Living car free

[samsonlonghair]

touché

[Hobie-wan]

Hobie asked for clarification about my offhand comment about why we use tractors over mules.

Wait, what?

[flex wood]

After sitting behind a bike for an hour yesterday on a fairly major country road only for him to not stop at a stop sign and blow through an intersection causing a wreck, I am of the belief that it should be bike lanes or sidewalk only. The bulk of my ride had a sidewalk, and solid traffic going the other way, but we puzted along at sub 20mph because of the cyclist.

Uh you couldn't have just you know, gone around the biker? I mean a biker only need like 2 feet of space to be passed right???

I bike a lot, well I used to, I've been driving much more the last 2 years, but I've blown hundreds if not millions of stop signs and stoplights I mean I'm on a bike I can see much better what is around a corner then you in a car and know what's there before you so it may seem like I am not looking but I know what is there a long long long time before you. You know when the only time I got hit? When I was on the sidewalk with the right of way. On a bike I have better acceleration and stopping power than a car. So yea I can blast right through a tiny gap in traffic and know for a fact that I have time and space to get through without interrupting the flow of traffic, the problems come from bad drivers being over reactionary and slamming on their brakes because they think that I am going to stop in front of them for no reason. Trust me when I say I have a much greater sense of self preservation for that or to take gaps that I think are too small.

You ever been driving down a narrow side street and have someone just stop in front of you with two feet of space between them and parked cars? They expect you to pull over to let them pass. You know what I do when I'm driving and that happens? I fit my huge van through the gap going 25 (the speed limit) and laugh when they start honking because they think I'm going to hit them because they don't have a clue to the actual size of their cars. These same people have no clue how to pass a biker because they think their cars are bigger than they are, these people are more of a problem then the bikers, these are the people slowing traffic down not the bikers usually. These are the assholes that tailgate a bike afraid to pass the biker and believe me when I say there is not a single person on a bike that likes a car right on his/her ass that won't pass them.

As for hand signals? Fuck that noise with a rusty rake. Like I'm going to take my hands off my bars, risk hitting a pothole and falling just so some idiot can blast past me or not have to slow down on his turn. Honestly if I'm actually on a busy street and trying to take a left I'll cross the intersection and then wait with the intersecting traffic so I don't have to deal with the extra hassle of crossing extra lanes with traffic on my ass.

[fastbilly1]

Hobie asked for clarification about my offhand comment about why we use tractors over mules.

Wait, what?

Shit, I meant Popo. Sorry Hobie.

After sitting behind a bike for an hour yesterday on a fairly major country road only for him to not stop at a stop sign and blow through an intersection causing a wreck, I am of the belief that it should be bike lanes or sidewalk only. The bulk of my ride had a sidewalk, and solid traffic going the other way, but we puzted along at sub 20mph because of the cyclist.

Uh you couldn't have just you know, gone around the biker? I mean a biker only need like 2 feet of space to be passed right???

Not possible on that road since incoming traffic was bumper to bumper. Normally, yeah I could have gone around him. But since traffic was terrible, it was just a horrible situation.

[Forlorn Drifter]

It might have been a no passing lane on that road. Also, in my experience, most cyclists out in the country don't ride in a way that they can easily be passed, usually riding down the middle of the lane or some such.

[flex wood]

Not possible on that road since incoming traffic was bumper to bumper. Normally, yeah I could have gone around him. But since traffic was terrible, it was just a horrible situation.

Yea that really does suck. They just made a major road here into a one lane each way from two and a half and they put a median down the center so passing almost anything isn't possible and when someone is trying to parallel park it dead stops traffic and backs it up for about two blocks minimum. So I know exactly what you were dealing with. The best part is there is a street with dedicated bike lanes two short blocks over that runs parallel with it and has hardly any traffic on it ever.

Lots of people are idiots and don't bother to think about how they affect the traffic and things around them. That goes for cars and bikes.

It might have been a no passing lane on that road. Also, in my experience, most cyclists out in the country don't ride in a way that they can easily be passed, usually riding down the middle of the lane or some such.

