I can't stand when cyclists run lights and stop signs.

/Racer
//Rides where there's room for bikes
///Follows traffic laws

tehbeermang: Nobody makes snow spikes for road bikes.

Two words for you: drywall screws

Tommy Moo: soze: I hope he gets run over by a SUV and dragged to his death along a half mile, and then that the SUV driver gets locked up for life and their children forced to live on the streets, selling their bodies to the mayor's kids who also have been forced into the streets.

/cyclist
//wrong-way cyclists, sidewalk riders PISS ME OFF.
///and inattentive drivers, them too

Funny you should say that. Right-way, road-riding cyclists are what piss me off. A car is a much bigger threat to a cyclist than a bicycle is to a pedestrian, and a bicycle is a much larger inconvenience to vehicle traffic than foot traffic. Ride on the damn sidewalk or take a bus. I don't give a shiat what's legal. The law is derived from the consent of the governed. When you're pissing off 90% of the population, you are breaking the law by definition.

The only place people should be riding bicycles on the road are very, VERY large cities, with crowded sidewalks and bike lanes on the street.

Sounds like you live in the wrong country. Heaven forbid you should have to use your steering wheel or maybe your brakes during a drive.

Fano: tehbeermang: EmmaLou: If you can't go the speed limit on a road using whatever vehicle you're on, you need to get the fark off.

All it's going to take is one accident.

Speed limit is not a requirement. It is a limit. You're allowed to go as slow as you want unless there is a posted minimum.

Glad to see at least one dickhead biker here. You keep riding 10 mph in a 40 zone.

Exactly what do you expect us to do ? I ride at lunch out of my office. There are no parks to go to, I ride on mostly residential roads, but some main streets. Try as I might I can't maintain a 35mph pace. By your logic should I only be allowed to ride in school zones and parking lots ?

Has anyone mentioned yet that traffic signals are not triggered when a bike pulls up to the line alone?

If they want bikers to abide by the same laws as cars, then make it accomodate both types of vehicles.

BTW, I see nothing wrong with what the Mayor is doing. The security will be with him whether he is cycling or not.

/Former cyclist
//Riding on the road sucks

UnstoppableDrew: Fano: tehbeermang: EmmaLou: If you can't go the speed limit on a road using whatever vehicle you're on, you need to get the fark off.

All it's going to take is one accident.

Speed limit is not a requirement. It is a limit. You're allowed to go as slow as you want unless there is a posted minimum.

Glad to see at least one dickhead biker here. You keep riding 10 mph in a 40 zone.

Exactly what do you expect us to do ? I ride at lunch out of my office. There are no parks to go to, I ride on mostly residential roads, but some main streets. Try as I might I can't maintain a 35mph pace. By your logic should I only be allowed to ride in school zones and parking lots ?

They're not going to give you sound advice on where to ride. It's better to just troll them and go enjoy your lunch ride.

"Douchebag cyclist"

redundant?

D.C. = douchbag central

oh and also

wruley: Has anyone mentioned yet that traffic signals are not triggered when a bike pulls up to the line alone?

If they want bikers to abide by the same laws as cars, then make it accomodate both types of vehicles.

BTW, I see nothing wrong with what the Mayor is doing. The security will be with him whether he is cycling or not.

/Former cyclist
//Riding on the road sucks

Actually, even with my carbon race bike, my spokes are enough to set off the lights here in Austin. The trick is to park on the central seam for the loop pair (or a side seam if only one loop).

There are a couple camera-triggered lights going in that I can't set off though. It looks like the city has recognized this limitation though, and they're waiting for a better solution.

Austin also just passed the 3' "vulnerable vehicle) passing distance law (6' for trucks). And the texting ban.

UnstoppableDrew: Fano: tehbeermang: EmmaLou: If you can't go the speed limit on a road using whatever vehicle you're on, you need to get the fark off.

All it's going to take is one accident.

Speed limit is not a requirement. It is a limit. You're allowed to go as slow as you want unless there is a posted minimum.

Glad to see at least one dickhead biker here. You keep riding 10 mph in a 40 zone.

