What may annoy you when commuting?
03-25-19, 02:36 PM
#151
Portland Fred
Passing them is always a pain -- you need especially wide margins due to their total lack of control and situational awareness (as well as the fact that it's always prudent to cut idiots more space). If the road is busy, you won't get that space. If the road is empty, count on them to swerve all over the place so it's still hard to get by.
Plenty of good cyclists in Portland but there are enough bad ones that I prefer riding with motor vehicles to riding with other cyclists here.
03-25-19, 04:22 PM
#152
Member
Where to start
1. Cars trying to hit me (this morning)
2. Buses trying to hit me (last week)
3. Combined bus / bike lanes
4. Pedestrians on bike lane who can’t walk on the left (the right side here)
5. Pedestrians on bike lane walking 2 or 3 abreast taking whole width of lane
6. Pedestrians on bike lane with small dogs on Long leashes that they let run all over the bike lane
7. Small, narrow rough bike lanes with blind corners
8. Electric scooters on bike lane coming around blind corners on the wrong side
9. People who appear to have never ridden a bike before buying e bikes and thundering down bike lane out of control thinking that by ringing their bell when they are about to overtake you that you will magically be able to stop and get out of their way in 12 nanoseconds
10. Reading cycle hate columns in the paper then commuting on roads where drivers act like they also just read the same thing
11. Car drivers who that because they pay petrol tax and vehicle registration means they have paid for road, whereas these don’t cover a fraction of road/car costs and they are actually heavily subsidised by taxpayers
that feels better.
2. Buses trying to hit me (last week)
3. Combined bus / bike lanes
4. Pedestrians on bike lane who can’t walk on the left (the right side here)
5. Pedestrians on bike lane walking 2 or 3 abreast taking whole width of lane
6. Pedestrians on bike lane with small dogs on Long leashes that they let run all over the bike lane
7. Small, narrow rough bike lanes with blind corners
8. Electric scooters on bike lane coming around blind corners on the wrong side
9. People who appear to have never ridden a bike before buying e bikes and thundering down bike lane out of control thinking that by ringing their bell when they are about to overtake you that you will magically be able to stop and get out of their way in 12 nanoseconds
10. Reading cycle hate columns in the paper then commuting on roads where drivers act like they also just read the same thing
11. Car drivers who that because they pay petrol tax and vehicle registration means they have paid for road, whereas these don’t cover a fraction of road/car costs and they are actually heavily subsidised by taxpayers
that feels better.
03-25-19, 08:14 PM
#153
Junior Member
Dogs, usually on leashes, that suddenly lunge at you, barking and snarling, clearly in attack mode. I once got so distracted trying to avoid, I ran right into a walker, spilled the bike, road rash, luckily an understanding walker, said I should have run over the damn thing! Now I carry postman dog repellant. I am a former dog owner, but I don't trust them!
03-25-19, 10:47 PM
#155
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Anytime you ride in the street and do not get killed, it is a plus. I do not recommend it. If you can't commute using dedicated Bike Paths don't do it. It is not worth it. It only takes one Jackass and you are going to lose the battle with a 21/2 Ton Automobile. Stick to Bike Paths and Parks and ride safely and happily. The number of Ghost Funerals in this City alone is unbelievable. Their ain't nothing Romantic about it. You are Hurt or you are Dead and a Statistic that everyone will forget about.
03-25-19, 11:03 PM
#156
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Dogs, usually on leashes, that suddenly lunge at you, barking and snarling, clearly in attack mode. I once got so distracted trying to avoid, I ran right into a walker, spilled the bike, road rash, luckily an understanding walker, said I should have run over the damn thing! Now I carry postman dog repellent. I am a former dog owner, but I don't trust them!
Me: "Well, it just went after me, so you might misunderstand the definition of the word never."
I actually really like dogs and wish I was responsible enough to own and take care of one. I just really detest being told that something "never happens" immediately after it clearly happened.
03-26-19, 03:31 AM
#157
Senior Member
A pet peeve of mine? "Riders" who should take a LAB course or two on cycling safely while being unnecessarily timid, then railing against factors -while predicting death and apocalyptic results to riders who do not limit their own horizons. While I usually enjoy riding paths and dedicated structure, if I rode them exclusively my touring and bicycle enjoyment would be severely curtailed. Of all the major cities I've ridden in -Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, Madrid, and Miami to name a few I think I enjoyed New York City about as well as any. Yes, I rode paths in many of these places but the majority of time was spent riding safely in "traffic", as traffic.
Last edited by phile; 03-26-19 at 06:58 AM.
03-26-19, 06:57 AM
#158
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I've said it before and I'll say it again...
Pedestrians on cell phones.
Coming into my parking lot this morning there are 3 people...THREE...standing in the road way (the one for cars, mind you) standing there in the middle of the roadway of a parking lot as people are showing up to work all looking straight down at their phones. No situational awareness that they are in a parking lot with cars moving everywhere.
