Giving roadies a bad rep

[KSH]

When riding on the road, I ride with a group 95% of the time.

On our last group ride, there was this newbie... who insisted on riding in the lane NEXT to everyone else. So, we are taking up the entire right lane, and he is blocking the lane where cars are suppose to have room to get around us.

It pissed just about everyone off.

I talked to him about it and said that we wanted to make sure he would be OK... and not get hit by a car, so it would be best for him to ride in the lane with us.

He said, that he rode in the lane by himself... because his theory is that the one who DOES NOT get HIT is the one who STICKS OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB. So, for some odd reason, he figured that a car would go to hit a group of 30 cyclists, instead of hitting the idiot blocking his lane.

DUH! Yea, he gave us all a bad name that day.

[snapdragen]

On the ride I did this weekend, there was a three way stop by a general store. I had stopped at the store, then ran across the road to take pix. There was a group of riders stopped and waiting for a car to pass, when another group of riders blew the sign. One of the stopped guys screams out "Hey! It's a stopsign *$&holes!"

[jobob]

That's why I'm not too keen on big group rides anymore* - there always seems to be a few that ignore the rules of the road. It's too stressful and irritating to be around people like that.

*except of course for rides with the TE gang since we're all good cycling citizens [insert angel smilie here].

[pooks]

Um, I run stop signs in the neighborhood when there are no cars around. (Not when driving, but when cycling.)

On the other hand, when there ARE cars, I come to a stop whether I have the right of way or not -- I don't trust them not to hit me!

How bad am I?

[salsabike]

Pooks, slow at the stop signs when no one's there, even if you don't stop--just safer. You don't have to put a foot down, but slow and look, and you'll be fine (as long as cops don't hang out around there).

One of the not so great things in the Seattle to Portland ride this weekend: a couple of people who live in the area posted messages to the Cascade Bicycle Club board complaining about some groups of riders blocking the lane and making driving a really scary event. I hope it opened some eyes for folks. Here's part of one of the posts:

"A week before the start I crashed and trashed my shoulder and arm...against my judgement we drove the course from Kent to about
Centralia. Oh do I ever regret doing that. I will ride far differently after having had to drive past several thousand bikes. Magnify the riders feelings about
danagerous riding behavior and you will have an idea of the drivers feelings. Pullouts without looking. Pullouts with looking. Straddling the white line.
Stopped bikes forceing riders to swerve. I was in the green suv and spent as much time as I could driving in the turn lane! I don't think a fraction
of the riders had a clue as to how incredibly lucky they were to not have been hit. Too many ipods. Not enough mirrors. I will pedal much differently next year..."

On a happier note, there was an STP finisher with one arm. No legs, and only one arm. How cool is that??

[Trek420]

salsabike "there was an STP finisher with one arm. No legs, and only one arm. How cool is that??"

but OMG, that's got to be one heckofanarm.

I don't have a really good picture of him but this guy rode the last 2 AIDS rides I did. Y'all know I'm slow but on registration day of my first ride I said to tentmate Kathy "I'll be slow but I think I'll be in before the handcycle"

"Oh no you won't" she said, and she was right.

Back to subject, I will admit I blow through most T intersections, eg: traffic from the left but nothing on the right, I slow for stop signs, stop if there's *any* traffic visible, never go through a yellow light and even when it's green check for red-light runners. As a ped or cyclist I don't like to be the first one to go on green.

I learned not to yell "clear" at intersections, just because it's clear for me, might not be for you a nano second later.

[pooks]

I do slow down -- I'm a big chicken! But I don't stop unless there are cars around!

[betagirl]

Hmmm. I slow down at stop signs, but if there's no traffic I don't stop. So guilty there. At a red light I'll slow down and if it's a small intersection and there's no traffic, I go through. If there are cars, I stop and wait for the green. Guilty there too. I never, however, blow through intersections. There's always a slow down/unclip one foot/check it out on my part. I also yield to cars who have the right of way. I do a lot of urban riding, and have to admit I picked up a lot of my bad habits watching bike messengers

Let the beatings begin.