Fu*king Cyclists

[El Chupacabra]

"Clipless" pedal = without toe clips.

[AdironRider]

This just screams the me first attitude people hate about cyclists. Its annoying is the justification?

You know what drivers find annoying? Cyclists. By that logic cycling should be made illegal. (Not that I feel this way, but you gotta come up with a better reason than that if you want to sell the rest of the populace on this idea).

[MultiVerse]

This just screams the me first attitude people hate about cyclists. Its annoying is the justification?

You know what drivers find annoying? Cyclists. By that logic cycling should be made illegal. (Not that I feel this way, but you gotta come up with a better reason than that if you want to sell the rest of the populace on this idea).

Most of the folks frothing over people on bikes breaking the law break the law themselves.

It's just that people on bikes break the law in different ways than people in cars do. People on bikes do things like rolling though stop signs whereas people driving engage in speeding, tailgating, not signaling, not stopping before a right turn, texting, honking, not yielding to pedestrians, etc.

In other words, everyone breaks the law but when people driving notice people on bikes rolling through a stop sign, as opposed to all the other socially acceptable infractions, it triggers some of them because of an us versus them tribal instinct.

One advantage of a legal Idaho stop is that it could help lessen one aspect of an acrimonious and unproductive debate.

[doebedoe]

^^ Well said multiverse.

A big problem is that when drivers see cyclists breaking the laws they think shouldn't be broken (rolling stop signs etc), they equate that with the person being a cyclist.

When drivers see drivers breaking laws they think shouldn't be broken (running red lights, rolling stop signs, tailgating, speed), they equate that with the person being an asshole or idiot. Not with the fact they're a driver.

[Rideski]

The bigger problem is that some people have bosses cracking down on them or spouces etc and so when some people in cars/trucks see a person on a bike they want to flex their passive aggressive might and show whose really boss. Unfortunately some of those same people aren’t the most skilled drivers and they miss and kill or maim the cyclist.

[From_the_NEK]

"Clipless" pedal = without toe clips.

Who the hell named them "Toe Clips" in the first place. You aren't "clipping" to anything with those. I prefer the term pedal basket.

[Dantheman]

The idea that Idaho stops should be legalized because they're safer is absurd (except for people who haven't figured out their clips).

True, but no less absurd than the claim that it's unsafe for bikes to treat stops as yields. Coming to a complete stop on a bike at empty stop sign-ed intersections is for people who wait for the "Walk" signal at a crosswalk when the road is clear for a quarter mile in both directions.

Most stop signs should just get replaced with large speed bumps/dips. More effective for cars, and bikes are largely unaffected.

This just screams the me first attitude people hate about cyclists.

Drivers have plenty of "Me First" attitude. Almost every day someone makes a questionable pass around me just so they can sit at the next red light for an extra ten seconds, or pass me only to immediately come to nearly a complete stop to make a right turn while I panic-brake to avoid rear-ending them, etc. Then there's the pricks who will throw stuff at you, roll coal, intentionally buzz you as close as possible, etc. But, yeah, legally rolling stop signs at 10 mph makes cyclists the entitled douchebags.

It also doesn't help that for every driver out there who wants cyclists to follow every traffic rule to a T, there's another who thinks they're supposed to treat them like pedestrians. I regularly pull up to 4-ways 5-10 seconds after a car on the cross street who clearly has ROW, but instead of stopping and moving through they just sit there until I've completely stopped and then wave me through like they're doing me a favor.

[summit]

The bigger problem is that some people have bosses cracking down on them or spouces etc and so when some people in cars/trucks see a person on a bike they want to flex their passive aggressive might and show whose really boss. Unfortunately some of those same people aren’t the most skilled drivers and they miss and kill or maim the cyclist.

mmmkay

[summit]

True, but no less absurd than the claim that it's unsafe for bikes to treat stops as yields

It is supremely absurd to say: "its unsafe because I choose pedals that make it unsafe given my skillset with said pedals... so change the laws instead of my pedals."

Coming to a complete stop on a bike at empty stop sign-ed intersections is for people who wait for the "Walk" signal at a crosswalk when the road is clear for a quarter mile in both directions.

Absolutely! But this is true for cars too.

Most stop signs should just get replaced with large speed bumps/dips. More effective for cars, and bikes are largely unaffected.

That's retarded. Every jackass will be lifting their diesel truck and improving their suspension so they can plow through intersections.
MTB doesn't care but I think road bikes would be quite affected by harsh bumps.

[Dantheman]

It is supremely absurd to say: "its unsafe because I choose pedals that make it unsafe given my skillset with said pedals... so change the laws instead of my pedals."

Agreed, but I didn't make that argument so kindly go take it up with JongDoe and leave me out of it.

Absolutely! But this is true for cars too.

I agree that many stop signs could be replaced with yields, though the consequences of ROW failure are inarguably going to be worse, on average, when vehicles fuck it up. Why the obsession with this argument? You sound like a whiny child complaining that life isn't fair. If you want to roll stop signs in your car just go do it and keep a sharp eye out for cops. Or petition your state and local government to change laws or signage (which happens to be why bike laws are changing).

