Bicycles on the road

A reasonable response. Much appreciated.

Exactly. I cannot understand what is wrong with going 3 wide on 99.9% of roadways. There should be room for a bicycle riding on the white line, the car passing them hugging the center line, with even a dump truck going the opposite direction.

Problems only occur when ass hattery ensues: car passing too aggressively, bicycle trying to "claim" the lane, or something like that.

BTW: I had an interaction with a road bicyclist that went pretty well this morning. I was driving down the mountain on a 35 mph 2-lane road. I cam upon a solo bicyclist just as we came to the steep downhill section. I started to get irritated that he "claimed" the lane, but before I could even begin to pass in the oncoming lane, I realized he was doing 40 mph. OK, now he is moving with the flow of traffic, and all is well. As we get down to the level section, he begins to slow down. At about 30-35 mph, he moves over to the white line and I slip by. He did not even have mirrors, but he knew I was there. It was all perfect, and nobody got mad.

The only time I have ever witnessed a "line of cars" stacked up behind cyclists is during a cycling event such as HHH, organized centuries, charity rides, road races, et al. Typically these events are planned well in advance of the actual date and ample notification is given to local road users that such an event will be occurring and to adjust speed, re-route and take adequate precautions not to harm others. Some of these events and races are even escorted by local law enforcement as I've had to hire our local Sheriff's deputies more than a few times for races my team has put on.

More often than not, that line of cars is not stacked up solely because of the cyclists. I'm not saying it doesn't happen as there are always bad apples in every bunch but there is always that one driver that just can't muster up the intestinal fortitude to make a safe and clean pass with open road or when waved around because the cyclists have clear line-of-sight before the motorist. This, in turn, has a multiplying effect on any drivers that approach from behind.

To answer your other question; yes, I think of others all the time when I'm on the bike. I'm thinking to myself how many are truly paying attention to their driving and how many are distracted by the plethora of electronic gadgets at their disposal.

My primary objective though, when riding, is to do so safely. That does mean, on occasion, that I must exhibit behavior that is defensive to my safety but considered offensive to motorists. This may include holding my line a bit wider in the lane through a blind curve or over a blind hill. While this action may frustrate a motorist wishing to pass, it primarily serves to enhance my margin of safety. So long as I control my lane, approaching motorists will, more often than not, give more pause to their actions and take just a few seconds longer to process the scenario. Very often this means they will wait until a clear sight line is available before making the pass but there are always a few that exhibit wanton disregard for their safety, the safety of the cyclist and that of any approaching motorist in the other lane.

I've also stated numerous times that, if I consider myself to be an impediment, I will move over or single up if two abreast with another cyclist. It's doubtful that I'm going to completely exit the roadway unless it is an egregiously narrow road. The same holds true if my team is out on the roads riding in formation. But I will say that, when large groups of cyclists decide to go single file and a motorist attempts a pass and another car suddenly appears in the oncoming lane, there is nowhere for the passing car to safely maneuver without endangering multiple lives. 3000+ pounds of vehicle is a lot of mass and most drivers are ignorant of just how much destructive power is contained within that much mass should the situation go pear-shaped.

I am, by no means a militant cyclist but I will, in every single instance, exhibit such behavior that I deem necessary to ensure my safety while riding.

That strikes a chord with me. In my younger days, I could get down a mountain much faster than the average cager. When I say "mountain", I talking about Cadillac Mountain outside of Bar Harbor, Newfound Gap & Clingman's Dome in NC/TN, Brasstown Bald in GA, etc.

In those cases, I took up the lane and even pass cars in tight, left-hand turns.

Even now, on certain foothills here in Phoenix, I'll take the lane. Why? Man, it takes only a rock or a flat to put me in a world of hurt and in that case, I want the room to maneuver. These are all two lanes each way and traffic is never heavy and I've never had a car "complain". If I'm going 40-45, they're barely passing me.

That is what I figured too. If the rider is keeping up with traffic, or nearly so, riding the white line becomes increasingly dangerous.

Distraction. A sadly popular and poor method of debating. We don't really care that you "like The Tour". I'll bet that ride impedes other motorists, perhaps even the training of said riders. Those rides can block entire roadways, causing traffic jams and more. Yet... you drone on about how cyclists "impede" the flow of traffic and should "get out of the way" if they are slower? You really can't have both.

No taste for lane splitting at 45mph on two square inches of contact patch?


Absolutely, I am in the middle of the lane, when I'm running at or above the posted speed limit.

Each situation is slightly different and I don't think there is a canned answer for this. For roads of sufficient width with edges in good condition and some sort of run off area, this almost sounds reasonable, but it doesn't leave any room for error. If you are traveling three abreast and a groundhog runs out of the ditch and gets under the bicycle tire, someone may end up dead aside from the groundhog. If the road is closer to 1.5 lanes than 2, has potholes, a guard rail tight against the road edge, a steep drop off near the road edge... the game changes even more. In my mind, you can't put a rule on paper and have it work perfectly for every situation. Then again, if we were all patient, courteous and polite road users, we wouldn't need traffic laws.

I don't follow racing. Doesn't do anything for me. What bearing would that have on my commute or any other ride?

So... not really answering about how that, in any possible way, has anything to do with bicycles on a roadway or your feelings toward them? I take it that you don't really have an answer or just cannot admit that you seem to find anything slower than you to "impede". Catweasel seemed to come up with a decent and well worded response. How about you?

Ridge and I ride similarly.

If you go back and re-read pretty much any of my posts, you'll see that I'm very easy to get around IF ITS SAFE to do so.

I'll even help by waving you on (or motioning you to stop if it isn't safe) when I can see around/over the obstruction.

...but I'm sure glad the girl in the econobox could see thru the hill as she passed me on the other side of the roadway over the crest of a hill.

