I love it what they have a path, and ride right on the white line, when you toot your horn to let them know you are there they flick you off. Um... one word, splat if a car hits you, bad idea. Or when there are two or three wide so they go outside the lane, and I have never seen any of these guys stop at a stop sign, it is like, Hey we have the same rights as a car....until we feel like being pedestrians so look out.

 

Then this belongs to you

 

I race bikes and cars (I'm really competitive). A lot of motorists honk their horns and get pissed at bike riders, for example when I rode last Friday; I must have got honked at 10 times.

THINGS MOTORISTS DON'T UNDERSTAND, AND DON'T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION:

-Sometimes there are NO bikes lanes available; hence the bike rider has to ride on the street. No I am not going to ride on the sidewalk going 40mph on my bike. It is dangerous for a bike rider to be on the sidewalk where pedestrians walk and where there are lots of lamp and sign posts located. Plus I have seen police officers site cyclists for riding on the sidewalk, even though there was no bike trail.

-Even when there are bike lanes, a cyclist may be caught riding in the street. Why you ask? There are many reasons, there may be glass or debris in the bike lane, there could be pot holes or bumps in the road. <--- GOD I WISH PEOPLE WOULD UNDERSTAND THIS, INSTEAD OF HONKING LIKE AN @$$

Motorists who honk their horns at bike riders are immature and cocky.

 

I can understand when there is no bike lane for cyclists to use the street. However in my instance there is a bike lane and also a jogging path completely seperated. And the bike lane is not filled with cyclists. I still do not understand this. I myself have used the bike lane before and its perfect asphalt for riding the bike and its as wide as a street. No reason to be on the street when there is a bike lane that is open and free from any obstacles. I don't understand it still why they do not use this. People may flame me for my actions but I do not want to be involved in a n accident either by hitting another car because of the cyclists or even worst hitting the cyclists. I always look at crosswalks for pedestrians and other cyclists but a guy riding his bike in the street as if he was a car and not paying attention to motorists.

 

Have you ever tried riding a bicycle at 25-40 mph on a bike path? Bike lanes are better, but all of the ones that I have ridden on in Miami are littered with glass, gravel and other debris. Would you drive your car on a road that guaranteed a flat tire whenever you used it? It's unfortunate that so many citizens are pigs and can't dispose of refuse properly, and to blame the cyclist for not wanting to ride in the bike lane means that you don't fully understand the situation.

As others have stated, what you did was wrong. Bicyclists have the right to use the roadway just as much as you. What I don't understand is why so many motorists haven't had to learn this basic rule of the road.

Be glad that you didn't try to pull this stunt on any number of cyclists that I have ridden with in Miami. These include national caliber triathletes, body builders, Miami-Dade and Florida State police officers, and fire fighters. They might have had a much more severe response than just giving you the finger. Sure, cyclists can be inconsiderate, just like the numerous idiots that drive around south Florida in motor vehicles, but that doesn't justify inconsiderate and unsafe behavior on your part.

 

Maybe someone in the pro-cyclist crowd can explain to me why 99 out of 100 cyclists I've seen on the road have utter disregard for traffic laws - running red lights & not stopping for stop signs? It pisses me off that cyclists want it both ways - "I have a right to be on the street" yet they don't EVER stop for traffic signals. I'll be more than happy to support cyclists on the road when they start acting like they should be there.

With that said, I want to make it clear that I would never purposely endanger a cyclist on the road and I think anyone who does is not smart.

 

I cringe everytime I see a cyclist breaking the laws. I don't think the 99/100 applies to the "professional" riders, you know the ones that wear a helmet, etc.

The only explanation I have is that cyclist have a better view of the road. It's more difficult to come to a complete stop. So I expect one of the "normal" things to do is slow but not completely stop at a stop sign if there is no opposing traffic. Kinda like many people do with their cars

BTW, Muz- our interstate highway system does not allow bicyclists (motor vehicles only).

 

When i used to ride more seriously in high school, I rode on the street all the time... usually racking up 20-40 miles a day on the road. I was hit two times by vehicles even though i wore a helmet, obeyed all trafic laws.
I was once turning left onto a busy street with an arrow and was hit by a construction van who was impatient and floored it comming off of a side street.

Anyone motorist who is going to get onto a bicyclist in the street for not following all safety rules needs to take a look at themselves and their fellow drivers.

Last rant.... read the damn drivers safety handbook. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean they don't have all the rights you do on the road.
I usually road with a group of riders and a the few times motorists tried to /run us over or purposely cut dangerously close etc.... were delt with accordingly if caught up to at stop light etc.. A fellow cyclist that rode with me was almost deadly with his bicycle pump. One motorist who was particularly inconsiderate throwing things at him and cussing him got his drivers side window shattered and pulled out of the vehicle. Same guy has also picked his bike up and used the big chain ring to redecorate someone's fenders.

Big message.. if you pick on cyclists on the road with your automobile... you are playing a deadly game. You may not be hurt but the cyclist is 100 percent unprotected from a collision with an automobile.... I have the scars to prove it.

 

Since we're both from NY, hope we meet one day. Feel free to pull your little finger trip then mate. I'll be autocrossing all over the NY/NJ region - Suzuka Blue 2002, custom plates.

It's typical for people with different activities or whatever to see things differently. Bicyclists usually see drivers as over aggressive idiots. Truth is a lot of cyclist aren't trying to obstruct traffic, and most drivers aren't willfully trying to hit them. But being part of both camps has made me more aware whether I'm riding or driving.

 

Cyclists have a right to the street. They should stay to the right of the street though. As for your actions. I agree. Very immature. You're very uninformed. Do you think cyclists don't have cars or something? You think you're showing him that you have a car and he's just on a bike? I have a bike the price of a turbo kit. And I have a car. I wouldn't be impressed with your 9000rpm. I'd laugh at you and hope you got valve float. Bikes have right to the road. They have no right on the sidewalks.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RoBD305
[B]Nothing seems to piss me off more than bicyclists that choose to ride their bikes on the street.