I Got Dissed By a Bicyclist (Read 2804 times)

Had my first rude encounter with a stereotypical cyclists today but I was cycling too. I was waiting at a light next to a mom and her kid and this guy dressed like he's going to a halloween party as Lance Armstrong pulls up an crowds us to get in front. I let him get in front cause I figure maybe he's faster then he looks. He is on multiple thousand dollar bike anyway. He starts pedaling out into traffic before the light changes so he gets a few seconds lead but he can't clip into his pedals so I decide to go around him on my cheap hybrid bike. He yells at me and says something like that's stupid. I guess he figured now he has to pass me I don't really know what the problem was. I just ignore it and continue on. About a mile later he catches up and yells on your left. I move over and wait for him to pass. He doesn't... I look back and he is falling back further away. I guess the 2 foot hill was to much for him. We get close to the split off where the trail makes a loop so I slow down and wait till he passes cause I don't want to go the same direction he goes around the loop. He passes me with like an inch or 2 of space and doesn't say anything but he looks over like he has somehow shown me whose better. Made me wish I had just kicked it up a mph or 2 and dropped him instead of letting him pass.

Had my first rude encounter with a stereotypical cyclists today but I was cycling too.

Yup. That's a stereotypical cyclist alright. I think that guy bikes in my park.

I think the major difference between cycling and running is that anyone that learned to ride a bike when they were a kid can go to a bike store, put down their credit cards and walk out with an expensive bike and pro outfit to ride it around the block on Sundays. However, if your not fit to start with, or if you are not lucky enough to have the right genes, a lot of people wouldn't be able to run around the block unless they built up gradually for it and unless they keep running regularly a few times a week. These people usually look out their windows when they don't know what to do on Sunday morning, see that it's nice and sunny and decide to go on a ride. I would definitely not classify these people as cyclists. To me cyclists cycle regularly several times a week, rain or shine. I personally ride my bike very regularly to commute to work and I usually don't see these Sunny-Sunday cyclists on the weekdays. Most of the people I cross then are commuters or some cyclists that are trying to fit their training into their commute. But if I'm cycling on a week-end and it's nice out, they are all over the place and are quite annoying. When I run I try not to use bike paths. The only times I would do this is if there's almost nobody on them, for example it's raining, in which case I'll run against traffic and move over if ever I see someone coming 100 yards ahead. I think that anyone doing anything else than cycling on a bike path is just plain dangerous. I've often been very annoyed about it as I see all kinds of people thinking a bike path is a playground. I often see people walking their dogs, parents pushing strollers, kids playing street hockey, etc, even if there is a sidewalk and sometimes a park just next to it. People don't understand that bicycles can go 20-30 miles per hour and they can't stop instantly and you can't hear them coming. It's surprising how many pedestrians rely on their ears and cross roads without looking because they don't hear a bike. I often have to swerve around them. Here in Montreal, two incidents on bike paths made the news in the last few years. First one, a car owner opened his door that got in the way of the bike path. A cyclist couldn't avoid the door and got killed. Avoiding car doors is a survival skill I unfortunately practice at least a couple of times a week. Second incident involved a runner. He was crossing a bike path without looking and got hit by a cyclist. The runner ended up in a coma. (link in french with a picture of the poor cyclist http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20071001/CPACTUALITES/71001023/1019/CPACTUALITES) I now avoid bike paths when on my bike. I myself almost ended up in the hospital a couple of times. I once almost ended up under a car as I slammed the brakes when a car cut me going into a driveway without looking. I fell, slid on the pavement and hit the back of the car. I now stick to roads, I find them much safer or at least, they don't give you a false sense of security. I avoid multi-use paths the same way. My 2 cents to say, don't put sunny-sunday cyclists in the same bag as all others and watch out when using bike paths or multi-use paths. - R

...My 2 cents to say, don't put sunny-sunday cyclists in the same bag as all others and watch out when using bike paths or multi-use paths.

All good but clearly this is a thread designed to make fun of the people trying really, really hard to look the part of cyclist and is not meant to literally say that in real life anyone who rides a bike is evil. It's sarcasm or irony or something. I'm not sure which, ask Trent. The bike commuters are actually some of my favorite people among the regulars I see out there in the early mornings. These people could care less what they look like (clearly) or whether their bikes are the latest and greatest of everything. They also know how to handle their machine, understand traffic laws, and don't make so damn much noise about everything.

He does. This past Saturday, I heard a guy bellowing "ON YOUR RIGHT!" from about a quarter mile away and "RUNNER UP!!" to his biking companion (who, I'm assuming, must have been legally blind since I could not have been more visible). I was mildly baffled since I was running all the way to the right of the road, making it a real puzzler as to how this guy was going to pass me on the right. As expected, he thundered, "I MEAN ON YOUR LEFT! ON YOUR LEFT!" as he went by in his Flags 'o Many Countries spandex little outfit in which he had craftily crammed about 75 spare pounds. He made sure to glare at me for not being on the side of the road that he had originally and erroneously announced. Ah, I love the Tour de France time of year.

