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COMMUTER's, wearing street clothes, on their way to/from school/work etc
and who follow the prevailing traffic flow and laws etc... get a wide berth.
Members of the SPANDEX brigade otoh... get no tolerance whatsoever.
I'm a commuter. My commute is over 15 miles one way. Try riding hat in a reasonable amount of time in street clothes. Man of my friends commute a similar distance. We all wear the proper attire when doing so, spandex that is.
I'm not trying to start something here, but I need to get the other side of the argument. I live in a small town in the foothills of the Rockies and on sunny weekend days, our 'backroads' get inundated with cyclists. Most of my non-cycling friends have real disdain for them and consider them a safety hazard.
I think one of the "backroads" you're referring to may be Lookout Mountain Road coming down into Golden. We took a scenic drive up there last summer coming in off I-70 and were amazed to see the astonishing number of cyclists on the other side ascending and descending as we drove down to Golden. Honestly, it was frightening to be a motorist and trying to "share the road" with cyclists singly and in groups, on both sides of the road, with other traffic in the mix. There was barely enough room to share the road. Haven't been back since as the situation isn't safe.
I really think most people know what it means to share the road but I would imagine there is a certain amount of resentment from motorists who feel bicycles have taken over their beloved backroads. Some of them act out on it. As you know, that's a problem in Colorado. I frankly don't know what the solution is but we just avoid the scenic backroads now for fear of an accident. Fair? Probably not. But it's good for the cyclists.
We've got those, but they don't mean anything for motorists. They indicate that a recommended non-exclusive bike path on the road. Since they only have them on on roads which are recommended bike paths, and those roads tend to not be the best roads for getting anywhere, they're kind of useless anyway.
Where I live these are not only on recommended bike paths. Some are on busy streets that are the only thoroughfare to a key destination.
You have ******* cagers and cyclist, cyclist who obey the laws as well as motorist. You have those that are clueless to the laws on both sides, you have cyclist of premium rush nature to stay alive. The laws are there, but at least in this city, they arent really publicised. Which has caused a few of us to toss bikes through peoples windshields.
California just passed the rule too. I'd really love protected separate bike lanes! The bike lane on my street is sharrows. I am not comfortable biking on my block. I hate backing out. Forget about riding my bike down a semi steep hill with driveways evet few feet with 20 unit buildings. The striped a real lane 2 blocks down, and it is congested but wider than my own street and the hill isn't as steep so it is ok. The bike lanes keep switching to sharrows to downtown. Luckily traffic isn't too fast downtown, and it is a grid so I can find quieter sections.
I hate when I hear wanna be lance armstrongs who say that we don't need safer bike lanes.
I'm not trying to start something here, but I need to get the other side of the argument. I live in a small town in the foothills of the Rockies and on sunny weekend days, our 'backroads' get inundated with cyclists. Most of my non-cycling friends have real disdain for them and consider them a safety hazard. Most of my cycling friends (as well as myself) are mountain/trail bikers, so they also don't know much about the challenges and motivations of someone who chooses to ride down a well-used highway for fun.
Whether 'share the road' signs are posted in an area or not, I believe that it's good form wherever bikers may be. But there isn't much that I can find in our local legislation to explain exactly what that means. So what about you street bikers, what does 'share the road' really mean?
On a related note, when cyclists decide to share the sidewalk with pedestrians, maybe cyclists will have something to complain about. You seem, many people that walk also drive cars so perhaps cyclists reap what they sow.
Blasting past a pedestrian as you ride up from behind them at 20-30 mph and screaming "on your left" just as you pass them is hardly courteous nor considered sharing anything. Riding three or more abreast so you can all share a chat and making people step off the sidewalk is not sharing anything either.
Note to cyclists: before you complain about others, clean your own mess. In some larger cities, cyclists think they are exempt from traffic laws, see pedestrians as an impediment to their progress and in general have a care less attitude toward anyone else trying to get from point A to point B. Legislation? You bet, start with dealing with cyclists who ignore traffic rules and laws the same way drives and riders of motor vehicles and motorcycles are dealt with, give them tickets, make them register and pay a license fee and make them pass a competency test.
On a related note, when cyclists decide to share the sidewalk with pedestrians, maybe cyclists will have something to complain about. You seem, many people that walk also drive cars so perhaps cyclists reap what they sow.
Blasting past a pedestrian as you ride up from behind them at 20-30 mph and screaming "on your left" just as you pass them is hardly courteous nor considered sharing anything. Riding three or more abreast so you can all share a chat and making people step off the sidewalk is not sharing anything either.
Note to cyclists: before you complain about others, clean your own mess. In some larger cities, cyclists think they are exempt from traffic laws, see pedestrians as an impediment to their progress and in general have a care less attitude toward anyone else trying to get from point A to point B. Legislation? You bet, start with dealing with cyclists who ignore traffic rules and laws the same way drives and riders of motor vehicles and motorcycles are dealt with, give them tickets, make them register and pay a license fee and make them pass a competency test.
Hyperbolize much?
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