Crazy Motorists

[craig1985]

Why the hell would you hold a TT on the A1? Wouldn't it be logical to find an off road circuit (like a car or motor bike race track) and hold it there?

 

[craig1985]

What I hate (more of a general rant at everything)?

Drivers who drive very slow and that I or my bunch can pass them whilst cycling, that gets rather dangerous. Because I live on a coastal area and there are Surf Life Saving Championships (Link so you know what I am talking about) being held on one of the beaches, and there are naturally a lot of competitors driving down to the beach. But geez, on the bunch ride this morning, a lot of motorists had NFI what they were doing. They were doing less then 40km/h (not the speed limit, which is 50km/h) and seemed more preoccupied with finding a parking space. It's scary when, despite riding into a strong head wind that we are doing 33km/h and can almost pass the car, because you have no idea whether or not the motorist is just going to flick on the indicator and move into the parking space and have scant regard for anything behind him (ie cyclists), since he has a big trailer on the back of his Land Cruiser SUV. Even on the way back on the other side of the road it was dodgy with a lot of slow traffic and people not paying attention and holding up traffic that is coming from behind.

I also hate runners when riding a little bit further on from said incidents this morning, it a narrow road, with a bike lane for cyclists traveling in each direction and for one car traffic. There is also a foot path for runners and walkers. Except just about every runner is running on the bike lane (they are not meant to be) and a lot of them pay no attention to anybody cycling and if you yell out to them as a warning, they continue in their own little world (usually the ones who have music playing through ipods), and then there are the cyclists traveling in the opposite direction, which they are entitled to be there and we give each other enough room,, but when you have ignorant/arrogant runners/walkers not paying attention then it gets a bit treacherous at times. I'm always glad I get out of that section one piece.

Another thing that does it for me, is when I travel through a section of road works where they are adding more lanes, which reduces traffic to one lane each side of the road. That's fine, and there is enough room for me to cycle, and you can really tell a drivers driving ability when if I get stuck riding into a head wind and I'm doing 30km/h (I want to go a bit quicker), that the motorist will just sit behind me and not over take me because there is oncoming traffic in the opposite direction. If they had any driving ability they would slowly and there is enough room for them to overtake me and be safe for me and for them. There is enough room for me and for them. The worse ones are the ones who when they overtake, they beep their horn and yell abuse. Well don't you learn to drive you ****ing stupid ****?

Lastly, we have a bunch of cyclists, called the 'crazy bunch' and they live up to their name. They have a take no prisoners approach with a massive douche driving them along happy to yell abuse to all and sundry, whether they are cycling or not (like a motorist). Dead set they give cyclists a bad name and I try and avoid them like the plague. It's great for speed work, but they go hard through areas where it is not safe to travel consistently along at speeds close to 50km/h, and they have scant regard for stop signs, red lights etc. There is sympathy from me when one of their members has an accident as it almost certain that person is responsible for it. Look I love to ride my bike fast and so regular interval sessions, but I will do it in a spot where it is safe for me, like nice wide bike lanes so I can do my intervals and cars can safely pass me. I am a risk taker yes, but I do controlled risks that I know I can pull off.

There, that is one big weight of my shoulders.

 

[BroDeal]

The Near Miss Thread

I was almost hit by a car yesterday. A small CUV drives past me, not going much faster, gets slightly ahead, and then suddenly turns in front of me. They used the classic idiot signalling technique, i.e. put the turn signal on at the same time the steering wheel is cranked. I locked the brakes up and could feel the back end start to fishtail. It was one of those situations where you wonder how the driver could possibly not see you.

I gave the driver the double bird.

 

[Boeing]

An issue here in SoCal we face is Joggers running against the grain in the bike lane. typically it is the "likes to fight guy" who won't budge.


I have never understood why it is done and if it is legal. A cyclist can not legally ride against traffic.



As with anything it is the few who give the sport the bad name. far too many solo riders rolling stop lights and crossing illegally...here any way.

It would help if we all just stopped, put a foot down giving way to right trun traffic etc.

but alas we get "track stand guy showing his mad skills in the lane and dude who thinks he is losing work out intensity because of a signal.....tends to erk a few drivers. fat drivers especially.

for the record I had a thirsty-two ouncer from AMPM thrown at me the other day and called a homo and I was abiding by all the rules.

 

[quadsRme]

In and around Large metro areas it is difficult to get away from any traffic generated by cars/suv/trucks. When I go out, have been hit multiple times, I tread lightly on the way to my best spots and use those for basically warm up and warm down areas.
When I get to my best spots its time to get serious. Luckily it only takes ~30 minutes to get to those "best spots". I

It is getting increasingly treacherous as the years go by. Especially now with more hand held devices that can be used in moving vehicles.

It is a losing battle because we are out numbered!

 

[usedtobefast]

An issue here in SoCal we face is Joggers running against the grain in the bike lane. typically it is the "likes to fight guy" who won't budge.


I have never understood why it is done and if it is legal. A cyclist can not legally ride against traffic.



As with anything it is the few who give the sport the bad name. far too many solo riders rolling stop lights and crossing illegally...here any way.

It would help if we all just stopped, put a foot down giving way to right trun traffic etc.

but alas we get "track stand guy showing his mad skills in the lane and dude who thinks he is losing work out intensity because of a signal.....tends to erk a few drivers. fat drivers especially.

for the record I had a thirsty-two ouncer from AMPM thrown at me the other day and called a homo and I was abiding by all the rules.

i came to cycling from running and I don't get the yahoos who insist on running in the bike lane, when there is perfectly fine sidewalk. asphalt is
just as hard as concrete. people get hit by cars running in the street. go figure.
with regards to motorists, i try to let them by me as much as i can. and i try to signal my intentions, when changing lanes or turning. they seem to appreciate that. yes i do track stand, but i do it because i can, not to show off. what flavor was that "big gulp"?

