Fu*king Cyclists

[Dexter Rutecki]

Stopped watching 30 seconds in when he claimed that a cyclist you can't see dressed in black (at night, I guess) is the same as a black car--in other words there is no excuse for not seeing a cyclist. I assume I don't need to point out the idiocy of that one.

You live/lived in the city, right? When I come across a cyclist who's been hit (it's been years now, actually) I tend to assume they were doing some stupid shit that caused the accident. It's impossible to go five minutes on even a slightly busy street without seeing them riding the wrong way, flying through lights, basically daring cars to hit them. (I love the blow through the light from a side street onto a busy avenue move when they don't even look towards the oncoming traffic--they just go and assume the cars will slow down or veer into the adjacent lane. See that one multiple times every single day.) I'm kind of surprised there aren't more cyclists hit.

Not even going to get into the fly through a busy crosswalk in midtown thing (against the light) they like to do. Have a friend who was seriously injured by one of those dudes. Haven't done it (yet), but I am always tempted to put a shoulder into one of those fuckers.

[JongDoe]

Our friend is at it again, now has friends helping him and hasn’t learned his lesson: https://youtu.be/3siIyEzLCLY

Damn, i guess he got a new bike after the incident at Rick's/ Now he's got a posse.

[Dee Hubbs]

Damn, i guess he got a new bike after the incident at Rick's/ Now he's got a posse.

It was a DiamondBack Century 1 retail is $799, or $419 on pro form that anyone can get by joining the local cycle club, trail association, or IMBA.
BUT I bet he had over $400 of accessories on that bike. Lights, speakers, horn, spokie dokies, seat cover, fenders.

[garyfromterrace]

I get that 50/89/28 are beautiful sections of highway that afford amazing views of Lake Tahoe, but why the fuck would you choose to road bike any of it? Many sections there is literally NO shoulder. It is crammed with tourists gaping at the views (and not looking at you/your bike), jaded locals just trying to get home, and plenty of construction.

"Ah, yes...perfect...I'll climb this steep hill with no shoulder and a couple hundred feet of drop below me while minivans dodge me and gawk at the lake."
Attachment 285305

How is that any fun? Or rewarding? Choking down on exhaust, listening to the whirring of cars going 55mph right beside you, and constantly fearing someone is going to run you over? Go get your exercise where you're not a hazard to yourself and others the entire time. Fuck.

That is so fucked. Rd biking that road is suicidal behavior.

[ex-powderbroker]

Not even going to get into the fly through a busy crosswalk in midtown thing (against the light) they like to do. Have a friend who was seriously injured by one of those dudes. Haven't done it (yet), but I am always tempted to put a shoulder into one of those fuckers.

you sound like a pedestrian version of the minneapolis psycho.

[Rideski]

[wyeaster]

you sound like a pedestrian version of the minneapolis psycho.

tell us more

[Dexter Rutecki]

you sound like a pedestrian version of the minneapolis psycho.

Yeah, it's almost exactly the same thing, isn't it? You might have to explain to me how I've been going around for years taking video of ridiculous confrontations I've gone out of my way to create, because I actually don't have any memory of that.

(Or you could just admit that it's not the same at all, even if you don't like that I pointed out some nonsense from that video.)

[ex-powderbroker]

you sound like liam neeson just waiting to get into a fight with ‘some black bastard’. thank god you haven’t thrown an elbow at some random cyclist yet.

i’ve been hit three times by cars in the city. twice by cars deciding at the last minute to make right turns while i was in the right lane and another by a cab running a stop sign. never hit a pedestrian.

i quit biking in new york and then i quit nyc altogether, both decisions are going to add years to my life expectancy.

[old goat]

If you find it necessary to leave the bike lane because some idiot is parked in it or standing in it, please signal a left turn to alert the cars behind you. And you might consider a bell to encourage the pedestrians to move, if possible.

[rideit]

Mr. Minneapolis is gonna FREAK over these and autonomous UBERS

https://www.wired.com/story/food-del...are-bike-lane/

[TBS]

If you find it necessary to leave the bike lane because some idiot is parked in it or standing in it, please signal a left turn to alert the cars behind you. And you might consider a bell to encourage the pedestrians to move, if possible.

Or, if you have a place to affix your phone to the handlebars/stem, there are several iPhone applications that deliver loud screams and car crash sounds at the touch of a button. Way more effective and entertaining than using a bell...

[old goat]

Or, if you have a place to affix your phone to the handlebars/stem, there are several iPhone applications that deliver loud screams and car crash sounds at the touch of a button. Way more effective and entertaining than using a bell...

speaking of which Amsterdam just banned texting while biking. When we were there people were biking with phone in one hand, umbrella in the other. They have separated bike lanes that are way more crowded than the car lanes. Bikes have ROW over the peds. I almost got hit a bunch of times--fortunately the bikes all have bells.

