Cycling (bicycles)

[woodworkingboy]

Cars with bicycles, it is a complex subject. Having bike commuted for many years, I can say a few things about it. The evenings when people are driving home from their jobs is not a good time to be on the road, lots of aggression going on out there, many pissed off people in a hurry to get home, Friday night in particular. You can get the vibes from the way the engine sounds in a car coming up behind you. For that reason I hardly ever leave my shop before 7PM, when the road is pretty quiet, a much more relaxing ride.

My one crash with a car really wised me up. A lady pulled out from a stop sign, and I hit her full bore in the middle of her driver's side door, put a big dent in it and cut the heck out of my nose on her roof edge. I usually wear a helmet, definitely think that is wise. I'm laying on my back in the street, and she gets out of her car and says, "Oh, I didn't see you, are you alright?" "Shit if I know", is all I could think to say. As it turned out, with blood running thick down my face, all I could do was try and get her straightened out, as she was uncontrollably shaking and having a serious panic attack, a bigger pain in the A than my injuries.

Now I ride much more defensively, try to pick up on every possible negative thing when assessing an approaching situation, you just never know what somebody is going to do. I have had some encounters with alcohol too, smelled it during the confrontation after an incident. Getting pissed is a little unavoidable sometimes, but it would end up being a constant thing if you ride a lot, and it doesn't get you anywhere. I have slowed down too, gives time to better see what might be happening ahead. The big worry is people coming up from behind, like Brian says, on their phone or doing who knows what. Many people just don't understand how a couple tons whizzing by close to you when on a bike affects the rider's sensibilities. It's not so different from having a big artillery shell shot two feet by you. It's pretty thick not to understand that, but that is the reality.

 

[Paul B]

I see a few bike riders around here wearing high viz vests etc, I will do the same when/if I ride on the streets again, that and the flashing LED lights front and back, cant be too visible IMHO.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Exactly Paul, I noticed when I put a flashing light on the back, that approaching cars started to put on their brakes much earlier than when just having a reflector. You would have to be blind not to see those LEDs now.

 

[MasterBlaster]

When I was pushing around an orca.

Imma gonna guess that's copspeak for a B & W police cruiser?

 

[OTGBOSTON]

You doing a triathalon, Greg?

yup!

 

[pigwot]

Power rules in most societies. A several ton vehicle trumps a couple hundred pound bicycle and rider.

A lot of folks feel like "cars own the roads", and seem to categorize bicycles as 'toys' and not serious commuting vehicles. Over the past 40 years of riding I have had close calls, and several seriously irate drivers who demand I get off their road. It is an interesting mindset.

One fellow insisted since I didn't buy gas I wasn't paying road taxes (included in the price of the fuel) so should not be allowed on the roads and suggested strongly that I get on the sidewalk. I tried to point out that I drove a tree truck five days a week that used a whole lot more fuel than his little Chevy Chevette, so by his metric I owned more of the road than he did. My attempt at humor was lost upon him.

The Florida Bicycle Association is quite active in working towards a truly safe shared roads approach.

While in Germany it was amazing to see so many folks on bicycles, and every one of them had working lights (it's the law). There are some great videos of bicycle commuters in Copenhagen, which has the highest per capita number of cyclists daily out on the roads. There is a series of five youtube videos on bicycling in Copenhagen; here's the first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibCcp0Y3OB0

 

[Knotahippie]

As a kid, I got hit by a VW bus while riding my bike through a crosswalk.

Knocked me silly!

I had a pocket full of free Whatchamacallit coupons.

 

[Treepreacher51]

Imma gonna guess that's copspeak for a B & W police cruiser?

Yep.

 

[Paul B]

My current whip is an unknown model Rocky Mountain, my full suspension bike is up in storage, somehow I don't have a pic of it. 1999 Rocky Mountain Spice. In the long run I will be making one bike from the two. Swapping out the better rated gear from one to the other as well as the disc brakes, likely to the full suspension frame.

 

[stig]

You guys would love to bike in Denmark. We have bike lanes everywhere in the cities and on most country roads as well.

Unfortunately we also have a population of bike riders that seem to think they own the roads, bike lanes and sidewalks, ride across ped-crossing and don't respect stop lights. Getting to be quite a problem here.

It is a favourite hobby of mine to knock them over when they come riding on the sidewalk and expect me to step aside.

 

[stig]

You guys would love to bike in Denmark. We have bike lanes everywhere in the cities and on most country roads as well.

Unfortunately we also have a population of bike riders that seem to think they own the roads, bike lanes and sidewalks, ride across ped-crossing and don't respect stop lights. Getting to be quite a problem here.

It is a favourite hobby of mine to knock them over when they come riding on the sidewalk and expect me to step aside.

 

[Paul B]

that's one of my pet peeves, the using the whole car lane then blowing through the red lights. If you want to be respected as a vehicle, drive with the rules of the road.

 

[stig]

And on the road!

 

[pigwot]

I agree. Laws are laws and since we as cyclists have the same rights as cars to use the motorways we ALSO have the same responsibilities.

I crossed this whole country and as a matter of principle stopped at every stop sign and red light.

Often I'll chase down other cyclists who disregard signals and try to engage them in a discussion of following the rules of the road to increase respect for cyclists. I start by saying something like, "You probably wouldn't rob a bank because it's illegal, so why do you run red lights? - that is illegal, too".

