Bicyclist Rant

trashmanssd said:
I am amazed at the roads some cyclist chose to ride on and by doing so putting their life in the hands of the common motorist. But then again I think that the people who jump out planes or scale mountains or do any these extreme sports are crazy. All of them are adrenaline junkies but at least when most them get hurt or killed it doesn't land someone else in court on charges because they were sharing the roads with them. It is really fun when you are in a 10 or 18 wheel truck and have no chance at passing them without them stopping and pulling to the side and they just keep waving you to go around and you just stay back waiting as they keep waving you to go around they don't realize that on that 1/4-1/2 mile straight you won't get by them till you are at or very near the next corner and if someone comes around that corner you are screwed. Bikes especially road race type bikes are very quick on flat or downhill roads so i just stay behind them if it is not a long clear straight to pass on or till they are on steepish uphill that I have enough speed differential to pass them safe and quick (i don't want to be stuck out in the oncoming lane more than a few seconds).
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You are right about that. A good cyclist on a road bike can go as fast as a car, and even exceed speed limits if there is a group and they know how to drift correctly. And I am talking about a flat road. Downhill they can really fly.
 
When I use to ride,i respected the rules of the road,cars can do more damage to me than I can too them! But it seems people have no respect for the rules of the road anymore? I been driving for 30 years and it just scares me the way people drive now a days,society has changed a lot in that time,and the make up of this country has changed a lot also,my biggest pet peave is the thank you wave,no one does that anymore,it like road warrior on the roads now! No one has respect anymore it al "me me me"!
 
DetailKitty said:
###?
How do you hit a bike tire from behind??????
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He was probably on his lap top. They (sheriffs office) will probably cover it up. It has been 2 months since a story happened where a cop shot a cop and nothing is being released they say it is still under investigation.
 
Well I encountered 2 bicyclists yesterday. Neither bothered me.

The one was on a very wide road and had lights on his bike (white in the front, red in the back) that were flashing. He also had color on.... not black.

And the other was on a narrow road, but it WASN'T rush hour. It was in the middle of the day. IMO, a better, SAFER time to be cycling.

The cars yesterday were another story :bat:
 
Thankfully this is pretty much a none issue where I live but, like eveywhere, there are always dumb drivers. Sadly on top of poor drivers we also have road ragers, which can be worse. I used to ride a motorcycle and had too many close calls because of people not paying attention and can understand where cyclists are coming from.

Swerving in the center of lane is suicidal and arrogant. If someone has the audacity to hit you, think they're going to stop to see if your ok? If you survived the crash in the first place...

I don't agree, and am certain to get negative feedback on it, that cyclists OWN the road too. You don't pay (not in MI anyways) for the right to use your transportation on the roads. You don't have to take test (don't get me wrong, an easy one) to have the right to operate said transportation. Owning one vehicle doesn't mean all your vehicles/modes of transportation are covered either. I have to pay for each one in MI. If cyclists paid their share to help maintain the roads, it would sway my opinion. Another way cyclists will never own the road is they're out numbered by very large vehicles. Cyclists and motorcycles will always be in 2nd place to vehicles.

If most drivers respected motorcycles and/cyclists, this thread wouldn't exsist.

I wish the state would provide a safe, dedicated road for cyclists, as this is the ONLY way to keep them from all moron drivers out there.

Like someone else mentioned, I don't run on main roads anymore either. I live near a park and do laps. If that gets boring, I'll drive to another park.
 
DetailKitty said:
Well I encountered 2 bicyclists yesterday. Neither bothered me.

The one was on a very wide road and had lights on his bike (white in the front, red in the back) that were flashing. He also had color on.... not black.

And the other was on a narrow road, but it WASN'T rush hour. It was in the middle of the day. IMO, a better, SAFER time to be cycling.

The cars yesterday were another story :bat:
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Did the red flashing light bother you in any way? Sometimes light flashes right into eyes of driver coming from behind. It sort of blinds the driver. I have seen lights that are so bright, one can nearly see it from a 1 or half away. As you get closer and closer, light just get brighter and bigger.
 
DetailKitty said:
Ok, anyone on here an avid bicyclist?

I want to know why bicyclist think they own the roads?
Around me, I constantly come across these guys who not only ride on extremely dangerous backroads, but they ride 2-4 deep and don't move over.

I almost had a head-on collision with a Tahoe (I would have lost that battle) because some cyclist was riding on a very narrow backroad with no shoulder and was going around a blind curve.

Thank goodness my car is small.... basically the Tahoe, my MINI and the bike all passed one another at the same time.

And to continue my rant, I was on the trail this weekend running with a friend, and most of the cyclists that passed us did so at high speed and barely moved over. Really? You had 5 feet on the other side of you, yet you missed me by a few inches.

What the ef??????? :mad:
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FWIW, PA vehicle code, title 75, considers a bicycle a vehicle subject to rules common to all vehicles permitted on the road; they are entitled to use the lane of travel when the shoulder is absent, they are overtaking a slower vehicle or conditions of the shoulder are unsafe. Lighting is only required when the bicycle is operated after sunset and before dawn. Riders are permitted by law to ride 2 a breast. Here's an excerpt of some of the applicable sections:
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdbikeped.nsf/infoForward?OpenForm

I'm actually one of those bicyclists that attempts to follow the laws, ride with respect for other users of the road (including the running zombies who appear to be oblivious to everyone & everything around them ;) ) and ride with my safety as a priority. When you ride & act expecting other vehicles to obey the rules of the road, it can be dangerous too; the vehicles around me often don't follow those same rules & will jeopardize my safety unnecessarily by doing things like trying to pass me with little to no clearance, passing me at stop signs, completely ignoring my right of way at an intersection, etc..etc..etc. I was riding into the lane of travel the other day because a section of the road/shoulder was totally destroyed by last winter's brutal weather and a woman in a civic came right up on my wheel, blaring her horn & yelled at me to 'get the F off the road and on the shoulder where you belong, arsehole'. Of course, we were the only two vehicles on the road at that time, plenty of visibility & she had zero reason not to just go around me and continue on her way.

Yeah, seeing other cyclists completely ignore the rules of the road frustrates me too. I give them grief when I encounter and they generally don't give a crap..just like the car & truck drivers who routinely disregard the safety of other road users.
What we need is everyone to respect each other and behave accordingly. Until that unlikely day, I'll keep legally and defensively riding my bike on the road, expecting the worst of other vehicles and rarely being surprised when I experience it.
 
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