Just got back from my morning ride (on my road bike). Due to the weather there are more cyclists on the road these days. It doesn’t matter if they are on a road or tri-bike, the poor cycling and defensive riding skills are amazing. Riding three abreast while talking, blowing past stop and red signs and expecting the cars to stop (yelling at the drivers when they don’t), and more dangerous riding.
The worst I saw (this morning) was a guy blow past the stop sign, then on the other side of the road, hop on the crosswalk and ride left, and when the car started moving forward, to make a right in front of him, he yells at the driver. WTF? I would have testified on behalf of the driver if he’d gotten hit.
Next time someone posts on ST how they got hit by a car, the first thing I’ll think about is how poor their cycling/defensive riding skills are.
*The worst I saw (this morning) was a guy blow past the stop sign, then on the other side of the road, hop on the crosswalk and ride left, and when the car started moving forward, to make a right in front of him, he yells at the driver. WTF? I would have testified on behalf of the driver if he’d gotten hit. *
Yeah, it’s that time of year. Funny, I saw that move you describe above (turning left by blowing through the intersection first and then jump into the pedestrian crosswalk on the other side) for the first time one month ago. I remember wishing I was on a bike and heading in the same direction as him so we could have a little chat. Unfortunately I wasn’t, so I did the next best thing – I pointed my finger at him and “shot” him (think Clint Eastwood in Gran
Torino).
Seriously, I know from experience that some parts of the country and many roads are worse than others, but crap like that rarely happens to me. I know there are a lot of aggressive drivers and people who hate cyclists out there, but I know there are a LOT of really poor cyclists too. I can tell you that I’ve wanted to yell at more than one while behind the wheel of my car because they are so stupid.
And I’m not trying to say I’m some great cyclist, just incredibly defensive. I stop at signs and lights, specially when there are cars and let them go even when I have the right of way, stay to the far right, and always ride alone so I don’t have the road hugging hassles. My safety is number one priority.
Yes. You heard that… The cyclist slammed into me, not the other way around.
This was a 4 lane undivided road, and the left lane was stopped and turning left and not blocking the intersection. The right lane, which I was in was heading straight across. Traffic light is green through me, so I can see the intersection is dangerous, so I slow as I am approaching since a lot of pedestrian… It looks clear, I start to go through and WHAM
All of the sudden I had a bike in the side of my car and a kid face planted on my windshield.
The kid blew through the red light and did not even bother stopping and was weaving in between the stopped cars that had been turning.