Back when I owned the bike shops I didn't even own a car and commuted daily. Then I'd end with a request "I commute on this road every day. The driver you piss off today may well be the one who runs me down and kills me tomorrow, so how about you stop for the red lights, so I can live longer?"

 

[bstewert]

We sold that Peugeot in my bike shop, too, back in the 80's.

Speaking of cyclists following rules of the road, this article was in the local news just yesterday:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/116025484.html

 

[Knotahippie]

That's a nice bike in the photo, Paul.

I have a black SC Chameleon frame that I got a few years back, needs to be built up.

Had 75% of the components until a recent theft....Ouch.

I have 2 weeks to clear my shop, too... Double ouch!

 

[Paul B]

Thanks, its a mixed bag of Shimano gear, Acera to Deore, my other bike has Deore to XTR components, slightly more rugged.

 

[pigwot]

We sold that Peugeot in my bike shop, too, back in the 80's.

Speaking of cyclists following rules of the road, this article was in the local news just yesterday:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/116025484.html

There is also a House bill that is designed to make bike commuting quicker by allowing bicyclists to roll through a stop sign as long as they yield to traffic and pedestrians.

I am opposed to the roll-through laws being proposed.
I can see no reason to exempt ourselves (cyclists) from the 'commonly followed' rules of the road.
Not stopping amounts to laziness; you don't take short cuts in wrecking a tree; why take short cuts in cycling with as great a risk of injury or death?

 

[SkwerI]

When I was a kid my parents always warned me not to play in traffic. When I was 7 I almost got hit by a car while crossing the road. A combination of upbringing and gut instinct tells me that it is unsafe to place my unprotected body out in front of a bunch of moving automobiles. A flashing light or reflective vest isn't going to protect me from the inattentive driver already suffering from sensory overload (everything these days has flashing lights, we no longer acknowledge them). Would you play underneath a tree that is being cut down? Would you play on the railroad tracks when the train is coming? Would you play in the street when cars are whizzing by? Of course not!

Bicycles are not 'vehicles'. They are incapable of maintaining a fast enough speed to flow with traffic. Therefore every single time a bicycle rider tries to act like a vehicle and sticks himself out into traffic, he becomes an obstacle. Every single driver who encounters the bicycle rider has to mentally address the obstacle, slow down and negotiate their way around the obstacle. If somebody threw a big rock or a ladder out in the middle of the road then people would drive around it until somebody didn't and there would be an accident. What's the difference between the big rock and a bicycle rider when dealing with roadways with travel speeds greater than 40 mph? Most of the time most of us are easily able to deal with such obstacles. But not always.

In treework I've always believed that it takes two distinct mistakes in order for an accident to occur. If you ignore one, then the accident still won't happen until somebody slips up and misses the second. Set the saw under the truck tire? No problem- until somebody moves the truck without checking under the tires first. Leave the saw next to the landing zone? No problem- until the limb bounces the wrong way and hits it. Ride a 12 lb bicycle out in traffic full of 4000 lb cars? No problem- until one of the drivers doesn't notice you. I spend almost all of my working time mentally working to eliminate the first problem so that if somebody else misses something then there still won't be an accident.

I don't give a damn what the laws are about drivers being required to acknowledge bicycles, the law isn't going to cushion the impact of my ass hitting the hood of a car. I'll ride on the sidewalks and either stop or go around the occasional pedestrian.

 

[Paul B]

word.

except where there are bike lanes, we have them on many major thoroughfares now, an extra meter and a half or so (4 to 6 feet) of shoulder marked on the road.

 

[pigwot]

I found Florida to be a difficult place to ride while I was cycling from St Augustine to Tampa/St Pete in 1976.
Most roads had only about 6" of macadam to the right of the white line and usually loose sand if you pulled off the road to let a truck pass.
By comparison, in Delaware the width of the shoulder is relative to the speed limit of the road, leaving plenty of room for cyclists.

 

[Paul B]

and word to the wise:

12:13-VANCOUVER-report of an accident involving a cyclist on S.W. Marine Drive at Cambie St

via Twitter.

 

[Cobleskill]

I have taken to riding in the left lane unless there is a vehicle approaching. I then switch over to the right, unless a car is approaching in that lane also. I ride out in the country, so traffic is light. People just don't go far enough out around me when passing for my comfort. Technically, I am probably breaking the law by riding in the left lane. I get off the road and wait it out if cars are coming in both directions.

 

[Knotahippie]

 

[SkwerI]

As a bike rider I find it difficult to ignore basic laws of physics as well as basic patterns of traffic. The person who cannot keep up and obstructs traffic is a hazard. I don't care if it's a bicycle rider or an 87 year old man driving his Mercury to the farmer's market or the Asian chick too busy texting her BFF to watch where she's going. They are all hazards and obstructions to the normal flow of traffic. You have all the legal right in the world to take the whole lane on your bike, but you also have the moral obligation to keep up with traffic and not become an obstacle. Proudly proclaiming your rights doesn't make you any less of an obstacle, but picking it up or getting out of the way so the 12 cars behind you don't miss the green light will keep you from being despised. Believing you have the right to bring traffic to a crawl just because you have the 'right' to take a full lane on a busy street will end up getting you injured or killed, and most drivers will silently cheer when the obstacle is removed from the road.

I'm not foolish enough to believe my rights trump other driver's rights, especially when I am out there naked in the street. If I'm in traffic then I'm placing my life in the hands of those other drivers since I don't have 4000 lbs of steel to protect me like everybody else on the road. Thinking you're Superman will get you dead.