Yeah, I get the argument that bikes should be allowed on the roads with cars. But MAN, how annoying is it to come upon one of these slow bikers in your lane? Part of me thinks many of them are selfish and can afford to drive a car to work, but they choose not to in order to be healthy or something. This isn't Saigon, where everybody rides bikes. It's Houston Texas. Either drive a car or work from home.
You have to register your bike with the city?! I pretty much stick to the sidewalks, as I don't have a helmet. I'm not about to ride on a busy street without one. And honestly it doesn't bother me one bit if a biker's on the road. Usually you can get around them without changing lanes if they're close enough to the curb. Plus, they are plenty more incompetent drivers that are deserving of my rage.
The only time I get irritated with bikers on the road is when they don't hold their spot at a red light and you have to keep passing them over and over.
that pisses me off too. what i dont get is all the people who act like they are training for the tour de france and ride along the highways where cars are doing 60-70. its very common in austin, mainly along loop 360, but plenty of FM roads as well. people can do what they want, but it seems dangerous to the point of just being stupid. i wont ride on roads where cars are going over 35 and even then im not really comfortable.
Again this is not about who's right or who's wrong. Its common sense. Every situation is going to be different. Everywhere I lived the sidewalks are nearly deserted, but of course, if its moderately used, riding a bike would not be a good idea. Its the arrogance of the bike rider who feels they have a right on the road that ticks me off. Its not that they hold up traffic or get in the way, but my conscience that I must deal with in the event I should ever hit one.
I was in an accident with a biker once. I was waiting at an red light a little past the line (I was going turn right, and scooted up to see the traffic coming from my left), when a biker coming from the sidewalk just plowed into me. I'm not really sure who's fault it was, since I was technically in the intersection, but neither of us reported it, so no harm done. Aside from a dent on my car, and a really embarrassed biker. At least he had a helmet on. Moral of the story: Bikers should either stay on the road and follow traffic rules, or watch where they're going. Preferably both.
Since the 1950s, many of you have been spoiled by cheap oil prices to have the mindset shown by certain posters against cyclists. Gas prices need to hit $40/gal for y'all to get a reality check. Few of you can absorb the higher fuel costs, and the rest of y'all will sing a different tune. Yes, I have cars, but my commute to work is less than 4 miles, and I want to stay healthy whilst keeping my carbon footprint to a minimum. I leave room when possible for cars in the first lane to pass me by easily, but sometimes debris, pot holes, or whatever force me to drift to the center. Luckily for me, most of my commute is on Allen Parkway. If you want cyclists to get off the roads, vote people into office that will make dedicated bike lanes like in Boulder or San Francisco.
Yeah because we all want to pay higher taxes to do this, while there are still sidewalks they can ride on. You're probably a homosexual/liberal/democrat, nevermind.
I've said this before, but apparently people aren't listening, so here goes, one more time. You are more likely to be involved in a collison with a car while riding on the sidewalk than on the road, regardless of neighborhood. So stop being an arrogant douchelord and acting like you own the road, cyclists have just as much right to that space as you do, and no one should have to endanger their lives to stroke your ego and give you false peace of mind.
How do you guys that bike a lot on the roads where there are no bike lanes handle stop signs and red lights? Do you establish your place in the line of cars and wait your turn, or do you pass up everyone on the right and essentially go to the head of the line? What is the law/ordinance in that case?
a) The cost of paving a dirt path like the bayou is a small fraction of what it is to (re)pave city streets. Plus, the maintenance cost is next to nothing since the wear on those paths by bicycles is nothing compared to what auto traffic produces. Finally, every person that opts to commute on a bike is one less car on the road making life better for all involved. No one wants to commute on the streets of Houston and have a bullseye on their back. But put in more corridors like you have with the Braes Bayou and you'll see an uptick. b) Road Bikes and sidewalks don't mix. Dear Sidewalk Crusaders: take a simple challenge - get on a road bike (not a huffy, not a mountain bike, but a road bike), pick a direction, and ride 9 miles out using only the sidewalks. Oh, and do it during the workweek and in under an hour. Once you've done that, feel free to chime in about how cyclists should be riding on the sidewalks, hopping on and off curbs, watching out at every driveway, getting cut off constantly, dealing with cracked and jutted out sidewalks, pedestrians, and everything else. I'm sorry, but every single one of you pushing this nonsense while having Z-E-R-O clue of the cyclists perspective is pathetic and ignorant. I hear you that it's an annoyance when a cyclist is in your lane. I have the same "dammit" reaction (same as missing a light, granny drivers, etc). But jesus christ, get over yourself. It costs you at most 2 minutes out of your life, all the while in a comfortable seat, air conditioned, listening to your iPod of the stereo system. GET OVER YOURSELF.
IIRC, they aren't allowed on the road OR sidewalks in Britain. In most states, they are allowed on sidewalks, bike paths, and low speed streets (less than 20-30 mph) http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/segway_laws.html Road bikes are generally faster than Segways.
As far as the law goes, I'll keep it simple - every time 99.9% of drivers go some where, they casually break the law several times over. How many of you, honestly, keep it at the speed limit on the surface streets? How many of you come to full stops before making a right turn when there's a "window" as you're getting to the intersection? All the time I get illegally cut off because unprotected left turners have a window between oncoming traffic. All the time cut off by right turners yakking on a cell, only looking left for on oncoming traffic, and swinging their turn without pausing. I can't speak for all cyclists, but I and most of them take care not to infringe on drviers right of way. I've also got to balance the fact that a crap ton of drivers out there have a "they don't count" attitude toward cyclists and there are plenty of crowded intersections where I will never be able to cross because of unprotected left/right turners cutting off my right of way. We represent 30 seconds of annoyance to you. That's it. If you were ever on a bike you'd understand that cars are the true assholes of the road. Heck, you should understand that now! I challenge, for one week. Keep track of how many times a driver pisses you off on the road. Keep a separate log for bikers pissing you off. I dare you to do that and be honest.
Bicyclists who force themselves into rush hour traffic on roads with 45-55+ MPH seem to be out there looking for confrontations and/or negative attention. We need minimum speed limit laws.
