squirtdad

here is link that will give people a feel for the area. The roads are hilly, winding and narrow. Hard to pass and risky to cycylist if cars get too close.

There is often a fair amount of contention between cyclists and motorist.

Woodside proper is a very affluent area with many famous residents... Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Neil Young, Joan Baez and Koko the Gorilla who learned sign language


https://www.chainreaction.com/pescadero_tunitasloop.htm

billdsd

Once they get 5 cars behind them yes, they are required by law to turn out at the next safe place to do so. As I said, I'd do it for 1. However, most of the time I ride on multi-lane roads where CVC 21656 never applies.

billdsd

Not in my experience. In my experience motorists often think that a bicyclist can move over in situations where it is most certainly NOT safe to do so. A narrow lane with dirt/gravel next to it is not a safe place to be far right. The car would still have to move at least partially into the next lane to pass safely. If that's the case, then they might as well move entirely into the next lane to pass. If they can't safely move entirely into the next lane then they can't safely move partially into the next lane either. If they plan to pass close, then screw that! I'll stay in the lane until it's safe for me to move over and not a second less. I need a safe passing distance. I need a surface that isn't going to send me tumbling. My safety is not less important than some idiot's delusion that 30 seconds is the end of the world.

LemondFanForeve

Yeah, police have far more important things to worry about, like issuing 'jaywalking tickets", or some other BS ticket for some bogus/bs law they've just created. The city's broke, they need all the $$$ they can get.

CB HI

Thanks for the link.

I thought John Baez, the mathematical physicist, is at the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore until Fall 2012.

squirtdad

Sorry I missed his schedule. ....but there are a lot of Stanford types in Woodside also......

Daves_Not_Here

I have to say that I've witnessed two situations where a cyclist taking the lane corresponded with a backup of automobile traffic and motorist anger. In both cases, the cyclists could have safely pulled onto a paved shoulder (I know, because that was my vantage point as I watched from behind at full speed). And in both cases, when the motorists were able to pass, they did so dangerously closely and much more closely than when they had passed me. I don't think those cyclists helped themselves or the cycling community that day.

electrik

Not saying this is right, but the longer they feel "held up" the more confrontational, angry, reckless and inattentive they become. Further they'll take drastically more risky attempts at passing endangering life and limb on all sides.

Chris516

Pulling over to the shoulder, is not as simple as it seems. I have seen too many times where, if I pulled over to the shoulder it would almost be a green light for the motorist behind me to step on the gas.

That is why I 'take the lane'. While it ticks drivers off, it almost guarantees that they will see me, and none of this 'I did not see him/her/them' garbage.

Also, By 'taking the lane', I have seen drivers usually move completely into the passing lane. Instead of the motorist getting 'chummy' with the cyclist.

I know it doesn't guarantee that some moron won't hit a cyclist, but I am going on my experience.

rekmeyata

Yeah, and this is AFTER California put the law into effect making it illegal to threatened a cyclists...where's the law now? I knew that law would not be enforced, it was all about political posturing. In case some of you missed that new law's details, here it is: https://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/wo...w-for-cyclists

So, where is the law enforcement now? where? Anyone know? Because I sure don't see anywhere!

Daves_Not_Here

Law's very new -- enforcement probably won't be very visible because most harassment does not happen in view of the cops. I think cyclists will have to press charges and will be helped when they have video evidence.

Also, the drivers in Los Angeles and Southern California where I ride are already pretty tuned in and courteous towards cyclists, at least they have been to me. I don't think there are that many cases here where drivers blatantly harrass cyclists, so I agree with you, it may be more posturing than anything.

VNA

A dangerous ignorant idiot!

She should not be driving and writing!

billdsd

Erm, this law didn't make anything illegal that wasn't already illegal. Threatening and assaulting bicyclists was already illegal.

