that insist dress like Lance Armstrong and ride in the driving lane instead of on the shoulder or in the bike path 10 feet away.
My town is set up pretty well for bikes and I ride most everywhere on the weekends and stick the kids in the bike trailer. I use the fucking bike path when I do it.
So, how about you slow down while driving next to them and tell them to get in the fucking bike lane. I’m a cyclist, and I also share your hate of cyclists who ride in the road.
Or, if its one lane… just hold your horn until they get out of the way.
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
So, how about you slow down while driving next to them and tell them to get in the fucking bike lane. I’m a cyclist, and I also share your hate of cyclists who ride in the road.
Or, if its one lane… just hold your horn until they get out of the way.[/quote]
I yell at these guys all the time when my kids are not in the car.
I know this is their hobby and they are trying to keep fit and I have no problem with it. Just get off the fucking road when there is a bike path 10 feet away that my tax dollars built!
It only seems to be the guys that wear yellow or postal service jerseys that do this shit. I am sure they fantasize they are in the TDF and the wide, paved smooth bike path is beneath them.
Yep, I hear you. The only thing worse is the weekend warrior type cyclist who doesn’t even know how to dress efficiently for his sport, who insists on clogging up the bike path going ~5mph, and forces the real cyclists onto the road.
I get annoyed when it’s done for no reason or when a pair are riding abreast, but be aware that sometimes there’s shit in the bike lane that drives them out. Broken glass, sand and gravel can cause significant problems. Tell your local city to run the street sweeper once in a while, the cops to enforce anti littering laws, and the cyclists to stay in their lane unless they have a legit reason to be out of it.
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
… just hold your horn until they get out of the way.[/quote]
Great advice! An incident like that can definitely ruin a cyclist’s whole ride. I remember one time back in TX, this happened to me, and I caught up with the pseudo-tough guy in his 2-ton suit of armor at the next traffic light, where I proceeded to explain my right to the road. Let’s just say the driver lost the argument in a most unfortunate way, and rolled into the intersection causing a minor collision. I had to reluctantly cancel my plans for a long, leisurely ride and sprint away in the opposite direction. Live and learn!
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
rrjc5488 wrote:
So, how about you slow down while driving next to them and tell them to get in the fucking bike lane. I’m a cyclist, and I also share your hate of cyclists who ride in the road.
Or, if its one lane… just hold your horn until they get out of the way.
I yell at these guys all the time when my kids are not in the car.
I know this is their hobby and they are trying to keep fit and I have no problem with it. Just get off the fucking road when there is a bike path 10 feet away that my tax dollars built!
It only seems to be the guys that wear yellow or postal service jerseys that do this shit. I am sure they fantasize they are in the TDF and the wide, paved smooth bike path is beneath them.[/quote]
Is the bike path perfectly smooth or everytime it reaches a cross street does it dip down the curb and then up again on the other side? Does it have all sorts of unnecessary twists and turns? The reason i ask is that if the guys riding on the road are on road bikes there is nothing more frustrating than the sort of bike path I just described, you can’t maintain a high speed and you have to stop for cars on the cross street rather than flowing with the traffic on the street you are riding on.
Now I fully agree that kids and anyone out for a leisurely ride or on a slower mountain bike must use the cycle path, but for road cyclists/triathaletes doing a serious training ride the path is more of a hinderance than a help.
I’m not sure what the law is in the USA, but over here in Australia anyone on a bike is actually classified as a road vehicle and is entitled to use the road, and car drivers have to respect that fact, not that many do this is another matter entirely…
I lived in an area of Adelaide that was a very popular place for nearly all of the cyclists to ride to on Saturday and Sunday morning. They would ride down and invade the roads and the cafes. The thing that shit me off the most is when you get big groups of 30 or them and they take up a whole lane of the road so all the cars are forced to go at half the speed limit just so that the cyclists can get their kicks and a caffeine fix.
Generally I have no problem with cyclists on the road, but just dont impede all the other traffic and force fast cars to travel at your speed.
[quote]NuclearArms wrote:
rrjc5488 wrote:
… just hold your horn until they get out of the way.
Great advice! An incident like that can definitely ruin a cyclist’s whole ride. I remember one time back in TX, this happened to me, and I caught up with the pseudo-tough guy in his 2-ton suit of armor at the next traffic light, where I proceeded to explain my right to the road. Let’s just say the driver lost the argument in a most unfortunate way, and rolled into the intersection causing a minor collision. I had to reluctantly cancel my plans for a long, leisurely ride and sprint away in the opposite direction. Live and learn!
