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Please don't be this guy
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 2009-06-17 6:47 AM |
Master  2014  Ohio |  Subject: Please don't be this guyI was driving on a busy street yesterday coming back from the bike shop. I saw an idiot on a bike with no helmet, weaving through traffic, then riding down the center lane in order to pass all the cars stopped for a traffic light. When he gets to the traffic light he pulls in front of the first car, looks both ways then runs the red light. At the next light he did the same thing. Now all of us in cars have to repass this moron. Had I not had my kids in the car I would have said something to him. Guys (and gals) who ride their bikes like this are what make drivers hate us. Please remember to follow the traffic laws and ride defencively. I personally could care less if this idiot ends up with his his brains lying in the gutter. But he's setting up that already irritated motorist to take his aggressions out on me next time he sees me on my bike. We have a right to the road, with that right comes the obligation to follow the traffic laws and not ride like we own the road. That is all. Rant over. |
| 2009-06-17 7:12 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Extreme Veteran 575  Concord, NH | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I totally agree. |
| 2009-06-17 7:47 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Member 22 Charlotte, NC | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I have had friends do very similar things. One in particular was an avid BMXer/urban mountain biker, and thought he could carry his weaving, dodging ways onto a road bike. I even had a boyfriend who was all over the road while learning to ride and it just plain made me angry. I sat them both down and explained why we ride the way we do on the roads. Kind of gives you perspective on why we randomly get honked at, bottles thrown at us, cars passing within an inch. It doesn't make them right, but education on both sides of the driver/cyclist controversy is necessary. |
| 2009-06-17 7:57 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Veteran 238 Lewisville, nc | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy just last week, I had a woman on a bike go from the side of the road directly in front of my car to make a left turn. Fortunately for her, I am VERY cautious of cyclists and was watching for her. She didn't even bother to look before she just shot accross the road (very main road). Even though I was careful, I still had to apply quite a bit of brakes since I was not expecting her to do that. I honked the horn at her - she never even looked back, just raised her hand as though to say "hey"... Had my 3 year old not been in the car, I seriously would've rolled down the window to ask her if she knew that she almost died... Had it been someone else, not as cautious as myself, she might have. I know what you mean, I've seen people on bikes to some pretty crazy stuff. |
| 2009-06-17 8:11 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Master 2021 Alpharetta, GA | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Agreed On a side note, I have seen a number of people recently riding without helmets, WTF?!?!? |
| 2009-06-17 8:14 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Champion 11989  Philly 'burbs | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I know that to non-cyclists it's all the same but it bothers me less when it's someone who doesn't look like a "cyclist". When I see cyclists wearing a helmet, and all decked out in a team kit ride like that it really pi$$es me off. |
| 2009-06-17 8:19 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Member 18 Toronto | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I've noticed a trend in my city of people listening to MP3 players while urban riding and weaving through traffic. |
| 2009-06-17 8:53 AM in reply to: #2223554 |
Master 2014 Ohio | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy mrbbrad - 2009-06-17 9:14 AM I know that to non-cyclists it's all the same but it bothers me less when it's someone who doesn't look like a "cyclist". When I see cyclists wearing a helmet, and all decked out in a team kit ride like that it really pi$$es me off. I know what you mean. This guy however was a cyclist. Shorts, jersey, nice bike. His handling skills were good and he was climbing a steady incline- well. I wish I had his climbing abilities. I guess that's pizzed me off even more. He should know better. |
| 2009-06-17 10:33 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
| 286 | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Aside from the non-helmet situation, this is pretty much par for the course in NYC. Don't hate, but I always shoot between cars waiting for a light, and if it's clear usually run the reds so I can get out and to the right lane. Can't get stuck behind a bus, garbage truck, or cabs spewing fumes in my face. |
| 2009-06-17 10:54 AM in reply to: #2223545 |
Champion 5782 Northridge, California | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Coldfire - 2009-06-17 6:11 AM Agreed On a side note, I have seen a number of people recently riding without helmets, WTF?!?!? Yeah...I've noticed the same thing. More than in the recent past, IMO. And lots of them seem to be speedy types on decent road bikes. Oh, well, lots of places don't require them...can't always keep people from being self-destructive. What was that my wife likes to call them? Oh...yeah: "Organ donors." |
| 2009-06-17 11:02 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Champion 7595 Columbia, South Carolina | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I agree, but I also think that the very fact that one idiot on a bike can make 'motorists' presume that all 'cyclists' are idiots is indicative of a deeper problem. When I see someone in a car (or a red shirt, or a mustache...) do something stupid and dangerous, I don't automatically direct my anger towards EVERYONE in a car (or wearing a red shirt, or sporting a mustache...). The fact that this does happen for cyclists suggests strongly to me that (some, a very few, in fact) motorists are already predisposed to direct their anger at cyclists, and use the few idiot cyclists as an excuse to tar and feather (or worse...) the rest of us. |
