datlas 

We had a good ride, although it was not without some drama. We had a big group, I believe 16 riders in total. Probably the most interesting event was when we went through a 4-way intersection....the lead riders slowed down, then proceeded. There was a black SUV coming towards the intersection from the left as the middle part of the group came through (we were in a reasonably tight paceline), so everyone in the line rolled through and the SUV stopped. The SUV turned to come our way, then passed us nicely....but shortly after passing us turned on his red/blue flashing lights so of course we stopped. I rolled to the front and said "Of course, we were wrong to go through the intersection without stopping, and we are really sorry" which I think was disarming. He looked at us and semi-yelled: "Respect! In order to get it, you gotta give it!" I repeated our apology and he seemed satisfied, and went on his way.

I know that it's not right to treat a 4-way stop sign as a yield, but I also know that most of us do it anyway. The other options include truly stopping at all stop signs (which would really slow us down, the back-roads we use have lots of them) or to stick with roads that do not have stop signs, but those are major roads which are less safe for cyclists.

I wish PA would adopt an "Idaho Stop" law but I am not holding my breath.

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