Transplant wrote:You've got to be suicidal to ride a bike on the roads around here. There aren't even bike lanes on most roads. Every time I see a cyclist in the right lane on curvy streets with cars having to slam on the brakes not to hit them I wonder why they don't pick a safer hobby, or ride somewhere else. Safer hobbies of course would be things like combat photographer, recreational astronaut, helium balloon chair riding, gator wrestling, home based explosives R&D. Etc.
Regarding the cyclist that is in the OP; these activist types that set out to change the world need to wake up and see that the world is the way it is. Trying to force conversations like that with the wrong person is either going to result in this guy getting discovered dead on the side of the road somewhere, or he'll spend all this time yelling about this and no one will listen and he will have wasted his energy instead of doing something good his life. There are worse things in Houston than people giving cyclists 32" instead of 36".
"His fist is big, but my gun's bigger. He'll find out when I pull the trigger!"
Ruger LCP
NRA Member
Mayor Brown secured federal money back when he was in office for bike lanes. These narrow lanes that stole space from the vehicle lanes is not what the feds had in mind. It was a crooked and disrespectable way to us the money – but in character for Brown. I am a cyclist and IMHO anyone who rides in those lanes is a certified idiot. I always give riders a wide berth anyway just as I do motorcyclist, but I have often seen cyclist riding on super busy streets where they are betting their lives that everyone on the road who passes them is paying 100% attention and not distracted, drunk, stoned, or mean – not the actions of a bright person in my opinion. This guy with the flag strikes me a oneofthat group.
There will be no peace until they love their children more than they hate us - Golda Meir
I'm a cyclist too, go every other day for 25 miles minimum.
However, except for a short stretch on a state hiway shoulder, the vast majority of the roads I ride are in the country.
I have a bar end mirror I consult constantly while riding. Why more cyclists don't install these mirrors is baffling. The insignificant additional weight is I'm guessing one reason and perhaps for some it looks uncool is another really stupid reason, but I digress...
Have I had a few close calls?
Very few, as I pedal defensively, (if you will) but the one that really stands out is the woman at an intersection who blew through the stop sign while blathering on a cell phone and made me head for the ditch. I was unscathed, but more than a little annoyed.
On the week-ends, I often encounter large groups of cyclists completely hogging the roads I cycle during the week. These nitwits annoy me too as they give cyclists a bad name. They all dress up in their look alike dopey spandex uniforms (I had to throw in that particular snide comment cuz they annoy me so...) and pay no attention to road etiquette. No wonder people who aren't cyclists have a bias toward them. It's deserved!
If I'm stopped at a red light and they pass me with 8 inches to spare, I think it's reasonable to give them the same amount of room when the light turns green. Matthew 7:12
