WhyFi

For whatever reason, the latest formulaic headline structure really bugs me: "__________ confirms what we all suspected about ___________ on the set of __________."

Rage

If you think the guy in the original video inspires fear of those of us on bikes, imagine the chaos and confusion in the wake of an alleycat in the city. You can see the switch flick in the eyes of pedestrians. It goes straight from minor annoyance to outright hatred.

And even if you have the alleycat somewhere out of the way, people still get hurt. Personally watched someone hit a little boy walking with his grandfather across 4th ave in Brooklyn. The offending party looked back at the kid, shrugged and rode off with not a care in the world, trying to make up the time he lost looking back.

livedarklions

The phrase "Bike Nazi" comes to mind with the hitting the kid story. Anybody got a problem with that?

livedarklions

If he did to me what he does to those pedestrians, I'd do what I could to make him eat his bike.

He's hitting those cars so they stop and not run into him. He's having to do that because he's not fast enough to complete the passes he's starting. That ain't skill, that's relying on the kindness of strangers to bail him out.

Rage

A buddy and I tried to catch up to mr. bikes into little kids to at least get him to apologize or something but he took off like a bat out of hell. We went back to check on the boy and he was still on the ground going, “owwwwww.” He was good to go after a couple more minutes, though.
Last alleycat I ever participated in.

Rage

Not all alleycat crash stories are bad, though.

In the middle of another, probably the year before that last one, a friend of mine goes down hard. She can’t get up for several minutes. She’s covered in scrapes with a softball sized bloody looking bump swelling up her right forearm and can barely walk.

Luckily, this lady dressed in scrubs is driving by and sees the whole thing. She stops and, after my friend refuses an ambulance, says we should wait at her place for my friend’s dad to come pick her up. Turns out she’s a nurse and lives a few blocks away.
We go over and she cleans up my friend, gives her some Motrin and lets three complete strangers, one of whom is seriously banged up and bloody, hang out like an hour waiting for my friend’s dad to come get her and her bike.

A week later, the other guy that was there and I go over to drop off a big thing of flowers as a thank you.
She and her husband and their hot daughter pull up in their car just as we’re leaving, see why we were there and insist we stay for an iced tea.
Not only was the daughter hot, she was smart, funny and industrious.
We ended up dating a couple short months before she figured out she was too good for me.

Hiro11

The most insane Terry B video I've seen is him following the (now well known) Safa Brian in the rain in Mexico City:

This starts getting terrifying at about 3:00 and doesn't really let up.

I have mixed feelings about YouTube riders like Terry, Lucas Brunnelle and Safa. They all often ride in a manner that endangers or at least inconveniences others, but that's certainly not all they do. They all test the limits of what bikes can do and are unwilling to be constrained by fear. They'll post annoying rides of themselves cutting off pedestrians and then they'll post fascinating stuff like riding road bikes in the Everglades or ersatz Manhattan singletrack or bombing a deserted canyon at 60 mph. Yes they can ride like entitled children, but they can also ride with outlaw freedom. I think that bring something both regrettable and compelling to road cycling.

KJ43

I'm personally a big fan of Safa Brian. As someone that grew up mountain biking and the punk scene and now road cycling seriously I dig what he's doing and he's got a really positive attitude.

He also is getting more into filming other people and really makes an effort to showcase other riders in his area. I feel that what he does is not really the same as the video Larry put up in his initial post, but I understand opinions on that might vary.

LarrySellerz

the video he posted is the craziest in this thread by far, the car dodge near the end is legendary

qwaalodge

One time I tapped a car because he's driving at the bike lane, blocking other riders for seemingly no apparent reason, he immediately stopped. If the roads are busier, it could have caused a pile up.

No it isn't act of kindness. It actually spooks drivers. You know how drivers are extremely worried at the sound of anything hitting their car on a busy road. They'd be thinking dent or scratch or worse. I know because I'm a driver too. The sound of anything hitting your car is a major distraction on the road. So if you do it on purpose for no reason at all except the vendetta to annoy drivers, it makes you a huge hazard on the road. If you ran out of luck, you can cause a major accident.

rekmeyata

No matter what you think of a person and their actions, it's really not nice to wish death on someone...with the exception of child molesters and child sex abusers which as far as we know this cyclist is not one of those.

qwaalodge

It doesn't matter if you're doing lots of positive things for other people even if you're Elon Musk or the president of a large humanitarian organization. It doesn't give you the privilege to endanger others when there are much safer options or choices to do one thing or fulfill your urges. It only turns you into an elitist, a snob for thinking everyone else is less important, less useful than you that it's a not a big deal if you end up hurting or annoying others with what you do.

There are many ways to satisfy your adrenaline urges without hurting others who doesn't wish to be part of the action. They do it in mountain tracks, race tracks, cordoned areas, officially sanctioned races / events, etc. Act like a professional instead of a deluded maniac and it will be good for everyone.

Because when luck runs out, it can be in the most ironic sense. Often at times when you're weak, vulnerable, old, and hardly anybody knows you anymore.

Kapusta

I didn’t wish him dead. Don’t go putting words in my mouth.

But if he is going to put everyone at risk, I hope he pays the price rather than someone else.

_ForceD_

I think you meant to say “didn’t wish…”

Dan

Kapusta

Oops! Thanks for catching that.

Edit made.

shelbyfv

Not surprising in a Larry thread....

LarrySellerz

He's touching the cars because he wants to and its part of the culture. Some may say that by placing your hands on the car, you can feel it start to turn into you sooner than your eye, so its for safety. Im kind of skeptical of this. As for "hitting" he isn't smacking the cars, heck I bet the cagers don't even notice half the time.

its also a brief spurt of free speed, like a sticky bottle for pro racers. Being able to smoothly skitch is a learned skill that is very handy in winning races, most most of those touches weren't skitches

Koyote

It's not "part of the culture" for the motorists.

And besides, there are plenty of distasteful and even repugnant cultural practices...Like racism and sexism. Do you support those, since they are "part of the culture"?

LarrySellerz

defending cagers in bikeforums....

livedarklions

You the thought police now?

Your arguments don't work, and this is all you've got? We've got to follow the official party line? Screw that.

wolfchild

FYI: Large majority of cyclists on bikeforums and in this country own a vehicle and drive .

livedarklions

As far as I can see, all you're doing here is making the case against street racing. If these techniques are necessary, street racers should expect getting hurt, killed and arrested, probably not in that order.

Koyote

If you could afford a car, you might feel differently.

KJ43

You do know how dumb it sounds when you call drivers cagers...right? It's not like people that ride seriously don't also drive.

You are trying WAY too hard.

LarrySellerz

Cagers is an old motorcycling term it’s not dumb