How I feel about bikers haha

[Lumber_Jack]

I'm done with this.

Good

[Smith]

As a former cyclist and current motorcyclist I think it bears rembering that those who posses the greatest power have the greater responsibility to control it. I see FAR too many people who forget in the isolated atomosphere of their cage that they are essentially sitting behind the wheel of a 2500+ lbs missle traveling at incredible speeds.

Let's see who bears the most responsibility .... the guy who will dent a car (bicylclist/motorcycle) if he hits it and will more than likely be severly injured, even at low speeds, or the cager who will get out and whine about the little dent that was left.

I've been hit once and had to dodge a great many people driving on our fair roadways and it never cease to amaze me that the people who nearly hit me usually start hollering at me for being in their "way".

[Curiousgb]

In addition to lack of common courtesy and inability to observe traffic laws, apparently some (notice I didn't say all) bicyclists have no sense of humor either.

I have a marvelous sense of humor. But it becomes dulled from being hit with a mirror, yelled at, spit on, food thrown, cigarettes flicked at me, being told to ride on the side "walk", the list goes on add nauseum. That might explain why bikers might be tad defensive. It goes back to the walk (ride) in my shoes.

[Curiousgb]

deleted.

Edited October 11, 2011 by Curiousgb

[highshot]

ya'll gotta admit that video is funny.

[TLRMADE]

I don't believe in ever hitting somebody on purpose and never wish that upon anybody.

-There are roads that have a designated bicycle path

-There are hundreds of thousands of miles of parks to ride

-There are thousands if not millions of miles of sidewalks

I just will never understand why some wanna be Lance Armstrong has to ride in the middle of the highway when there's a sidewalk right there!

Just my two cents. But as I said before there is never a time I wish to inflict paint upon somebody.

Anybody seen the guy riding down Franklin rd with the "3 foot" flag sticking off of his bike?

Edited October 11, 2011 by TLRMADE

[TLRMADE]

ya'll gotta admit that video is funny.

Haha Hell yea!

[TLRMADE]

I guess we(bikers) should be grateful.

Amazing footage shows mountain biker ambushed by African antelope

This guy didn't read the whole thread. Welcome.....start at page 1!

[Smith]

I don't believe in ever hitting somebody on purpose and never wish that upon anybody.

-There are roads that have a designated bicycle path

-There are hundreds of thousands of miles of parks to ride

-There are thousands if not millions of miles of sidewalks

I just will never understand why some wanna be Lance Armstrong has to ride in the middle of the highway when there's a sidewalk right there!

Just my two cents. But as I said before there is never a time I wish to inflict paint upon somebody.

Anybody seen the guy riding down Franklin rd with the "3 foot" flag sticking off of his bike?

Ever ridden 50 miles at 25 miles an hour on a sidewalk with tires that are .5" wide and no suspension? Are you serious? BTW - all roads have "designated" bike paths. They are called roads.

[Lumber_Jack]

I don't believe in ever hitting somebody on purpose and never wish that upon anybody.

-There are roads that have a designated bicycle path

-There are hundreds o thousands o miles of parks to ride

-There are thousands if not millions of miles of sidewalks

I just will never understand why some wanna be Lance Armstrong has to ride in the middle of the highway when there's a sidewalk right there!

Just my two cents. But as I said before there is never a time I wish to inflict paint upon somebody.

Anybody seen the guy riding down Franklin rd with the "3 foot" flag sticking off of his bike?

First off bicycles are not allowed on sidewalks. Those are for pedestrians. Secondly you can't ride 15mph on a sidewalk, it's unsafe for both pedestrians and cyclists. 3 foot flag is obnoxious but he is just demonstrating the law. If all motorists obeyed the 3 foot law I'm sure he would take the flag off.

Obviously more people are against cyclists than for them, and I don't believe anyone here wanted to hit anyone on purpose. I just don't like the sentiment, and people use "they deserve it" way too often.

BTW, I thought the video was funny

[Lumber_Jack]

Obviously Smith rides a lot faster than me

[Smith]

Obviously Smith rides a lot faster than me

ONly becasue I have a engine now!

