Fu*king Cyclists

[old goat]

[cross post from the eclipse thread]

hoping to avoid some of the car traffic, of course
https://www.biketotheeclipse.com/



so the road situation is truly going to be special...not just the interstates

Sounds like recommendations for surviving a nuclear war.

[bendtheski]

As it was he did ask if anybody had the riders info or at least a dashcam vid he could use to nail the guy in court.

I rest my case. Fuck 'em.

[gravitylover]

I wasn't disagreeing with you, I even said I don't think I'd stop long enough for a problem to arise. There were at least two other people there and the thought that a situation could arise would probably be enough to convince me to ride on. Tough call though as it wasn't me and my motive for stopping wasn't to ensure the fools well being but to ruin his day just a bit more.

[bendtheski]

https://youtu.be/vJXU7EVXs2A
Only with a car

[54-46]

Hey motorists who hate cyclists - go fuck yourselves!

http://www.marinij.com/general-news/...e-driver-flees

[babybear]

seriously- cyclists need to all have dash cams on their bikes like all the russian drivers do

low grade gopro version w/ long battery life to get all these db motorists would be great

[powdrhound]

seriously- cyclists need to all have dash cams on their bikes like all the russian drivers do

low grade gopro version w/ long battery life to get all these db motorists would be great

Need two. One facing backwards.

[BmillsSkier]

Need two. One facing backwards.

Need 4.

And a game plan for Alaska.

[ex-powderbroker]

http://montrealgazette.com/news/loca...on-mount-royal

fkna, a really senseless fatality by a truly dumb driver pulling a U in a terrible spot. And now everyone is going to have to pay the price as they discuss eliminating automobile traffic on one of the prime crosstown routes here. I can't believe this 18 year old got killed, the driver will walk, and everyone else will just get fucked (and then mostly hate bicyclists afterwards).

[Dantheman]

http://montrealgazette.com/news/loca...on-mount-royal

fkna, a really senseless fatality by a truly dumb driver pulling a U in a terrible spot. And now everyone is going to have to pay the price as they discuss eliminating automobile traffic on one of the prime crosstown routes here. I can't believe this 18 year old got killed, the driver will walk, and everyone else will just get fucked (and then mostly hate bicyclists afterwards).

"The 59-year-old driver, who remained on the scene, was not injured, nor were his three passengers. No charges have been laid.

“The investigation is still ongoing, so we will see in a few days” whether charges are appropriate, said Constable Benoit Boisselle of the SPVM.

He noted that making a U-turn at that spot is illegal, but not necessarily criminal."


What fucking bizarro opposite world do we live in where committing an illegal act that results in the death of another human being does not immediately result in criminal charges?

[Gerome]

Hey motorists who hate cyclists - go fuck yourselves!

http://www.marinij.com/general-news/...e-driver-flees

Seriously! My friend was on that ride and was one of the first to assist at the scene. Shitty.

[KQ]

Woman standing up to cyclist who smashed into her on Centennial Trail

A speeding bicyclist has taken away something dear to Virginia Pearsall.

“I can’t feel safe on the trail anymore,” said the 67-year-old Spokane woman on Friday walking with a slight limp and her left arm in a sling.

The Spokane River Centennial Trail running through Kendall Yards was a major attraction for Pearsall and her husband to move into the development overlooking the Spokane River Gorge.

“I walk the trail almost every day,” she said Friday. “Or at least I did.”

On Sept. 22, Pearsall was walking near Trail Milepost 24 at Nettleton Street with her sister when she heard someone behind her yell, “Hot pizza!”

“I didn’t know what that meant, but I thought it might be a bicyclist,” she said. Her dog, Rags, was on leash just in front of her and her sister was by her side. They were taking up less than half of the paved trail, she said.

“I was going to step onto the grass to get even farther off the trail when something hit me like a Mack Truck on the back of my leg and slammed me to the ground,” she said.

The cyclist landed on top of her and then he went into a tirade, she said.

Pearsall was taken to a hospital emergency room where she was examined for severe bruising and knee damage and diagnosed with a fractured elbow.

