Crazy bicyclist thread

[Tskware]

Haven't had one in a while. This AM at rush hour, on Tates Creek Road (4 lane hwy with NO bike lanes) I am behind a nicely dressed woman, who is riding in the right lane, points with her left hand and cuts across two lanes of traffic going 45-50 MPH, to take a left turn at Alumni. Now, I bike all the time, first, TC Road has sidewalks on both sides of the street in that stretch of road, and Alumni intersection has very safe, plainly marked cross walks, with crossing lights. As a matter of fact, saw another biker using one this AM at the same time the crazy woman was on the road. AND, Alumni, once you cross TC Road, has a completely separate bike path running alongside the road heading straight past the baseball and football stadiums heading right into hospitals and campus.

In short, why do some bicyclists have a death wish, or are they just assuming that they own the road, and the rest of us are there at their pleasure? SMH at this lady this AM.

 

[Catman100]

Bicyclist are the absolute maximum worst.

 

[DSmith21]

Some cyclists just don't think that the rules of the road apply to them (stop signs, red lights, etc.). They are a real hazard and give the rest a bad name.

 

[anthonys735]

Some cyclists just don't think that the rules of the road apply to them (stop signs, red lights, etc.). They are a real hazard and give the rest a bad name.

That's it. I ride 3-4 times a week and ride like I'm a car. I won't ride sidewalks b/c that's much more dangerous than being on the roads but I also avoid city roads with speed limits about 35 MPH and no shoulder.

I get way more pissed at drivers though. The amount of dumb **** you see on a 15 minute commute each morning.

 

[mashburned]

and ride like I'm a car.

I doubt that.

 

[Tskware]

That's it. I ride 3-4 times a week and ride like I'm a car. I won't ride sidewalks b/c that's much more dangerous than being on the roads but I also avoid city roads with speed limits about 35 MPH and no shoulder.

I get way more pissed at drivers though. The amount of dumb **** you see on a 15 minute commute each morning.

10-4 on sidewalks, I don't either and agree it is dangerous to do so . . . . but there is no choice but to do so on that stretch of TC Road, much better choice than riding right in the middle of a highway. And once you get to the intersection, it is separate bike path all the way to campus, no reason for any bike to be in TC Road at that location.

 

[P19978]

As a motorcyclist, I empathize with you re: stupid car drivers.

Its damn dangerous out there... your head has to be a on a swivel.

 

[anthonys735]

Yeah, it's a weird intersection. Especially with the bottle neck and should've been on the path after Alumni or continued down to Cooper and made a left.

 

[funKYcat75]

Not sure there's a better way, but the way that bike lanes end and car turn lanes begin is a mess. Surprised someone hasn't been killed. I can guarantee 60% of motorists do not know how you're supposed to handle that situation. Good thing there aren't too many cyclists out there. Other that the very rare cyclist who just flies through red lights, most of them seem to do a pretty good job.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I think we're all going to agree on this thread.. so I'm going to throw a wrench into it:

Motorcyclists aren't much better.

Bikers: Hey watch out for us! We're husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers..
Also Bikers: I don't feel like waiting in traffic, let me pop a wheelie in between cars and pass everyone cause I'm super cool.

 

[Tskware]

I think we're all going to agree on this thread.. so I'm going to throw a wrench into it:

Motorcyclists aren't much better.

Bikers: Hey watch out for us! We're husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers..
Also Bikers: I don't feel like waiting in traffic, let me pop a wheelie in between cars and pass everyone cause I'm super cool.

Really irks me to see motorcyclists going right down the middle stripe between two lanes of 60 or 70 MPH traffic on New Circle Road, even I-75, scares the hell out of me and incredibly dangerous, but I see idiots do it all the time, they are going to kill themselves and cause a massive pileup hurting/killing lots of others as well

 

[jameslee32]

Bicyclists maybe are better than me but why do they sometimes ride like they are better than everybody else too??

They can be loud and fast to pass but I've always had fewer issues with motorcyclists.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Really irks me to see motorcyclists going right down the middle stripe between two lanes of 60 or 70 MPH traffic on New Circle Road, even I-75, scares the hell out of me and incredibly dangerous, but I see idiots do it all the time, they are going to kill themselves and cause a massive pileup hurting/killing lots of others as well

Its kinda like pickup trucks.. when they are behind you, they're right on your tail.. when they are in front of you, it's some clunker going 15mph under..

 

[Strokin_Bandit]

Bikers need a cool wave to throw at other fellow bikers. Kinda like how all the Harley riders do. If they can get that developed, only then will they be taken seriously.

 

[TortElvisII]

I walk trails and bicyclist try to run me over.