| 2009-06-17 11:11 AM in reply to: #2223545 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Coldfire - 2009-06-17 6:11 AM Agreed On a side note, I have seen a number of people recently riding without helmets, WTF?!?!? Yeah, I was running on the canal near my house, and there was a family riding. Mom and dad on mtn bikes, kids (boy and girl) on kids bikes. Mom and daughter had helmets, son and dad did not. Guess it's "unmanly" to wear a helmet? John |
| 2009-06-17 11:19 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Veteran 190 | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I was going to post about this guy I almost hit with my car this morning but I might as well add to this thread. There is an old guy (over 70) that rides his bike early mornings (I leave for work at6:30am) all decked out in safety gear (helmet, neon orange vest, mulitple flashing lights - the problem is that he rides on the wrong side of the street! I can't tell you how many times I have pulled up to the end of my street to turn right (looking left for traffic) and then pulled out and almost hit him coming up the road on the wrong side! It really drives me nuts in the winter when it is pitch black and he comes out of nowhere! |
| 2009-06-17 11:22 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Champion 6962 Atlanta, Ga | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I agree that this guy gives cyclist a bad rap. I'm a helmet nazi so I'm with you there and he should not of been weaving. BUT...in tight traffic, if you are riding too defensively you will get hurt. You have to know when to take the lane if you need to. Also, when I come to a line of cars, I go right up the right side to the front. Not only is it legal (at least here), but it is better for everyone involved. If I sit behind a line of cars, I will make sure that I am in the lane and will probably cause cars to miss the light. If I am at the front I will have time to ramp up to speed while in the intersection (to the right so they can pass) and then back in line with them. |
| 2009-06-17 11:23 AM in reply to: #2224232 |
Master 4119 Toronto Bronze member | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy tkd.teacher - 2009-06-17 12:11 PM Coldfire - 2009-06-17 6:11 AM Agreed On a side note, I have seen a number of people recently riding without helmets, WTF?!?!? Yeah, I was running on the canal near my house, and there was a family riding. Mom and dad on mtn bikes, kids (boy and girl) on kids bikes. Mom and daughter had helmets, son and dad did not. Guess it's "unmanly" to wear a helmet? John I live by one of the biggest parks in the city and I see families out all the time where the kids are wearing helmets (it's the law for kids but not adults) and the parents aren't. WTF!! Hello role modelling much!? And it's not gender specific ones I see. |
| 2009-06-17 11:27 AM in reply to: #2224196 |
Master 1903 Portland, Oregon | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Experior - 2009-06-17 9:02 AM I agree, but I also think that the very fact that one idiot on a bike can make 'motorists' presume that all 'cyclists' are idiots is indicative of a deeper problem. When I see someone in a car (or a red shirt, or a mustache...) do something stupid and dangerous, I don't automatically direct my anger towards EVERYONE in a car (or wearing a red shirt, or sporting a mustache...). The fact that this does happen for cyclists suggests strongly to me that (some, a very few, in fact) motorists are already predisposed to direct their anger at cyclists, and use the few idiot cyclists as an excuse to tar and feather (or worse...) the rest of us. Exactly! I was treated to a similar "Those darned cyclists" rant the other day. When was the last time anyone heard, "Those darned jaywalkers" or Those darned red light running cars that never signal"? Those examples happen just as frequently, and I would argue much more frequently in our daily experience. Why pick out cyclists to complain about their not following the rules? Do crappy drivers give all drivers a bad name? Doesn't seem to. Then what is it about cyclists? Also, some folks mentioned "talking to the person". I'm curious. Why? Would you follow a car that ran a red into the store parking lot to tell them that running red lights isn't safe? Why not? |
| 2009-06-17 11:35 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Regular 98 | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy My biggest pet peeve is bikers who roll up to a red light, going to fast to really stop if a car is coming. They end up going sideways for a second, through pedestrians, and then going across. Just yesterday on my ride, I passed some guy who thought he was a big shot, got to an intersection on the way home with traffic coming from the right. Im turning left, so I stop and wait at the light. This guy shows up, rolls right through, rides along the traffic on the left, then cuts the cars off to get to the right to make the next turn. He couldn't have waited another 10 seconds for the light to change?! It just gives all bikers a bad name when some don't follow simple rules of the road. |
| 2009-06-17 11:43 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
Extreme Veteran 3177 | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Cyclists everywhere do need to obey the rules of the road and obligatory laws for the states/counties/cities in which they ride. People like you describe annoy me to no end and I have been known to catch up to and stop some of them around here to let them know how stupid what they are doing is (when commuting I regularly carry a few of the local legal/bike club safe cycling brochures - usually the people just have no idea what they are doing is bad or why) Worst thing though yesterday evening. I am at a 4 way stop in my car. I stop in the left turn lane with my blinker on, I see two cyclists coming from the oposite way. It is my turn, I go, and the two cyclists almost T bone me as they run the stop sign and then proceed to follow me into the parking lot to yell at me...I simply ask them if they saw the stop sign they just ran and they tried to tell me how bikes in a bike lane (which they were in) don't have to stop at stop signs...I pulled out one of those brochures and told them to educate themselves BEFORE trying to yell at someone about the laws, and walked away. Lucky for them the cop that usually sits at that corner was not there. Should I have stopped and waited for them because I knew they were going to run the stop sign...maybe as it could have averted a possible bad accident, but then they would never learn the lesson. At least with me they got educated (hopefully) |
