And a few crazy cyclists ...

[Duck on Wheels]

I hate driving past the engineering campus at commute hours. So many cyclists around there who do NOT behave predictably or even legally. Had to stop there this morning, then up to my own campus, so took the car. Leaving campus 1 I was just feet from a crosswalk when a cyclist -- with no helmet! -- darted straight off the sidewalk from my left and crossed right in front of me. Luckily my reflexes hitting the brakes were good enough, but then I froze up and didn't manage honk or roll down my window to explain some traffic laws and laws of physics to him before he sped away. On wheels you do NOT have the right of way in a crosswalk! There is a reason for this. You might think a driver in a car would be happy that you're out of his/her way faster than if you were walking, but you also get IN his/her way faster. The car might not be able to stop in time . On wheels you are supposed to follow the same rules as other wheeled traffic. In Norway, that means that the vehicle coming from the left YIELDS to the vehicle coming from the right. So for both those reasons, I'd have been legally in the clear if I'd hit the guy ... but I'd have had to live with the horror the rest of my life. I think I need to insert a lecture on traffic sense to all my classes from now on, regardless of subject. Maybe even include it in the exams. Jeez!

[Grog]

Aarrrg, I know your feeling. Scary indeed!!

Thanks for opening this thread so I can vent too. Sorry for sort-of-hijacking, but this is also a case of crazy cyclist.

Yesterday, I was on my road bike with my sweet partner coming home from a long hilly ride. We need to cross a big, long (about 1 mile) bridge (Lions Gate, for those familiar with Vancouver). There is a great sidewalk for cyclists, one way only, that's shared with pedestrians. It's not very wide but works well. There are lots of people cycling and walking on that bridge.

As we turned the corner to start ascending the bridge, there was a woman on a mountain bike with a DOG on a leash and her small child (maybe 7 yo) in front of her on his own bike. I was so mad. My husband was ahead of me and, as he much dislikes confrontation, he actually jumped down the curb, passed her and somehow jumped back on the sidewalk (I suspect he stopped and walked back up). I, on the other hand, have no skills to jump off curbs on a road bike and no patience for people who thoughtlessly endanger others like that. As I approached her from behind I announced: "I will pass you on your..." and before I could finish my sentence (I was still trying to decide which way I would have to pass, the dog was moving around unpredictably) she tried to stop while the dog kept going forward and almost fell off her bike. I unclipped and stopped just in time not to hit her.

I was MAD and told her that the dog had no business there and that she was endangering everyone and that she should turn around immediately. There were parents with their little kids coming in the opposite direction (not supposed to be there either - it's a one-way path), and the little girl was right in the dog's path. The woman just looked at me and said nothing, so I left.

[In the meantime, no doubt my husband was annoyed and embarrassed but boy! was I mad.]

What are these people thinking????????

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm convinced that a lot of people who used to ride bicycles when they were kids, and are just starting to get back into riding as adults- are just in some sort of mental time warp where in their mind anytime they get on their bike the world suddenly turns into Mayberry where everyone smiles and waves and pokes along with their fishing poles whistling and life is grand and kids run safely into the street after their ball, old Aunt Bea doesn't drive, Otis the lovable town drunk is always safely locked up, and nobody rushes or does dangerous things and nobody ever gets hit by cars.

Now mind you, I myself always feel like a kid when I get on my bike- it's one of the things I love most about biking.
BUT... I don't RIDE like a kid when I'm in traffic!
I see 'Sunday bikers' out riding around in traffic doing absolutely clueless dangerous things all the time- stuff I would expect careless little kids to do on their bikes on the sidewalk maybe, but not in traffic. Weaving around, not signaling when turning, paying no attention to cars backing out of driveways, riding along blithely in the 'Door Zone', passing cars on the right without thinking any of them might 'possibly' turn right directly in front of them because they are in the blind spot....generally riding as though nothing bad could ever possibly happen to them and riding as though they are quite sure that all car drivers see them and will be charmed by them and their bicycle, and will stop for them ....because after all this is Mayberry where nothing bad ever happens.

[Running Mommy]

Oh I'm feeling this thread!!
Two weeks ago this past sunday two cyclists were hit here in my hood. They were riding single file in the bike lane just as they should have been. They had no idea that the car approaching them from behind was being driven by a guy that just dropped his coffee. He went for the cup, felt two big thumps, and then realized he had hit two cyclists. He's a paramedic!!! And according to a friend who is knows him (friend happens to be a cop) he is devestated by it. He just can't forgive himself for doing something like that. One of the cyclists was severely injured and had to be airlifted out. Bad bad news..

Of course all of this stirred the debate here in the hood about cyclists not following the rules- even though these two were??!!

And the icing... We have a small paper and they didn't bother to mention the accident, which really upset me. They did however post an editorial about how cyclists need to stop at stop signs. I was steamed when I read it. The editorial was written less than a week from when the accident occured. I had written a letter to the editor, but was trying to make sure I had some facts straight before I sent it. In fridays paper the wife of the severely injured man did respond. I felt so bad that she had to read that.
Well I still intended to send my letter when saturday I had a run in with a local group.
Our hood is a popular place for groups to ride up to, as there are nice bike lanes and generally light traffic. There are also enough hills to challenge you.
Well there is a large group that rides every saturday morning. They are a fast group- 20+ mph, and I get the feeling that they have a certain arrogance about themselves. Well I was coming up the road saturday morning when they pulled out of a side street and forced me to slam on my brakes- lest I hit them! The road I was travelling on has a speed limit of 45 mph, and cars tend to go at least 55 on that stretch. Apparently they think that since they are such a big group then everyone will magically stop for them??!!
So now I'm going to have to change my letter to acknowledge that there is a "large group of local cyclists" who do have a blatant disregard for traffic laws, but that most of us just want to get a ride in and arrive home safe...
arrgghhh!!!!

