Since most of the messages on this forum are (mostly justified) bitching about poor driving, allow me to offer this little counterpoint.
My girlfriend and a riding buddy and I went on a nice training ride in the Santa Cruz hills on Saturday, visiting local classics Old La Honda Rd. and Tunitas Creek. We were descending Kings Mtn. Rd. back into the Silicon Valley, and a middle-aged woman driving a BMW pulled out in front of us. Not enough to really cut us off, mind you, just enough to make us sit up and slow ourselves down with the air.
I was prepared to have to ride my brakes hard for the next few miles of the descent, or to risk a really unsafe passing maneuver, because ordinarily I can drop cars with ease on any descent. Well, I was mistaken. She didn’t drop me, but she took the lines very well, and while I had to corner a little more slowly than I would have on my own, she always gapped me when it straightened out, so I wasn’t held back. And she passed other cyclists very, very politely: her first reaction was to slow down, then make sure the opposite lane was clear, before she passed. Most people cross the double-yellow line as the first reaction, then swerve back over on top of the cyclists if someone’s coming the other way.
So, I just wanted to say to her: thanks. I wish more drivers (and cyclists!) were as polite as you.
I’m down in San Jose and ride a lot out in Almaden area. I’ve found most drivers to be quite curteous here as well. Before then I was in Corvallis, OR, which may be the bike friendliest area in the US. I was expecting a lot worse coming to SJ.
I think the vast majority of drivers are considerate of cyclists. After all, if a driver hits a cyclist, it’s not exactly convenient for them.
While certain parts of the country always have more “exceptions” to this rule, I think that more posts like yours do well to highlight the good side in all of us–cyclists and drivers alike.
I welcome you to ride in Metro DC - Northern Virginia drivers really piss me off with their unnecessarily super-close pass by. It’s like they are trying to show just how close they can get without actually hitting me.
Cool! Similar experience here in northern IL last week on my commute into work. I have to cross a bridge over the Tri-State Tollway which is under construction and down to one lane - stoplights on both ends to let traffic through in both directions. It narrows down to the point where it’d be unsafe for a car to pass me on my bike, and it generally doesn’t happen. I typically pull into the middle of the lane at the stoplight and ‘claim my spot’ as if I’m a car rather than passing everyone on the right to get to the front of the line - seems to buy me some consideration from most of the drivers. Last week, I pull up to the red light and slide behind a blue minivan. When the light changes, I generally hit it hard so that it’s clear that I’m not just ‘toodling’ across the bridge. The minivan gets moving and then stops accelerating, letting a gap open up in front of it, and keeping me right behind. I initially thought they were just jerking me around, and then realized that the driver was motorpacing me across the bridge - much appreciated!
I’m frequently surprised by the drivers when I head south on the peninsula - mostly because they’re more patient and polite down that way than I expect. Had a slightly nervous moment today when I was being passed by a scruffy car with a scruffy driver, who pulled alongside me and rolled down the window. Turned out he just wanted to say “You was goin’ at a pretty good clip there - 35 miles an hour.” I thanked him, and told him that I appreciated the info, 'cause my computer has been on the fritz lately.
pretty much all ladies drive BMWs in woodside (or porsches or benz).
its been awhile since i lived in menlo park and rode up there, and i never experienced this, but isnt it pretty much hatfield vs mccoy these days? my wife used to ride her horse with the mounted patrol in woodside, and so i heard all the nasty stories from the local non-cycling folk up there.
that being said, i always felt much safer cycling up there then these rural NC highways i now spin around. in general, i think there is quite a different attitude towards cyclists (and pedestrians) from motorists on the west coast vs east coast.
That’s a fun route. I usually bomb it and end up catching the car in front and then ending up have to brake for them. It’s a nice way to finish off the climbs.
Not to deman your nice driver, but did you expect her to do anything else? It’s a one-lane road with only a narrow shoulder, so she’s not going to pull over for you to pass.
I agree that most drivers are considerate. I’ll tell you though… today I was riding and one of those side dump big ass tractor trailers passed me so close I think I could feel the metal brush my arm. There was a completely open road in the other lane and he had a narrower road and light ahead that he would have needed to slow down for anyway but none the less I could hear him gassing it. Got the heart rate up there for sure. Ugggh I wouldn’t have had a chance to survive at the excessive speed he was pushing.
Oh yes, Woodside has quite a reputation for being antagonistic toward cyclists. I toe the line with respect to the law there, as I know people who’ve gotten tickets for riding with an iPhone, for riding in the lane rather than on the shoulder, and for blowing stop signs. 2 of those are actual infractions, while one clearly is not. While it’s possible to challenge bogus infractions, it’s still a hassle. So, with the reputation Woodside has, this was a pleasant surprise.
Not to deman your nice driver, but did you expect her to do anything else? It’s a one-lane road with only a narrow shoulder, so she’s not going to pull over for you to pass.
Well, I was surprised that she could drive quickly through the turns, quickly enough that I wasn’t riding brake the whole way down, and that she could do so while holding her line, and while acting considerately toward cyclists. That last one was the most pleasant surprise: she braked as the first reaction to a cyclist in the lane, then waited until she was certain the opposite lane was clear before passing. That’s what she should have done, of course, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it. Yay safe drivers