| 2009-06-17 11:44 AM in reply to: #2224274 |
Master 2014 Ohio | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Marvarnett - 2009-06-17 12:22 PM I agree that this guy gives cyclist a bad rap. I'm a helmet nazi so I'm with you there and he should not of been weaving. BUT...in tight traffic, if you are riding too defensively you will get hurt. You have to know when to take the lane if you need to. Also, when I come to a line of cars, I go right up the right side to the front. Not only is it legal (at least here), but it is better for everyone involved. If I sit behind a line of cars, I will make sure that I am in the lane and will probably cause cars to miss the light. If I am at the front I will have time to ramp up to speed while in the intersection (to the right so they can pass) and then back in line with them. I'm all for taking the lane. It is necessary, safe and correct when coming to a red light on a road with no shoulder or when traffic is creeping along or when you are riding with one or more other cyclists and coming to a light. I disagree with zipping by a line of cars along the right side (or left side for that matter) unless there is a shoulder wide enough to accommodate my bike on both sides of the intersection. I personally consider wide enough to be at least as wide as 1/2 of a bike path that travels in both directions. Anything less, I take the lane and wait my turn. Once I'm up to speed and it's safe I return to the right side of the road. |
| 2009-06-17 11:48 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
| Modesto, California | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy David tri's - 2009-06-17 4:47 AM I was driving on a busy street yesterday coming back from the bike shop. I saw an idiot on a bike with no helmet, weaving through traffic, then riding down the center lane in order to pass all the cars stopped for a traffic light. When he gets to the traffic light he pulls in front of the first car, looks both ways then runs the red light. At the next light he did the same thing. Now all of us in cars have to repass this moron. Had I not had my kids in the car I would have said something to him. Guys (and gals) who ride their bikes like this are what make drivers hate us. Please remember to follow the traffic laws and ride defencively. I personally could care less if this idiot ends up with his his brains lying in the gutter. But he's setting up that already irritated motorist to take his aggressions out on me next time he sees me on my bike. We have a right to the road, with that right comes the obligation to follow the traffic laws and not ride like we own the road. That is all. Rant over. We have that on every street in California, they are called drug dealers! |
| 2009-06-17 1:48 PM in reply to: #2224081 |
Extreme Veteran 448 Atlanta | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy jdevito20 - 2009-06-17 11:33 AM Aside from the non-helmet situation, this is pretty much par for the course in NYC. Don't hate, but I always shoot between cars waiting for a light, and if it's clear usually run the reds so I can get out and to the right lane. Can't get stuck behind a bus, garbage truck, or cabs spewing fumes in my face. I'm in Philly and it's pretty much par here too. Urban kids on their fixies, ipods, no helmets, running lights and going down the center. I'll always wear a helmet, I do run a lot of red lights but usually its at 5-6am when there are hardly any cars on the road. Only time I'll do it after that is if I have to get a jump start on a bus so I don't get hit, however I am usually keeping up with traffic going down Broad Street at that point. Then there are the drug dealers on mountain bikes, wanna be cyclist, and wanna be triathletes (Philly oly is a huge race here and now that it's a bit over a week away there are more and more dumb cyclist out). These people will rock the iPod, ride against traffic (really unsafe in Philly!!), and not say a word to you as you pass buy because they are training for a Long Distance Triathlon. I try not to mind them and just go about my business (even though some of them deserve to get punched in the head because they put my life at risk making my 1-lane road that much smaller for cars as they are coming the wrong way) but they defenitly give the rest of us a bad name. Shanks |
| 2009-06-17 2:57 PM in reply to: #2223363 |
| Expert 658 | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy If I'm on my mountain bike, I'm sooooo that guy!! If on my road bike, I respect the road rules. |
| 2009-06-17 9:04 PM in reply to: #2223363 |
| 26 | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy Well, as a new person to triatholon (1st in August) and will be riding soon, I am going to look up the rules of biking so I will be doing everything correctly. It is also common sense too. |
| 2009-06-17 9:30 PM in reply to: #2224989 |
Champion 7595 Columbia, South Carolina | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy supa-powa - 2009-06-17 3:57 PM If I'm on my mountain bike, I'm sooooo that guy!! If on my road bike, I respect the road rules. Not to be rude, but how does the mountain bike exempt you from "the road rules"? |
| 2009-06-18 1:58 AM in reply to: #2223363 |
New user 79 | Subject: RE: Please don't be this guy I routinely run red lights going through a three way intersection. I stay in a lane if I'm stuck at a red and want to go straight. I usually pull up to the front if I'm making a left turn since I've found that cars behind me at left turns usually miss their light. |
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