Exactly what do you expect us to do ? I ride at lunch out of my office. There are no parks to go to, By your logic should I only be allowed to ride in school zones and parking lots ?

We don't care where you can ride, not our problem. I see no reason to allow cyclists on the road with real vehicles. You are a road hazard.

four12: He'd fit in perfectly in Seattle with the rest of the Critical Mass-holes (new window).

I had never heard of that before. Jesus, people have too much time on their hands.

celebrate bike love and ride in solidarity with other like minded individuals and have some fun!

How about I just ride my bike away from you as fast as I can.

waterrockets: UnstoppableDrew: Fano: tehbeermang: EmmaLou: If you can't go the speed limit on a road using whatever vehicle you're on, you need to get the fark off.

All it's going to take is one accident.

Speed limit is not a requirement. It is a limit. You're allowed to go as slow as you want unless there is a posted minimum.

Glad to see at least one dickhead biker here. You keep riding 10 mph in a 40 zone.

Exactly what do you expect us to do ? I ride at lunch out of my office. There are no parks to go to, I ride on mostly residential roads, but some main streets. Try as I might I can't maintain a 35mph pace. By your logic should I only be allowed to ride in school zones and parking lots ?

They're not going to give you sound advice on where to ride. It's better to just troll them and go enjoy your lunch ride.

They're not going to give sound advice, period. Anybody who worries about losing two minutes of their life behind a cyclist on a road only to waste more time typing "get on the sidewalk where you belong" is incapable of basic logic.

They must be salespeople.

This thread brought to you by Mayor Adrian Fenty

Attention Whore for Life


Any DC resident will tell you that everything in this city now has Fenty's name on it. He's treating this town like he's a Roman Emperor- putting his image everywhere with a large side order of Attention Whore. My taxdollars going to pay for bulk buys of headshots and posters with His Attention Whoreness's face on them. Even newly built playgrounds in DC have signs that say, "This playground built by Adrian Fenty, Mayor".

One of many reasons to hate this assclown: He was a vocal opponent of the new baseball stadium and then had the balls (no pun intended) to throw out a first pitch at the new stadium. Whether you wanted or didn't want the new stadium at least have a backbone you douche. But Look At Me Fenty couldn't miss a photo op at the new stadium.

STFU and DIAF you asshat.

incrdbil: UnstoppableDrew: Fano: tehbeermang: EmmaLou: If you can't go the speed limit on a road using whatever vehicle you're on, you need to get the fark off.

All it's going to take is one accident.

Speed limit is not a requirement. It is a limit. You're allowed to go as slow as you want unless there is a posted minimum.

Glad to see at least one dickhead biker here. You keep riding 10 mph in a 40 zone.

Exactly what do you expect us to do ? I ride at lunch out of my office. There are no parks to go to, By your logic should I only be allowed to ride in school zones and parking lots ?

We don't care where you can ride, not our problem. I see no reason to allow cyclists on the road with real vehicles. You are a road hazard.

Everything on the road is a road hazard. We should all be able to drive out there by ourselves until we get where we're going, and then someone else can drive.

There's a lot of bigotry in this thread.

incrdbil:

We don't care where you can ride, not our problem. I see no reason to allow cyclists on the road with real vehicles. You are a road hazard.

Actually, it is your problem where cyclists can ride, seeing as they subsidize your roads with their taxes. You don't get to monopolize other peoples' money for your personal convenience. Sorry.

As a cyclist, it bugs the crap out of me when I see cyclists ignoring traffic signs and being pricks on the road.

FishInABowl: I hate all cyclists who ride in the road. Get the fark onto the sidewalk where you belong.

Fail. Cyclists belong in the roadway, just not the middle of it or running stops. They are vehicles, not pedestrians.

The term "Douchebag Cyclist" is redundant. Especially in SF.

/excepting, of course, the super hot chick on the bike in the short black skirt on 22nd headed east at Mission last Thursday night ~830pm. Not a douche. FARKING HOT!

Anything that makes automobiles second-class users is a good thing IMO.