 

[buckwheat]

I was almost hit by a car yesterday. A small CUV drives past me, not going much faster, gets slightly ahead, and then suddenly turns in front of me. They used the classic idiot signalling technique, i.e. put the turn signal on at the same time the steering wheel is cranked. I locked the brakes up and could feel the back end start to fishtail. It was one of those situations where you wonder how the driver could possibly not see you.

I gave the driver the double bird.

Damn, two weeks ago that was me except the driver hit my pedal as they passed and I was thrown to the ground on my left hand and left glute and lower back. There was a turn lane, and a lane that went straight but which you could also turn from and I was between them both with I thought no traffic behind. I went straight and the car passed me and turned and ran from the scene. I had a nice tailwind on Collins Ave in Sunny Isles Fl and was cruising southbound easily at 25 mph and that clip happened quick and was painful when I hit the ground. Thank God there was light traffic because you always fear getting run over when you're on the ground. Also, I don't know how in the heck they didn't see me.

 

[knewcleardaze]

An issue here in SoCal we <snip>
for the record I had a thirsty-two ouncer from AMPM thrown at me the other day and called a homo and I was abiding by all the rules.

Crazy. Last year I was hit in the head by a giant soft drink. I don't know if it was 32 or 48 ounces. The bottom of the cup hit tho top of my helmet. The straw and lid went flying. I believe it was cherry cola.I was thinking had I not been wearing a helmet, that cup would have surely cut my head.It was thrown from a gold coloured Nissan Armada.I even wondered if person throwing it out the window was aiming for me, or if it was strictly by chance.
An hour later I flatted. A memorable day.
The shouts of fagot and homo always make me chuckle.

 

[Boeing]

word

I thnk we can all do something to better the image.

for all you socal riders who ride through camp pendleton to in or about SD or up from SD keep in mind that there are rules there and we should be thankful we are 'allowed' to pass through

remember we are just passing through. let the marine families have their space and if they honk dont get rowdy.

however there are groups (notably the cyclewerks heroes) who disregard the rules. Last time through talking to the guard he mentioned that a vote was coming down to continue their graciousness or not because certain "groups" he called one group by name "cyclejerks" who insist on riding off limit roads on their own.

remember it is a point a to point b pass through. keep the bunch small and dont **** off the moms waiting for daddy to get home

say it aint so steve

 

[CycloErgoSum]

+1 hit it on the head.

in Melbourne i get that feeling that drivers believe that they are the only ones who are entitled to be on the road.

society is becoming far more self-centred and isolated then every before, thanks largely to the industrial & technological advances.we work harder and longer, send emails instead of calling and don't even think to talk face to face. we listen to ipods or are on our mobiles all the time so we dont have to talk to strangers.

worst of all - our kids no longer go outside on christmas days to play with their new toys with other kids, instead they're inside on an Xbox or Wii...

ofcourse, as I type this I am sitting in an empty office, 900km from home...

A new book called 'The Spirit Level' analises data from first-world socities and argues that social inequalityis most strongly associated with anger, unhappiness and isolation. The three most inequal Western nations (showing the greatest disparity in wealth) are Britain, USA and Australia. Having cycled in all three, I concur they are sucky places to share a road with motorists.

Over to you, Ravens

 

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[msjett]

Clearly, today just for fun, a driver, whom was in the right lane (Australia) and I in the left slowed down and pulled closer to me so that he could yell at me to get the phuck off the road.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Never had any problems with this set until today. Corporate executives pretending to be outlaw motorcycle riders with their brand new 30k Harleys. Was far into a 5 ft. wide shoulder, and this douche bag rode the line and buzzed me, then revved the motor so hard it backfired, just about blew my eardrum out. Fuuucker! Those dorks cycling with the clip on rear view mirrors might have something there. If I saw him coming I would've backhanded this asswipe right of his bike, that's how close he came. F*ing pussy!!!!

 

[42x16ss]

Clearly, today just for fun, a driver, whom was in the right lane (Australia) and I in the left slowed down and pulled closer to me so that he could yell at me to get the phuck off the road.

When I lived in Townsville that would happen to me nearly every day! Now that I live in Brisbane I doubt I get it more than once a week. The worst are still guys in their 20's on their way home from a big night out on Saturday and Sunday morning. Food often gets thrown out of taxis. I guess that comes from living right in the city .

At least most people in NSW and Victoria are capable of being civilised...

 

[DAOTEC]

(06-03) 18:54 pdt San Francisco

Manhunt for crazy motorist going on in San Francisco

Three neighborhoods invaded by one car Wednesday night with a driver bent on mowing people down....
More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/03/MNE41DPBIK.DTL

 

[DAOTEC]

SFPD Arrest Suspected Driver Who Assaulted Cyclists in San Francisco

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/transportation/detail?entry_id=65094

 

[marinoni]

Cycling Nirvana?

After reading some of these postings, I'm thinking my old hometown was a cycling dreamland. Tons of quiet(though rather dull) county roads, reasonable hills and lots of cows to talk to as I rode by. But here's the thing: in 8yrs of riding there I never once had an encounter with a hostile driver. For sure there were a few close calls when drivers did something stupid but as far as people acting hostile or violent, nada. I always, without exception followed the rules of the road and many times had motorists at stop-lights thank me for doing so. Occasionally got a phone # of the deal too! I occasionally had young drivers scream at me while racing by but never too close and the screaming was just to startle me. When I was that age we used to purposely drive through puddles spraying peds so I'd chalk up the screaming to karma. If it wasn't for the fact that the area is an economic dead-zone I never would have left.