 

[TortElvisII]

Bikers need a cool wave to throw at other fellow bikers. Kinda like how all the Harley riders do. If they can get that developed, only then will they be taken seriously.

 

[AustinTXCat]

I walk trails and bicyclist try to run me over.

I hike on sidewalks and motorists try running me over at crosswalks.

 

[chroix]

I’m a 35+ year cyclist and break as many traffic rules as I safely can. Situational awareness is the key. Car versus bike car wins pretty much every time. That lady sounds like she’ll figure it out the hard way.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

If you've ever been to Amsterdam..

 

[anthonys735]

I walk trails and bicyclist try to run me over.

Stay on the right side of the trail and don't walk 3 or 4 wide you should be fine. Assuming these trails are intended for mix use. Also,

-keep your dog in the dog park.
-keep kids close
-if you're listening to music leave it at a volume you can hear someone calling out a pass

...but mainly stay to the f*cking right.

 

[AustinTXCat]

If you've ever been to Amsterdam..

Visited Amsterdam many times, most recently summer 2012. Very true, and sounds like Copenhagen.

 

[AustinTXCat]

Stay on the right side of the trail and don't walk 3 or 4 wide you should be fine. Assuming these trails are intended for mix use. Also,

-keep your dog in the dog park.
-keep kids close
-if you're listening to music leave it at a volume you can hear someone calling out a pass

...but mainly stay to the f*cking right.

Thoughtful cyclists, like me, slow way down when encountering hikers on trails. I usually also ring a bell to warn of my approach, which is standard practice in many parts of Europe. If I forget a bell, I still slow down and calmly notify hikers and pedestrians that I am approaching from behind.

 

[anthonys735]

Yeah, I call out every pass as well. Multiple times. A few people just don't understand the difference in a park walking path and mixed use trails. Really dangerous for everyone to have a small child, dog, etc out there walking down the left side of a mixed use or bike path.

 

[rqa]

Haven't had one in a while. This AM at rush hour, on Tates Creek Road (4 lane hwy with NO bike lanes) I am behind a nicely dressed woman, who is riding in the right lane, points with her left hand and cuts across two lanes of traffic going 45-50 MPH, to take a left turn at Alumni. Now, I bike all the time, first, TC Road has sidewalks on both sides of the street in that stretch of road, and Alumni intersection has very safe, plainly marked cross walks, with crossing lights. As a matter of fact, saw another biker using one this AM at the same time the crazy woman was on the road. AND, Alumni, once you cross TC Road, has a completely separate bike path running alongside the road heading straight past the baseball and football stadiums heading right into hospitals and campus.

In short, why do some bicyclists have a death wish, or are they just assuming that they own the road, and the rest of us are there at their pleasure? SMH at this lady this AM.

Let me say if you ride on sidewalks, you're a recreational cyclist and not riding on 23mm tires @ 20+mph...

To answer the question why some cyclist ride busy, even sometimes dangerous stretches of road...it's because there isn't a better way to get from point A to point B.
I used to regularly commute 25 miles each way from home to work and back home. 23 miles of that commute were on roads with bike lanes and/or lightly traveled... about 2 miles was pretty busy and tight. Now, it wasn't a contiguous 2 miles...it was 4 sections about a half mile or so each...but if you're in a car and you saw me you wouldn't know that 90+% of my commute was on fairly quite roadways.
At that point in my life I was regularly riding 250-300 miles, running another 25-30 and swimming 10-12,000 meters per week...that alone was a massive commitment of time on top of a full time job. I could spend nearly 2 hours a day commuting by car and then try to fit in my training or use that 2 hours as training and getting to work at the same time. In the afternoon I could get home faster by bike than automobile most of the time.

Has nothing to do with a death wish, just calculated risk taking. I assume that the lady that cut across the lanes, made it?
BTW, cyclist own the road every bit as much as those who are driving.

 

[anthonys735]

Switch up to 25mm or even 28mm like me. Studies showing almost no difference in speed compared to comfort.

That intersection is weird for the direction she's going. She has a couple other options to get to the same place but overall you're correct.

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

I ride past girls and slap them on the *** when I bike

 

[kevcat]

I’ve seen these idiots the op is talking about. I’ll hit one of these aholes one of these days.

 

[jameslee32]

I walk trails and bicyclist try to run me over.

When I walk the sidewalks downtown it's the electric scooters determined to put me in the hospital.

 

[AustinTXCat]

When I walk the sidewalks downtown it's the electric scooters determined to put me in the hospital.

Scooters are a HUGE problem in Austin. Lots of crashes and injuries. Scooter riders are dangerous as hell. Cyclists usually stay off sidewalks, but not electric scooters. Plus, those damn things are an eyesore.

