TVS_SS

I do not get upset when people yell at me from cars or tell me to get off the road. Many have had bad experiences with cyclists...

Case in point, there are a large number of cyclists that ruin it for the rest of us. Its kinda like the general population, there are smart people but alot just dont have much going on upstairs.

I have a great story to tell... I am an avid cyclist as well as an auto enthusiast, and this past weekend was the woodward dream cruise in suburban detroit. The largest carshow / cruise in the world. Its great, lots of car that many people put significant amount of time and money into. Its a 4 lane road each way and the right 2 lanes are 'cruising lanes', which means you average about 5-6mph and people are sitting on the curb watching cars go by. (this event is about 10 miles long)

Then cue the idiot cyclists. many were going the wrong way trying to squeeze between the expensive cars and the curb/people. Running red lights. weaving around. I even saw one guy try to squeeze into a space far to small and had to put his hand on the side of a classic car to keep himself upright.

Here is an example of the traffic for about 10 miles... and they were squeezing between the right lane and the curb. Keep in mind the cyclists were moving much faster than traffic. Alot of these guys put their heart and soul into making the cars perfect... the last thing they need is a cyclist running into the side, scratching it, etc..



But on a lighter note, i did see the coolest multiperson bicycle ever... and they were rolling with traffic and acting like a car. And guess what.. everyone loved it!!!

pacificaslim

How you can look at that road, or any road, and conclude that it is the bikes that are ruining anything is amazing. If it wasn't for cars, cyclists could pretty much ride however they wanted and it wouldn't be a problem. Right? So remove the big, dangerous, polluting cars from the scenario and...we'd all be better off!

I love vintage cars. Drive my 40 year old Italian every day in fact. But if my buddies and I were blocking the whole freakin' road, I certainly wouldn't expect cyclists to wait patiently behind us.

noisebeam

Were these cyclist there for the 'show' or were they just trying to get somewhere? If the later why shouldn't they try and get on with it and pass the jam.

That said I wouldn't travel in the right gutter to pass, but between the rows of cars - there appears to be a nice clean path there in that first photo.

Northwestrider

Motorist complain that bicyclists impede traffic during the STP, It seems the table was turned in this case. I feel sorry for the enthusiast that worries about a hand print on his paint job.

TVS_SS

they were definately there to see the show. on any other day you would be very hard pressed to even see one cyclist on this road. They were trying to see more of the show quicker.

TVS_SS

ugh.. and you wonder why bike enthusiasts and car enthusiasts can never get along. am i just the lone ranger here?

Its not the hand print, its the scratching, body denting, thousands of dollar wasting stuipd mistakes... And yes the tables were turned in this case and showed that the cyclists during this event were no different than motorists on an average day. They hated having cars "impede" them.

noisebeam

So perhaps these were not the folks who cycle everyday, instead digging bike out of garage filling tires for first time in many months just to be a fast pedestrian for a day.

noisebeam

Now you contradict yourself. If they were there just for the show, how could they feel impeded let alone hating if the point was to see all those vehicles they were passing and admiring.

TVS_SS

Exactly my point... its the "few" that ruin it for the "many"

pacificaslim

Everyday it's the many (cars) that ruin it for the few (cyclists/pedestrians).

dynodonn 

Somehow, I don't feel that way at all. There's a lot of cyclists in my area that I personally feel could exhibit much better riding habits, but no way do I feel that I've been victimized by their actions. Most motorists are willing to work with me as I with them.

SeattleShaun

I get so tired of those selfish motorists staging their critical mass drives clogging up the roads and slowing everyone down...

cudak888 

Hey, look! It's Motorist Mass!

But what's new about that?

-Kurt

CB HI

I would classify you as, far more the car enthusiasts. And one that has a very slanted sense of balance.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...4&postcount=32

CommuterRun

Next year get a parade permit and have the road blocked.

chs4

I couldn't find any specifics, but based on the size of this event I would venture to guess that it is permitted and operated much like a parade. From their website:
If this is the case, then any vehicle not participating in the event (cyclist or otherwise) should not be interspersed with the parade vehicles.

hnsq

If a scratch on your car costs you thousands of dollars, you are the idiot for throwing money away on something like that.

bluegoatwoods

The OP's point is valid. Those bicyclists were interfering where they shouldn't have been.

Share the road works both ways. No one needs to tell me that that usually means that the cars ought to be more polite to the bicycles.

But this is one of the fairly rare cases where the opposite is true.

chs4

It's nice to see that you are the arbiter of all society's values.

With such disrespect for others we wonder why motorists are not enamored with us.

hnsq

I respect cars when I am on the road (not because I like cars, but because I think I should respect other people).

This is BikeForums though, not BikeAndCarForums. I can be honest here.

A car has never had to alter its path in any way because of my riding.

srmatte

Throwing money away? You obviously don't know jack about classic cars. A lot of these cars are collector items and are worth big bucks. A '70 mint Cuda could easily bring in 50K. My brother has been an auto enthusiast for many years and he makes decent money doing this as a hobby. He'd say your the idiot not putting your free time into a hobby that makes money, he does to me.

Big difference from putting a scratch in someones Honda Accord and a '57 Chevy Bel Air. Although you are still disrespecting someone else's property.

Bekologist

ach, it's probably the ONE DAY a lot of Detroiters feel conditions are amicable to riding a bike on Woodward Ave....... don't dis Detroiters for getting out there to check it out on their bikes.

were there any reports of heinous damages or bike/car 'thousands of dollars' accidents or is this just hype**********

i don't think its' a 'great story,' i think it's kind of lame.

if people are going to sit in a exhaust filled, slow moving motorcade with 400,000 other owners of heavily polluting 'classics', they had better realize the roads are public rights of way for all to travel including bicyclists. it kind of sounds like business as usual.... cars jamming it up, all proud of their 'ride'

hnsq

You are right - I don't know anything about classic cars, and thank god for that. The idea of a 'collector car' just seems stupid. That would be like hanging onto an old bike that you can't really ride - it just doesn't make sense.

Spending cash on anything 'vintage' or 'classic' just seems stupid to me.

dynodonn 

Your brother may make money at restoring older vehicles, but my personal experiences, as well as watching others, I'd have to say that the majority of car enthusiasts do not and are well into the red ink if and when they sell their vehicle.

If a car enthusiast is worried about their classic/vintage car being scratched or dented, the open road or city streets is not the place to take it, keep it in the garage, trailer, or at a car show in a roped off stall, even those are no guarantees.

The only real guarantee that I see against having one's classic/vintage car from being scratched or damaged is not to have one at all.

Pscyclepath

BikeSnob NYC had probably the bet take on this incident yesterday... the car cultists' obsession with their paint jobs and finishes means that they are usually more than careful about striving not to run into anything -- including cyclists ;-)

I'll donate a bottle of Turtle Wax to that cause...