations when it is necessary, like when riding alongside a line of parked cars. One of them opens his door just in front of you when you’re on a bicycle, and you’re in for the proverbial world of hurt.
There’s no excuse for riding two abreast when cars are around. However, it’s a natural thing to do on a 2-lane country road when there are no cars around, and country roads being what they are, it isn’t always possible to see cars coming from a long way off. So when you come up from behind, you might give a gentle tap of the horn, then give them a few seconds to let you by. If they continue to hog the road then, that’s the time to get pissed.
No, the point is that any use of the roads by anyone will potentially lead to ass-hole causing situations, and cyclists are no exception. If they weren’t on a bike, then they’d be in a car, and then you’d have some asshole with a two-ton vehicle doing the stupid things that I see people in cars doing all the time. Given that the statistics show that bicycles are overall a safer mode of transport than cars, I’m fine with assholes being on bikes.
Getting annoyed is OK. Getting violent is not, and that’s what my comment was really about. I’ve heard many tales (2nd hand, all of them, so they must be true) about cyclists getting pelted with hard objects hurled from cars. That’s not annoyance, that’s thuggery, and yet many people seem to feel it’s acceptable.
I had a perfect response to this written, but I’ll keep it to myself. I can’t resist telling you the ending, though: “…and shove it up your ass”.
Right - I’m “going out of [my] way” to contribute to global warming and consume oil. Why sometimes, I get a bunch of friends together and we go for long drives in sports cars and SUVs with the engines turning 6000 RPM, just to waste as much fuel as possible. I also leave my car idling in the driveway 24/7, because my dream is that one day the ozone hole will cover half the planet.
I have a bicycle back at MIT (we’re currently on winter break), and I use it every time I need to get around the Cambridge/Boston area (either that or I take the T). I only use my car when I want to get out of the city, or drive to work (Hartford, Connecticut) or home (also in Connecticut). When I’m on my bike, I try to be as considerate as possible to other motorists, because I know how irritating inconsiderate bicyclists can be from my own experience.
That said, my rant was really just targeted at bicyclists in the suburban/rural sections of Connecticut where I live when I’m not in school. Obviously, cities are a different situation (and in my experience, the bicyclists in Boston are generally very considerate).
