It is kind of like rock, paper, scissors except it is a little game played Car, Bike, Pavement....car always wins. It is nothing personal it is physics thing.
Maybe if bikers had to watch videos of heads exploding under the weight of tires they would be a little less cocky.
I can appreciate your life style choice I really can, it is just the self righteousness sense of entitlement that seems to come with it I have a problem with.
7 comments:
We have tons of cyclists here in Boston and while I'm with you on appreciating their choice, I'm bothered by them everyday. They get angry when drivers don't follow the laws allowing them to ride in the middle of the road, yet when there is a red light, they speed right through it not following those very laws.
And don't even get me started on how they weave in and out on really narrow streets!
So yeah...entitled is a good word for them.
Ack! I drive on Minneapolis' parkway system for at least 25% of my daily driving... and while there are beautiful "bike only" bike paths seperate from the auto driving surface and the walkers trails, there are always two or three bikers that use the street. These parkways are narrow and have no extra room for bikers, so if you get stuck behind one, and there is oncoming traffic, you are stuck. I tend to honk at these guys when I can pass them. My husband takes it a bit farther and opens up the passenger side window and yells at them. "use the bike path - !@&!)@*@". He gets a one finger salute in response in only 25% of his encounters.
you guys ALL need to take a chill pill and learn how to slow down and relax about bikers....
I have been commuting on my bike for several years now and I am sickened on a daily basis on how rude and obnoxious the majority of car drivers are when it comes to respecting the rights of bikers. I have read up on my rights and the laws that I need to follow when I'm on my bike.... I ride within the limits that have been set forth for me, but end up finding myself in near death situations almost every single day because some nasty person in their car isn't paying attention, or is in too big of a hurry to spend the extra couple of seconds it would take to treat me with kindness and respect. I have a 6 year old son who also commutes on his bike with me every day. Up until the last couple years he has rode mostly in my bike trailer, which gave me a little more peace of mind, but last year he finally out grew it and now needs to ride his own bike along with me. Despite my constant efforts to try and keep him out of harms way, there have been numerous occasions when he has escaped death.... all because someone in their car is not paying attention, or is too annoyed or disgruntled to take a few extra seconds to slow down and pay attention to what's going on around them on the road.
There is plenty of room for cars and bikes on the roads, especially when both parties are following the rules and being respectful of one another. I too am sickened by the idiot few bikers who give us all a bad name. I watch how they ride around like they own the road, and am equally annoyed with them. I always use my hand signals - much in advance of my turns so everyone who needs to see me, does (that is IF they are paying attention). When I am on a path or sidewalk I give pedestrians plenty of warning "passing on your left please", often times needing to shout very loudly because this person is wearing headphones, therefore making themselves fairly oblivious to what's going on around them if it's not directly in their view (a HUGE annoyance of mine - I think that all people who use roads and paths that are shared with cars, bikers, and pedestrians should be able to hear and see everything around them in order to keep themselves AND others safe).
Anyways - as you can tell, this is a very touchy subject for me, and one that I think needs more addressing by lawmakers. I know that some cities have planned wonderful biking routes that allow bikers to travel in a safe and relatively anxiety free manner, but I think that far too many places are lacking in this department. I also think that far too many drivers, bikers, and walkers are extremely uneducated when it comes to what they need to do to respect everyones rights on the roads.
Everyone seems to busy wrapped up in their own little ME ME ME worlds to just step back and find a way to work together.
We all have places to go
We all have modes of transportation that fit our budgets and lifestyles
We all know what it feels like to be violated on the road in one form or another
Why can't we all just figure out how to get to where we're going in a nice, calm, respectful way?
Which is why i saty off the roads and go on back dirt roads/trails but many don't have that option in cities.
I get you. I know a few cyclist and they act exactly like that.
"Maybe if BIKERS had to watch videos of heads exploding under the weight of tires they would be a little less cocky."
Change the word BIKERS to CAR DRIVERS.
How did you come to perceive this "self righteousness" in bikers? It's probably defensiveness you're picking up on, because bikers in this city basically get screwed. There are very few bike lanes and sidewalks are out of the question.
People in cars are the ones who believe they are entitled. Postings like this only leads me to believe that a biker's so-called 'self-righteous' attitude is justified.
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