I am not just a bike, I'm a vehicle

[marni]

I love the jersey and the site, but as you say, the chances of me wearing it and being able to use it are zip,zero,zilch and nada.

[JennK13]

I do think it depends on where you are. Here in the Denver area, bikes are very common, so drivers are more used to seeing us out on the road.
Circumstances also seem to make a difference. What I mean is, drivers treat me differently depending on how I'm dressed and what bike I'm on. It seems I'm more of a bother to drivers on my road bike dressed in cycling attire. If I'm dressed that way but on my commuter, it's about half and half; if I'm wearing my work attire on my commuter I rarely have any issues with cars at all. It's almost as if they consider me more like a vehicle since I'm dressed like them, and I'm using my bike for transportation instead of recreation.
Last situation, if I'm on my cruiser and on the road instead of the bike path, drivers again look at me like a problem - as if I belong on the sidewalk if I'm on that bike.

[ny biker]

Okay I'll bite. Today as I drove home from work, I passed a guy riding a bike. This was on a road with 2 lanes in each direction, no shoulders, lanes not wide enough to pass a cyclist without crossing the line into the next lane. At every red light, the dude on the bike passed all the cars waiting for the green and ran the light. When I reached the intersection where I turn left, I was the first car at the red light in the left turn lane. Cycling dude rode up between the lanes on my right and stopped in front of me. He totally surprised me -- if the light had turned green as he pulled in front of me I would have run him over as I accelerated.

As long as so many cyclists ride with such disregard for the traffic rules, we will not be seen as vehicles.

[zoom-zoom]

As long as so many cyclists ride with such disregard for the traffic rules, we will not be seen as vehicles.

I cringe when I see stuff like this. Motorists don't notice those of us who are respectful of the law; they notice the jerkwads like that guy.

[JennK13]

I agree. On my route, there is a place where a road terminates (more accurately, it dead ends into the light rail parkinglot) thereby creating a "T-intersection". The terminating road has a double right turn - with signals and a sign saying "no right on red". Sure, when you happen upon it you just want to yield and turn right like at any other intersection. But, I don't - I stop and wait for it to change green. I DO take my lane so cars don't try to get beside me and crowd me into the shoulder at the red; I also stay in line and dont pass all the cars on the right at the red. This also makes my intentions known so no one gets an impression that I want to turn right when I don't.
Some jerks do ruin it for the rest of us; the same goes for drivers - if there weren't jerkwad drivers, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

[korora]

This thread has been dormant for a while, but I thought I'd share an experience from last weekend:

Rural NZ roads have a lot of short single-lane bridges. They are always marked on both sides as to which direction has the right of way if vehicles are approaching from both directions.

I was riding with DH and two friends when we came to one of these bridges. We had the right of way, and we all rode onto the bridge together. Nice sunny day, bright clothing.

When we were halfway across, a car started driving onto the bridge right at us. Didn't stop until we were a couple of feet from his bumper. We didn't give any ground (had nowhere to go in any case). We left the driver stopped in the middle of the bridge with his female companion apparently screaming at him--and three cars following us, so he wasn't going to get past them.

Didn't stick around to see what happened. I contemplated taking his number and reporting him, but he looked like he was getting educated already.

[Biciclista]

great story, Korora!