Dave Cutter

I regularly cross a road that has a million + cars/users a month. Every idiotic thing that can happen in traffic happens there. People will always act like people. This really is a cup half... something or the other. It isn't about traffic or any particular motorist (or cyclist). It's about attitude.

Every ride I take is a true joy. Oh sure... every now-and-again I have to take a deep breath after a close call... but that is very rare. If I wasn't having fun... I'd buy a sports car.

cale

If I had any indication that the driver behind me was a menace, you bet I would. I'd slow, signal my intention to stop and then put my foot down. I would wait for the car(s) to pass and then I'd continue on down or up.

I'm not a moron, I believe in putting the bad people in a place where they can't hurt me. You'd be wise to do likewise.

genec

Look I generally agree with you... Most of the time I ride, no problem... but like you there are those now and then moments... what gets me is that the now and then moments may be caused by folks that are angry just because you are doing just the right thing.

My "stats" for "situations" is something like this... about once, maybe twice a year, I encounter some rage situation. Maybe once a month or so, I encounter some situation of motorist just not paying attention... nothing intentional like a rage thing, but potentially dangerous none the less...

Dave Cutter

+1 About the same here. On a rare occasion I have actually pulled over between parked cars (for protection). Then unclipped a foot, and took a long slow drink from my water bottle, when a deep breathe wasn't pause enough. My rides are "my" time... and I have no desire (or intention) to allow some idiot to drive and or honk their way into my fun.

Saving Hawaii

Nope. I moved away from Chico pretty recently to a major west coast city that has a reputation for bike-friendliness (aka: one of the ones that isn't LA). There's a lot of perks to living here but bike riding isn't one of them. I can't get to my local Safeway without having semis blow past me at 40mph within inches of my handlebars. The foo foo grocery store closer to my home is door-zone bike lane the whole way. Drivers here are ridiculously aggressive, punish pass for fun. And the roads are a potholed mess with zero consideration for bicycles. When I lived in Chico I used to make okay money on the side doing food deliveries by bike. $20/hr take-home isn't bad. I can make similar $ doing that here but I don't have the confidence to ride my bike in the traffic here for hours and hours everyday. I tried it and I ended up in too many places that felt genuinely terrifying to me.

I don't get all the press about how big cities are bicycle friendly. This place has a great reputation for that and it is 100x worse than Chico which doesn't get much applause.

God I wish the roads here were like Chico River Road. I never had an issue on that for the year that I road it every single day.

bobwysiwyg

Ditto. I have no plans to take on idiots in 2 ton weapons, what's the point?

italktocats

they caught up with me, best believe theyre gonna be stuck there

Paul Barnard

If I could have reasonably done anything to have facilitated the pass I would have. I certainly would have helped him out when I hit the up slope. Had the motorist done anything that I perceived as dangerous or disrespectful, I would have likely expressed that displeasure in some way. I have on rare occasion invited a motorist to the side of the road to chat with me. Nobody ever has.

genec

Probably a good thing... as I and others have discovered... such conversation tends to be rather one sided, and centers around concepts like "roads made for cars," "road tax," "you don't pay taxes," and "roads were made for cars." (yes, I did repeat that one, as it comes up so darn often... ) Never does it come down to "hey, we're all humans just trying to get somewhere."

PatrickGSR94

I'm always amazed by the number of cycling videos from the UK or Europe where the cyclist feels wronged in some way and motions for the driver to pull over, to which they readily oblige, then jump out and have a chat. Sometimes civil and sometimes not.

kevmk81

Even if any of those things are happening to him in his life, doesn't mean he should drive like an a-hole and putting others lives at risk.

CrankyOne

If you received a call that your child had been taken to the emergency room in critical condition and might well die within hours would you drive patiently behind some bicycle rider on your way to hopefully see your child before they die?

Chris0516

I don't drive. So I would tell whomever, to bust a gut driving to the hospital. Without endangering someone.

Daniel4

If you received a call that your child had been taken to the emergency room in critical condition and might well die within hours should you drive patiently and stop at all the red lights and stop signs on your way to hopefully see your child before they die?

John33702

Having moved to Florida nearly three years ago, and back into bicycling two years ago, I decided to check out Florida's bicycle laws. The state classifies a bicycle as a 'vehicle' and the rider is the 'driver'. As such bicycles are held to the same laws and conditions as any automobile. Riding on the sidewalks is illegal but the police turn a blind eye to it because of the dangers of all kinds of vehicles, including buses and trucks, mixing with bicycles.

I was waiting at a red light when a van driver behind me blew his horn and gestured for me to get on the sidewalk. That ticked me off because he couldn't go anywhere, anyway. Still, where I live I see hardly any pedestrians using the sidewalks, so I now ride on them and they become a bike lane for me. Just one problem is that if I should run into a pedestrian, it won't matter who caused it, I'd be in the wrong and would get a ticket for it.

PatrickGSR94

You have to be super cautious at every street crossing AND every driveway also. If a motorist pulls out and hits you at a driveway you would likely be held at fault, if in fact sidewalk riding is illegal state-wide (is it really? That seems a little weird).

The most harassment I've ever received on a single ride was in Destin and Mirarmar Beach, FL, riding on Old Scenic 98 at 6 AM with almost no other traffic, where a few motorists couldn't bear to just change lanes to pass because I wasn't on the adjacent side path (dangerous for 15+ MPH riding). Also a sheriff deputy incorrectly told me over his loud speaker that I must be on the white line. Total BS.

John33702

It depends on where we get our information. I know that I read it is illegal to ride on sidewalks, I did another search, just now, to get the latest info from the state website. It is legal to ride on sidewalks. It comes with a warning about responsible use (which stands to reason). Now I won't feel guilty when I'm on the sidewalk and I see a cop.

I'm a bit surprised at a law which was updated in 2012. It is no longer required to keep at least one hand on the handlebars. That doesn't make much sense to me. I recall a time in London when I was riding 'no hands' and a cop with a speaker on the front of his car, crept up behind me and scared me so badly I almost fell off the bike when he shouted at me to get my hands on the handlebars.