BloodMoonGrrl

Where I live it is fairly common to see hard core riders -- the guys with expensive road bikes and clothing and gear that makes them look like Lance Armstrong -- riding in the middle of the lane on the wrong side of the road. I was just wondering if anyone else sees these guys where they live.

Usually when I yell "GET ON THE RIGHT F'N SIDE," when I'm biking, they seem to think I'm the one doing something wrong!

10 Wheels

Show them your badge and write a ticket.

unterhausen

I would say that if they think riding on the wrong side is correct, they probably aren't hardcore. The scariest incident I had with wrong-way cyclists was with a couple that was all kitted out on expensive bikes, but you don't ride long before someone straightens you out on which side to ride on.

BloodMoonGrrl

@10Wheels -- I'd do that, but I'm not an overweight middle aged man with a friend that dresses just like me.

Pedaleur

Maybe they're British and don't know any better?

BloodMoonGrrl

Well, if they're in my biking line, I do not budge.

badrad

it will be a two year rehabilitation period for hardcore bikers:

year one - it will be mandatory for all hardcore riders to ride against traffic on the opposing lane, especially trucking lanes.
year two - all remaining hardcore riders will be allowed to ride with traffic.

I-Like-To-Bike

Datz Right! Death before Dishonor!
You must be one of dem Real-Serious Hardcore Riders I've been hearing so much about.

Buggington

It's a fair point, if I met one of these people I would probably try to make them sweat as much as possible before swerving out of their way with some sort of shouted comment, assuming they didn't move first!

CyclingGiant

I ocassionally see people in my own town who are riding their bike on the wrong side of the road against traffic and it makes me wonder why they do it. If you are riding your bike on the road anywhere, the laws of the road apply to bikes as well as cars.

exile

Well according to Google maps you are about 2010 miles away, so i doubt i'll see them anytime soon. I will keep an eye out though, just in case .

BloodMoonGrrl

^^^ Let me know if you see a guy all dressed in flourescent yellow with a purple helmet. He rides around my neighborhood all the time. I was wondering if he rides anywhere else or if he's stalking me.

CB HI

Just have to ask, are YOU riding with or against motor traffic?

billdsd

Armstrong? I take it that you're not a cyclist. Real cyclists don't describe serious racer types as "look like Lance Armstrong". I was riding racing bikes and wearing bike clothes when Armstrong was in elementary school and I didn't hear about him until many years later.

Wrong way riders are my personal pet peeve but I rarely see serious racer types doing it. It's usually schlubs on a bike. My standard greeting is "WRONG WAY DUMBASS!"

I-Like-To-Bike

Ooh, ooh, stop it already. You just pegged the Self Righteous Serious/Real/True/Hardcore Cyclist Detecto-Meter.

sggoodri

Are these cyclists riding solo or in a group? Organized group rides indoctrinate cyclists into a culture that uses safer habits like riding on the right half of the roadway for their direction, as well as some not so safe habits like riding through stop signs after glancing for traffic. (Group rides do vary in their practices depending on the group's culture, though, with some stopping at stop signs and others taking up both lanes of a two lane road.) Cyclists who take up cycling without the benefit of more experienced road cyclists guiding them are more likely to ride on the wrong side of the road, possibly due to a paradigm based on pedestrian rules. I often see kitted-up mountain bikers and new triathlon cyclists on fancy bikes riding on sidewalks and sometimes the wrong side of the road. I never say anything to them, but my hope is that when they seem me riding with my son on the trail-a-bike going in the correct direction in the travel lane, with smiles on our faces, we'll set a helpful example.

Unreasonable

"He was in cycling shorts, gloves, and a cycling jersey. He had on an [insert expensive brand here] helmet and [again] seat. His bike was all carbon, and he had clipless pedals..."

Or: "Expensive bike, decked out in gear like Lance Armstrong"

Using an example that everybody knows about to get the image = good. It's not the same as angry motorists ranting about "Wannabe Lance Armstrongs"

Imagine I was building myself a race car. I could list all the parts on it and exactly what it looked like and what type of racing it would be for, or if the example matched I could say it's like a NASCAR car. Until some high and mighty racer came in yelling 'NASCAR ISN'T THE BE ALL END ALL FOR RACING, DAMNIT".

Just get off it and let the example lie.

The Human Car

FWIW all wrong way cyclists I have seen have been solo Freds.

billdsd

It's a simple minded ignorant example. It will not escape ridicule.

billdsd

I shouldn't have to play chicken in the bike lane because some idiot decides to ride dangerously and break the law and ride against traffic.

Ratzinger

I think I-Like-To-Bike's comment was more about your assertion of what a "real cyclist" would or would not say.

billdsd

Anyone who's been doing much riding for a significant period of time and been around the community wouldn't go with the Armstrong comments about random cyclists. It just doesn't happen.

I-Like-To-Bike

I'll take your word for it that you know all about what the Community of Real Cyclists might say or do. It just happens that I don't think too highly of anyone who uses such terminolgy to set themselves up as being more worthy than other members of the cycling population.

badbradclark

My mother-in-law insists on riding on whatever side of the road doesn't have cars. She'll be on the right side until she sees a car approaching from behind, and then she'll cross the double-yellow (of a 2-lane 55mph country road) so that the cars behind her don't have to go around her. When cars approach from both front and back, she'll pull off the road onto the shoulder and wait for them to pass.

I have encouraged her to take up walking instead.

caloso

I am wondering the same thing.