[TG]

Or, if you have a place to affix your phone to the handlebars/stem, there are several iPhone applications that deliver loud screams and car crash sounds at the touch of a button. Way more effective and entertaining than using a bell...

yeah, bullshit. the ping of a good bell carries a lot farther and louder than some pissant little phone speaker.

unless maybe you do all of your riding indoors and out of the wind? that also explains why you’d have the time to face id or touch id or passcode unlock your phone before you could sound your weak ass alarm.

[TBS]

Call bullshit all you want, but it’s a proven method in my little slice of Paradise. Streets full of tourists part like the Red Sea in response to the screaming woman sound, and to the skidding car/yelping dog sound. A bell does not arouse them from their cone licking cluelessness.

And I don’t use a pass code on my phone.

[smartyiak]

Went on a group ride last night. I almost always ride alone b/c cyclists seem to really fit in the "individuals are smart, groups are stupid" stereo-type. I swear that some guys do shit they'd never do while riding alone, just to win the "Tuesday Trophy"...unless they're just a fuckin' idiot.

[BmillsSkier]

If you don’t have an air horn mounted to your handlebars don’t even bother getting on your bike.

[PB]

...... Bikes have ROW over the peds. I almost got hit a bunch of times--fortunately the bikes all have bells.

F'ing barbarians.

[Dantheman]

If you find it necessary to leave the bike lane because some idiot is parked in it or standing in it, please signal a left turn to alert the cars behind you. And you might consider a bell to encourage the pedestrians to move, if possible.

It doesn't take much situational awareness to see that there's someone parked in the bike lane that the rider is going to need to negotiate around, and adjust your driving to accommodate that. Shit, two-thirds of drivers, minimum, have no idea how hand signals work.

At least half the peds I ding the bell for on the bike path look at me like I'm a dick for ringing the bell and alerting them to my presence. Can't win.

They have separated bike lanes that are way more crowded than the car lanes. Bikes have ROW over the peds.

They also have outdoor urinals right on the streets. A truly enlightened society.

[old goat]

It doesn't take much situational awareness to see that there's someone parked in the bike lane that the rider is going to need to negotiate around, and adjust your driving to accommodate that. Shit, two-thirds of drivers, minimum, have no idea how hand signals work.

At least half the peds I ding the bell for on the bike path look at me like I'm a dick for ringing the bell and alerting them to my presence. Can't win.



They also have outdoor urinals right on the streets. A truly enlightened society.

How are the driver being situationally aware and the rider signaling mutually exclusive?
When cars approach bike riders their attention tends to be focused on the bike, not on what's ahead of the bike. Contrary to what many cyclists think, most drivers are very aware of riders' vulnerability and take pains to avoid them, to the point of crossing the double yellow in the face of oncoming traffic, but that concern tends to make drivers blind to what's further ahead or coming at them on the other side of the road.
I signal all the time when I'm riding; it's very easy, and when you stick your left arm out, 99% of drivers will figure out you're going left.

[Viva]

Went on a group ride last night. I almost always ride alone b/c cyclists seem to really fit in the "individuals are smart, groups are stupid" stereo-type. I swear that some guys do shit they'd never do while riding alone...

Heh. Bought my first bike helmet following a group ride, and these were superb riders, too. Numerous racers and pro triathletes. Only time I wore that fucking helmet was group rides.

Sent from my SM-G960U using TGR Forums mobile app

[Dantheman]

How are the driver being situationally aware and the rider signaling mutually exclusive?
When cars approach bike riders their attention tends to be focused on the bike, not on what's ahead of the bike. Contrary to what many cyclists think, most drivers are very aware of riders' vulnerability and take pains to avoid them, to the point of crossing the double yellow in the face of oncoming traffic, but that concern tends to make drivers blind to what's further ahead or coming at them on the other side of the road.
I signal all the time when I'm riding; it's very easy, and when you stick your left arm out, 99% of drivers will figure out you're going left.

They are not mutually exclusive. There is, however, a very real chance that my left signal may be interpreted to mean I'm about to make an actual left turn and not merge around the car parked in the bike lane. Regardless, someone on a bike is not large and obtrusive, it's pretty easy to see an obstruction ahead of them that they are going to need to navigate around. I do this all the time for other cars while driving, too. I commonly notice that someone ahead of me in an adjacent lane is about to have their lane end, so I anticipate that they are going to merge over and slow down or move left.

[alias_rice]

They also have outdoor urinals right on the streets. A truly enlightened society.

Until you’ve wandered around that city drunk and with a bursting bladder you can’t really measure the beauty of those things.

[Dantheman]

Is it unethical to hit cyclists?

Not in America. Freakonomics had a whole episode about how unlikely your are to be prosecuted for killing cyclists/peds with your car. They called it "the perfect crime."

[Buster Highmen]

Is it unethical to hit cyclists?

Depends on where you hit them. Dick punches can be warranted.