[Grog]

I'm convinced that a lot of people who used to ride bicycles when they were kids, and are just starting to get back into riding as adults- are just in some sort of mental time warp where in their mind anytime they get on their bike the world suddenly turns into Mayberry where everyone smiles and waves and pokes along with their fishing poles whistling and life is grand and kids run safely into the street after their ball, old Aunt Bea doesn't drive, and nobody rushes or does dangerous things and nobody ever gets hit by cars.

What a GREAT description.

[shootingstar]

So your hubby hopped his bike off the road over the Lions Gate Bridge...Sheesh. No cyclist wants to do that. Hopefully there weren't a ton of cars...it can get thick there.

Chills anyone to think of the scenario that you described on any major bridge ramp where path is shared with cyclists and pedestrians.

[lph]

Oh, I hear you on the crosswalk problem, Duck. The other day I had tacked onto a very fast Birken-type commuter, on the bike path, and as we approached a large intersection with a busy road I slowed down as I usually do to assess how to cross. A couple of cyclists had just finished crossing and the drivers were just going to start moving again - when Birken-type flew over through the gap like he had grown wings. I just stood gawping, and the driver waiting on my right looked at me and started grinning. So I gave him an headshake and an embarrassed "well, what can you do"-look and scooted over since they were all waiting again anyway.

I will usually ride over a crosswalk, but I slow down to a almost complete stop, catch the drivers eye and give him a nod or wave before I start pedalling again.

[Grog]

So your hubby hopped his bike off the road over the Lions Gate Bridge...Sheesh. No cyclist wants to do that. Hopefully there weren't a ton of cars...it can get thick there.

Actually it's the bit of the sidewalk before the main part of the bridge. There is a sidewalk, about 1-2 meters of asphalt to the left (East) of it and then the divider (with cars on the other side of the divider).

He didn't jump into traffic! It is a dangerous place!!!!! But if he could jump that high (about 30 cm) that would be pretty cool....

[smilingcat]

Just to add another story.

Out riding today and chatted with a man for a while as we climbed. Come to find out he was in a horrible wreck about 18 month ago and just started to ride few month ago. He was hit by a car and cracked three vertebraes... Amazing that the man is not a paraplegic. Then he told me to be careful at stop signs. So I said "oh oh... sounds like you got a ticket?"

He said yup two in last three weeks. You would think he would have learned after near death accident.

Yes around where I live, you will get a ticket for blowing through a stop sign, red lights... And it goes on their driving record. "Hello to higher car insurance!"

Simply amazing,
smilingcat

[badgercat]

Ugggh I so need to vent about the cyclists on/around my campus.

In Madison, WI, where I went for college, many streets went through the campus. Cyclists rode on the street, pedestrians were on the sidewalk... sure, plenty of people broke rules, blew stop signs, etc, but for the most part, cyclists seemed generally... aware.

Now, I'm at the University of Arizona for grad school, and rather than having mostly streets through the campus, there are a lot of wide sidewalks and bike paths, which are CLEARLY MARKED with icons for pedestrians or bicycles. All the time there are people walking in the bike lanes and biking in the pedestrian lanes (my favorite? walking a bike in the bike lane...).

Anyway, the paths through campus are an absolute nightmare during class-times, so I've taken to just riding on the streets. Because of the cycle/pedestrian 'segregation' in Madison, I feel much more in my element dealing with cars than pedestrians. So I merrily ride on the streets, signaling my turns (of course I'm not perfect at remembering but I do most of the time, especially at busy intersections), stopping at signals and stop signs (and getting passed by cyclists who have decided these silly things don't apply to them), yielding to pedestrians crossing, etc. But EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I see AT LEAST one person riding down the street while holding and talking on a cell phone. I even saw someone doing this once while riding AGAINST traffic on a street with no bike lane or shoulder!

I will admit to having talked on a cell phone while riding, once, in Madison. I answered my phone while I was biking on a path on a fairly non-busy side of town at a fairly non-busy time of day, ie I didn't encounter a single other human during the 30 seconds I was on the phone. HOWEVER. Riding down the street, completely ignoring traffic laws, and talking on a cellphone at 5pm in a busy campus area is just... so absurd.

Stuff like this almost makes me embarrassed to be a cyclist here, because I'm completely convinced motorists are probably somehow associating this foolishness with those of us who actually ride RESPONSIBLY and therefore holding some kind of grudge against me. I see dozens of cyclists around campus every day, but I can probably count on my fingers the number of times I've seen anyone, not including myself, signal a turn.

Things do seem generally better the farther you get from campus, as you tend to see less of the riff-raff and more serious commuters who tend to take traffic a little more seriously. But still.

ARGH UGH AAAAAAAAGH.

Ok, I'm better now.

[spindizzy]

BSG:

I could not have described the Mental Time Warp as eloquently as you have been. Perfect description. Absolutely perfect!