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Am I alone in hating bicyclists on public streets?

Matthew Bryson

Matthew Bryson

Jul 30, 2001
4,006
23
www.flufferrocks.com
#1
I know, I just posted this in the "what should be banned" thread. I just feel so strongly about this, I thought it deserved it's own thread. I want to know if people agree.

Copied rant:

Take it to the sidewalk, Lance. Guess what, even in your bright yellow spandex and aerodynamic helmet, you can't ride as fast as a car and you are impeding the flow of traffic. When I have to go out into the other lane which is intended for oncoming traffic to go around you, it creates a dangerous situation. Sometimes there is too much traffic coming the opposite direction and we can't go around you, did you know that there is 50 people behind you upset that we have to drive 15 in a 35 because YOU decided to save on gas, or work on your leg & butt muscles, or whatever selfish reason you have for riding a bicycle in a lane intended for cars? Don't you see the traffic backing up behind you? It's bad enough ANY time of day, but during peak commuting hours it should absolutely be banned!


I had one of these guys in my way the other day. It was a divided road way, so there was no passing him. I just had to drive 10 MPH. Guess what - there was a dedicated bike path along this stretch of road that this idiot, for some reason, had refused to use. Bright yellow spandex clad morons, I tell you! Go find a bike path to ride on, or take it to the sidewalk.
:spit:
 
#5
You are alone (ish). It is far more dangerous to have cyclists on footpaths with unpredictable pedestrians travelling in any direction listening to iPods on phones etc. On the roads they are traveling at speed in the same direction as traffic - that is safe. It is drivers problems if they are so impatient.

Its not different from a driver going slow on the road. However, I agree that if there is a dedicated cycle path they should stick to it.

However cyclists are a great thing for a large city like London - they free up traffic on the streets which means that its quicker for public transport like buses to get around which makes it better for people like me who neither cycle nor own a car! They are also more environmentally friendly and make my walk to work more pleasant with less exhaust fumes!
 
#7
Generally, I haven't found cyclists to be a problem when traffic is relatively light. What does bother me is when there is a group of cyclists, and instead of traveling single file, they ride side by side and take up the entire travel portion of the road! What's worse is some of them won't move over, so I have to go completely into the oncoming lane to go around them.
 
#8
When I'm President of the United States... all you a-holes who ride bikes in the city... Lock and Load! Okay? You're goin' down. Yeah.

What the **** are you people thinking about, huh? You wanna ride a bike in the city? Move to China! Go ahead! Eat some rice for the rest of your life. Are you f-n' insane, ridin' a bike around in the middle of Manhattan traffic, huh?! There's no speed limit in New York. Have you noticed that? Have you ever seen a speed limit sign in Manhattan? NO! THEY DON'T EXIST!!! Red lights here mean stop - if you want to! The last guy who got a speeding ticket in Manhattan was the guy who crashed his plane into the Empire State Building back in 1937. Wake the **** up and smell the maple-nut-crunch!! They drive me f-n' nuts!!! Have you had that experience where you're gettin' out of a cab, and you open the door, and a bike guy smashes into the car door? And then he gives you that attitude 'Hey man; that's my space!' NO IT ISN'T; THAT'S THE SPACE FOR THE F-IN' DOOR TO OPEN, A-HOLE!!! And they got their little spandex pants on and their little gloves, and they're ridin' around 'I have the right to ride my bike right in the middle of traffic. And I have my little whistle; toot-toot.' I HAVE A HORN! 'HONK-HONK!!!' YOU'RE DEAD!!!"

- Denis Leary, Lock & Load
 
#9
Mark Latimour said:
You are alone (ish). It is far more dangerous to have cyclists on footpaths with unpredictable pedestrians travelling in any direction listening to iPods on phones etc. On the roads they are traveling at speed in the same direction as traffic - that is safe. It is drivers problems if they are so impatient.

Its not different from a driver going slow on the road. However, I agree that if there is a dedicated cycle path they should stick to it.

However cyclists are a great thing for a large city like London - they free up traffic on the streets which means that its quicker for public transport like buses to get around which makes it better for people like me who neither cycle nor own a car! They are also more environmentally friendly and make my walk to work more pleasant with less exhaust fumes!
Click to expand...

+1. I'm with Mark on this one. Lighten up dude. You're not that important and wherever you're going will still be there. No one's gonna die if you get there a couple of minutes later. This reminds me of that road rage thread.
 