Some painted lines on the road are never a reason to stop all traffic. You can easily go two or three feet and not be worried about breaking the law. The lines are, in my experience only there when a drivers vision of upcoming traffic is obstructed. Passing a car is a lot different than a bike like I said. And if a biker is middle of the lane and won't get over when they have a car on their ass you have my permission to hit them. No don't do that. Something I have done to bikers and other drivers that take up both lanes is getting in front of them and just slowing down, not braking, so they have to correct themselves to pass me.

[Ack]

After sitting behind a bike for an hour yesterday on a fairly major country road only for him to not stop at a stop sign and blow through an intersection causing a wreck, I am of the belief that it should be bike lanes or sidewalk only. The bulk of my ride had a sidewalk, and solid traffic going the other way, but we puzted along at sub 20mph because of the cyclist.

Uh you couldn't have just you know, gone around the biker? I mean a biker only need like 2 feet of space to be passed right???

I bike a lot, well I used to, I've been driving much more the last 2 years, but I've blown hundreds if not millions of stop signs and stoplights I mean I'm on a bike I can see much better what is around a corner then you in a car and know what's there before you so it may seem like I am not looking but I know what is there a long long long time before you. You know when the only time I got hit? When I was on the sidewalk with the right of way. On a bike I have better acceleration and stopping power than a car. So yea I can blast right through a tiny gap in traffic and know for a fact that I have time and space to get through without interrupting the flow of traffic, the problems come from bad drivers being over reactionary and slamming on their brakes because they think that I am going to stop in front of them for no reason. Trust me when I say I have a much greater sense of self preservation for that or to take gaps that I think are too small.

You ever been driving down a narrow side street and have someone just stop in front of you with two feet of space between them and parked cars? They expect you to pull over to let them pass. You know what I do when I'm driving and that happens? I fit my huge van through the gap going 25 (the speed limit) and laugh when they start honking because they think I'm going to hit them because they don't have a clue to the actual size of their cars. These same people have no clue how to pass a biker because they think their cars are bigger than they are, these people are more of a problem then the bikers, these are the people slowing traffic down not the bikers usually. These are the assholes that tailgate a bike afraid to pass the biker and believe me when I say there is not a single person on a bike that likes a car right on his/her ass that won't pass them.

As for hand signals? Fuck that noise with a rusty rake. Like I'm going to take my hands off my bars, risk hitting a pothole and falling just so some idiot can blast past me or not have to slow down on his turn. Honestly if I'm actually on a busy street and trying to take a left I'll cross the intersection and then wait with the intersecting traffic so I don't have to deal with the extra hassle of crossing extra lanes with traffic on my ass.

So wait...you won't signal, you'll violate traffic laws, and you can't accept that some drivers might drive poorly around bikers because they've had bad experiences with bikers who don't happen to follow any sort of rules or regulations?

Also, wait, if you have better vision, stopping power, and control...why can't you use the sidewalk again? I mean, all those pedestrians have better vision, stopping power, and control than you do since they're not on a mechanical contraption. It seems you ought to be able to move around them just fine.

[pepharytheworm]

Where I moved to recently is a great city to not own a car in. Portland is so bike/transit/walking friendly.

[Erik_Twice]

Forget about laws, not signaling is a sure way to get run over. No, thank you.

[flex wood]

So wait...you won't signal, you'll violate traffic laws, and you can't accept that some drivers might drive poorly around bikers because they've had bad experiences with bikers who don't happen to follow any sort of rules or regulations?

Also, wait, if you have better vision, stopping power, and control...why can't you use the sidewalk again? I mean, all those pedestrians have better vision, stopping power, and control than you do since they're not on a mechanical contraption. It seems you ought to be able to move around them just fine.

No I said most drivers drive poorly around bikers because they have no sense of the size of their cars or even how to drive them.

And sidewalks are much more dangerous for biker then the street because if you can see the traffic, you know for a fact traffic can see you. When you're driving how often are you paying attention to what is going on on the sidewalk? You get to an intersection to take a right turn you are looking for cars in front of you and pedestrians you can't see a bike in your huge blindspot on the sidewalk coming to cross the street. Would you rather have to make complete stop, and completely stopping traffic behind you, for every single right turn you make to check if there is a biker on the sidewalk or rather see a biker in front of you and be able to pass them and go about with your turn or being forced to slow down a tiny bit and only waiting a couple of extra seconds and not bringing traffic to a complete stop.