This new law only makes it possible for people in the city of Los Angeles to sue people who threaten or assault them even if the police do not press criminal charges. Police usually won't press charges unless they have proof beyond reasonable doubt. Civil suits only need preponderance of evidence rather than beyond reasonable doubt. The new law also sets a minimum penalty of $1000 or 3 times damages whichever is greater, plus the plaintiff's legal costs if the plaintiff wins. This law just turns the bicyclists into the cops and makes it easier for them to win than it is for the cops.

Captain Blight

I'm sure Ms. Gottesman would like it if I got out of her way (assuming, for the moment, I'd so lost my mind as to move to California). Well, I'd like the girl who lives three doors down from me to decide I'm the sexiest thing she's ever seen. I imagine we both will be disappointed.

Seriously uncool. Seriously.

rekmeyata

I use to live in California for 27 years and for the most part their use to seeing cyclists as you said, but I still ran into those that felt we should be banned from roads and we don't have the same rules as cars and they would cut us off etc etc. When I moved to Indiana the respect for cyclists was just a little bit worse overall then California, the biggest problem with Indiana is that we are so backwards with designing of bike paths and bike lanes, but at least we're starting to make an attempt to ratify that, we'll just be 30 years behind California and some other states that's all! Geez in Fort Wayne where I live they actually run the bike path through the city on a SIDEWALK?? So of course you have to go slow because you have the city folk walking the sidewalks to get to places downtown, really stupid, and then the path markings downtown are confusing. But if you work the paths right you can travel about 20 miles from one end to the other, so it's not a bad system, it just needs improvement through the city; and there are no paths running North and South either through the city or outside of the city so your forced to take streets and highways, which doesn't bother me I've done that for 40 years but it bothers others.

It's going to take time for better bike paths to be created in a lot of states, and now with the fiscal crises it could take a lot longer if our country doesn't get it's act together. Too bad too because I don't have 30 years of cycling left in me.

DeadheadSF

This.

But, I wouldn't get my hopes up. If it doesn't involve harassing homeless or poor people or people smoking a joint, they probably won't bother to lift a finger.

Keith99

Horses are like other animals, each different. Some spook fairly easily. Some from different thigns.

I have a vague recollection of passing some equestrians on a fire road once and being (quite politely) asked to walk my bike past them, because one or more of the horses was prone to spooking.

Most horse people are nice, and that means nice to me someone who is not fond of horses.

Oh and some of the women in my family, sister and neices are into horses. The cost dwarfs cycling.

electrik

The owner knows if their horse is spooky.

We all know horses aren't the smartest things, but humans should know better than to take a spooky horse out into traffic or on a trail.

FYI, i ride by police horses all the time and they're pretty much fine. The bottom line is those people are taking a risk on an animal that isn't properly trained for the scenario they've put it into.

I also think keeping horses(aside from mennonite) is a luxuriant hobby of the rich(or soon to be poor). So when this conservative tax dodging ***** towing $50,000 of glue and spewing diesel complains about a few peasants on the side of the road and then proceeds to run those "scoundrels" off the road my blood boils.

genec

Ya gotta feed 'em and keep 'em warm, whether you ride or not... the bikes I mean.

qmsdc15

Go post in a car forum. You are an enemy of the cyclist.

kookaburra1701

Seriously. And she's dissing on their clothes. Lady, I'm an equestrian too. We dress up in wool tail coats, tall boots, and stretch pants and then go exercise. We have no room to criticize another sport's chosen uniform.

kookaburra1701

Ah yes, the time honored non-horse person solution to a spooking prey animal - yell a lot and creep up slowly like a stalking predator and/or wave your arms around like a maniac. Works every time.


ETA:
From the cached article:
Wow. She just admitted she's too stupid to change a damn tire in public.

Flying Merkel

A coasting freewheel or freehub sounds a lot like a rattlesnake to a horse. Give horses a lot of room. Dumb as rocks and big as cars.

Tem

Here's a nice civil discussion about cyclists and horses sharing the road.
https://www.horseforum.com/trail-ridi...iquette-91591/

chrisb71

She mentions they were on a curve she could not see around a few paragraphs before, so I assume they were on a long curve on the side of a hill.