/They're used worldwide to good effect, but nowhere are drivers as bloated and entitled as in this glorified gas-sucking racetrack called the USA.

A mayor has a security detail?! Scandalous, scandalous, I say!

The people in this story with a real sense of entitlement are these 2nd rate (motorist) journos. Try driving behind a tractor on a windy country road for a sense of perspective. Cyclists going through orange lights? No driver would ever do that.

Generation_D If a cyclist ever comes close to hitting you when you're on the sidewalk, then it's entirely their fault. However, I suspect that the biggest reason you're at risk of being hit by one is that they're so much quieter than cars. Often pedestrians scan as much with their ears as their eyes before crossing the road. Pedestrians stepped out onto the road in front of me so many times I got one of those cheesy bells, and eventually changed my commuting route to avoid them.

/driver, cyclist, and pedestrian

AfricanPeasant: Try driving behind a tractor on a windy country road for a sense of perspective.

As a cyclist who lives in Nebraska, I got a huge kick out of this reply.

tehbeermang At least the roads are mostly flat and straight in Nebraska, right? Where I lived in the north east of England, with its windy hilly roads with hedges on both sides, between mine and the next village four miles away, there was one single place where you could pass a tractor...

Spaced Lion: He sounds like one of those Critical Mass pricks over in Austin.

I purposefully avoid driving around downtown there on weekends; not because I want to avoid the horrible traffic problems they cause (though that is a secondary reason), but because I know I wouldn't stop when one of them crossed illegally into my lane.

I believe the correct name is Critical Ass.

There is a douchebag cyclist like this in downtown Denver.

He could use a little SUV draggin' too. For him, a full mile would suffice, not just a half-mile.

I am a cyclist, I am training to race next season, I've been riding for years, I ride several thousand miles every year -- and I am utterly mortified and ashamed by the actions of this man. He's giving a black eye to cyclists all over the country with his unacceptable behavior. I certainly do NOT act this way, and I do NOT condone any cyclist acting this way.

AfricanPeasant: tehbeermang At least the roads are mostly flat and straight in Nebraska, right? Where I lived in the north east of England, with its windy hilly roads with hedges on both sides, between mine and the next village four miles away, there was one single place where you could pass a tractor...

You're only stuck behind the tractor for about a mile in Nebraska, and that's only because of a stream of oncoming traffic. But when you're accustomed to driving at 70+mph unimpeded, that mile at 12mph is the longest 5 minutes of your life.

Great thing about cycling threads: it makes a meathead's true colors shine, and fattens up my ignore list.

I live near DC and am a cyclist so I'm... well... actually not surprised at all. Most cyclists ride like complete d-bags on the road, so why should Fenty be any different?

/what's really annoying is when you're trying to avoid unclipping at a stop, and the motorist going the other way who has the right of way is expecting you to go (because nobody actually observes right of way at a 4-way stop, and especially not cyclists,) so you end up staring at each other wondering who's going first, meanwhile you're doing a wobbly ass quasi-trackstand because you're on a road bike, not a fixed gear, and you hope the dude in the Explorer just goes soon so you don't fall over and embarrass yourself
//or maybe that's just me
///actually stops for stop signs
////just got my kool stop brake pads in the mail today
//that's not really relevant, just wanted to share the joy
//think I might just take a ride down to the likker store to celebrate

tehbeermang: So what should I do to keep riding in the winter?

My road bike is now rolling on 700x28 all condition tires.

The city plows the bike paths before many residential neighborhoods, mostly because schoolchildren use the bike paths.

What's a good way to keep the ice out of the derailleurs?

Or should I open up the purse strings and buy a single speed with spiked tires?

I think a fixie is the traditional ride for when you actually get real winter.

/haven't tried it
//don't get real winter
///might want to just hose the ders. down with spray silicone, see if that sheds the snow/slush
////don't get any on your brake tracks though or you will be sorry
//and get some kool stop salmons so you don't grind your rims, unless you have disc brakes

lunchinlewis: Who rides a bike on the farking Clara Barton Parkway?? What an ass.

