Bicyclist rant

Timbeck2 said:
Landscaper type? So you're a bicyclist and an elitist as well. ;)
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Not really, it's happened so many times, guys with t shirts like "Rod's lawn service" , or "property maintenance" or "Larry's home and garden", probably others staring too, but they seem discrete about it.
 
PaulS said:
But there is one factor that screws up even the best drivers, that's using the phone on the internet while driving. My biggest fear is being run down by one of these morons. You are a moron if you do this and no, not everyone does it.
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Most of the local bicycle fatals seem to involve daytime drunk drivers. I am surprised how few bicyclists get run over otherwise.

I do most of my bicycling on rail trails. I just don't trust car drivers enough with my life.
 
PaulS said:
Not really, it's happened so many times, guys with t shirts like "Rod's lawn service" , or "property maintenance" or "Larry's home and garden", probably others staring too, but they seem discrete about it.
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Go to a different convenience store. The world needs ditch diggers too.

BTW - I'm not offended man, I'm just yankin' yer chain. ;)
 
Timbeck2 said:
98% is still an A. :)
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You missed the part about cell phones, I'm generally a no regulation guy, but they should force the phone companies to stop cell phones from functioning when they are moving over 10 mph. And I don't care about passengers, the phone companies would figure out a solution to drivers texting and using the internet pretty damn quick if that happened.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Depends. I knew some people who were hardcore bicyclists. They hated motorcycles, and viewed cars as inconvenient ways to get around. So they definitely had the smug sense of superiority, and complained about any gasoline burning (and especially diesel burning) vehicles that passed them.

Me, I enjoy riding for exercise, not so much the scenery. Honestly I enjoy indoor biking as much if not more. If I’m biking outdoors I prefer trails/paths where I’m not getting in anyone’s way and vice versa.
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I love burning gasoline and internal combustion engines.
 
This thread is timely. I picked up my new bicycle at the store yesterday. I have also been annoyed by bicyclists and I couldn’t imagine riding in the city. I didn’t like riding on the two lane country roads with very little space to the right of the ‘fog line’ so I stuck to the gravel roads in subdivisions. I gave my old bicycle to a friend before I moved. But now I see how it’s probably easier to ride in the city, at least this one. Lots of bike routes, lanes and whole streets without cars.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Go to a different convenience store. The world needs ditch diggers too.

BTW - I'm not offended man, I'm just yankin' yer chain. ;)
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Ditch diggers seem pretty laid back though, probably those huge union wages and the fact that the shovels are mostly gone in place of air conditioned excavators, pretty much an elite job now.

I know you're just having fun.
 
Timbeck2 said:
I typed out the same question but then thought that I'd played the smart ass too much in this thread already.

passing the baton
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At least I capitalize the first letter of the first word in my sentences..... ;)
 
Timbeck2 said:
"passing the baton" isn't a complete sentence because there is no subject, so :p.
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Doesn't matter. See what I did there? But I'm an engineer not an English major, so you're probably correct.
 
It's starting to feel like it'll be a long wait until @Mtns2Skies gets his airplane back...:D

And @Mtns2SkiesBetterHalf must have extraordinary patience, and perhaps some coping strategies to share with us?
Just a thought...
 
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PaulS said:
Doesn't matter. See what I did there? But I'm an engineer not an English major, so you're probably correct.
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How's the train business these days? Do they really make you wear that funny lookin' hat?
 
So much for passing the baton... And I, too, was going to type the "how do you burn an internal combustion engine" question but refrained for the same reason. Should probably just hop on my bike and go for a ride. Do these shorts make my butt look big?
 
Hehehehe. Hard to resist low hanging fruit and high-falootin' attitudes...;}
 
Bicycle shorts, shirts, shoes and helmets are purely functional. Clothing that wicks sweat away, shoes that click into locking pedals, helmets that protect the skull etc. are neccessarily components to a safe, comfortable ride. How would you like to ride from Orange County to San Diego wearing jeans, flip-flops, t-shirt and no helmet? Though the "uniform" may look dorky, it's the way to go when your biking for serious mileage.
 
Brad Smith said:
Bicycle shorts, shifts, shoes and helmets are purely functional. Clothing that wicks sweat away, shoes that click into locking pedals, helmets that protect the skull etc. are neccessarily components to a safe, comfortable ride. How would you like to ride from Orange County to San Diego wearing jeans, flip-flops, t-shirt and no helmet? Though the "uniform" may look dorky, it's the way to go when your biking for serious mileage.
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What's a shift?
 
On the one hand, I think on-road bicycling is about the most hazardous activity I partake in.

On the other hand, I’ve been riding almost 60 years on the road.

In that time...

I had one car misjudge and lightly graze my left calf. Not even a mark.

I had a Big Gulp thrown at me once - missed.

Had a dog run into my front wheel and I hit the road at maybe 15 mph. Minor road rash.

Missed a shift on a hill and toppled head-first into a guardrail. Glad I was wearing a helmet.

