I am sick of hearing or reading peoples bitches about cyclists on the road. You don’t want us to bike on the road and you don’t want us on the sidewalk either , doesn’t leave many options does it? You know what, I say go to hell to anyone who has any complaints about people biking . I choose to park my car and ride my bike , you know the healthier and “greener ” mode of transportation . In my opinion the people that do make this choice should have some little advantages while getting from A to B.Be it sneaking around traffic or using sidewalks to cut corners . Of course I don’t think we have the right to be reckless and cut people off or run down pedestrians on sidewalks , but I think we should be somewhat rewarded for lack of a better word for not sitting in a car ideling away.It’s not our fault the city is not well equipped for cyclists .there is some places in hte city where there is no way in hell I am going to stay on the road because I just don’t trust my life in the hands of most drivers out there.It’s not hard to make a little room for a cyclist , you might have to add a few seconds to your travel time every now and then ( oh the horror ) I say suck it up and get used to it because there will be more and more of us everyday . And hey you can always look forward to winter …
This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2008.
Like I’ve said here before, now I’m forced to say it again. I don’t mind biker people being biker people, but act like a biker person and obey the rules of the road. Don’t pull stupid ass stunts to get ahead of the traffic like zipping around traffic lights, hitting the sidewalk to gain 5 feet of road advantage. It drives me nuts to watch those spandex wearing, Tour De France wannabes trying to take every advantage on the local tarmac to get to where they are going with no regard to us 2 ton metal pilots. Remember you 2 wheeling helmet wearers, bigger wins, it’s plain old physics.
Geez why don’t we extend the same “privileges” to people on motorbikes and scooters, etc, why can’t they just jump onto the sidewalk whenever they want. I should go buy a smart car! they will fit on the sidewalk too , I bet. Its not the motorists fault the city the city isn’t prepared. The whole car vs bike thing has been going on lonng before the whole trendy” I’m clean and green and better than you for it ” bullshit.People bitch at bikes that run with the flow of traffic because they are slow. Bikers that drive along the side, to stay out of the way or to “sneak around” traffic often get hit by people turning etc etc real catch 22.OP don’t think you’re special. you’re not.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again too.Bike path development is a municipal responsibility. Their lack of concern (lack of bike paths) is a direct reflection of the voters in the area. Nobody cares! Not even when I make you a hood ornament! (careful)OP, you’re smart enough to realize green transport is good for the earth and good for your body but also be smart enough to know you don’t have a stinkin’ chance on our highways. To experience the benefits you have to actually survive so, stay home, buy a hybrid, catch a bus or walk on the sidewalk. You’re a smart guy! Protect yourself! Then run for office and propose some decent city planning because bitching here helps no one except people like me looking for entertainment.
I love walking strait at a cyclist on the sidewalk, what are they gunna do hit me and fall off their bike, well maybe but it hasnt happened yet. Still its really funny to see the look on their face like what the fuck is this guy doing walking on the side walk right at me. Its almost like the sidewalk is for people to walk.The attitude is funny too… we ( the bikers) are greener than car drivers so we have a right to the road… seems reasonable. But why do they have a right to they side walk too?… I dont bike or drive or take the bus so Im greener than you sidewalk cycling cock suckers so fuck off my sidewalk!
Oh, fer crying out loud!Here’s the way it is…bicycles are classified as vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act. They belong on the ROAD. I don’t give a flying fuck what your opinion is of being greener or holier than thou attitude; the law is get ON THE ROAD! Multi purpose trails are great, like the one along Lake Banook. But when the MP trail ends, get off the sideWALK and get back on the road. And drivers, suck it up, cyclists belong on the road and there’s going to be a lot more of them with the price of gas the way it is.We don’t need more bike lanes. (won’t that be a pseudo police state where cyclists are dictated where they can and can’t ride?)What we need is better understanding, more mutual respect and more mutual courtesy from drivers and cyclists alike. Weaving in and out of traffic to gain a precious 40 feet at a stop light is just asking for trouble. As Burning Man points out, physics favours the 2 ton hunk o’ metal. As for drivers, wake the fuck up and put down the cell phone. Recognize that an accident with another car may cause some reparable damage but an accident with a cyclist may cause a death or serious injury. Will a cyclist’s death or injury be worth your inflated self-importance?
I’m all for being ‘green’, but bikers drive me fucking insane! It doesn’t matter whether I’m walking, on a bus, or in a car. No one should be biking (or at least not on the busiest streets) in the city, I’m sorry. They get in everyone’s way. They can even be annoying on the less-busy streets of rural areas– I mean, you’ll be coming up from behind a biker at the same time there’s oncoming traffic, the biker won’t get off the fucking road, so you have to maneuver around him and manage not to have a collision with the oncoming cars! Bikers: if you have room to get out of the way when there’s traffic coming both ways (and you definately do outside of the city), MOVE! No one should have to risk their life just because you’re too fucking stubborn to move over for a few seconds!
what an idiot
What about pedestrians the ultimate green crusader. Don’t they deserve the right NOT to be dodging some punk who don’t know how to use the road? It’s called a sideWALK not sidebike you arrogant prick. The only ‘right’ you have is to ensure you ride in the proper legal manner so as not to cause an accident. What you are doing is ILLEGAL. What would you do if someone just runs across the street in your path because they are using one of your little advantages to get from point A to B and YOU hit them with your hulking bike and they crack their skull on the pavement? Laws are put into place to provide a more orderly flow. You dart in and out of traffic and cause drivers to slam on brakes because you shoot from their blindside and think you are invisible. Obviously you arn’t a good driver otherwise you would realise that a bike coming from around a car cannot be seen as you are at the same level visually. It’s like someone popping out of the bushes and are suprise they get booted and curbed stomped.You’re an idiot.