[/quote]
Dude… I’ve had cars honk at me, curse at me, stick the finger out the window, etc. I wasnt even in the road.
When I’m driving though, and they’re on the shoulder, I have no problem, as should no one else considering they’re not harming anyone.
If they ride 3, 4, 5 abreast and are impeding traffic, then yeah, I get just as pissed as anyone else would. Usually, they move over when they hear/see a car move over.
Question: are bicycles ‘street’ legal? I know we dont have brake lights and turning signals, but we do have hand signals.
Because around town if one were able to keep a 30mph average on a 30mph road, that would be acceptable, I guess. I do see in some states the speed limit posted, as well as a minimum. This leads me to beleive theres a minimum everywhere. (Pretaining to cyclists [that wish to occupy the road.])
[quote]NuclearArms wrote:
Yep, I hear you. The only thing worse is the weekend warrior type cyclist who doesn’t even know how to dress efficiently for his sport, who insists on clogging up the bike path going ~5mph, and forces the real cyclists onto the road. [/quote]
I mountain bike alot, and when I hit the pavement, this is exactly why I usually am the guy in the road you guys are talking about…
Bikes are considered to be vehicles where I live. Ironic, considering that a vehicle travelling at the speed of a bike could get a dangerous driving ticket for travelling too slow. (Unless I’m completely out to lunch on my knowledge of traffic laws.)
I acknowledge their right to be on the road, and I even respect their devotion to their sport; but for some reason they still piss me off. I have no idea why. It really baffles me.
[quote]bg100 wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
rrjc5488 wrote:
So, how about you slow down while driving next to them and tell them to get in the fucking bike lane. I’m a cyclist, and I also share your hate of cyclists who ride in the road.
Or, if its one lane… just hold your horn until they get out of the way.
I yell at these guys all the time when my kids are not in the car.
I know this is their hobby and they are trying to keep fit and I have no problem with it. Just get off the fucking road when there is a bike path 10 feet away that my tax dollars built!
It only seems to be the guys that wear yellow or postal service jerseys that do this shit. I am sure they fantasize they are in the TDF and the wide, paved smooth bike path is beneath them.
Is the bike path perfectly smooth or everytime it reaches a cross street does it dip down the curb and then up again on the other side? Does it have all sorts of unnecessary twists and turns? The reason i ask is that if the guys riding on the road are on road bikes there is nothing more frustrating than the sort of bike path I just described, you can’t maintain a high speed and you have to stop for cars on the cross street rather than flowing with the traffic on the street you are riding on.
Now I fully agree that kids and anyone out for a leisurely ride or on a slower mountain bike must use the cycle path, but for road cyclists/triathaletes doing a serious training ride the path is more of a hinderance than a help.
I’m not sure what the law is in the USA, but over here in Australia anyone on a bike is actually classified as a road vehicle and is entitled to use the road, and car drivers have to respect that fact, not that many do this is another matter entirely…[/quote]
The two spots near my house that I have this problem are longs stretches without curbs or side streets. I know what you mean but it is not an issue in this case. I am totally baffled why they don’t use the path. It is in better shape than the road.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
bg100 wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
rrjc5488 wrote:
So, how about you slow down while driving next to them and tell them to get in the fucking bike lane. I’m a cyclist, and I also share your hate of cyclists who ride in the road.
Or, if its one lane… just hold your horn until they get out of the way.
I yell at these guys all the time when my kids are not in the car.
I know this is their hobby and they are trying to keep fit and I have no problem with it. Just get off the fucking road when there is a bike path 10 feet away that my tax dollars built!
It only seems to be the guys that wear yellow or postal service jerseys that do this shit. I am sure they fantasize they are in the TDF and the wide, paved smooth bike path is beneath them.
Is the bike path perfectly smooth or everytime it reaches a cross street does it dip down the curb and then up again on the other side? Does it have all sorts of unnecessary twists and turns? The reason i ask is that if the guys riding on the road are on road bikes there is nothing more frustrating than the sort of bike path I just described, you can’t maintain a high speed and you have to stop for cars on the cross street rather than flowing with the traffic on the street you are riding on.
Now I fully agree that kids and anyone out for a leisurely ride or on a slower mountain bike must use the cycle path, but for road cyclists/triathaletes doing a serious training ride the path is more of a hinderance than a help.
