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!!!!