Most liked posts in thread: Bike Riders.....

You are taking this whole thing far too seriously travelering. I'm certain the longer you hang here, the greater your odds that you'll get used to the humor. We really are friendly here...

It really is all about just being sensible and safe, regardless of whether you're on a bike or in a car. Neither wants to be hit or hit someone! A strong sense of Situational Awareness is something not everyone possesses, regardless of their chosen mode of transportation. I think some of us who do possess are simply making fun (venting in some cases) of those who don't.

Cheers. :beer

 

Unfortunately there are those people who are allowed to drive.

I am with the above post... I am not out to hurt anybody, not the guy throwing things at the bikes, and if the cyclist shows me some respect by moving as far right as they can when I come up behind them, I will use the entire opposing lane to go around (given other traffic, and terrain allows it). Its when you get the guy who thinks that because he is on a bike, drivers of cars need to cater to him, and that he can do no wrong, thats when I get mad. Its a common sense thing... Turns out that its not all that common.

 

^^^^ I agree 100% with this for people on peddle bikes.

We also have the same problem on the Dragon when the the Big Harley 2 wheeled RV's don't pull off and drive the entire Dragon at 15-20 mph for 13 miles playing Lynyrd Skynyrd Free Bird thinking the entire road is their own. :mad2:

I also have a huge problem with ANYONE using earbuds /head phones listening to music while driving or biking on the road. That is a huge safety issue because on'u can not hear anything except your music.

 

Look... I went through the OSU City Planning undergraduate and graduate programs. Bikes are going nowhere; in fact you've only seen the beginning. There are programs from entities like MORPC for public awareness about bikes as an alternative mode of transportation. Towns are adopting policies into their master plans to add bike lanes.
I may have been one of the only students that didn't like bikes on the roads but there really is no refutable arguments for bikes on roadways except for Dave.0s plan.

However, in Ohio we have bike paths in almost every town with connector routes that can get you from town to town. Many of these towns are utilizing state and federal funding to create these bikeways/greenways and in approximately 10-20 years Ohio will be almost fully connected.
Where I have a real problem is when I see bikers on back roads because it is incredibly unsafe for drivers and bikers. This is where I say, "get your a** on a bike path." With all the funding for these paths it just seems like a waste when I see them on the roads.

And I do agree with Dave: Register, insure, inspect, educate

 

If she had Hawk pads on the bike, it would of stopped faster

 

I have no problem with people wanting to get out and ride a bike, weather its for fun, or transportation. Heck I actually support it.
It is when the cyclists think the rules don't apply to them that I get pissed off. Like the Idiot in the video, there is a bad rash of people thinking that because they are on a bicycle they cant be the one that is wrong. When distracted drivers are common enough these days ( they are everywhere ) it makes it harder when you get somebody on a bicycle that cant go the speed limit throw ear phones on them so they cant hear and pay less attention to their surroundings, and top that off by allowing them to do whatever they want on the road.
Ive seen it all... Weaving across lanes for the fun of it, not obeying the traffic laws for the roads they are riding on (STOP signs, traffic lights, and the list goes on), cyclists paying so little attention to their surroundings they cant even see the mile long string of cars they are holding up...

I am tired of it! IMHO some of these law makers need to crack down on how much free rein cyclists have, and make some pretty hefty fines for not obeying the rules. Don't penalize the driver of a car by forcing them to accommodate cyclists, force the cyclists to accommodate the motor vehicle like it was years ago.

They could start by handing out fines for riding with earbuds, and not obeying traffic signals.

So if you are a cyclist, you now know how I feel, and I really don't care if it makes you mad... Follow the rules, pay attention, stay single file on the shoulder of the road, move over for the vehicle that is moving faster, is bigger than, and can kill you!
And for the love of Pete... Take out the earbuds, and loose the porno shorts! I don't want to see your tiny little lump-O-junk as I try to avoid hitting you!

 

I carry a 500k volt taser everywhere & I mean everywhere!:biggrin5:

 

Having the same rights on the road as any motor vehicle is all well and good. You can put, "I had the right of way" on your tombstone. Laws aside, in the real world, the larger vehicle has the right of way, that's how I ride a bike, a motorcycle or drive a MINI.

Dave

 

Who else saw Uncle Si holding up a long line cars on his new mobility scooter. That was funny TV.

 

Wow... Now thats a thought...

Bike paths. Bike paths! And bike lanes!

Set aside for people who choose to ride bicycles! Out, and away from motor vehicle traffic!
Thats the best idea I have heard in this thread yet.
They are out there... Colorado has hundreds of miles of greenway trails, maintained year round by the state. You can ride from the north suburbs of Denver to almost CastleRock and never even have to cross a street on your bike!

