Cobb County - VOTE (Page 2)

Where are you getting your information John? I actually attended the intial hearing at the Cobb County commission and no where was there actual evidence presented to back up your claims. Do I believe there are cyclists out there who do stupid things and off the locals? Sure, but there are knuckleheads in every walk of life so you can't stereotype all because of a few. The agreement that was reached (as I understand it) was that everyone involved from home owners to cyclists were going to treat one another with more respect and use common sense. I don't train at Columns that much, but it is a valuable tool that I recommend to my athletes for testing or interval work and I don't want to see that taken away. Until the home owners on Columns Drive want to fork over the money to buy the National Park land at either end of the street (not happening) or pay to maintain the road and put up a gate (again not happening) then it is a moot point. Public roads are just that public roads, and as long as federal, state, and county tax dollars are used to maintain them they will remain so.

If you personally have such a problem with riding there then it is certainly your choice not to do so, but you really have no leg to stand on when you get on here once a month and do nothing but chastise and condemn those of us who do train there and at the SCT.

First of all, lets remember that the point this thread is to VOTE.  Whether you want to vote for Thompson (the guy who wanted to ban cyclist from Columns drive) for whatever reason you choose or whether you vote for Ott.

John... secondly, I do not want you to think we are piling on you even if you did call me a douche bag which I thought was pretty funny.  Maybe it will roughen up my image a bit and all of these women will chase me the way they do Dollar instead of considering me the "nice guy".   

Secondly, I would like to thank Meredith and Dollar for coming to my defence... You guys are my White Knights from now on.    Dollar, I was impressed with a lot of your reasoning and the way you expressed it.  A bit of it was close to the line though. 

Now...   John... go back and read your first post.  Better yet copy it to Word except for the paragraph about your eating with Mr. Ott and let one of your friends read it.  Ask their opinion of the way you expressed yourself without telling them it was you.  You were already calling people douche bags and poseurs.  I will try to keep this short because I think that Andrew, Dan, and Brett have already gone over the important points.  You did however make a smart remark to Meredith about name calling.  Maybe you could look at your original post.  You called people douche bag and posuers and you called me a douche bag.  Meredith only stated that you were being immature.  I really do not see anyone calling anyone names except you.  I am sure that you are probably a nice guy who got a little carried away with your post but go back and read it.  Surely, you do not think you did a good job of expressing yourself. Can you really disagree with her?

I agree that any biker acting out of line should be reprimanded and punished as harshly as possible because I do not want public opinion to go further against cyclist.  There are bad cyclist just like there are bad drivers.   You mentioned to Andrew that you like to ride in the country.  Do you think the country people want you on their roads?  They do not.  I am from the country and a portion of them think you should only bike in your driveway.  If everyone said get rid of cyclist, we could only ride on trails.  If we voted people like Thompson out of office maybe we could get enough bike lanes to commute to work.  It is ok to vote for Ott for that one reason just as it is ok for real estate people to vote for Thompson for one reason. 

I agree with Dan in that it is a public road so cyclist should be able to ride on it unless they are doing something wrong.  If they are, prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.  The people that bought houses there knew there was public land and parking lots on each end of Columns Drive.  I also think Brett made a good point in that I would like some real evidence that all of these bad things that you say happened actually happened.  I am not saying that you made them up, but I am saying that someone could have made them up and passed the stories on. 

AGAIN... tomorrow is the day to vote... vote for whoever you want and for whatever reason you want... there are plenty of people who are one issue voters... maybe we should not let them vote... maybe we should not let anyone vote who disagrees with us... they do that in Russia don't they? 

Boy that Neal Phelps is a swell guy. Maybe we should start a thread about what a great guy he is.

I have no doubt that I toed or even began to cross the line. Anyone who has met me knows that is often how I live. I will never deny the fact.

At the same time, I don't let BS or absurd arguments pass.   I have nothing personal against John. I just call it like it is.  I have 'piled' on friends in threads regarding their point of view on subject matters.  IMO, it is never personal until name calling is involved. 

And Neal....you already drive the ladies crazy. You stud you!!!

John:

Unfortunately, most of what you are concerned about are moot points.  The fact is, it is a public road and at the end of that road is a parking lot for a public park.  The road will NEVER become a private road as long as the parking lot is located there.  Also, that park was there long before most of the homes on Columns. (Although not sure about the older condos.)  As a realtor who has personally represented several buyers and sellers off Columns Drive, I can tell you that the ALLURE of the area is the recreational aspect.  They sought the area specifically for this purpose and knew what they were getting before they purchased.  Therefore, the homeowners really just need to stop whining about it or move.

Cyclists cause far less problems than traffic in general.  You mention all this "vandalism" that cyclists caused.  Sounds like heresay and I seriously doubt you could produce numerous police reports that prove cyclists caused said vandalism. (i.e. keying)

Andi

I think this thread can be summed up with a few simple points:

Today is the runoff election in Georgia.  They are predicting that less than 10% of registered voters will go vote.  So regardless of who you support or why you support them, everyone go and vote today.  Beyond the Cobb Co. Commissioners race, there is another big race between Vernon Jones and Jim Martin for a congressional seat on the democrat side.  