Cyclist Justin Haller, 44, of Spokane said he went to an urgent care where he learned that he broke his nose and rebroke a bone in a hand that was still healing from previously being broken in a glancing collision with a vehicle.

“Pedestrians have the right of way, and at the very least he should have slowed down,” Pearsall said. “He had a full view down the trail – there were little kids in the park there – and he even could have veered off onto Nettleton and had the street all to himself. Instead he rode over me.”

“It was a perfect storm of bad situations,” Haller said on Friday. “My hand was still weak so I couldn’t brake hard. If you say ‘On your left’ people get confused, but if you yell ‘Hot pizza’ people usually turn around with a smile, assess the situation and then move accordingly.”

“The woman who was hit wasn’t taking up much space on the trail at all,” said Amanda Jones, who was with two other moms and their toddlers at the park playground. “Two of us were on the trail as he went by and we saw the whole thing from about 50 yards away. The left side of the trail was wide open.

“After he hit her, he didn’t even ask if she was OK. He just started yelling and swearing at her. I ended up walking over and told him twice to stop yelling at her.

In a Facebook post from an urgent care facility he said, “So first ride without the brace and some pedestrian wouldn’t move!! Centennial trial (sic) is not yours alone pedestrians!!”

Pearsall said she filed a report with Spokane Police Department, “but was told they couldn’t charge him with anything.” SPD officials did not immediately return a reporter’s call to confirm that.

But Pearsall said she can’t forget the incident. “I have at least 14 weeks of recovery ahead of me,” she said. “If it had been one of those kids, we might be going to a funeral.

“So I’m considering a civil suit. People have to stand up to this kind of thing to keep our trail safe.”

“I think its a ruse to try to sue me,” Haller said. “Just because you have a nice bike doesn’t mean you have a million dollars.”

Pearsall said she’s talked to a number of walkers who have had close calls with bicyclists and even runners on the Centennial Trail.

“I know walkers aren’t perfect, that they take up the trail and aren’t paying attention sometimes, but when you get plowed over at the edge of the trail something’s wrong,” she said.

“People have to realize that when they’re entering a congested area of the trail they have to slow down. Somebody could get killed.”

“I hate to slow down,” Haller said when asked why he didn’t. “Most of the time people move. These people wouldn’t move,” he added noting that the moms with strollers were part of the problem, too.

“It’s a regrettable thing that happened. It didn’t need to happen for a lot of reasons and not just mine. I don’t like the fact that I hit her, but I did.”

Haller said he calls it a good day when he makes it home without an accident. “I’ve broken 25 bones,” he said. “When I lived in LA, a doctor asked me if I was a stunt man.”

“I would never suggest that bicycles don’t belong on the Centennial Trail,” Pearsall said, noting that her family includes serious cyclists.

“I’m going to pursue this because I really do feel he didn’t even care if he hit me. His remarks confirmed it. He doesn’t belong on a bicycle.

“I want people to be aware of what is happening,” she said. “I’ll get out of a biker’s way, but when there’s doubt, pedestrians have the right of way.

“More important than that, people need to be courteous and aware of their surroundings. You don’t ride 20 mph into people you can see in front of you.”

“I’m not out there trying to hurt old ladies,” Haller said. “That’s not my game. But maybe people should be more aware.”

The Centennial trail is a multi-use recreational trail where all users have to be mindful of others, said Paul Neddo, ranger for Riverside State Park which manages the entire 40 miles of the route.

“That’s why we have the 15 mph speed limit for bikes because they’re going to come across moms with strollers, and it’s why, being mindful of cyclists, we require dogs to be leashed, and not the extended leashes or 12 footers that let a dog get out in front of a bike.

“We want it to be safe for all users. We want all users to share the trail. We want to foster an environment of courtesy among all users.”

He offered no comment on this particular incident.

PUBLISHED: OCT. 8, 2017, 7 A.M.

[plugboots]

^^^ I read about that incident today as well. That cyclist sounds like a real asshole.

I avoid bike trails/paths because of slow walkers like that lady. When I use one, I expect to have to slow down, etc. He should avoid that path but feels entitled or something. It has a 15 MPH speed limit like the one here in Issaquah. Guy's a douchebag.