[Wingshooter]

I have no animosity towards a cyclist that is being safe and "sharing the road", but doing 20mph in the middle of a road with a 55mph limit can be a hazard. I don't believe that it is only the cyclist that is in danger if a car goes to pass and hits a car full of family head on. I remember hearing about that scenario when I was younger.

BTW, which "vehicles" have a right to be there and which ones have to be licensed? Are we talking motorized vs non-motorized? I'm just curious if I have a right to drive my ATV, kid's scooter, go-cart, Big Wheel, or just walk down the middle of the street. Not trying to be a smart butt, I'm just not sure if there a minimum speed at which a bike (or anything else without signs and flashers) has to be going if the speed limit is 55mph? I guess I have a right to do it, but I sure don't want to be dead-right. I will ride in a residential area without hesitation, but out on the roads I stay out of the way.

Edited October 11, 2011 by Batman

[TLRMADE]

BTW, which "vehicles" have a right to be there and which ones have to be licensed? Are we talking motorized vs non-motorized? I'm just curious if I have a right to drive my ATV, kid's scooter, go-cart, Big Wheel, or just walk down the middle of the street. Not trying to be a smart butt, I'm just not sure if there a minimum speed at which a bike (or anything else without signs and flashers) has to be going if the speed limit is 55mph? I guess I have a right to do it, but I sure don't want to be dead-right. I will ride in a residential area without hesitation, but out on the roads I stay out of the way.

I think you just have to wear a Livestrong shirt....lol jk

I really don't know?....I'm sure somebody knows?

[Daniel]

This topic again?

[Lumber_Jack]

If it's got a motor it has to be licensed. Not ATVs, go carts. Bikes, big wheels, yes. There is minimum speed just like there is no minimum for motor vehicles.

As a side if a car passes a cyclist on a double yellow and hits another car head on, that's not the cyclists fault. The cyclist should yield if there is not reasonable room to pass safely.

[TLRMADE]

The cyclist should yield if there is not reasonable room to pass safely.

I guess should is the main word?

[TGO David]

My problem with bicyclists is that they don't use their hand turn signals, they blow through red lights and stop signs, and they act like they constantly have right of way.

Don't do it in a city like Nashville, in the middle of the road, turning onto whatever road you want without stopping at the sign, without signaling, and right into vehicular traffic...

Nevertheless you have to admit that damn near every person on a bicycle acts like they can do whatever they want regardless of vehicle traffic.

Being an avid biker. I would have to say there are smart riders and not so smart riders. But I can't count the number of times I have been "targeted" by people in auto's, especially when I am obeying the same rules of the road; left turns are especially dangerous. It seems that auto's think all bikers are out to "disrupt" their commute, bikers also feel that most auto's are out to kill them.

I see far more people NOT on bicycles blatantly ignoring traffic laws putting real peoples lives in danger. Let's face it tue only person at risk is the bicyclist, but when you drive 85 on the interstate or turn right on red without stopping, no one posts a thread about that. It's the same old ***** different day with threads like this. Honestly how many cyclists do you pass in a month?

It seems pretty clear that that majority of the animosity toward cyclists stems from the actions or behavior of a minority of cyclists. My theory is that busy, distracted humans driving cars are far less likely to pay attention to the safe, courteous cyclist who poses no problem or inconvenience but that we quickly notice the cyclist who interrupts our drive along the roadway. When this happens, because we didn't notice the other cyclists who weren't a problem to us but only notice the few who are, we subconsciously make the generalization that all cyclists are problematic passive-aggressive rolling chicanes.

Not all of them are. I would wager that the vast majority are not.

And so what if a cyclist holds up a line of traffic due to having to pedal down the middle of a lane to avoid obstacles on the shoulder or where there simply is no shoulder? That guy has every same right to be on that roadway, unmolested, the same as the motorists do. Those of us in cars just need to simmer the hell down, stop being impatient, respect the safety of that person on the bicycle, and wait for the safest opportunity to pass them. I guarantee the guy on the bicycle wishes he wasn't out in front of your car slowing you down as much as you do, if not more so.

