Giving roadies a bad rep

[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??