While it's easy for me to go around them on a bike, they create a hazard fro car drivers who are trying not to run them over which makes a car driver tend to do something unpredictable like go around in the wrong lane or back up or anything other than I'm expecting a car to go. That makes it dangerous for me on the bike.
I don't want them to get hurt. But if a car were to inch up close to them and blow the horn and scare the begeebies out of them...I'd laugh.
Pedestrians on cell phones.
Coming into my parking lot this morning there are 3 people...THREE...standing in the road way (the one for cars, mind you) standing there in the middle of the roadway of a parking lot as people are showing up to work all looking straight down at their phones. No situational awareness that they are in a parking lot with cars moving everywhere.
While it's easy for me to go around them on a bike, they create a hazard fro car drivers who are trying not to run them over which makes a car driver tend to do something unpredictable like go around in the wrong lane or back up or anything other than I'm expecting a car to go. That makes it dangerous for me on the bike.
I don't want them to get hurt. But if a car were to inch up close to them and blow the horn and scare the begeebies out of them...I'd laugh.
03-26-19, 07:49 AM
#159
meh
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At the risk of throwing gas on a fire .... I do get annoyed when an e-bike passes me on my commute (I typically dig deep into the red zone so I can pass them again - yes, I am an idiot). Most of the time my annoyance is just me being a dumb jerk, but there are those people using e-moped on non-motorized infrastructure going 25-30 mph - that's more than annoying.
03-26-19, 07:57 AM
#160
Senior Member
At the risk of throwing gas on a fire .... I do get annoyed when an e-bike passes me on my commute (I typically dig deep into the red zone so I can pass them again - yes, I am an idiot). Most of the time my annoyance is just me being a dumb jerk, but there are those people using e-moped on non-motorized infrastructure going 25-30 mph - that's more than annoying.
03-26-19, 08:02 AM
#161
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lol my work has flyers on the bulletin boards saying if you get 'caught' using your cell phone safely, you might win a $5 gift card to the cafeteria! Only way I could win is if I were to carry a rectangle of plywood around and pretend to safely stop and check it
03-26-19, 08:04 AM
#162
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Yup, that's the thing that comes to my mind. I mean, like, dude, I passed you when you were moving, now you're going to pass me when I'm stopped, and then I'm going to pass you again when you start moving... this is annoying.
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03-26-19, 09:04 AM
#163
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We all know that other drive who darts out of a driveway to get on the road ahead of you, or the one that's merging onto the interstate and just HAS to be in front of you not behind....
Then as soon as they are in front of you they slow down to a crawl.
Like WHAT WAS YOUR HURRY TO BE IN FRONT!?!??
03-26-19, 10:29 AM
#164
Portland Fred
Dogs, usually on leashes, that suddenly lunge at you, barking and snarling, clearly in attack mode. I once got so distracted trying to avoid, I ran right into a walker, spilled the bike, road rash, luckily an understanding walker, said I should have run over the damn thing! Now I carry postman dog repellant. I am a former dog owner, but I don't trust them!
Way easier and takes way less time to properly navigate a situation than to deploy spray (which wind can send to you or others)
At the risk of throwing gas on a fire .... I do get annoyed when an e-bike passes me on my commute (I typically dig deep into the red zone so I can pass them again - yes, I am an idiot). Most of the time my annoyance is just me being a dumb jerk, but there are those people using e-moped on non-motorized infrastructure going 25-30 mph - that's more than annoying.
However, a huge percentage of riders doing this aren't pedaling at all, have crap handling skills, and pass way too close to peds and skittery riders. As such, I regard them as a nuisance. Lightweight electric motorcycles make a lot of sense. But they should be ridden as the motorbikes they are.
03-26-19, 10:36 AM
#165
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I mentioned it being illegal to hold your cellphone while driving to a someone my GF used to work with and she replied she was in the parking lot and that didn't apply to her then, She's got kids of her own and it didn't seem to bother her that the parking lot she was in then attracts a lot of kids either.
03-26-19, 12:16 PM
#166
meh
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I don't mind the passing so much -- if they're faster than me, they're not in the way.
However, a huge percentage of riders doing this aren't pedaling at all, have crap handling skills, and pass way too close to peds and skittery riders. As such, I regard them as a nuisance. Lightweight electric motorcycles make a lot of sense. But they should be ridden as the motorbikes they are.
However, a huge percentage of riders doing this aren't pedaling at all, have crap handling skills, and pass way too close to peds and skittery riders. As such, I regard them as a nuisance. Lightweight electric motorcycles make a lot of sense. But they should be ridden as the motorbikes they are.