[muted]

Hot Pizza Guy gives no fucks:

[Dantheman]

Wow, fuck that guy. He should have been charged with something.

[KQ]

Wow, fuck that guy. He should have been charged with something.

I'm confident that one day he will. Either that or he'll have the shit beat out of him. I'm sure that attitude permeates his entire life.

[Flyoverland Captive]

^^^ I've ridden that trail many, many times; I'm amazed there aren't more accidents. There are stretches where is gets quite crowded, and I see a lot of cyclists absolutely flying through them.

"On your left" works most of the time, but I've had plenty of people jump to the left, right into my path, when they hear it.

[old goat]

Cyclist is an asshole of course. OTOH walking on the right side with your back to bike traffic is dumb (and illegal in CA). Mixed use trails ROW is confusing. In CA in a designated bike lane on the street pedestrians are required to step off the lane onto the shoulder when possible to yield to bikes. But it's ambiguous for multi-use paths. Certainly makes sense for the pedestrian to yield as they can use the shoulder (if there is one) while a road bike at speed cannot.
A bell is very effective. Don't know why they aren't more popular in the US. Every bike commuter (that's most people) in Amsterdam has one.

[mtngirl79]

There is a trail in Wenatchee that road bikers are terrifyingly fast on, too.

[54-46]

Cyclist is an asshole of course. OTOH walking on the right side with your back to bike traffic is dumb (and illegal in CA). Mixed use trails ROW is confusing. In CA in a designated bike lane on the street pedestrians are required to step off the lane onto the shoulder when possible to yield to bikes. But it's ambiguous for multi-use paths. Certainly makes sense for the pedestrian to yield as they can use the shoulder (if there is one) while a road bike at speed cannot.
A bell is very effective. Don't know why they aren't more popular in the US. Every bike commuter (that's most people) in Amsterdam has one.

Bells work great. Can even use them from far away, before the situation gets urgent. Cyclist here sounds like an asshole

Have one of these: https://www.modernbike.com/product-2...iABEgLS5_D_BwE

[jackstraw]

I use a bell on my mtn bike...current one is from the Alchemist brewery [emoji4]. I've broken a few. I cannot imagine not having one on a road bike.

[KQ]

I use a bell on my mtn bike...current one is from the Alchemist brewery [emoji4]. I've broken a few. I cannot imagine not having one on a road bike.

Electra makes some fun bells with different rings to choose from as well as graphics & sizes.

http://store.electrabike.com/categor...Picks&page=all

[BmillsSkier]

There's enough quotes from Hot Pizza to make a Personal Injury dentist's panties wet with excitement.

Sounds like that guy would have one hell of a problem with the Skier's Code,

and would also likely subscribe to the Happy Gilmore theory of driving on the road after rear-ending someone who wouldn't get out of his way.

"SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN STANDING THERE!"

[old goat]

I use a bell on my mtn bike...current one is from the Alchemist brewery [emoji4]. I've broken a few. I cannot imagine not having one on a road bike.

Ride the American River bike trail in Sacramento and tell me if you encounter anyone with a bell. You'll have to ride as slow as I do so you get passed a lot.
Like a bell--a loud whistle (human powered) is a much more effective warning while skiing than yelling anything. wonder why that is. Unfortunately I can't whistle--at least not at human-audible frequencies since my dog can hear me. Banged poles sometimes work too, but only if the overtaken skier doesn't have ear buds in. (No need to get into who has ROW skiing.)
Seems perverse--people respond to mechanical or mechanical-like warnings but not obviously human voice warnings.
One thing I've noticed--the average bike bell doesn't seem to fit on road bike bars--duct tape required. They're designed for cruisers and mountain bike bars. I'm sure there are exceptions.

[Rideski]

I thought pizza boy story was satire, no? Crazy fucking sociopath if not.

I have several bikes with several bells. The problem sometimes frequently is that the sound does travel far. So if you warn them from far away they don't think you're going to slow down before you get there, which I always do, so they jump out of the way cause you're crusin at that point.
If I you wait till you're right there it's loud so it makes them jump.

So I usually just roll up slow down and say on your left.

And the title of this thread is super annoying.