I see Jack Evans jogging across Key Bridge quite often in the evening. Nobody even notices him and he's always alone.

Maybe he was heading for the C&O canal trail? just a thought.

just_dis_guy:

/what's really annoying is when you're trying to avoid unclipping at a stop, and the motorist going the other way who has the right of way is expecting you to go (because nobody actually observes right of way at a 4-way stop, and especially not cyclists,) so you end up staring at each other wondering who's going first, meanwhile you're doing a wobbly ass quasi-trackstand because you're on a road bike, not a fixed gear, and you hope the dude in the Explorer just goes soon so you don't fall over and embarrass yourself


When riding with others I've seen this happen. I think what's going on is that the driver sees both feet on the bicycle and assumes you want to go and out of courtesy waits. What I usually do is put a foot on the ground just to convey that I'm stopped for real. when I'm in town, I just leave the strap on one foot loose so that I can get my foot in and out quickly. (Yes - old school clips and straps...)

incrdbil: The only thing we should share with cyclists is our tired treads across their torsos when they start their douchebag antics on the road.

Most of us cyclists are not douchebags on the road. It is sadly a case of the 1 to 999 rule. You probably see 999 cyclists behaving in a safe, careful, and law-abiding manner and pay them no mind. Because they are not doing anything out of the oridinary you do not register their presence. But, you take that 1 cyclists who is an epic douchebag and he will stick in your mind!

Cambo_: Actually, it is your problem where cyclists can ride, seeing as they subsidize your roads with their taxes. You don't get to monopolize other peoples' money for your personal convenience. Sorry.

Huh, I pay a ton of taxes for stuff I don't get to use. Public schools? Welfare? Bridges in Alaska that don't go anywhere? All examples of people monopolizing my money for their convenience. So that argument pretty much falls flat. Or do you think that because I pay taxes for the roads I should be allowed to drive a Sherman tank to the supermarket if I feel like it? No? But, but, but, I pay taxes too!

If you ain't got a motorized vehicle of some sort, you shouldn't be allowed on the road. If bicyclists have to pay taxes to subsidize the roads, well, that's an argument against taxes, not for allowing self-righteous douchebags to block traffic just because they had to pay taxes like everybody else.

Mock26:Most of us cyclists are not douchebags on the road. It is sadly a case of the 1 to 999 rule. You probably see 999 cyclists behaving in a safe, careful, and law-abiding manner and pay them no mind. Because they are not doing anything out of the oridinary you do not register their presence. But, you take that 1 cyclists who is an epic douchebag and he will stick in your mind!

Nope. Every time I see a cyclist on the road, I instinctively think "gotta watch out for the douchebag on the bike". I am almost never wrong. Hell, just riding in the bike lane is douchey, when the cyclist is going slow enough that someone trying to make a right turn behind him has to hold up a lane of traffic for a block, but fast enough that it would be dangerous to pass him and make a right turn in front of him.

GuidoDelConfuso: Cambo_: Actually, it is your problem where cyclists can ride, seeing as they subsidize your roads with their taxes. You don't get to monopolize other peoples' money for your personal convenience. Sorry.

Huh, I pay a ton of taxes for stuff I don't get to use. Public schools? Welfare? Bridges in Alaska that don't go anywhere? All examples of people monopolizing my money for their convenience. So that argument pretty much falls flat. Or do you think that because I pay taxes for the roads I should be allowed to drive a Sherman tank to the supermarket if I feel like it? No? But, but, but, I pay taxes too!

If you ain't got a motorized vehicle of some sort, you shouldn't be allowed on the road. If bicyclists have to pay taxes to subsidize the roads, well, that's an argument against taxes, not for allowing self-righteous douchebags to block traffic just because they had to pay taxes like everybody else.

You do realize that that is your opinion, yes, and nowhere codified into law? So you can believe that, but as things stand, cyclists still have just as much right to use the road as a car, unless you actually get a bill introduced and passed to make cycling on the roads illegal. And good luck with that.

nate

just_dis_guy: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

Excellent response. Touché.