Are Bike Riders Becoming More Annoying?

[hoops902]

Jun 10, 2013 16:24:03 GMT -5 Peace Of Mind said:

LOL!!  I think I'd prefer your urine over her placenta.  I'm just sayin'.   Will it make me look young and bee-u-tee-ful? 

Only one way to find out!

[973beachbum]

I guess if I'm being totally honest the tourist on bikes aren't actually much more annoying that when they drive.

The times they annoy me the most are what Hoops is talking about.  the main roads by me are both 50 MPH roads.  Almost none of them have room for anyone to ride on the side of the road.  we get every type of biker from groups that do hundreds of mile rides to people who havent't road a bike in years.  If I got to choose I would prefer the kids over all the others.  My DD used to always check to see what age the dumb asses looked.  After a while we stopped looking because they were always adults not kids. At least the kids follow the rules of the road and seem to have more of a want to not get killed.  I don't care what the law says.  If I come around a corner at 50 MPH and you are riding in the lane going 10 mph you are going to be squashed.  It isn't a question of rights.  It is a question of physics. 

So if anyone would like to not get squashed it's really pretty simple.  Don't ride your bike on a road that has a 45+ mph or doesn't have enough room for you to ride on the side of the road.  If that isn't going to happen just make sure your will is up to date.  

[Peace Of Mind]

Hey!  That wasn't urine!  <<smears on face any way>> 

[hoops902]

::At least the kids follow the rules of the road and seem to have more of a want to not get killed. ::

Kids typically have a parent who sometimes think enough to point out they shouldn't ride their bike on busy (which usually means higher mph) streets.  Adults have no such people to distribute common sense and think they should just do whatever they want to do.

My experience has also been that younger teens/kids are by far the most careful riders.  They haven't started driving yet and haven't developed the "the road is mine" attitude.  Instead of applying "car rules" to their bike riding in a poor way, they simply apply common sense to their bike riding.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

My car registration is only $45/year.

Lucky you.  New, I was playing over $300/year to register my Forester.  Last year, it was just over $200/year.  Registration is due next month and I am sure that it will barely be under $200.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

'cyclists are supposed to stay as far to the RIGHT of the road as possible and ride single file. They aren't supposed to occupy a lane on the road.

That's the law here too.. though it's seldom followed. At least in the downtown core it's not. Not only are there people who live near downtown who commute to work on their bicycles, there's also the annoying courier bike delivery dudes - who weave in and out of heavy downtown traffic, jumping lanes, cutting off cars, and even riding on sidewalks. They don't cross in crosswalks, and occupy left-turn lanes - it takes them time to build up momentum/speed - meanwhile, 6 or 8 cars could have made the left turn while the arrow was still blinking instead of 3 or 4.

[tskeeter]

Jun 10, 2013 16:02:57 GMT -5 Green Eyed Lady said:

Makes me wonder if car drivers are riding on the backs of cyclists, not the other way around, as some people would like to believe.

As I said, my remark was tongue-in-cheek, but I can't figure out where you come up with the above statement, since drivers of vehicles pay all the same taxes you list that cyclists pay.  And by the way?  55% is more than half.  That's fairly significant.  So how could one possibly wonder if car drivers are riding on the backs of cyclists?  Unless, of course, your remark was tongue-in-cheek also.

GEL,  response not directed at you, but a general response.  However, not so tongue-in-cheek.  Considering the number of cars vs. bicycles.  And considering that cars require much more expensive roadways that bicycles.  And considering the wear and tear and damage caused by automotive use vs. bicycles.  And considering that you can fit 6 - 8 bicycles in the space required for a car.  I wonder if cyclists pay a disproportional share of the cost of building and maintaining roads when all factors are considered.

[Green Eyed Lady]

Ok.  Gotcha tskeeter!

[Deleted]

Jun 10, 2013 16:18:15 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

::Davebo, I think you are generalizing a bit.::

Followed by you spending 4 paragraphs generalizing a LOT.  lol

Ha. That's what I was thinking...down to the correlation between the level of wear/tear on the spandex and the experience level.

[MarleyKeezy78]

Jun 10, 2013 16:14:07 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Jun 10, 2013 16:08:19 GMT -5 MarleyKeezy78 said:

 Your car registration is $45 a year     Ours is $120, lucky we only have one car. Our governor wants to raise it by a lot 

It's based on the age/value of the vehicle.  Anything 10 years old and older is $45, so our 2000 Prizm has been cheap for quite a while, but a new fancy truck and you're paying through the teeth, I remember paying over $300/year on a new truck once.  Our 2005 Odyssey is about $110.

Gotcha! I was just teasing anyway   I guess I should be happy because if I had to pay $300 I would freak!

