Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very much. We always lose when a car is involved. Thanks for contributing @Kah.
Yours in Cycling, Gianni
High-visibility jackets offend me. I’m not in the position to judge fashion really, and generally don’t care what other people wear, but something that tarnishes an entire mode of transport as unsafe and dorky is not okay. These garments misinform the general public that cycling is an unsafe activity (look, that cyclist looks like a lit up flare and a Christmas tree had a baby!), they make all other cyclists look like dorks.
Now, I’m not picking on genuinely introverted people, but people who are just less comfortable interacting with other vehicles on the road. As someone truly in love with spinning pedals on the road, I don’t see why there is this reticence to spend time on the road. The footpath is by far the worse option: congested with pedestrians, littered with signs, and unpredictable in its ebb and wanes.
There’s a spectrum of how happy you are with sharing the road: going from very uncomfortable to exuding quiet confidence before becoming attention-seeking and finally there is a thin line to obnoxiousness.
Uncomfortable, more introverted cyclists tend to hug the kerb, trying to stay out of everyone’s way. Every potential interaction is exaggerated; every passing car becomes a danger. Confident cyclists who are experienced know when to draw attention to their intentions, when to back off while negotiating between quickly moving cars, and how to tell the difference between a passing maneuvere that is actually dangerous and one that is not even worth commenting on. This comfort around other road users is something you can cultivate, but not one you can fake.
Attention-seeking cyclists and obnoxious cyclists tend to feel more self-entitled. “I’m a vehicle/road user too!” is the common mantra of these cyclists who don’t feel inclined to offer the same courtesy they demand to the other road users. To be fair these rolling douchenozzles tend to be the same regardless of vehicle.
My problem is, the introverts are trying to make up for their meekness with the artificial posturing afforded by the YJA. Their mistaken assumption of course is that this magical garment bestows visibility, and thus invincibility in traffic, leading some to jump to the illogical conclusion that they have automatic right of way in every circumstance by virtue of the highly visible jacket.
Magic jackets are not the answer to safer cyclists. Learning to share the road on a bicycle is the answer. Anticipation, not hindsight.
Fucking cyclists.
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3rd time lucky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv4F3W1th1U
Try this
@Mikael Liddy
Weeping baby Merckx... there's been enough posted in the last hour to justofy a UN mandate for armed intervention in Australia, known as Operation HTFU.
Starting with the vegans...
@ped
I think its something to do with that well known Levantine dairy company Cheeses of Nazareth
@the Engine
A-Merckx
Lately, I've been trying to be more of a "hey, at least they're out riding" kind of guy. That is until I receive unsolicited advice on my choice of kit/ bike/ position relative to the fog line. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it always comes from someone dressed like this:
@ChrisO
I'm sending you one of these:
Coming back along the road today I passed probably 20 something folk in ones and twos, each and everyone in the YJA, but I think they were on some sort of charity ride and probably had to wear them, I guess. I hope.
@Mike_P
I ran a red light yesterday because I wasn't heavy enough to trigger the sensor. Sat there for two light cycles and lost my patience. Other than that, its a horrible habit. Same with stop signs, though I'm inclined to not come to a complete stop but slow down a lot, look at other drivers, and continue at my turn in order to slow traffic less.
@DerHoggz
Its right up there with mirrors; a plea to control the uncontrollable - to make yourself feel safer, which is not in itself offensive. The fact that it comes at the price of all aesthetic integrity is what makes it such an unforgivable offense.
As has been mentioned, flasher lights are much more effective.
And ride defensively aggressive. Anticipate bad situations, be assertive when necessary, passive when obligatory, and fucking take the lane anytime you're in doubt.
@frank
Plus One there. I find it strangely satisfying to follow the rules of the highway, although I am not often in towns or built up areas with lights and such, but I am aware that running lights and other 'offenses' can give cycling a bad name. I know of some folk who will stop at nothing in order to try nail a strava record, eejits.