Really the whole thing seems to boil down to motorists not wanting to be inconvenienced by cyclists, and cyclists not wanting to be injured or killed by motorists. Safety of another human being should trump convenience any day.

As an aside, I can't help but wonder if any law enforcement agencies have ever thought to use undercover officers on bicycles to catch and ticket unruly motorists.

[bbeck]

The video wasawesome!

The comments not so much. I am an avid cyclist and ride as much as Ican. I do my best to follow all the associated laws.

I have been pushed off the road multiple times by cars trying to squeeze inbecause the delay of waiting to pass me is more important than my life to them.While riding my bike I have never thrown items at passing cars but I havethings thrown at me all the time.

Its real simple the ones that hate cyclist have never tried to enjoy cyclingand deal with the people that hate cyclist!

If you want to see how courteous some drivers are then let’s go for a ride upGallatin Road in to Nashville. I have ridden all over Middle Tennessee and Iride as the laws are written to the best of my ability. I ride on the road asall cyclists should. The laws tell me to be as far right as is safe and to notride more than 2 abreast. I know not everyone follows the rules but after yearsof being yelled at and things thrown at you it is hard to put car driver’sfeelings up front.

[Guest db99wj]

The area I live in is full of riders, have several friends that ride. I've had to wait/slow down/go around due to a rider in front of me, just a minor inconvenience (that is really to harsh of a word). I have much more issues with the teen, the woman, the man, who is driving down the road texting, or carrying on a conversation and not watching what they are doing. Oh, motorcycles, they are all evil, I had one guy weave in and out of traffic and cut me off, they all suck.

[mav]

Now I could be wrong, but I have always considered the animosity of some individuals towards cyclists nothing more than jealousy. They are jealous they they do not have the body to look good while wearing skin tight spandex instead of looking like 20 pounds of squeezed into a 5 pound bag.

[bbeck]

Now I could be wrong, but I have always considered the animosity of some individuals towards cyclists nothing more than jealousy. They are jealous they they do not have the body to look good while wearing skin tight spandex instead of looking like 20 pounds of squeezed into a 5 pound bag.

Not when they pass me! I am 320lbs 6 foot bear of a man on a road bike.

[daddyo]

Now I could be wrong, but I have always considered the animosity of some individuals towards cyclists nothing more than jealousy. They are jealous they they do not have the body to look good while wearing skin tight spandex instead of looking like 20 pounds of squeezed into a 5 pound bag.

Oh, yeah, THAT'S it, alright. Those of us who don't are just so jealous of those of you who do.

I've seen plenty of overweight bicyclists, so either they're just starting out, or it's not doing them a whole lot of good.

For the record, I used to ride before traffic got so bad in Williamson County. The last time I rode was with my cousin, and we took off from his house onto a busy road with no shoulder. Scared the out of me and I realized I had no business on the road with 3-4 ton vehicles whizzing past me within inches. I have never had my bike on a highway since then. Nowadays I get my exercise by walking a couple of miles 4-5 days a week on the sidewalk.

Of course, it also might have something to do with sailing through the air lengthwise over a car after being hit head-on by a drunk driver while riding my motorcycle home one night when I was young and stupid. I don't ride motorcycles anymore either.

Neither is worth the risk to me anymore. I am no good to my family's financial security paralyzed or dead.

Edited October 11, 2011 by DaddyO

[Wingshooter]

Now I could be wrong, but I have always considered the animosity of some individuals towards cyclists nothing more than jealousy. They are jealous they they do not have the body to look good while wearing skin tight spandex instead of looking like 20 pounds of squeezed into a 5 pound bag.

Actually, I think we're on to something. Drivers are not trying to run cyclists off the road, they just have their eyes covered at the sight of a grown man in spandex.

[bbeck]

Actually, I think we're on to something. Drivers are not trying to run cyclists off the road, they just have their eyes covered at the sight of a grown man in spandex.

you could be on to something here!