From: drew@kinglear.cs.colorado.edu (Drew Eckhardt)
Subject: Re: Stubborn Cyclists
Organization: University of Colorado at Boulder
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 11:56:00 GMT

In article <1992Oct6.030058.11632@sol.UVic.CA> atovorni@engr.UVic.CA writes:
>
>
>  Here's my problem: I drive to school every day. The road is full of cars
>wall-to-wall. I usually keep right because the left lane jams up when 
>somebody makes a left turn. There is a bike trail not 10 meters (30 feet)
>to the right of the road. These cyclists with their wide-handlebar mountain
>bikes are scary because one of them has to just make a sudden move and he's
>under my 245/50/VR16's.

Do you like driving down pot-hole covered roads, with potholes severe enough 
to damage your car?  Cyclists don't either.  Many bike paths are in a sad
state of repair, where the potholes are bad enough to at least knock a wheel
out of true if they don't throw you.  There are also more minor imperfections
in the pavement that recieve less attention than those on roads.

Do you like driving on roads where there's a 15MPH speed limit, and 
traffic is doing 5?  Cyclists don't either.  In many places, there is 
a ridiculously low speed limit on the bike paths that is enforced 
by Bike Nazis (pigs on pedal patrol).  Pedestrians on dual purpose 
paths can slow traffic to a snails pace, ignoring separating lines
IF there are any.

How about when you get on a road, and the slower cars in front of you fill up 
all available lanes so you can't pass?  I've seen many pedestrians walking
down a bike path three and four abreast.  They get a little irritated
when you pass at 25, if one of them doesn't get run over when he 
makes a sudden move in the wrong dirrection.

How do you feel about drivers who pull out in the middle of the road, stopping
all traffic while their waiting to make a turn?  Most bike paths are set back
from the main road, and drivers will pull into intersections between bike
paths and side roads so they can have a good view of the "real" road.  

What about sand?  Bike roads don't have a shoulder, where runoff carries
debris like sand.  On my road bike, I have two contact patches of under 
.75 square inches each.  Loose traction on either of those and you'll get 
a nasty case of road rash at 20+ MPH.  

At night, the lights hang over the real road, not the bike path.  
I like to see where I'm going.

>  Up to now, I just swerve half into the left lane, provided that I can 
>squeeze in between other cars. Otherwise, I pass between the left-lane
>traffic and the biker by a hair.

This is probably illegal.  I imagine that all the rules that apply to 
passing a car or motorcycle apply to passing a bicycle - anybody 
have the definate word on this?

Treat cyclists the same way you would ANY slow moving traffic.  Wait until
it's safe to pass (Ie, no traffic in the other lane!) and then do so.  

If you risk it, remember that you could loose everything you own in 
a civil case, not to mention the criminal penalties or having to 
live with your conscience for the rest of your life.

Cyclists pay the same taxes (Albeit not so much gas tax) 
that you do, and ought to have the same rights on the road,
provided that they follow all applicable traffic laws.  

>
>  Am I the only one who bitches about bikers not using bike trails?
>
>  Does this happen to you, too?

No.  Normally, I only drive my car when I'm going skiing, camping, etc,
or hauling something.  

If you abused cyclists in Boulder the way you do in California, you'd
be chased down and pummelled by millitant bikers.  When some of these
guys get cut off, they'll chase down your car, pound on your glass, 
and...

-- 
Microsoft is responsible for propogating the evils it calls DOS and Windows, 
IBM for AIX (appropriately called Aches by those having to administer it), but 
marketing's sins don't come close to those of legal departments.
Boycott AT&T for their absurd anti-BSDI lawsuit.