That's retarded. Every jackass will be lifting their diesel truck and improving their suspension so they can plow through intersections.

Is this sarcasm? If not, with all due respect, it's one of the dumbest posts in this entire thread.

MTB doesn't care but I think road bikes would be quite affected by harsh bumps.

Every day I ride a road bike over speed dips/bumps that require vehicles to slow down to 5 mph. I give zero fucks on the bike. Have you ever actually ridden a road bike in a city?

For the record, I love road riding for transportation. Road riding for recreation is still a hard pass.


ETA: Since it bears repeating, this has been the law in Idaho (Idaho!) since nineteen eighty fucking two!

[Rideski]

mmmkay

For my part, when I eventually pass cyclists who aren't being courteous, I put the pedal to the floor and blow a cloud of diesel smoke out the pipe at them. Good times...

.

[doebedoe]

Drivers get upset when cyclists lobby successfully for a small change to road rules that won't negatively effect drivers. (PSA: Drivers in Idaho are still okay.)

Meanwhile, the entire transportation system is designed to make driving as easy as possible at the expense of every other mode of transit. But yeah, cyclists are the whining bitches.

Addendum: It's common political sense why they wouldn't lobby for changing the rules at 4 way stops for cars at the same time. It'd have no political legs -- law enforcement, dept of transit, public safety officials would all be out to kill the bill. And then they'd lose what they care about (making bike commuting easier) at the expense of something they don't give a fuck about (drivers having to hit the brake a little more.)

Maybe if drivers paid the majority of the costs of building and maintaining roads (to say nothing of the environmental issues with driving), I'd have a little more sympathy for them trying to dominate every last thing about them.

[Dantheman]

Addendum: It's common political sense why they wouldn't lobby for changing the rules at 4 way stops for cars at the same time. It'd have no political legs -- law enforcement, dept of transit, public safety officials would all be out to kill the bill. And then they'd lose what they care about (making bike commuting easier) at the expense of something they don't give a fuck about (drivers having to hit the brake a little more.)

I assume stop sign violations are a lucrative revenue stream for municipalities. Probably right up there with speeding tickets.

[summit]

I assume stop sign violations are a lucrative revenue stream for municipalities. Probably right up there with speeding tickets.

That's such a great reason to keep stupid laws! But weren't they making money off the bikers too? Isn't that the reason for this change? (rhetorical I know we are on the same page)

[old goat]

When I approach my driveway on the right, I always check for cyclists coming up behind me and wait for them to pass before I turn in, rather than force them to slow or stop. If there is a car behind me that has to wait it pleases me.

[Dantheman]

That's such a great reason to keep stupid laws! But weren't they making money off the bikers too? Isn't that the reason for this change? (rhetorical I know we are on the same page)

Just expanding on doebedoe's comment that changing vehicle laws is a lot less politically palatable. Not having to worry about being ticketed is certainly part of the motivation, but based on sheer numbers alone the revenue from vehicle tickets has to dwarf bike tickets even in places where cops bother to write them.

[powdrhound]

Give the road warrior a ticket book and pen, if you want to increase revenue.

[JongDoe]

Agreed, but I didn't make that argument so kindly go take it up with JongDoe and leave me out of it.
!

I said that in jest. I was making light of my spassiness.

[Dee Hubbs]

When I approach my driveway on the right, I always check for cyclists coming up behind me and wait for them to pass before I turn in, rather than force them to slow or stop. If there is a car behind me that has to wait it pleases me.

In Holland they teach young drivers the Dutch Reach, (very different than the NSFW dutch rudder). They teach you to open your card door with your right hand, making you reach across your body to grab the handle, it forces you to turn your head to shoulder check for cyclists. If you open your car door with your left hand you will fail your drivers test.
My old office mate would always say to me me: why can't a day go by without the dutch rudder coming up in conversation?

[JongDoe]

LMAO. Double Dutch rudder isn't gay/.

[ex-powderbroker]

http://gothamist.com/2018/04/26/cyclist_doored_nyc.php

[doebedoe]

http://gothamist.com/2018/04/26/cyclist_doored_nyc.php

Fucking sad.

Fucking cyclist shamed me yesterday for my lack of helmet on my commute. Then continued down the street riding in the door zone. Bozos.

[ex-powderbroker]

Fucking sad.

Fucking cyclist shamed me yesterday for my lack of helmet on my commute. Then continued down the street riding in the door zone. Bozos.

I got shamed last year for not having a light at night, on second thought I think that Minneapolis guy must have been visiting Queens.

[Dantheman]

Fucking cyclist shamed me yesterday for my lack of helmet on my commute. Then continued down the street riding in the door zone. Bozos.

Who the hell does that? I did say something to a guy I passed once who's rear wheel was a solid half inch or more out of true, but it was more of a light-hearted "Way to KIR, man!" kind of thing.

Yeah, getting squeezed into the door zone is scary.

[doebedoe]

Who the hell does that? ...

Bozo roadies who think you must be an idiot for riding a basket laden steel bike. New cyclists who don't get that riding smarts are more important than helmets. Car drivers who want to use it as an excuse.