Pretty much every ride, there's at least one idiot in a car doing something stupid: passing in the wrong spot, passing too closely, and not passing in good spots being the biggest issues.

...so I tend to ride more assertively in my lane positioning to alleviate some of the decision-making stress that some of these folks must be feeling. Seems to work. Been doing this 20+ years now.

Some of y'all need to come riding with me. I have 7 bikes in the garage. I'll lend you one. I'll buy you some shorts and set you up so you can come experience riding with your fellow road-users. THEN tell me how I'm supposed to ride.

In the years I've been making this request, I've had a grand total of ZERO people take me up on it. Who's gonna be the first?

M

I'm in.

sweet!

Whenya gonna come visit? Hint: wait till Sept when the humidity finally goes away. (think monsoon season, but there's no monsoon)

M

Louis Garneau Mondo Evo Bibs, and I'm in too! (Newb here, terrible first post, but I'm broke and need new shorts)

Try Voler gear. They make great stuff and based here in California.

I've wanted to hook up with you for a ride since you lived in Flagstaff. Maybe it will happen someday, I need a road trip.

How bout we plan a 'training camp' next winter? Say end of Jan or beginning of Feb?

Y'all know that story that makes its rounds about a guy catching a Hardley going dowhill? Guess who did just that today. I could've passed him a few times, but in the interest of letting him have a sliver of his pride, I stayed behind him.

As the road leveled and straighted out, he ROARed off into the distance.

...and not ONCE did he offer to ride as far right as practicable to let faster traffic by!

M

Link



"Life is filled with people who sometimes could use a beating. But too few of them ever get it. Here’s a story where it seems it happened. It’s a story about the uneasy co-existence between bikes and cars on Atlanta’s crowded roads. But this time, the tables got turned on the alleged bully.

Mike Smith is health care consultant who works with insurance companies. To burn off the stress and mind-numbing tedium that can sometimes come with that job, Smith likes to bike.

On Wednesday, the 47-year-old father of two rode from his Dunwoody home to hook up with a group of like-minded cyclists in the Vinings area for an evening group ride. These cyclists are a serious lot who pedal long distances on expensive rides wearing those tight little biking pants. But don’t hold that against them, they seem like nice enough fellows.

On his way home from the long ride, Smith was traversing a scenic and fancy stretch of Northside Drive in Sandy Springs just inside I-285 when, in his words, he got “buzzed” by a behemoth pickup truck. “Buzzed” in the parlance of guys with tight biking pants means the vehicle passed them going too fast and too close. Smith estimates it was less than a foot.

Post-buzz, Smith said, the truck stopped and an angry 6-foot-2, 210-pound fellow jumped out fuming and sputtering and cursing. The police report said the man promised that he was “going to #@&! you up!” Smith also recalls the guy told him, “It’s a bad day to run into me.”

The situation left Smith terrified and disbelieving. Two days earlier in Atlanta, a man in a red SUV did a U-turn and ran over a cyclist after the two exchanged words. The cyclist in that case was still in intensive care Friday.

Smith said he did nothing to provoke the driver other than pedaling down the road.

At first, Smith tried to grab his phone and film the guy, because that has become the de facto human response to just about any event. However, there was no time, with a sputtering, angry motorist rushing towards him, so Smith grabbed his Colnago — that’s a fancy bike — and attempted to use it as a $10,000 shield.

He tossed the bike at the rushing driver, who by now had his hands up in a fighting position. The man slammed the bike to the ground and stomped it and then again turned his violent attentions toward Smith.

The man threw at least three punches into Smith’s head and body, the police report states.

“I’m backing up in retreat trying to get away,” Smith said, who had only been in one fight in his life.

The motorist threw another shot and missed. Smith (who is no little guy himself, maybe 6 feet and pushing 200 pounds) saw his spot and took it. He threw a straight left hand “square into his temple.” The physics involved with a straight punch into a rushing body create a reaction similar to a head-on collision. The man started falling as Smith delivered The Quietus, a second punch to make sure the man stayed put.

“He was down for like five minutes,” said Smith, with a hint of pride. He also grabbed the guy’s car keys to keep him from fleeing.

Police said the suspect had a scratch on his chin, “grass all over his back,” and told a story that “jumped all over the place and did not make any sense.”

It’s unclear whether this was because of the cans of beer he admitted drinking or Smith’s left hand, which was still swollen a bit as he reminisced Friday.

The 33-year-old Atlanta driver, who had a bad enough day without his name being printed here, was arrested and charged with simple battery and DUI. We can hope that he will cultivate a better attitude henceforth.

Dianne Thigpen, a passing motorist, watched the bizarre spectacle unfold. She called 911 and then went back to talk with Smith after things sorted themselves out.

“He was just defending himself,” said Thigpen, who sometimes thinks bicyclists irritate motorists by ignoring stop signs and street lights and putting everyone in danger. But, she thinks nothing of that sort happened in this case. In fact, all things point to Smith just heading home and minding his own business.

“He picked on the wrong guy,” Thigpen said. “Someone crazy like that can really hurt somebody. He was a pretty big guy. It was lucky he attacked a male with a big punch.”

On Friday, Smith was at home, still weirded out by his ordeal and getting ready to take his bike into the shop to see if the frame was damaged.

He, like several other cyclists I’ve interviewed this week, said getting buzzed or yelled at is nothing new. Sometimes, he said, “there’s not enough space for everybody. It creates conflict.”

But there is something motorists should remember: If you see a nerdy looking guy with tight pants and glasses riding a white Colnago, don’t mess with him! He has a helluva left hand."

always good to hear stories of thugs massively failing in their victim selection process.

well done, Mr. Smith.

+1

m