[MarleyKeezy78]

Also we have a segway rental place in our town, those crazy ass people zip right out into traffic   How about them!!! 

[Deleted]

I love bicycling; I was out on mine 2 hours yesterday.  We have great sidewalks and bike trails here and I share both with pedestrians.  I know I'm not supposed to ride on sidewalks but I value my life.  So there.  I have an old-fashioned bicycle bell and I signal when I'm coming up on someone then give them a VERY wide berth.  In addition to getting exercise, I'm usually running errands, such as the library (have to be careful not to check out too many books!), small items from the grocery, or the Post Office.  More gas for all those SUVs I pass in the Whole Foods parking lot.

I work in an area that's heavily upscale retail and has a lot of pedestrian traffic.  I'm very careful coming out of the parking garage because of that.  Today I was about to cautiously edge out and a guy on a bicycle zipped right past the parking garage entrance in front of my car.  He never even slowed down to look.  This was no clueless little kid; it was an adult.  I just about had a heart attack. 

The sad thing is, if someone ran over him, his heirs would probably be able sue for damages.

[Peace Of Mind]

I know I'm not soused to ride on sidewalks but I value my life.

Excellent point.  You shouldn't drink and drive - even on a bike. 

[Malarky]

Jun 10, 2013 9:29:33 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Well, to be fair.  They have just as much right to the road as you do and as a mother of a kid working on getting his cycling merit badge right now, I can tell you that they are taught NOT to move over.  You are supposed to pass them just as if they were a car, by signalling and going into the other lane. 

I'm a page and a half behind, but how do they have as much right to the road as I do? 

Is their bike registered?  Do they pay for tags?  Do they pay excise tax on their vehicle?  Do they have a license to operate that vehicle?

And, in my mind, most importantly, if they are sharing the same road I am, are they following the same rules I am?  

My experience has not been positive as far as bicyclists are concerned.

[Green Eyed Lady]

Jun 10, 2013 19:23:37 GMT -5 Malarky said:

Jun 10, 2013 9:29:33 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Well, to be fair.  They have just as much right to the road as you do and as a mother of a kid working on getting his cycling merit badge right now, I can tell you that they are taught NOT to move over.  You are supposed to pass them just as if they were a car, by signalling and going into the other lane. 

I'm a page and a half behind, but how do they have as much right to the road as I do? 

Is their bike registered?  Do they pay for tags?  Do they pay excise tax on their vehicle?  Do they have a license to operate that vehicle?

And, in my mind, most importantly, if they are sharing the same road I am, are they following the same rules I am?  

My experience has not been positive as far as bicyclists are concerned.

You are in trouble now! 

[Peace Of Mind]

Jun 10, 2013 19:23:37 GMT -5 Malarky said:

Jun 10, 2013 9:29:33 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Well, to be fair.  They have just as much right to the road as you do and as a mother of a kid working on getting his cycling merit badge right now, I can tell you that they are taught NOT to move over.  You are supposed to pass them just as if they were a car, by signalling and going into the other lane. 

I'm a page and a half behind, but how do they have as much right to the road as I do? 

Is their bike registered?  Do they pay for tags?  Do they pay excise tax on their vehicle?  Do they have a license to operate that vehicle?

And, in my mind, most importantly, if they are sharing the same road I am, are they following the same rules I am?  

My experience has not been positive as far as bicyclists are concerned.

How many of these do you have on your bumper or door?  Do you keep count? 

[happyscooter]

davebo, it's like they ride beside each other so no one has to be last.

[Malarky]

POM, The question to ask is how many times have I threatened to pop the door open and take out the cyclist when I'm the passenger?Is that as bad as wanting to just run them off the road when I'm the driver?Not to be confused with the part where I live and work on the marathon route and want to take out countless runners who spend many weeks, training.I'm not unaware and unsympathetic to what happened at the Boston Marathon.  

I'm not even sure I can post this without offending someone.


I don't know what it is like in other part of the country but in New England we have winter and construction.  There is never a time where you can just drive down a road.  So if you have to share said road with cyclists and runners, who as a general (not all) rule don't follow the rules of the road, it makes for a nasty commute.  On top of our already hellacious commutes.If the majority of cyclists and runners followed the same  rules of the road as drivers, we would have few problems.   

[Malarky]

And I used to ride a bike.  And then the roads became too crowded.  It wasn't fair to put me and the drivers at risk.  

[Deleted]

Jun 10, 2013 18:43:17 GMT -5 Peace Of Mind said:

I know I'm not soused to ride on sidewalks but I value my life.

Excellent point.  You shouldn't drink and drive - even on a bike. 

Sorry- my keyboard is going bad and you really have to pound the "P" key.