One Reason Cyclists Are Disliked

[Aint Doody]

I was so appalled yesterday as I was on a loosely organized group ride in our small town. There were about 10 of us taking advantage of the marginally good weather. The group was in about 3 bunches. As I came up to a stop sign where we going to turn right, I was in the front of a group of about 4 of us. I signaled a stop and said, "Stopping." My friend who was behind me said, "Going," and just kept on ahead to turn right on the street--passing me on the right to do so.

There was a pickup truck approaching from the left who had the right of way. Everybody else stopped. This really upset me. I caught up with her and told her she should have stopped. She replied that she didn't always stop at stop signs. I then said that was one reason motorists don't like us. I also reminded her that it was the law. She finally said, "OK, I'll do it for you." I said, "Do it for yourself to keep from getting splatted and because it's the law. What if there had been loose gravel and you'd gone down right in front of that truck?"

She's a very responsible person--or at least I thought so. I was genuinely shocked by her reaction. She knows all the rules of the road, etiquette, whatever. OK--rant is over.

[Tri Girl]

I totally agree. I hate to do organized rides, because there are always those cyclists who refuse to obey the laws and ride unsafe
I have even stopped riding with a group of fellow triathletes because they do the same thing (and wear headphones, to boot). I'm no goody two shoes, but I do stop at all city intersections, and even in the country with nobody around for miles I'll do a very good rolling stop (sometimes I don't put a foot down, and I'm bad for that).
Doesn't that just infuriate you? No wonder we get a bad rap. Just like some drivers, some cyclists refuse to follow the rules, but when cyclists do it the reputation of all cyclists is harmed...
I'm glad your friend wasn't hurt...

[jobob]

I agree too.

I'm simply not comfortable in large groups of riders on account of that - my neck and shoulders get sore from cringing so much.

And, there are people I avoid riding with on account of that.

[snapdragen]

I agree too. I'm simply not comfortable in large groups of riders on account of that. My neck and shoulders get sore from cringing so much.

And there are people I avoid riding with on account of that.

There's also that whole having to ride really fast to catch up with boneheaded riders so you can rip them a new one. Or politely tell them the rules of the road.....

[Trek420]

It's intervals, that's a good thing Here's the latest Spinerval DVD:

Ride safely, legally and well
Sprint to catch up and rip them a new one
Ride safely, legally and sanely
Sprint to catch up, yelling all the way
Ride safely, stop at stop signs and lights
Sprint to catch up with ditwads who blew the light ...

Ultimately you're a stronger rider than them.

Seriously, these riders don't respect what I say if I can't catch them. Breezing in at the next rest stop or coffee to say "hey,back there you ..." does not count. I'm not fast or strong on hills. Once or twice I've been able to catch up, that gets their attention.

Otherwise it's just "yeah, whatever, I'm ahead of you"

[ilima]

There's also that whole having to ride really fast to catch up with boneheaded riders so you can rip them a new one. Or politely tell them the rules of the road.....

Naw, just pull the old 'drop them from behind' move.

I've learned which groups play fast and loose with safety, laws and plain old common sense. And I don't ride with them.

[Mr. Bloom]

You did well to model good behavior to her. Some folks know the rules,nut don't follow them until someone they respect calls attention to it

[HoosierGiant]

Cycling on the roadways, as with driving a motor vehicle, is a privilege not a right. As such, there are certain rules and regulations in force that we are expected to obey. In Indiana (and probably every other state as well) the legislative code considers a bicycle to be a vehicle subject to the "rules of the road" -- no exceptions. I wouldn't dream of disregarding a stop sign in my vehicle; I won't do it on my bike.

I live in the country, and when the corn's down there are scads of seldom-traveled intersections with visibility of 1/2 mile or more. Do I stop? Yes. Foot down? No. My thinking is this -- you never know who might be looking out a nearby window, etc. An impressionable teen who thinks, "Hhhhhmmm... pushing the envelope... everyone does it..." A seen-it-all grandfather who thinks, "Those pesky cyclists... think they own the road..." As you can tell, I come from the black-is-black-and-white-is-white school of ethics -- not many shades of grey here.

That being said, we don't ride under the types of traffic conditions some of you encounter. We rarely have to navigate stop lights, and when we do they are on a simple timer system, so no worries about triggering a green, etc. Didn't mean to sound preachy; I respect all of you ladies who brave the roads in search of a cycling fix!

[OakLeaf]

Do I stop? Yes. Foot down? No. My thinking is this -- you never know who might be looking out a nearby window, etc.

Meh.

Personally I can't do a track stand and I have the utmost admiration for people who can, especially without a fixie.