You can go here for a voter's guide to the runoff .

This is why people, including myself, are 'piling' up on you.  This is why I question your logic.  You are making BROAD generalizations on unsubstantiated claims.  Yes, there have been problems with cyclists on Columns Drive.  NO ONE is arguing the difference.  But the incidences are far a few between.  All it takes is one or two encounters to get the residents upset.  How many problems have occurred?  Who knows.  Personally, I would argue one too many.  But you seem to make the same generalizations as the Columns drive homeowners  regarding a few bad apples.  We are probably talking about a handful of problems over the years and for the volume of activity in that area, that is pretty darn good.  In all likelihood most of the problems experience on Columns Dr were by non-cyclists. But cyclists and the like are an easy scapegoat because they frequent the area. 

Also, what you don't seem to comprehend is often the examples you use are criminal in nature.  For the most part (99% of the time), the cyclists are NOT being criminal.  I don't think anyone goes there looking for confrontations and it is a bit absurd to say otherwise.  They do however, react to situations.  And often react inappropriately (flipping the bird, yelling).  I am guilty from time to time.  NO ONE is saying that behavior is right but often fault falls on both people.  You just seem to take the side of the homeowners because they live there.   

A wise man once told me the best way to get out of a hole is to stop digging.  Instead, you have your shovel in hand. 

What point are you trying to make here?  That an incident did occur (which may or may not have risked the life of the cyclist...not saying the reaction is ok) and that people aren't generally welcoming of cyclists?  Do you not read those quotes and laugh at the absurdity?  

Driver was initially wrong and then the cyclist was REALLY wrong.  But it does say blocks away, and that makes me think it didn't happen on Columns Drive as there are no real blocks.

Dealing with cyclist?  Yeah, it's so nice of drivers to allow us to use our legal vehicles on the roads provided for them.  And, if I may be so bold, those that only go out to the country on weekends to ride are probably not 'training' much.  And I actually like reinforcing the image that by riding on the road, be it Columns or Peachtree Industrial, I am a vehicle that has a legal right to be there just like the car next to me.

wait...let me stop laughing...

Yes, my bike is a very expensive Toy.  That's a FACT.  Just like someone elses golf clubs, porsche, poodle (toy poodle...get it...)  By this statement, only professional cyclist should be on the roads.  And last I checked there weren't many of them in this area to target.  And YES, we are using the neighborhood as a playground.  That's why the built the parks there.  It's a government paid for playground. 

So I guess the last quote I agree with.  We are using the toys we bought in a playground that we pay for.  I don't see the problem.  Now if we could just get those homeowners to put porta potties in their front yards...it would be so much easier...

Thank You Big John!

 I'm down in Florida with the family and after a tough day of screaming kids (some of them my own) you have made me laugh. 

I loved it when you said don't vote for Ott because he supports cyclists, but because he wants to limit growth.  When new projects and permits are at a near standstill he plans on slowing growth.  He probably also has a plan to limit the number of gas guzzling SUVs.  I'm sure he thanks you for spreading the word

Next you advocate that public roads should only be used in the manner that the locals want.  This is America.  Land of the free.  The aristocratic elite don't get to keep the low life's in the ghetto. 

Finally, your greatest moment!  Calling Neal Phelps a D-bag!  The guy who always carries himself with class, you call a vulgar and childish name.  Priceless!  This is the guy who always hangs back in group rides and helps the straggler hang with the herd.   The guy who goes out of his way to help people.  You didn't hit the nail on the head.  Nope.  You missed and now have a big dent in your thumb from the hammer.

Big John, as I sit here drinking my beer on the beach, I salute you!  A true man of genius!

Apology accepted.  I have a level of respect for anyone who can apologize.  A lot of people can not do it.   While I think that your original post was a bit too passionate and maybe of bit loose with facts and maybe even the logic was a bit interesting.  You are entitled to your opinion and I could have been more diplomatic.  My real purpose throughout this thread was to get  people interested in a thread that was about voting.  I wanted to get people involved but not quite to the degree that this thread has taken.  I do think that we as a group should be advocates for more biking by being politically active and being concientious cyclists.  If we had more activisim, maybe we could have more bike lanes as they do in Denver, Colorado Springs, Seattle, etc., etc.

  I am sending you a PM if you are interested in reading it.

Holy crap ... now all that is done - has anyone voted for Ott?

Neal,

Some kids yelled at me while I was biking on the Roswell Ride this afternoon.  It hurt my feelings.  Can you do something about that or are you an insensitive douch bag?

JC

Who the F are you calling Neal an insensitive douch bag?  Neal is NOT insensitive. 

BTW, if you guys are interested.

With 43 of 44 precints reporting.

Bob Ott was ahead of Joe Thompson 64.92% to 35.02%.  It probably does not have a lot to do with Joe Thompson's support on the Columns drive issue, but I hope it does.