And that’s about it. I try to minimize the risk and not be a jerk. At 70, I know my balance and reflexes are not what they once were, but I try to take that into account. Hope I’ve got at least another 10 or 20 years of riding left!
 
Brad Smith said:
...How would you like to ride from Orange County to San Diego wearing jeans, flip-flops, t-shirt and no helmet? Though the "uniform" may look dorky, it's the way to go when your biking for serious mileage.
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Time passes and things change.
But 50 years ago this summer I got my second 10-speed, a Gitane made in France. Rode that thing more than 2000 miles in the then customary teen-age costume of Levi's, tees, no helmet and Adidas in the toe clips.
Not recommended these days, but it can be done.
 
My first “10 speed” was also a Gitane. Early 1960’s. Rode it all over Washington, D.C. and surroundings.

I still have a map that I plotted the roads I cycled on!

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Timbeck2 said:
Anyone mentioned the fact that when off the bike, their spadex shorts and rear view helmets make them look like dorks?
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I leave my mirror on because it takes more time for me to remove and replace it on my glasses than it does to take a dump and buy a Gatorade.

I don’t wear spandex (you’re welcome) but I imagine those folks leave that on for other reasons.
 
PaulS said:
You missed the part about cell phones, I'm generally a no regulation guy, but they should force the phone companies to stop cell phones from functioning when they are moving over 10 mph. And I don't care about passengers, the phone companies would figure out a solution to drivers texting and using the internet pretty damn quick if that happened.
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yeah, because until cellphones were invented, there were never any accidents caused by distracted drivers.:rolleyes:
 
During the cross-country road-trips I took with my family for vacations as a kid, I have seen so many distracted drivers. People reading newspapers, writing on clipboards propped against their steering wheels, applying make-up/hair brushing and styling, playing with their dogs, eyes in the back of the car instead of on the road, fighting with their passengers (not even just verbally...), even reading books and watching movies. It amazes me how cavalier people are about driving.
 
MuseChaser said:
Just having fun with word play... "LOW" fruit, "HIGH"-falootin'. Didn't mean anything AT ALL personal by it.. woof. Why would you even think that was aimed at you? It wasn't aimed at anyone... and calling me a "dick" was totally uncalled for.
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Yes it was, sorry, I got triggered, I'll delete it.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I am in a remote, scenic area with hills and moderately high altitude. The road racers like both.
So two weekends a year they pretty much take over the highways and town’s main street.
(Like most things in small towns, this causes a holy war - this one between pro bike and anti bike factions.)
So the road racers are well, imagine beyond-the-craziest of anything you’ve seen - their desire to win is greater than any of the normal human desires; stronger than, for example, the combined desires of air/water/food/reproduction/protection & preservation of Their Own Life!!
I have seen some insanely risky behavior coming down the hills and some horrible wrecks; it’s like Isle of Man TT for cyclists.
Even when they are warming up slow, before races; the locals know they Own The Road, don’t think of challenging them. 4 abreast on a flat 70mph highway? They won’t even notice you.
Honey Badgers on bicycles.
Illegal for motorcycles to lane-share but these guys lane block.
All the while there is a nice ‘bicycle lane’ right there built for them on the road edge.
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If you're talking about Cyclefest and Hammerfest, I used to participate in those back in my "serious" cycling days. It was mostly Permian Basin-area cyclists back then. The mountains are very challenging and great fun for cycling. I never had the juevos to descend at 70 mph like some of those hardcore racers. I think the fastest I ever went was about 55, and that was fast enough! I was a middle-of-the-pack rider, which was fine by me.

Yeah, the cyclists own the roads those weekends, but at least it's only two weekends a year.
 
Oddly enough, those bicyclists that ride in packs in their race bicycles generally don't acknowledge me when I ride my bike. But then again, I also beat them off the line without pedaling... :p

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I bicycled to work for a few years. The guys who ignored all the laws always annoyed me too. I always wore mountain bike shorts(look like normal shorts) because I didn't want to be arrested for crimes against humanity in road shorts. My current location I've biked to the airport a couple times(~2 miles) and that's about as far as I'd risk with the tourist drivers out here.
 
Everskyward said:
But now I see how it’s probably easier to ride in the city, at least this one. Lots of bike routes, lanes and whole streets without cars.
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Yes; San Francisco is a wonderful city for cycling. On thoroughfares where there aren't protected bike lanes there are sharrows. I lived on Collingwood in the Castro for 22 years and cycled everywhere. As part of preparing for AIDS/LifeCycle every year I spent nearly every spring weekend riding across the bridge to get in some serious climbing in the Marin Headlands.
 
Stan Cooper said:
On thoroughfares where there aren't protected bike lanes there are sharrows.
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I have learned two expressions from this thread, 'fog lines' and 'sharrows'. I know what the symbol for a sharrow is, and what it means, but I had never heard the term before. I live on a street with sharrows...
 
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