This post will likely make your blood boil. At least that was my response upon reading this letter to the editor. I live in WV where one of our local papers saw it appropriate to post this article which came out across the asap (AP). Not only did they post it, they did so only a week after a local cyclist was killed by a motorist who thought it would be funny to throw a rubber snake on a cyclist / triathlete who was riding down the road, causing him to crash and break his neck.
I’m all about freedom of the press. I’m just wondering when the media will do a story educating drivers and cyclist alike how to share the road safely. Any suggestions on getting this topic more mainstream? The driver’s education and training systems here in the U.S. suck big time when it comes to teaching this subject and it only seems to be getting worse.
Here’s the article…
John Marshall wonders why cyclists feel the need to hog the road
A skewed view of sports
By JOHN MARSHALL
asap (AP)
Driving along a two-lane road in the farmlands east of Denver, I came upon a pair of cyclists riding shoulder to shoulder in my lane, chatting away, ignoring the fact that there was an SUV bearing down on them. Cars were coming from the other direction, so I had no choice but
to tool along behind them at 10 mph, my head gurgling with anger, closer to exploding with each passing second. Just as I raised my foot to gun it and turn them into road pizza, the oncoming traffic cleared up and I was able to swerve around them.
Is anyone else confused by the logic of allowing slow-moving bikes in lanes of traffic? I know it’s the law, that we’re supposed to share the road, but it doesn’t seem to be the safest idea in the world.
Think about it: you’ve got cars going up to 55 mph on hilly, curvy roads sharing lanes with cyclists who are going half that, usually a lot less. Might as well let a group of mothers walk with their strollers down the yellow line – makes nearly as much sense. And no place is it worse than Colorado.
The weather gets nice around here and every Lance Armstrong wannabe heads to the hills, blocking lanes of traffic as they crawl up the side of a mountain at 5 mph as logging trucks whiz by. That’s putting an awful lot of trust in the hands of someone else just for the sake of a ride. No thanks. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to slam on the brakes after coming around a corner and seeing a group of cyclists putzing along, riding two or three wide instead of single file. Would it be too hard to ride single file instead of taking up the entire lane? Just because they have a right to part of the road doesn’t mean they get the whole thing.
The best part is when they get mad for coming too close or honking the horn. If they want a road rage duel, I’ll take four wheels over two anytime. And I’m usually so irritated by the it’s-my-right-and-I’m-going-to-take-advantage arrogance, all it would take is one dirty look to tug on the steering wheel and turn them into a speed bump.
Another thing: what’s with the little outfits? Are you even allowed to ride a bike without wearing those tight-fitting logo shirts and Spandex shorts? I can understand the padded shorts; sit on one of those seats for more than 10 minutes and it feels like you’ve been kicked in the crotch nonstop for two days. Still, it seems like it’d make more sense to create a better bike seat rather than throw on a pair of Depends. As for the shirts, do cyclists really think anyone believes they’re part of a racing team just because they’re wearing a formfitting shirt covered in little decals? I think for our next flag football game I’m going to break out a full Oakland Raiders uniform, see if anyone will think I’m a professional football player.
Other than all of that, I love cycling.
John Marshall is asap’s sports reporter, based in Denver.
Want to comment? Sound off at mailto:soundoffasapap.org.
Everything this guy mentions in his article is illegal and punishable…Laws where I am at:
Motorists may not do anything, even something that otherwise appears to be legal, that endangers a bicyclist, pedestrian, or other motorist. Safety, not speed, is the highest consideration in traffic law. • Bicycles and motorized bicycles may ride on any street except travel lanes of interstate highways or where prevented by local law. • Bicyclists have the same rules, rights and responsibilities as other drivers. For example, bicyclists must stop at stop signs, signal turns, and drive on the right-hand side of the road. • This means that motorists must treat bicycles as any other vehicle. For instance, do not pull out in front of a moving bicyclist, cut a bicyclist off, or pass a bicyclist unsafely. • When traveling slower than traffic, bicyclists generally move to the right of the travel lanes, just as other slow moving vehicles do. But do not expect bicyclists to hug the curb, dodge in and out between parked cars, or ride on a debris-covered shoulder. Bicycling that way is not safe, and the law requires bicyclists to ride safely. • If the lane is too narrow to safely share between a bicycle and a motor vehicle, the bicycle may move towards the center of the lane so as to discourage motor vehicles from dangerously squeezing past in the lane. If you see a bicyclist riding in the middle of the lane in this way, the bicyclist is following the law. Slow and wait behind the bicyclist until it is safe to move into the next lane to pass. • Bicyclists may sometimes ride the shoulder of the road when available. But they are *not *required by law to do so. Obstacles in the shoulder such as glass, debris, or rough pavement may not be obvious to the motorist but may be very dangerous to the bicyclist. • Bicycle lanes may not be blocked or used for parking. Motorists must signal and yield to any bicyclists in the lane before crossing a bicycle lane. As with shoulders, bicyclists may leave the bike lane for any number of reasons, including debris, obstacles, or to prepare for
a turn.
“The operator of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction . . . shall leave a safe distance when passing the bicycle, and shall maintain clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle.” Passing unsafely is a traffic offense punishable by driver license points, fines, and even jail, if a collision results. • “The law says who must yield the right-of-way; it does not give anyone the right-of-way. You must do everything you can to prevent striking a pedestrian or another vehicle, regardless of the
circumstances.”
Thank you for the synopsis of traffic law in your area. What exactly do you think this guy did that was illegal? I don’t think “wanting” to turn a couple of cyclists into road pizza is an actionable crime, and I’m pretty sure making fun of spandex isn’t, either.
As for the point he has:
<> I came upon a pair of cyclists riding shoulder to shoulder in my lane, chatting away, ignoring the fact that there was an SUV bearing down on them. Cars were coming from the other direction, so I had no choice but to tool along behind them at 10 mph
*<> *
*blocking lanes of traffic as they crawl up the side of a mountain at 5 mph as logging trucks whiz by. * <>
*And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to slam on the brakes after coming around a corner and seeing a group of cyclists putzing along, riding two or three wide instead of single file. Would it be too hard to ride single file instead of taking up the entire lane? Just because they have a right to part of the road doesn’t mean they get the whole thing. *
**
What’s the law in your area about that? And more, what does common sense and common courtesy say about it?
Fifty bucks says that this guy is a fat slob who used to play highschool footbal and consider it the greatest time of his life (I’am also guessing with a very small penis and a severe case if ED). What a cock sucker.
Still I’m always amazed at how people think that it is a major inconvienence for them to slow down for 30sec to wait to pass a cyclist. Where is the fire people?
this is too obsured to even formulate a thought out response.
Fifty bucks says that this guy is a fat slob who used to play highschool footbal and consider it the greatest time of his life (I’am also guessing with a very small penis and a severe case if ED). What a cock sucker.
My fifty bucks says that this guy might just be a cyclist himself, and is taking a tongue-in-cheek jab at some of the poor practices cyclists sometimes engage in (riding three-abreast on blind curves, etc.) Perhaps his tone is a hair sharp if that’s the approach he really is taking.
So with that I think riders need to ride single file on two lane roads and so avoid blocking traffic. I know I always do. It’d be hard explaining to my wife I wont be able to walk ever again because ‘I had the right to take up the entire lane’ and that mean person hit me going over a blind turn.
I of course do not agree with the notion people can take their anger out on each other, but that is an entirely different problem. I think this writer is getting people thinking about their actions, not calling drivers to hit cyclists whenever they get a foot from the white line.