bizarre bikers?

[lph]

But still. The wrong side of the street? There are bike lanes on both sides. I can't imagine making the decision to ride down the wrong side.

Part of my reaction is because when I'm out in heavy traffic in the middle of town, I'm so psyched up making sure I'm safe - watching traffic behind me, keeping up a decent speed, keeping an eye on the lights ahead, keeping an eye on idiot pedestrians about to veer out in front me... so when a fellow cyclist blithely ignores the simplest rules of safety and comes freewheeling down the wrong side of the road straight at me with skirts and hair blowing in the wind... steam starts coming out of my ears.

I usually yell WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD! too, but I feel like yelling HEY, YOU'RE DEAD!!

[Grog]

I usually yell WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD! too, but I feel like yelling HEY, YOU'RE DEAD!!

I also yell 'wrong side' and point to the other side.

But thankfully it doesn't happen to me very often...

[7rider]

I had a couple of kids (3 kids, 2 bikes) riding against traffic coming at me the other day. They were carrying much too large signs that said "Honk 4 Jesus."
Good grief.
I'm sort of reminded, however, of what I recall is a George Carlin line (although that comedian gets credited with a lot of lines that probably never came from him) regarding cars. He said, basically, that it's funny that everyone who drives faster than you is a maniac, and everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot!
So, yes, I get frustrated at all those cyclists too. I am particularly frustrated by older helmetless roadies who undoubtedly emulate their Euro racing heros of long ago (well, maybe not THAT long ago) who routinely raced sans helmet. Welcome to the 21st Century, I'd like to tell them. We're a little smarter about such things now. But, as long as people still smoke cigarettes, people will still ride helmetless just as they no doubt drive without a seat belt buckled.
So, I thought I'd turn the mirror inwards. What do I do that's bizarre?
Yes, I like to think of myself as a fairly skilled cyclist, but I'm not without my moments. I've ridden off the road while my mind wanders or while watching birds - thankfully, I haven't done that in a few years! I've gotten impatient and run stop signs and red lights. I've ridden the wrong way up one-way streets. I'm promising myself that I'm going to spend time on the rollers this winter to improve my line-holding ability, now that I'm doing a group ride regularly. I probably wiggle a bit too much on the road. And I'm awful when it comes to trail braiding, on those rare times when I'm in the woods, because I never know just how deep that puddle is.

[susiej]

Worst is when you see a bike cop doing any/all of these things.

What makes my blood boil is that by ignoring the laws, these idiots make the behavior of bikers completely unpredictable to drivers, and thereby make biking less safe for everyone. I obey the laws (grudgingly some times -- I HATE not passing cars waiting for red lights), but I hope that my actions are not then completely unanticipated by the cars on the road. However, unless the driver has seen me on my route, and remembers me (lord knows the driver of the Ford GTO that revs past me most days recognizes me), they don't know what to expect from me.

And what about people wearing unclipped helmets? Sooo tempting to flip it off their skulls as they zip past on the sidewalk!

SJ