Stupid Cager AND a Dumb Cyclist
 

Rant

Stupidity occurs on both two and four wheels. I managed to see both in the space of about an hour.

I was riding my bike to the gym this afternoon. There's no bike lane, but the road is pretty wide and I was toward the right margin, speed limit 25 with me doing 15-20. I approached an intersection controlled by a traffic light and there's a guy trying to make a right on red into my lane. As he was already nosed several feet into the lane and was inching forward, I figured he didn't see me. I was right. I moved to the left and slowed slightly, figuring I would have to avoid. I was right. As my front wheel was almost into the intersection, he pulls halfway out into the lane, then finally sees me and slams on his brakes. I continued past him and back over to the right side of the lane. He passed me some time later.

About an hour later, I took a different route home after concluding my workout. I was proceeding in the bike lane along a road with a 35 mph speed limit and bike lanes going both directions. Then I saw a guy on a bicycle (with no PPE of course) riding ON THE SIDEWALK while TALKING ON A CELL PHONE. I gave him a dirty look, but he just waved obliviously.

/Rant

Edit: And don't get me started on the old guy who flew by so close he missed my right handlebar by about two inches, then saw the radar speed sign and slammed on his brakes. BTW, this was a 25 zone and I was doing 23. Why do people feel like they HAVE to pass a bike?

Who drives a car at 23 in a 25?

That's why they have to pass you. But they should do it safely, and you should do everything in your power to help that happen.

And if not, whip out the multi-tool out of your jersey pocket and put a nice scratch down the side of the car.

Friend of mine got hit on his bike by a car making a right turn. His bike went under the left front wheel and he ended up under the car. He was just bruised. Bike was totaled.

Totaled bike beats a totaled self.

Both the motorists in my rant were driving Toyotas. I wonder if there is any significance to that-appliance cars and bad/inattentive driving.

I used to ride a bicycle until I moved to a new area and the crazy car drivers made the riding too stressful. As I drive, I would rather pass a cyclist and have him/her behind me than take the risk of the cyclist falling/swerving in front of my car (flat tire, pothole, foot slip off the pedal, etc).

@skippy You should take the lane. When coming to an intersection you should move to the middle of the lane and allow cars to right turn behind you.

Me.

When you're following a bicycle you should be following at a safe distance anyway so you have time to stop. Just like when you're following a car.

People just don't see bikes.

Hell they don't even see motorcycles!

And the phone talkers don't see much of anything!

As Clarkson said I don't mind if people want to play with there Victorian distractions, just as long as they stay out of the way of the cars.:P:D

Most road bikes are higher tech than the diesels most commonly talked about on this site; and many of them are worth more...

Yes but they don't pay on road taxes.

Nonsense. Auto and fuel taxes do not completely pay for the roads. The rest comes from income and sales taxes.

Cyclists pay income and sales taxes, and thus help pay for the roads. And they do not cause ANY wear on the road surface.

cager . . . I thought this thread was about basketball . . .

They don't pay registration, insurance, or property taxes on there bikes.

They can play on the road with the big boys when they have license plates on them, and pay ALL road taxes like every other over the road vehicle.

Why bother to quote, if you're just going to completely ignore the quoted text in your reply?

I believe that I addressed this point above. Bicyclists subsidize YOUR use of the road, and not the other way around.

Note that in a similar way, you subsidize the use of the road by large trucks. They pay way less than their fair share, if you factor in the wear on the roads.

Two questions -

1 - Is it illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk in that area?

2 - Is it illegal to ride a bicycle without PPE in that area?

If the answer to both questions is "No", then with all due respect, it's none of your beeswax and not worth getting worked up about.

At that, if he's stupid enough to be talking on a cell phone while operating ANY type of vehicle (I do agree with your ire on that one), I'd rather have him do it while riding a bicycle on the sidewalk than behind the wheel of a car on the interstate.

Above situation, odds are he's only going to get himself injured if something happens. Let him have his chance at a Darwin Award.

But I do agree, the vast majority of motorists are brain dead when it comes to dealing with, much less even noticing, motorcyclists and bicyclists sharing the road with them. That's why I gave up riding a motorcycle in my earlier days, after only a few years - just wasn't worth the stress and danger of dealing with the other idiots on the road.