I’m not sure what the law is in the USA, but over here in Australia anyone on a bike is actually classified as a road vehicle and is entitled to use the road, and car drivers have to respect that fact, not that many do this is another matter entirely…
The two spots near my house that I have this problem are longs stretches without curbs or side streets. I know what you mean but it is not an issue in this case. I am totally baffled why they don’t use the path. It is in better shape than the road.[/quote]
I know that many times I dont use the path because of the idiots I have come up to while I am on it so I ride the shoulder instead but I never impede traffic. I also find I keep a better cadence when on the road because I don’t have to worry about mom’s pushing the strollers or the kids on the scooters.
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
Dude… I’ve had cars honk at me, curse at me, stick the finger out the window, etc. I wasnt even in the road.
[/quote]
Yeah, I’ve found that the vast majority of these drivers turn into total cowards that piss their pants when I ride up to their window at the next traffic stop, especially the ‘finger’ dudes. I had one guy who actually started crying when I offered to trade him his keys for his finger. Probably had something to do with the rusty pair of diagonal pliers that I had pulled from my tool kit and was opening and closing in his face.
Usually, though, I get enough satisfaction from doing the key grab and riding off.
So what do you do? Smile complacently from your bike path, thinking “Wow, they sure put me in my place?”
The biggest problem I have are people who ride thier bikes on already dangerous and curvy ass new england roads with narrow brides and make it impossible to pass them by riding with 12 other f’ing people.
People who ride by themselves are fine with me, do your thing.
If they travel in single file and respect the cars as much as they expect cars to respect them, I have no probs.
However, what does aggravate me is when a line of cars has stuggled to pass a biker on the road, and then they stop at traffic lights, only to have the fucking biker sneak up the inside and get in front of everyone again, thereby repeating the entire process.
Fuck I hate that!
I don’t have an opinion of ALL cyclists, but I did recently have an incident.
My family and I were in the car and at a stop sign and were waiting to turn left onto a larger street (a two-way stop, on which perpendicular traffic doesn’t stop). There was a kid that had hurt himself on a skateboard on the other side of the street and there were ambulances and cop cars all over the place.
Traffic on the large street we were turing on to were driving much slower than usual, for obvious reasons. I was watching all of this, trying to asses the situation to make my turn without hitting kids, cop cars, other traffic, etc.
Unbeknownst to me, there was a cyclist clown in his rainbow-bright colored, “sponsor” logo covered, spandex uniform behind us. When I failed to execute my turn in a timely fashion that suited his agenda (as I was trying not to compound the accident), he picked up his bike (this is when his presence became known) and started spouting mostly indecipherable obscenities at me and my family as he headed to the sidewalk to get around the mess. (God forbid he have to ride his bike on the side walk or a path.)
I leaned out my window and calmly told him he needed to “fucking relax.” He turned around, while still riding away from me and told me to fuck myself, at which point I retorted with some vulgarities I won’t repeat here.
I negotiated my turn and eventually caught up with him, on our way home, at which point he gave me the finger. I exclaimed what a tough guy he was for giving me this gesture while my family was visibly in the car. We continued our journey home free of further incident.
I do feel that the majority of these guys really do feel they own the road and don’t need to have any regard for much larger vehicles. However, I know a couple personally that are pretty cool guys. So I know it’s not all of them.
I personally have never had a bad incident with cyclists on the road. Although I can understand the frustration if you encounter groups that will not yield the right of way. Possibly they feel they are safer in numbers…
I do have a question though. Are the majority of cyclists homosexuals, or possibly have homosexual tendencies? The reason I ask is that no one in there right mind would think of wearing tight spandex shorts in the privacy of there own home, let alone in the view of the public eye. Most women I know think that it looks totally gay. I know the average cyclist will claim that it reduces wind drag and is more efficient, but come on. Who the hell are they racing when they are clearly riding alone. The whole spandex thing is anything but masculine.
Maybe if they came out of there closets they would be more of a less frustrated and uptight group. This in turn would improve there attitudes on the road. It could be just that simple.
[quote]Coldiron wrote:
Are the majority of cyclists homosexuals, or possibly have homosexual tendencies?[/quote]
Of course. I thought that was pretty much common knowledge. That’s why we like to ride slow and hold up traffic. We think that wiggling our garishly-colored, lycra-clad butts in other guys’ faces just might cause some to defect over to our team.