Only problem is, the riders don't want to use them! They would rather risk turning themselves into a greasy smear and a pile of flowers on the hidden side of a blind curve on a mountain road.

 

Yea, those red and white thingies are just random chicanes dropped down once in a while to make motoring more interesting on those long straight roads.

 

It looks like they needed a change of underwear more than they needed to continue their trip!

Dave

 

I carry old golf clubs. I don't have'ta get so close that'a way...

 

What is the likelihood that someone engaging in cycling as a hobby doesn't own a car? Especially in the situations described above, where it would be possible for a single cyclist to cause a tailback of cars stretching for miles. They are clearly riding out in the countryside to cause that issue, since anywhere near a city, there would be alternate routes, and I'm sure no one would prefer to cause grievous bodily harm to another just to avoid taking a different road....
Cycling is an expensive hobby if you're complaining about the ones "in the porno shorts". Many of the participants are doctors, nurses, and other well to do types you probably don't want to hurt or take out of the population. Most not only own cars, but own expensive cars and put lots of miles on them driving to riding locations outside the city. They have paid road taxes just as much as you have, and many are at the forefront of calling for road repairs when needed. It's not just their comfort but their life that depends on road safety.

 

Thats the way it has always been! I remember being taught as a kid to stay out of the middle of the street or you will get run over... What has changed?

The way I see it NOTHING!

You can either let the bigger faster moving vehicle go by, or be prepared to suffer the consequences... Whatever they might be.

 

I didn't say it's an expensive hobby to justify the practitioners "doing anything they want.". I pointed that out as a refutation of the claim that cyclists don't pay any road tax and, following the course of this thread, that they should not be allowed on the road, and then the asinine detour into "I don't like them, let's go "f" them up with sticks, golf clubs and tasers. ". In general, the people who can afford expensive hobbies, be they a couple of several thousand dollar bicycles, or a seventy thousand dollar investment in some little girly city car that shouldn't be on the same roads as Bubba's big pickup, are people who pay a large amount of taxes in general.

Are you trying to claim that you have 70K into a car that already boasted potent performance from the factory, and you've never even pushed the boundaries of the law? What did you spend the money on then? Converting it into some sort of grandma's caddy\prius unholy concoction of self-righteousness and slow driving?

Long story short, cyclist in the video = stupid, people who stereotype a diverse group of other people because of their current mode of transport = stupid. People who wish or threaten violent injury on others because they are so f*****g self-absorbed that the think they alone have the right to use public property in their own way= dangerously stupid.
Perhaps you missed the header and welcome screen that says the "friendly" MINI forum....

 

No substantial worries mate. I've had a miserable week at work, where some people took jokes way too seriously and several of us almost lost our jobs over it.
On top of that, I used to race road bikes, pegging in over ten thousand miles of saddle time a year. I developed friendships all over the US through the sport, and had one of those friends killed and a few hurt badly by drivers. In every case, the rider was not at fault unlike the one in the video.
The guy who was killed was a new father who had been racing for just a year, but was so excited and gung-ho about the sport that he was up before dawn heading to a training ride with local pro-level riders. He had on something like clarkson's Safety-orange vest, a xenon headlight, and two bright flashing taillights, yet the lady who hit him claimed she never even saw him.
At one of the races, with rollingn roadblocks provided by police cruisers, something lik the jokes in this thread was going through the heads of some local really intelligent guys, only instead of sticking a stick in somebody's spokes, they threw a pair of vise-grips out of their truck heading the opposite way. They hit a rider in his face, requiring four replacement teeth and several hours in the ER for hundreds of stitches.
I have been on rides where people have passed us encouraging ther kids to yell at us out of the back window. We've had cars swerve into us just because they wanted to "give us a scare.". I've had my elbow clipped by a car going well over 60 when we were on the other side of the white line going nearly thirty in a forty-five zone. You could see them high five each other as they drove off. Just a joke isn't a good defense in a courtroom, as the visegrip guys found out.
Unfortunately, most aggressive actions from cars don't happen when there's multiple police cruisers in plain view. It's as serious as life and death for the bicyclist, and just a joke athat was acted on for the people in the car. Yeah, I guess I took it too seriously......

 

I suspected you may have had a history in cycling. I certainly understand the frustration you have experienced during your touring, while encountering those less apt to understand their responsibility to share the road. My daughter was hit by an inattentive driver whilst in a crosswalk, and I've got a great friend from high school that was hit by a car during a Saturday morning ride through the foothills. Both were survivors, although my buddy was hospitalized for a bit with his fair share of injuries...

Bottom line is, always be smart and attentive, and ride/drive defensively when you're out there. No telling who's on what, how tightly their heads are screwed on, or whether or not they're even in the same zip code as you...!