But. If you're not talking about track stands, a momentary pause without loss of forward momentum isn't a "stop." It's a "rolling stop." And, I don't think that a track stand is any safer than a rolling stop. (Maybe even a little less safe, since I think it's pretty difficult to trackstand with one foot unclipped? But since I can't do one at all, I wouldn't know. )

Plus, 99% of onlookers, whether they be impressionable kids or traffic cops behind the billboard, will not recognize a track stand as such, but will think that you did a rolling stop. So if your main concern is with who's looking and not with your own safety, put your foot down. (On the moto, I usually drag a toe through a rolling stop in case that cop's watching. On the bici, not so easily done.)

[wackyjacky1]

Tricky subject. I will confess to rolling through stop signs quite frequently, but only after I've slowed down and determined that I have a clear line of sight and there are no cars coming. If I see a car, even if it's pretty far away, I will stop. If I can't see down the road in both directions, I will stop. I don't run red lights.

[OakLeaf]

I have to ask - those of you who categorically state you will not go through a red light - what do you do when the light won't change and there's no pedestrian button?


I don't think anyone here is advocating BLOWING a stoplight or stop sign. We've all seen people do it and most of us have done it at one time or another, but it's pretty much impossible to justify.

In this thread, we're talking about rolling stops with zero forward velocity, and/or going through a red light after a complete foot-down stop. Either of those is completely different from just ignoring the traffic signal.

[salsabike]

I have to ask - those of you who categorically state you will not go through a red light - what do you do when the light won't change and there's no pedestrian button?


I don't think anyone here is advocating BLOWING a stoplight or stop sign. We've all seen people do it and most of us have done it at one time or another, but it's pretty much impossible to justify.

In this thread, we're talking about rolling stops with zero forward velocity, and/or going through a red light after a complete foot-down stop. Either of those is completely different from just ignoring the traffic signal.

Actually, the OP and the first few posts after that were all about blowing stop signs and red lights. That's what I thought we were talking about. Here, I've been told by cops---although I bet they don't all see it the same way--that they don't insist on anyone putting a foot down as long as we slow down enough to make it clear we intend to give right of way to whichever car or bike or pedestrian is supposed to have it. It's the four-way stop thing---do we act predictably there? We slow down enough to give others the right of way, in such a way that they can tell we intend to do that. I think that's what people get concerned about, not whether there's a rolling stop with no momentum vs. a foot down.

And if there are no cars in sight, we will do a rolling stop and keep going.

[wackyjacky1]

I have to ask - those of you who categorically state you will not go through a red light - what do you do when the light won't change and there's no pedestrian button?

I guess I'm fortunate in that I've never had to deal with that situation. But I think if I were stuck at an unchanging red light, I would make sure there's no traffic coming, and then proceed.

[Thorn]

I have to ask - those of you who categorically state you will not go through a red light - what do you do when the light won't change and there's no pedestrian button?

I legally (in Wisconsin) proceed after counting to 45 yielding to traffic in the intersection

I don't think anyone here is advocating BLOWING a stoplight or stop sign. We've all seen people do it and most of us have done it at one time or another, but it's pretty much impossible to justify.

In this thread, we're talking about rolling stops with zero forward velocity, and/or going through a red light after a complete foot-down stop. Either of those is completely different from just ignoring the traffic signal.

Yep...interesting the thread started with blantant disregard of traffic signals, but has turned into an argument of rolling. These are the same arguments for/against the Idaho stop -- rolling stop signs and stop and proceed at red lights.

People get all charged up because they don't differentiate between the blantant disregard of signals (we can probably all agree is wrong) and the respect of a slow roll through a stop that yields to traffic that has the ROW (something that most of us do whether we admit it or not).

[smilingcat]

In some jurisdiction, a definition for a complete stop for a bicycle is foot down on the pavement. Track stand, no matter how long, is not considered to have come to a complete stop.

A guy in SD got a ticket for just that reason. Track stand, foot never touched the ground and got a ticket. Took it to court, and brought a track rider with a bicycle for a demo. The guy who got the ticket was so so on track stand but the track rider could stay put for h---o---u--rs. While the said guy was arguing for a dismissal, the track rider was track standing the whole time in front of a judge. Ticket was dismissed. The intent of the law was come to a complete stop and the judge clearly saw that the intent of the law was fulfilled.

A good day.

I don't take a chance. I put my foot down. There is a judge around where I live who HATES cyclists, his prejudice will not allow him to be impartial and no matter how I argue, I'll end up in the pokey. It just isn't worth it.

Slightly on a different note, Years ago when I was tad bit faster, I regularly had my "picture" taken by radar gun . Wasn't quite fast enough to earn a speeding ticket. Now that would be one ticket I would have been proud!