Too funny. Did anyone start a "Why are so many cyclists fat?" thread? Like this guy, I see many a spandex clad guy who could stand to loose 50 or more lbs. Poor bike. My guess is that they over estimate their workouts and eat like a horse fresh from plowing a field. Also, I have found the following when running on the local bike/multi-use path: - Women riders anounce themseleves more than men - Riders announce themselves more in the morning than later in the day - some riders are actually nice... and say hello... or say "thank you" after I move onto the grass... mostly in the morning, mostly women. - I try to pass on good karma by thanking those who announce themselves. - "serious" riders ($$$$ road /tri bike) competing in a single rider time trial never announce themselves. - not wearing a helmet is mandatory for casual riders (typically accompanied by talking on the cell phone/listening to a MP3 player) - having a kid on board comes with the above - walkers are always two abreast and don't move for anyone or anything. - the sign that dogs should be leashed is for non dog owners.

Did anyone start a "Why are so many cyclists fat?" thread?

Ah yes, and runners are ALWAYS so sculpted and toned. Perhaps you'd prefer to see overweight people stuffing their faces with burgers and watching TV all day, but I applaud the effort required to get on a bike and cycle when you're a fat c***.

The only thing that amuses me more than the bumping of long dead contentious threads is when people angrily respond without actually reading them or understanding the issue. Especially when they use lots of naughty words. I love that. For example:

I've never understood the hatred directed at cyclists.

Already covered. Pay attention.

All good but clearly this is a thread designed to make fun of the people trying really, really hard to look the part of cyclist and is not meant to literally say that in real life anyone who rides a bike is evil. It's sarcasm or irony or something.

Now remember that part - it was kind of important. To continue:

Cyclists generally do what they do for the right reasons, is. for their own health, for the environment or a combination of the two. Either way society wins with more bikes.

And nobody complains about bikers who are courteous, obey the laws, and don't present a hazard. Friendly biker types saving a few bucks on gas are not at issue here. What's being discussed are the Lance Armstrong-wannabes who seem to ride in a homicidal rage, while blissfully unaware of the most basic laws regarding that contraption they're riding. Actually, I just lied. I hate all bicyclists. They're evil. Spawns of Satan, I say.

I used to go through red lights and stop signs, but you're allowed to.

Um, no. Not so much. Maybe in the land of Whinges they are. Although since I lived in your neck of the woods for years and remember some of the draconian driving laws, I somehow doubt you've got no laws that apply to bicycling demons. But in the United States, rest assured you are not allowed to drive through red lights and stop signs. While the hippies in California have tried to turn stop signs into yield signs for bikers, in most (all?) states - including the one I'm typing in - bicycles are treated as vehicles. That means they obey the laws of the road. ALL the laws of the road, including stopping at lights, and obeying speed limits. )Modified to add because you just know some biking hellbeast will argue: yes, in some states they have statutes letting a biker "slow to an appropriate speed and then proceed through an intersection, always yielding to traffic and pedestrians." But that doesn't mean blowing through a light at 40 mph while mowing down little old ladies because you watched the Tour on ESPN2 this morning.) And that sense of entitlement you display is almost exactly why I frickin' hate bikers - because too many of you don't know the rules or think they don't apply to you. Thank you for illustrating, demon.

The constant complaints about it always seem to me like the petty jealousies of lazy, frustrated, whining, car-driving slobs.

Right. That explains why we're talking about bicyclists behavior we see while we're RUNNING. Pay attention. I have no problems with bikers on the road when I'm driving. If they annoy me, I can just run them over. Other than a minor scratching of the paint job, they present no hazard. In my local parks, on the other hand, they're a menace that needs to be exterminated.

If a cyclist says 'f*** you' to you, you either deserved it, or they're having a bad day.

Fair enough. And if you blast around a blind corner at twice the speed limit, on the wrong side of the road, with your head down because your fat ass is trying desperately to pedal that over-priced piece of crap, and you hit me - or worse, that little kid or pet that's probably sharing the path with me - when I beat you to death with your tire pump, it's because you deserved it. Or I'm having a bad day.

In either case, stop whingeing and laugh about it. And reserve you're real anger for the pricks driving 4WDs around cities.

I rarely whinge. And I don't see much funny about people who, sooner or later, are going to kill someone's child in my park because they can't follow some basic safety rules. When the pricks in their 4WD's start behaving similarly, they can have some anger, too. Strangely enough, where I run, they usually obey the speed limit and stuff. Meanwhile, all those green-conscious, enviro-friendly Spandex-clad weenies are usually foul-tempered flabby fartwads. With attitudes just like yours, and a similar knowledge of biking laws.

Ah yes, and runners are ALWAYS so sculpted and toned. Perhaps you'd prefer to see overweight people stuffing their faces with burgers and watching TV all day, but I applaud the effort required to get on a bike and cycle when you're a fat c***.

What some would probably prefer is that they just not squeeze themselves into 12-sizes-too-small Spandex. Get the point yet? Nothing wrong with a chubby biker - except that, by definition, they're evil and must be terminated - but do they really have to try to look like a badly made sausage? At that point in your biking career, is space age friction-reducing fabric really a must-have? Seriously? ---------------------------- Whew! I feel better. Nothing like a good biker rant in the morning to get the blood flowing. Was it at as good for you as it was for me?

Generally I agree with you EXCEPT Bikes aren't ALLOWED to do that. ... it amazes me how many cyclists are dis-obeying the rules of the road and they are the ones likely to suffer for it. A bike on the road is a vehicle on the road. It sucks that we have to share it so much with cars, and that the roads are designed more for cars etc. but bikes still have to stop at stop signs and yield and so on. Otherwise, people will continue to dislike riders.

Sigh. I hate reasonable, knowledgeable bikers. They ruin my fun.