From: csroach@eng.clemson.edu (Shane Roach)
Subject: Re: Stubborn Cyclists
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 21:54:49 GMT

From article <1992Oct6.115600.23268@colorado.edu>, by drew@kinglear.cs.colorado.edu (Drew Eckhardt):
> 
Gripes about cyclists deleted

> 
> 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.
> 
Generally the cyclists around here(Clemson, SC) are about as courteous as can
be expected, staying near the shoulder(no bike trails here), signalling their
intentions to turn, and the like.  When they leave town and ride on the two-
lane secondary roads that comprise most of the asphalt here, they're often 
nice enough to signal drivers behind them when it's safe to pass.  But the one
thing that irks me to no end is a behavior usually exhibited by the members of
a club run by a local bicycle shop.  They typically ride in packs of about 25
and are identifiable at a distance by their matching yellow shirts.  They 
almost always are in a very tight formation, taking up the entire width of the
lane, and apparently have never been in a car behind a pack of cyclists going
19 mph and wondering if it's safe to go around or if there's an 18-wheeler 
booking along from the textile plant just down the road.  A simple twirling
of the left hand from the rearmost rider is all that's needed, and is most
appreciated, as that wall of cyclists is pretty damn impossible to see through.
Even nicer, how's 'bout packs of four to six, single file along the shoulder,
spaced at around 100 yards or so between packs?  Not too difficult to pull off,
and it sure as hell makes drivers breathe easier when they can read traffic
on their own. 

Just my $0.02,
Shane Roach
csroach@eng.clemson.edu



> 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.