To those motorists who go berserk when they see a cyclist do something out of the ordinary on the road: Remember that, although cyclists have a right to be on the road, our infrastructure and laws do not yet adequately provide for their safety. If you feel angered by a cyclist’s actions, first ask yourself whether those actions might in fact be the cyclist’s solution to an unsafe situation. Then, as an alternative to screaming or blaring your horn at the cyclist (who, after all, is not encased in a cabin of metal and glass as you are), consider contacting HRM to request improvements to the city’s cycling infrastructure. Not only would such a gesture be a socially productive solution to your own frustration, but it would also go some distance toward helping you avoid the uniquely torturous circle of Hell that awaits those who fuck with cyclists. —Acyclomous
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2011.
No thanks. I’ll stick with roads for cars. Fuck the cyclists.
so to avoid a pothole etc you choose to dart out in traffic. You are a dumb cyclist and someone is going to run you over.
If you find an abnormal amount of motorists going “berserk” on you, maybe you actually ARE the problem.
Ah fuck, here we go…..
Hey Seb, fuck the cars.
cyclists are a dying breed, and every day, more do die. from doing stupid shit, that you could never do in a car or truck.
i saw one guy, cut in front of a fucking tractor trailor last week, right in front of it, not two feet to spare. lucky buddy in rig didn’t jackknife and spill his load of fuel.
some of the people on bikes have no fucking brains at all, and deserve to be roadkill. i ride a bike sometimes, in summer myself, but obey all the rules as set out by the provincial bike safety act. if you don’t know it, and don’t use it, then tough luck sucker.
as too rolling on a sidewalk, it is against the law, so get the fuck off them. because i have a boot, ready for the next asshole, that almost nails me.
“deserve to be roadkill” ..?? that’s a little harsh. everyone’s always blaming someone. both parts need to be more responsible. grrr.
The “torturous circle of Hell” that awaits car driving bike haters probably resembles modern day Peking, except Mao’s got your gas card, Elizabeth May is riding shotgun and every cloverleaf leads straight up Rosie O’Donnell’s giant shit canal.
Let’s keep it real folks. Instead of bashing an entire group of people for the actions of the minority consider this:
1. Bad driving skills are not exclusive to cyclists.
2. Not all motor vehicle drivers are bad drivers.
3. Not all cyclists are bad drivers.
If joggers and cyclists (as well as motorists, pedestrians, pigeons and autumn leaves) obeyed the rules of the road, there would be no need for yelling me bloody fool head off.
I doubt improving infrastructure would alleviate poor traffic skills.
http://yoyodawgdawg.com/pics/yo-dawg-bicyc…
Well, OP, being right gets you a smug look on your face.
And a wheelchair.
20 years ago this August I was cycling in Toronto and had right of way at a green light. An 18 wheeler decided to try and pass me first to make a right turn.
I was right. He fucked up. I’m in a chair, minus a leg, and he’s at home with his family.
I was hit by the truck. Smashed my pelvis, tore my colon, my urethra, caused my kidneys to fail, a lung collapsed, I went through almost 40 surgeries(plastics, ortho, etc), and spent just about 2 years of my life in hospital. I spent my first year in a bed. My second year in agony trying to adapt to the wheelchair.
Fuck your self righteousness, OP. Being right doesn’t count for shit.
Now, some cyclists ride like they think they own the road. If they get cut off, sometimes because the motorist honestly doesn’t see them, they kick the car, yell at the driver, and generally act like a spoiled child.
Some drivers drive like they’re the only ones on the road. Dangerous.
Most cyclists and drivers are on the look out for each other and don’t want to hurt one another.
For fuck’s sake, ride/drive carefully.
Sad but true… The reason cyclists lash out the way they do is because, well, its all they got. Next time you’re in your car and some a-hole cuts you off pretend your horn doesn’t exist. There you go.
Be seen and be safe.
And, as much as I hate bike lanes, the will make things somewhat safer in certain situations.
(Luckily for them!) I’ve seen an extraordinary number of cyclists driving after dark with no lights!!!
Three points:
1. What happened to cyclists like WheelieP is of course very sad and upsetting (really sorry to hear it, man), but is not in itself a reason for others to quit cycling (just as terrible car accidents are not a reason for others to quit driving). The many good reasons to cycle are well known.
2. To the posters above who are critical of cyclists: It trivial to say that *some* cyclists are unskilled/reckless assholes. No one is disputing this. The OP didn’t claim otherwise. (Alas, as OceanChick pointed out, suckiness doesn’t discriminate — there are sucky people in all domains.) It seems to me that the OP is pointing specifically to cases involving skilled cyclists who consciously and carefully bend existing, inadequate rules in the name of safety.
3. OP has advanced an idea that I think really is worth considering: The inadequacy of cycling infrastructure/laws* combined with the disproportionate physical vulnerability of cyclists (not being “encased in a cabin of metal and glass”) provide a kind of argument that (a) helps us motorists understand why cyclists are so sensitive and indignant, and (b) should encourage us, as Cranky suggests, to give the non-reckless cyclists the benefit of the doubt. For example, if a cyclist recklessly cuts you off, then s/he perhaps deserves a middle finger on the way by, but if, say, a cyclist *carefully* goes through a red light in order to get him/herself out of a dangerous intersection, then there is no need to pursue and berate that cyclist (as I have seen Haligonians motorists do).
As the OP suggests, our *primary* target of criticism should not be the individual cyclist or driver but rather those laws or policies (or lack thereof) that *enable* unsafe or otherwise reckless cycling (or driving).
* (e.g., potholes, convoluted and bike-unfriendly intersections, scant and disconnected bike lanes, bike lanes next to parked cars whose doors may fly open, the mistaken belief among a surprising number of motorists that it’s illegal for bikes to ride in traffic, etc.)
Basically, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike all need to chill the fuck out and stop trying to martyr themselves or kill each other. It’s that simple.
I don’t have anything against cyclists in general, as I bike and walk everywhere and don’t have a car. However, “critical mass” pisses me off. It just gives cyclists a bad name. Since when is it ok for bikes to completely ignore red lights?
YoThang, I don’t think wheelie is saying for everyone to stop biking — just do it in a smart way. Car > bike when it comes to force and damage it can do upon collision. It’s like cars who try to cut off busses. How STUPID can you be?
Right of way or not, when you’re in the weaker mode of transportation (not as in lame weaker, as in not as forceful) you have to take special care whether you’re in the right or not. I say this to my mother all the time when she slams on her breaks at yellow lights instead of going through — someone’s going to rear end her some day. Her response is “well it’ll be their fault”…and while that might be so, dealing with whiplash for the rest of her life might not be so swell. No amount of money from an insurance settlement can buy your health back, doesn’t matter if you were in the right or not.
My point: take care of yourself and share the road!!!
Yothang-
As PK points out, I’m not saying “don’t cycle”. I have no bad feelings for cycling, or even the guy who made a bad choice and hit me. Shit happens.
I’m saying it doesn’t matter if you’re right, when you’re laying on the hood of the car.
Otherwise, please keep biking. I loved biking so much. I do other sports now that are as fast-paced, and I treasure them.
Just be careful out there.
Thx for the sympathy though. Appreciate it.