Charlotte Bicyclists (Simpson: prices, safe, transportation)

[Timm]

Originally Posted by NCtwins

FYI, a law was just recently passed that if the light is red and does not change after looking both ways a bike can ride through. The reason for this law is because a bike will not set off the light to change.

Wow, I hadn't heard that. Could you link me to the law, or a story about it?

[NCtwins]

NC Red Light Law 2007

HTH!

[diertac]

Originally Posted by NCtwins

NC Red Light Law 2007

HTH!

NCtwins, thank you for that link! I did not realize that myself and I just took a CABA sponsored safety course only a couple of months ago.

Are you in So. Charlotte? I would love a kindred spirit to ride with. Though I may be too slow for you.

I am training so that I can participate in a Century Ride next year to raise money for Team in Training. I have found that Charlotte is especially difficult to "learn" to ride in. So many of the complaints I see in this thread are indicative of the lack of respect I see between motorists and cyclists (and some vice versa, sure I'll admit some cyclists can be a pain).

For instance, I know it's tough for those of you in a four-wheeled vehicle to pass a straggled out line of cyclist. I know firsthand because I'm the slowpoke in the back right now, trying desperately to keep up with the speedier cyclists to keep that line compact so you can pass on a straightaway.

On my first ride, a car on the other side of the road passed us, honked his horn and just flipped us off. We weren't even on his side of the road.

Hate between motorist and cyclist is unwarranted. Can we be annoying, sure! But is it really fair to pit your 2 ton automobile against our 150lb frame and keep channeling that hate because we hold you up for a few minutes? We have nowhere else to ride. Trust me -- if we had the W&OD like we used to have up in Virginia and DC, you would see far fewer cyclists on the road.

That doesn't mean that our sport, or our form of transportation, is invalid. I see a lot of people riding stupidly. Many of them are just general transporters riding a beater bike to work: these guys are the ones who frequently ride in the wrong direction, or on the sidewalk. That isn't safe, or legal, here.

"Share the Road" may seem cliched as a bumpersticker, but if you're reading this and you don't cycle -- please understand that it's not. We have one road, it's the same road as yours in most cases. If we didn't HAVE to share your road, trust me, we wouldn't. But we do.

Next time you see a cyclist, realize that he's doing what he can. If he's "hogging" the lane he's doing so not to be pompous, but to ensure that you have to pay attention to pass him, and that you give him respect as you would any other vehicle in the lane that you want to pass. We had a girl die in Charlotte not so long ago because someone passed too close and their trailer knocked her off and killed her.

BTW, for Charlotte cyclists looking for more kindred spirits and friendly routes, I found that the Rock Hill bicycle club has plenty of both. Their Wednesday 4 mile loop at the Rock Hill airport is awesome, and so bike friendly even I feel comfortable on it. And when I did their Monday ride, as we rode through one neighborhood kids hanging on the front porch actually came to the street and started "WHOOP WHOOOP WHOOP!!!!"-ing us, cheering us on. It was, to date, the best feeling I've ever had on a bike. Love those guys in Rock Hill. Hate the commute down there.

[searpr]

Coming from Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA, Charlotte is what I consider a very bike-unfriendly place. I am not a biker, but I would never ride a bike here except on a trail.

[carolina_guy]

Originally Posted by mullman

When did we coming such a nanny state?

At the same time we began becoming a socialist state, so about 50 years ago.

[carolina_guy]

Originally Posted by NCtwins

5. Please don't throw lit firecrackers at us. You probably wouldn't like a lit firecracker being thrown at you. Do unto others as you would want done to you.

Speaking from experience? Man, that had to suck!

[Huckleberry3911948]

i am grateful for this thread and others like it. i am not from charlotte but know charlotte. i live here. but since i read your many posts and similar on CDF, i started obeying stop signs and using hand signals. i already wore a helmet. however i must state. the space case that almost nailed me 2 weeks ago, with his foot to the floorboard and a cell phone in his ear, i don't feel very charitable towards those people. i was obeying the law at an intersection when he did this and attempting to cross the street.

[aurey25]

Originally Posted by diertac

Which rule, specifically? The rule in NC is that cyclists are a vehicle and are to be considered as such and treated as such on the road. This means that cyclists are legally bound to the rules of stop lights and signs (and as a cyclist I follow them).

This also means that if I am in the road and you are behind me, and I don't feel that it's prudent to get way over to the right to let you pass - which could be for a variety of reasons you may not realize: grade of the road, quality of the pavement, clutter or debris over on the right side, you must afford me the same courtesy you would a car, and wait until you have the right to pass, and pass leaving a safe distance between your vehicle and mine.

This is neither stubborn, nor pretentious on my part. It is the law.

Charlotte is a very bike unfriendly town, specifically with the way the roads are designed. Yes SOME bicyclists (not all, as the OP generalized) are jerks, but so are many motorists. Respect both sides, and when you come upon a cyclist who is breaking NC laws and riding in a way that isn't legal for a vehicle on the road, realize that you're just encountering yet another "stupid Charlotte driver", only this time his vehicle is a bike. And stop generalizing about the rest of us...

Thank you. [Stepping off my soapbox now.]

diertac.... your response was fantastic. I've been siting here reading this thread and was trying (in my mind) to put together an appropriate response from a cyclists point of view. We don't want to own the road we just want a piece of it without loss of life. I was an avid road cyclist in the past but after moving to the Charlotte area and sizing up the roads around my home I must admit it's intimidating. The worst situation on these narrow roadways is a vehicle towing a trailer which leaves little or no room for the cyclist.

[JakeTKD]

I must admit, it is good to see that some cyclists are level headed. I miss riding a bike, I haven't done that for a long time, but if I were to pick it up again, I'd rather cross country. I wonder if the appalachian trail allows bikes (most likely not).

[JakeTKD]

Originally Posted by carolina_guy

At the same time we began becoming a socialist state, so about 50 years ago.

That's why I want to vote for Ron Paul, he doesn't want a nanny nation (just to throw a little bit of randon politics in here lol).