To Insert Name: We absolutely need lanes for bikes. I bike, bikes, like pedestrians do not belong in a traffic flow with cars. They are too slow and small. The lack of bike lanes being what it is… we definitely need to be more courteous; aware of who and what is around us both, bikers and motorists. I would even extend this to pedestrians ( ahem jaywalkers )
Hey Gimpy you sound like an idiot , did you even read the OP’s bitch ? you just made up some stuff to make yourself more mad so you could shout out some name calling.Pedestrians do jump out in from of bikers and drivers alike it happens all the time you idiot.I bet you only cross at crosswalks and wait for every walk signal whenever you walk , yeah right my ass . if you read the OP’s bitch he says he agrees they ” don’t have the right to be reckless or run down pedestrians on the sidewalk “. And where did you get ” darting in and out of traffic , coming from their blindspots ” making them slam on brakes , what are you babbling about. I am not sure we read the same bitch here. Relax take a breath , don’t forget to look both ways before you cross the street .
If you bob and weve between sidewalk and road as a special priviladge for being green then you invariably ARE reckless and breaking the law. What if someone comes around a corner? What if they were jogging and then run on the sidewalk They DON’T expect to see a bike rider baralling through them. Just as the rider would NOT have the proper reaction time, especially if they try that stunt on the MANY hilly areas in this region then they are cruising to cause a bruising. Taking the illegal shortcuts that the poster made showed how irresponsible a person he is bar none. I read it and his statements made no sense because he is doing reckless things and contridict by saying the contrary.You can take the OP’s dick out of your mouth now.
Actually, I do wait at every crosswalk and wait for the proper lights to change. Why would I walk out in front of traffic unless I am certain that I would not get mowed the fuck over? How hard is it to wait three extra minutes? I follow the law because I don’t want to be killed. Looks like you are suicidal. Just because you don’t obey the rules and contribute to the problem doesn’t relegate you to assume I would be as stupid as you.Remember, morning noon and night, Gimpysaviour is always right.
“In my opinion the people that do make this choice should have some little advantages while getting from A to B.Be it sneaking around traffic or using sidewalks to cut corners”This is the whole issue…sneaking around cars is going to get you killed.And fuck off the sidewalk on ur bike.I also think, im not 100% sure though, that all of the ppl that got killed in HRM crossing the road did so at a cross walk when they had the right of way.
To Elvis Q…I’m just saying that a little courtesy and awareness would go a lot further than bike lanes. I’ve cycled in many cities and rarely had bicycle lanes and rarely had any of the difficulties presented here. By the same token though, I don’t ‘weave and bob’ through traffic, I do signal my intent to turn, and I ALWAYS assume the other guy/gal is going to fuck up. It’s kept me alive so far.I feel bike lanes are just for the stupid, inconsiderate drivers who don’t show respect to cyclists and are too self-important to share the road or for the reckless, assinine cyclists who feel they’re in a video game dodging killer chunks of metal. Either way, neither of these groups will respect the bike lanes anyway. People who will respect the bike lanes aren’t the ones who need them. And the people who desperately need to be bounded by the bike lanes, won’t respect or use them.
I really don’t mind bikes or peds when I am in my truck as long as they obey the rules of the road like I have to. I can drive up on curbs and into bike lanes to go around cars too, but I don’t, 1-because it’s illegal, and 2 because of the (lack of) safety factor. It’s simply a matter of paying attention to your DRIVING and being a little COURTEOUS. What I want to know is, if a biker runs into the side of my truck and puts a big dent in the side, and I have the right of way, who pays for that??? (without collision coverage of course) Or a bicyclist or ped jumps out in front of your car and you swerve to miss them and hit another car or some other object, or hit the brakes and get rearended?? Why should my auto insurance have to cover it?? I mean yes, you are supposed to have control of your vehicle, but shit like that has happened…If you’re going to be on the ROADS with the other VEHICLES, you should have to have some sort of insurance I think….everyone else has to….
Insert name; well said, agreed.
hear hear! I completely agree. I am completely respectful to both cars and pedestrians, not pulling stunts, no zipping around traffic, nothing. And still, last week will biking basically in the ditch next to the sidewalk so as not to bother anyone, a car managed to get so close he forced me to run into the sidewalk, fall and fracture my ankle. Oh, and he just kept driving on. Thanks, motherfucker
I’m awfully sorry to hear that Suzanne. Sorry for the tough break. Yes sometimes drivers can be a pain in the ass with all the radio messing, lipstick applying, ( not just the women;p), CD swapping, and yes even cell phone using so called drivers. It should be mandatory for all vehicle owners to take more than just a standard DMV driving course. We really need to share the road with bikers, cause like I’ve said before, they belong on the road as much as I do. Just think like a car while you’re peddling to work or wherever.
Hey BURNING MAN…“…more than just a standard DMV driving course…” I hear you dude, in fact I have said for years that all drivers should be tested regularlyl; like when you go to renew your license. Keeping that in mind, it should be mandatory for cyclists to be tested, licensed, registered and insured. With the growing number of bikes on the road you get a growing number of idiots who fly through 4-way stops, weave in and out of traffic and yes (oh my god) cause accidents. Cyclists need to be held accountable for their actions and our useless HRPD need to be stopping folks regularly for their infractions.