 

[jameslee32]

Scooters are a HUGE problem in Austin. Lots of crashes and injuries. Scooter riders are dangerous as hell. Cyclists usually stay off sidewalks, but not electric scooters. Plus, those damn things are an eyesore.

They don't bother me much idle. In the next breath they're zooming by, inches away without any warning. Just the slightest movement left or right and it's a possible fractured wrist to head trauma from getting leveled then fighting for your life. All because of not obeying the rules and how quiet they are compared to traffic noise.

 

[gollumcat]

Stay on the right side of the trail and don't walk 3 or 4 wide you should be fine. Assuming these trails are intended for mix use. Also,

-keep your dog in the dog park.
-keep kids close
-if you're listening to music leave it at a volume you can hear someone calling out a pass

...but mainly stay to the f*cking right.

And not have earplugs in and your little skittish dog that runs at every squirrel on an 8 foot f-ing leash and to your left on the trail.

 

[Xception]

In my youth nobody was dumb enough to bicycle in traffic, what happened? Did Tour de France become popular? It’s bad enough with the Car Wars in Lexington, the jackassery I see in traffic is astonishing.

 

[29er]

Switch up to 25mm or even 28mm like me. Studies showing almost no difference in speed compared to comfort.
.

Been using 28mm Tubeless road tires last 1.5 years, one of my favorite upgrades in 25 years of cycling.

 

[MegaBlue05]

I think we're all going to agree on this thread.. so I'm going to throw a wrench into it:

Motorcyclists aren't much better.

Bikers: Hey watch out for us! We're husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers..
Also Bikers: I don't feel like waiting in traffic, let me pop a wheelie in between cars and pass everyone cause I'm super cool.

About 10 years ago I saw a shirtless, helmetless guy on a crotch rocket attempt to pass between two cars on the white line on a four lane road. His back wheel clipped the front of the car on the right. He took a helluva spill. I laughed. Play stupid games ...

I tend to either slow way down or speed up to get out of the way of motorcyclists. I don’t want to hurt anyone and would prefer to just not be around them TBH.

 

[UKGrad93]

Let me say if you ride on sidewalks, you're a recreational cyclist and not riding on 23mm tires @ 20+mph...

To answer the question why some cyclist ride busy, even sometimes dangerous stretches of road...it's because there isn't a better way to get from point A to point B.
I used to regularly commute 25 miles each way from home to work and back home. 23 miles of that commute were on roads with bike lanes and/or lightly traveled... about 2 miles was pretty busy and tight. Now, it wasn't a contiguous 2 miles...it was 4 sections about a half mile or so each...but if you're in a car and you saw me you wouldn't know that 90+% of my commute was on fairly quite roadways.
At that point in my life I was regularly riding 250-300 miles, running another 25-30 and swimming 10-12,000 meters per week...that alone was a massive commitment of time on top of a full time job. I could spend nearly 2 hours a day commuting by car and then try to fit in my training or use that 2 hours as training and getting to work at the same time. In the afternoon I could get home faster by bike than automobile most of the time.

Has nothing to do with a death wish, just calculated risk taking. I assume that the lady that cut across the lanes, made it?
BTW, cyclist own the road every bit as much as those who are driving.

I'll bet your cube-mates loved smelling you at work every day.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I'll bet your cube-mates loved smelling you at work every day.

 

[BlueRaider22]

 

[rqa]

I'll bet your cube-mates loved smelling you at work every day.

Haha, it helps when work has locker rooms with showers which I've been fortunate that everywhere I've worked has had. In fact, when I would interview for jobs that was one of my prerequisites.

 

[rqa]

About 10 years ago I saw a shirtless, helmetless guy on a crotch rocket attempt to pass between two cars on the white line on a four lane road. His back wheel clipped the front of the car on the right. He took a helluva spill. I laughed. Play stupid games ...

I tend to either slow way down or speed up to get out of the way of motorcyclists. I don’t want to hurt anyone and would prefer to just not be around them TBH.

I also ride motorcycles and for the life of me don't get people who ride without a helmet...much less in shorts, sneakers, t-shirts or shirtless. Too many bugs and rocks have pinged my helmet, splattered on my face shield to ever want or take a chance of that happening while I was riding.
I also almost never ride without a jacket and gloves. Been down twice in my life...once on the track, once on the roads, being protected let me walk away pretty will without a scratch.

Appreciate you keeping your distance. I do the same. If I'm riding I'm looking to stay as far out of traffic as I can.

 

[LordEggForgotHisPassword_rivals]

I like the effers that ride up on your right/passenger side, in a blind spot. makes me want to throw a door open on em.