Don't Be a Jerk on the Bike
 

I was watching a YouTube video of a ride this morning. The guy recording the ride and his riding buddy came to a red light at an intersection, barely slowed down, and rode right through the light. Fellow cyclists, we have to be better.

Don't be that cyclist, OK?

What do you think? Am I wrong or right? (As you'll see in the blog, I don't absolve drivers, who shoulder a much larger share of blame, IMO. But I feel like we have to own up to our issues).

A cyclist once pooped in a bush. That is just nasty, yet idc.

I did not watch the video, but I will say that in my state it is actually legal for a cyclist to go through a red light or stop sign if it is apparent the intersection is clear. In my particular area there are intersections where I rarely need to stop for some of the stop signs. Then there are others that have no stop signals that I know I need to slow down or even stop at.

:popcorn

BTW...There’s a forum for that:


https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-safety/

I regret even reading your original post… I’m certainly not going to your blog to read more of your rant.

Why is it that with each of these discussions we get the "cyclists break the law" crap? Each and every time I drive I break the law. I can never recall being in a motor vehicle with anyone else who didn't break the law.

Let me ask this of the OP. Are cyclists endangering others when they break the law? What percentage of auto on bicycle crashes are the fault of the cyclist?

1. It's a self righteousness thing that's a plague in all areas these days, not just with bikes and cars. But life in general. Forgive the religious language, but it is fitting, it just reminds me of "concerned with the specks in everybody else's eyes instead of the log in yours".

2. I ain't clicking on something that looks like blogger spam they're trying to spread. My laptop's nanny even flagged the link as "do you really want to go there?".

I actually stop at red lights, and stop signs. I know that's sort of weird but I think that blowing through intersections and not using arm signals is very dangerous ...to the cyclist. I was heading west in a bike lane and at a cross street a mountain bike coming off a hill blew through the stop sign on a blind corner and damn near hit me. I did not have a stop sign but had slowed, fortunately. Just be safe .

As I said in the original post, the blog (it's not a video, BTW) was intended to encourage cyclists to take ownership of our own faults. As I also said in the original post, drivers are much more at fault than cyclists -- but we can't control that. All we can do is our best to be considerate and courteous on the road. If we do that, it can only help. Does it mean that drivers will start suddenly not being idiots? Of course not. But making them even angrier by doing stupid things on the road will only lead to worse outcomes.

To follow up on the blog itself -- it's not spam. It's simply a blog, my blog, about cycling. There's no advertising on the site. I'm not making money; I'm simply blogging about my cycling passion.

And here is the place for your bloghttps://www.bikeforums.net/blogger-s-forum/

Thanks for the link!

Look bro I was at mile 50 of a centrury the next stop was ten miles from that bush. It was a now or never moment. I picked it up in one of them doggie bags and tied it to tree branch like everyone else does. :D

Had to ride the rest of the ride with one sock to.

You need to take ownership of your ridiculous post :rolleyes:

Change that to "can be." How do you define "blowing through." That wording is often used but there seems to be no consensus on what it means.

Did you come here to have a discussion or to promote your blog? I asked several important questions that went unanswered.

Specifically, what kind of stupid things?

These questions are irrelevant to my point. My point is that we should take care of the things we can take care of. I've said now, multiple times, that drivers bear the brunt of the responsibility -- I'm not sure why that's being missed. But, again, it doesn't matter to my narrow topic. I feel like you're asking me to respond to arguments I'm not making here. Is that fair to say?

Things like breaking the law by blowing through red lights. Things like riding two abreast on roads when cars are waiting behind you, when you could ride single file and riding side-by-side isn't being done for safety reasons (if it is for safety reasons, then by all means do it -- cyclists have as much right to the road as drivers, but I believe we shouldn't abuse the privilege.)

What's ridiculous about asking cyclists to be respectful, in the same way we want drivers to be? I continue to be a believer in the Golden Rule. Others disregarding it, IMO, doesn't justify cyclists doing the same.

Hmmm. Were you expecting instant answers, as if this were a live chat? Is it not a discussion if I answer an hour later?

in my state, where drivers are required by law to give cyclists 4 feet when passing (but few do), but are allowed to cross the double yellow in the process (something most drivers appear to be unaware of), riding two abreast is a safety maneuver. It forces drivers to do the right thing and go around you, rather than attempt to shave past you, which is what frequently happen to lone- or single file riders

What is ridiculous is your naïveté, which includes your belief that you have some special qualifications that anyone else should take heed of :rolleyes:

Your point seems to be that we should appease motorists. I don't see any reason to.

How do you define "blowing through" red lights? If the road is too narrow for a motorist to safely pass within the lane, then riding 2 abreast will allow the motorist to get around having spent less time in the oncoming lane.