03-26-19, 12:38 PM
#167
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At the risk of throwing gas on a fire .... I do get annoyed when an e-bike passes me on my commute (I typically dig deep into the red zone so I can pass them again - yes, I am an idiot). Most of the time my annoyance is just me being a dumb jerk, but there are those people using e-moped on non-motorized infrastructure going 25-30 mph - that's more than annoying.
Seriously though, it's the attitude that some of them seem to have that is annoying. Some of them seem to think they are in some way superior because they are able to move faster than most regular bikers, or that the money they spent is actually some sort of license to use an engine on a path reserved for regular bikes.
03-26-19, 12:54 PM
#168
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Cyclist, 71, is killed in collision with another bicyclist in Lexington
A 71-year-old cyclist was killed in Lexington on Sunday afternoon when he collided with another cyclist on a bike path in what appeared to be a “terrible accident,” a police official said.
The fatal crash on the Minuteman Bikeway occurred around 2:09 p.m., said Lieutenant Michael Tuomi of the Lexington Police Department.
“They were strangers going in opposite directions” at the time of the crash, Tuomi said.
He said that the cause of the collision remained under investigation Monday, but there were no signs of foul play. No charges had been filed, Tuomi said
03-26-19, 12:56 PM
#169
Portland Fred
If they have a retractable leash, by definition they still have a lot to figure out. Even locked, retracto leashes give owners very little control so I assume anything attached will race out. One of the many reasons I avoid paths.
03-26-19, 01:02 PM
#170
meh
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The issue in my video, and at least one other time, with dogs on retractable leashes is the walker is adjacent to the roads and the dog bolts into the road. In my video, I couldn't swerve away from the dog since it'd put me in the path of an oncoming SUV. Still not sure how that dog didn't get me.
03-26-19, 01:15 PM
#171
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1) People that yell advice/instructions and don't know the law but think they're right.
2) Tailgating motorist.
3) Motorist that drive parallel to the cyclist -- without passing -- causing faster motorist to focus their anger and aggression towards the cyclist.
4) Pedestrian that divide to both sides of the path instead of all moving to the right.
5) Pedestrian that try to out think a passing cyclist and step in the way believing that they're moving out of the way.
Beware of school buses. Being filled with kids gives them special privileges. So they think.
Only if you're an android. Everybody is annoyed by something.
In public the owner is responsible for his animal at all times and under any condition. I always remind dog owners of this. I would never just let it pass.
2) Tailgating motorist.
3) Motorist that drive parallel to the cyclist -- without passing -- causing faster motorist to focus their anger and aggression towards the cyclist.
4) Pedestrian that divide to both sides of the path instead of all moving to the right.
5) Pedestrian that try to out think a passing cyclist and step in the way believing that they're moving out of the way.
Beware of school buses. Being filled with kids gives them special privileges. So they think.
Nothing really gets to me -- seriously.
There's nothing more futile than struggling against inevitability, in this case the cycling environment. Bad drivers, morons, difficult conditions, etc. are all part of that. Gotta find a way to embrace it.
To do otherwise is like taking up mountaineering and being unhappy because it's too much work, too dangerous, and too cold.
There's nothing more futile than struggling against inevitability, in this case the cycling environment. Bad drivers, morons, difficult conditions, etc. are all part of that. Gotta find a way to embrace it.
To do otherwise is like taking up mountaineering and being unhappy because it's too much work, too dangerous, and too cold.
I totally agree about retractable leashes, as a dog lover, I've never used one.
The issue in my video, and at least one other time, with dogs on retractable leashes is the walker is adjacent to the roads and the dog bolts into the road. In my video, I couldn't swerve away from the dog since it'd put me in the path of an oncoming SUV. Still not sure how that dog didn't get me.
The issue in my video, and at least one other time, with dogs on retractable leashes is the walker is adjacent to the roads and the dog bolts into the road. In my video, I couldn't swerve away from the dog since it'd put me in the path of an oncoming SUV. Still not sure how that dog didn't get me.
Last edited by KraneXL; 03-28-19 at 09:40 AM. Reason: spelling correction
03-26-19, 01:31 PM
#172
Keepin it Wheel
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03-26-19, 01:54 PM
#173
Portland Fred
In practice, little falls into this category for me. I've spent years learning how to like things that others dislike -- makes things more fun for me. In all honesty, watching people getting their knickers in a twist over petty stuff is comic relief. Being subject to crap myself reminds me of how others react, so it's still kind of funny.
If this offends your sense of justice, keep in mind these folks run into others just like themselves all the time. As such, you are mathematically guaranteed that they'll dispense more justice/education on each other than you ever could. You won't get to see it, but you know it happens.
Last edited by banerjek; 03-26-19 at 01:59 PM.
03-26-19, 02:27 PM
#174
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Gee 174 posts so far and no one has mentioned thinking up the ultimate post while riding and then forgetting it by the time you get to a computer?
03-26-19, 02:59 PM
#175
meh
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