shokhead

Better get use to it as its the trend now. I've been mouthed at for pointing to the right lane that the wrong way rider should have been it. Its now on the bikepaths and people will start dieing. They walk,ride,skate and push there baby's going the wrong way. Its just the way it is now because when it started getting bad,the police did not ticket and now just like talking on cells while you drive,its out of control and to hard to pull back in.

scarry

You ever heard of the "fake-out"? or Pump in the spokes? I'm not going to allow someone to ride head-on into me.

timmhaan

well, i can only speak for when i was 12 or 13 years old. i felt it was safer to actually see the traffic coming toward me. everyone seemed to have stories of friends getting struck by automobiles and that frightened me. i figured i would reduce my chances of getting hit if i could see what i was dealing with.

shokhead

Dumb.

scarry

People who can't make complete sentences are dumb.

timmhaan

it's okay - you can't expect much from an internet forum. i was just trying to offer an explanation on why some people might think riding on the opposite side of the road is better. that was when i was a kid. but obviously adults do it too, so there must be a reason why they think it's better.

scarry

I understand you, because you ARE making complete sentences. As far as why adults ride against traffic, they are ignorant. But the ones that I've actually confronted and asked why are they riding illegally, they give the usual bogus reasons, but they are very stubborn in their wrongness.

oscaregg

I see these riders; if they are adults I hug the curb and wave them out towards oncoming traffic.

trackhub

A lot of it seems to come from well-meaning, but sadly misinformed parents and other authority figures from childhood. Toss in some other random family members (like that strange uncle or oddball aunt that every suburban family seems to have) along with scout leaders, and the list gets rather long. I call this "the cycle of entrenched misinformation". This cycle is damn near impossible to break.

Why I tossed in scout leaders: Two reasons. First, a co-worker once told me that his son's boy scout leader had taken the troop on a bike ride, and that they did the entire ride (around ten miles, from the sound of it) against traffic. I told him this was wrong, and that they were lucky there had been no injuries or accidents. I pointed him toward John Allen's "Street Smarts" booklet, and the bike statutes of the state.
He was totally dumbfounded, with the "I never knew about any of this" response, but refused to pass this information along to Mr. Scout Master. "He's a real nice guy, a football coach and everything", I was told. Amen.

Second: One fine spring day two years ago, I am riding on Route 62, from Concord center toward Bedford. Boston area riders will know this stretch, as it is quite popular among area cyclists. Quite nice, and lots of riders on weekends. So, I'm riding along, almost to the Bedford line, and spot a group of riders coming toward me, on the wrong side.

They get closer, and I realize it is an adult woman, being followed by a collection of girls, ranging in age from very young to teenaged. The woman is wearing some of the accoutrements of a girl scout leader. The girls are dressed likewise. A few had helmets, most didn't.

Now, understand this: Route 62 is a wide stretch of two-lane, well-travelled. Motor vehicle traffic is not bad at all on weekend days, but it tends to move fast. There are some curves. The shoulders are not particularly wide. And here were these girl scouts, being led by someone who should have known better.

These girls will grow up, have kids, and teach them to ride against traffic, "so the cars can see you!!" Thus, the cycle of entrenched misinformation continues.

There are logical solutions to this problem, but any answer put on the table is going to cheese someone off, not matter how logical it may be.

genec

All comes from the basic rule to walk/hike against the flow of traffic... these folks are just projecting their walking rules to cycling, as they see cycling as a form of "pedestrianism."

One might think that arrows on BL would solve this... but apparently some folks even ignore arrows. One might think that constantly approaching road signs on the wrong side of the road might be a hint... But apparently road signs are not meant for cyclists. Oh well.

dan828

Hell, the elementary school I went to 1st-3rd grade taught all the kids to ride against traffic-- we had a "bike safety" assembly every year where they told us specifically to do it. Went to a new school in 4th grade and they had policemen come in a teach us the proper way to do things. I wonder how many wrong way riders do so because they were taught that it was the right way to do it when they were kids.

shokhead

Common sence should overide most DUMB things. Guess not.

timmhaan

shokhead - what the hell is your problem? what are you adding to this thread?

Dchiefransom

Common sense tells these people that there are two things on the road, motor vehicles and pedestrians. They're not motor vehicles, so guess which group they've placed themselves in? These same people either want a very large and heavy vehicle surrounding them while they are on the road, or reinforcing side beams on all sides, with air bags everywhere if in a smaller vehicle.

closetbiker

I agree and sometimes, you can only shake your head. It would be funny if it didn't lead to restrictive legislation or discrimination against cyclists because well meaning, but sadly misinformed people and authority figures are trying to protect us, "for our own good" while ignoring the root of why an injury or accident occured in the first place. It just kills me when I see a wrong way cyclist that has taken the time to wear a helmet. It indicates, to me, that there has been some level of concern for safety, yet it also just goes to show how ignorant of safety he/she is. "The cycle of entrenched misinformation" is deep, indeed.

caloso

There have been a couple of posts that indicated that they wanted to see the driver's eyes.

(Of course, this is impossible in all but the best light and weather conditions. And even if you could see the maniacal look in the driver's eye as he mouths "I'm going to kill you!," if you've got a closing rate of 60-80mph, I doubt you could react quickly enough to dump it in the ditch.)

If this is the reason you ride against traffic, I'd like to hear your take on it.

shokhead

You read it so its good enough. Bottom line,ride the wrong way or walk in the street the wrong way is,well dumb. Anyone trying to justify it is wrong also. Dont worry about writing skills,worry about getting the point across. For all you know,i'm armless typing with a stick in my mouth.

timmhaan

you can talk about something and not justify it at the same time. when police talk about crimes, are they trying to justify them? when an investigator tries to reconstruct an accident to understand it, are they justifying it?? of course not. some people just like to know how the world works and why people do what they do.

shokhead

Well it seems everyone going the wrong way IS justifing it some how.

eubi

As you are aware, we have a few posters to this forum that are very quick with an insult when we try to discourage wrong way bicycle riders, but they are very quiet when it comes to providing a compelling argument FOR riding the wrong way. We may be waiting for a while...

I am a Scoutmaster and teach cycling to Scouts and adults. I guarantee you that when we ride this weekend, we will be riding with traffic, and everyone will have helmets, per the CA vehicle code. Safety considerations for Scout outings are often maddening (dare I say too safe?), but we don't lose very many Scouts. The Scoutmaster you mentioned obviously had no clue, and should not have lead a Scout cycling outing. Unfortunately he's not alone.

During the pre-ride briefing last week, many Scouts were amazed that cyclists actually had rights (and responsibilities) while riding on the road. Hopefully we will have a few more young people that are a bit better educated and less likely to become a statistic.

dan828

Just like the people with poor spelling and grammar.

trackhub

Thank you!! There is hope after all.

Guest

Any more insults and this thread will be closed. Please return to the topic at hand.

Koffee

Mod

shokhead

But i know which side of the street to ride on.

kwv

It seems to some that if you are not a cyclist that you can not and should not complain about cyclists doing stupid and dangerous things.

Okay then I guess if you are cyclist you cannot complain about drivers doing stupid and dangerous things.

And scarry reading your own reply to me in yelling at cyclists forum, I guess the people who write smart ar** comments especially in not checking their facts before writing the comments are not dumb?