#11
Mark Latimour said:
You are alone (ish). It is far more dangerous to have cyclists on footpaths with unpredictable pedestrians travelling in any direction listening to iPods on phones etc. On the roads they are traveling at speed in the same direction as traffic - that is safe. It is drivers problems if they are so impatient.

Its not different from a driver going slow on the road. However, I agree that if there is a dedicated cycle path they should stick to it.

However cyclists are a great thing for a large city like London - they free up traffic on the streets which means that its quicker for public transport like buses to get around which makes it better for people like me who neither cycle nor own a car! They are also more environmentally friendly and make my walk to work more pleasant with less exhaust fumes!
Click to expand...

+2... There aren't bike paths EVERYWHERE, and I obey traffic laws. Hopefully the OP isn't one of those douches who intentionally swerves into me trying to force me to lay the bike down. :rollno:
 
#13
Atoz said:
+2... There aren't bike paths EVERYWHERE, and I obey traffic laws. Hopefully the OP isn't one of those douches who intentionally swerves into me trying to force me to lay the bike down. :rollno:
Click to expand...

+3 and the last time I checked a cyclist (at least in my state) has every right & responsibility that an automobile driver has, when it comes to "the road".

Just because you have 3/4 of a ton in steel & glass doesn't make you better or give you "more" of a right to the road. I don't ride a bicycle, but I have been run off the road 3 times on motorcycles by people in automobiles, one of which nearly killed me.
 
#14
Sure, there are some bad apples, who intentionally cause traffic problems. I just yell at them "Go back to Frisco, Hippy." To which they respond in a manner that I can not quote on a family friendly forum. However, most riders are not a problem. Some are even helpful: they've been know to warn me of cops ahead, while I was way over the limit on my motorcycle.
 
#16
Mark Latimour said:
You are alone (ish). It is far more dangerous to have cyclists on footpaths with unpredictable pedestrians travelling in any direction listening to iPods on phones etc. On the roads they are traveling at speed in the same direction as traffic - that is safe. It is drivers problems if they are so impatient.
Click to expand...

ummmmm so a 1 ton piece of metal going 30-60 mph in everydirection...which is as unpredictable as the person driving it...in danger of hitting a person in spandex is less dangerous than a person on a bike hitting a person walking??? oooooooookkkkkkkkkkk:confused:

i for one love bikes and wish we all rode bikes as much as possible...

but i also think you are psycho if you ride on roads that are not set up for bikes....some cities and areas are more bike friendly and set up for it...

it is BEYOND me why some person on a bike would trust some total stranger traveling fast in a 1 tone piece of metal who could have an array of emotional, depth perception, drug, anger, or vision problems....it is beyond me why you would trust these people not to hit you...

i've almost hit two bikers in the last month.....and i'm a great driver...
 
#17
There aren't many twisty roads in my part of Florida and sharing the ones we have often doesn't seem to work very well.
Last year I witnessed quite a pile up between bicyclists and sportbike riders. The bicyclists intentionally moved towards the center of the road, even beyond the double yellow line as they heard the bikes aproaching. Several of the motorcyclists were going way to fast while aproaching the the group of bicycles. Long story short, about a dozen people injured, luckily no one killed. Very DUMB on both groups part. Putting your life on the line to prove a point is rather dumb. :rolleyes:
 
#19
I hate it when they ride in the busy Fairfax Count Parkway traffic, I hate it when they ride on the extremely hilly and ever sloping/cornering roads of Fox Mill. I ride a motorcycle, the **** is scary enough for me. I can not imagine not having enough power to get out of the way of a ******** driver. Please....get the **** off the road during those peak hours. Please...don't bike on roads where people can't see you for a 1/4 mile ahead.

Literally...fox mills visibility is usually 20-40 feet. It is extremely hilly and these asshats like to take the middle of the ****ing lane at night. I could give to ***** about them going slow, DON'T ****ING DO IT, your life is more important.

I live in a Suburban mecca, it's part city part rural, part suburbs.
 
#20
I'd much rather have a bicyclist on the street than the sidewalk. Maybe if you live in a more rural or suburban area, you can have em on the sidewalk, but definitely not in a urban area. There's just not enough room, and they are likely to have an accident with a pedestrian.

I like the idea of people using bikes, but I also believe in them using common sense as opposed to exercising their rights to the road. Driving in the middle of a road while holding up traffic or risking and accident may be legal, but it's not smart.

If there is a bike lane or alternate bike route, they should use it. More enjoyable for pedestrians, drivers, and bikers.
 

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