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5 blocks south of you, I think at Salmon Street (I could be one off) is a "bike friendly" designated street, though it doesn't have a bike lane. That means, you don't have stop signs every other corner, like the other side-streets do, so you don't have to break the law and blow through the stop signs that Portland bikers seem to think is their right. It'll take you down to the river. Belmont has bike lanes, but not all the way out to 39th. Maybe to 20th?
I'm not sure exactly how you meant this, but it sounds kind of snide. Anyone who doesn't see the reason for running stop signs (and breaking the law) probably doesn't take cycling as a serious form of transportation. When I first started riding here I followed every traffic law to a t. For about one day, after which I realized how dumb the law was for cyclists. Personally I treat stop signs like yield signs and red lights as stop signs (usually). Now granted there are a few reckless idiots who blow through stop signs and red lights, but they are a minority just like annoying reckless drivers on cellphones are a minority (maybe). It's funny how myself and these people are breaking the same laws. Which carry the same punishment.
Did you know that it's sometimes safer for a cyclist to run a red light if he is alone? Rather than wait for traffic to catch up, creating the potential to be right hooked by a turning driver? The most common fatal accident for cyclists, btw. I guess it's better for some people to die than break the law...
btw Belmont's bike lane (one way, east bound) ends at 24th when the street becomes two way. You can still bike on it without too much issue, though it's not the easiest. Better than Hawthorne though which is to be avoided like the plague unless you are really experienced and/or suicidal. Salmon is a great but it's bike route designation switches between Taylor (one street north) which can get confusing.
Yeah, we should all rationalize why we choose to break laws we don't like. The fact is, if you want the privelige of using the road and slowing down cars, you need to follow the same traffic laws.
Yeah, we should all rationalize why we choose to break laws we don't like. The fact is, if you want the privelige of using the road and slowing down cars, you need to follow the same traffic laws.
I guess you are right. We should all just follow every law no matter how idiotic, and never think for ourselves or use common sense. How stupid of me to think otherwise. How stupid of me to think, period. I apologize. I will try to be more like an automaton like yourself in the future.
I guess I won't be pulling over or slowing down to let cars go by anymore. Sure it'd be the polite thing to do and a minor inconvenience to myself, but it's MY LEGAL RIGHT to be in the roadway and slow you down.
I'm not sure exactly how you meant this, but it sounds kind of snide. Anyone who doesn't see the reason for running stop signs (and breaking the law) probably doesn't take cycling as a serious form of transportation. When I first started riding here I followed every traffic law to a t. For about one day, after which I realized how dumb the law was for cyclists. Personally I treat stop signs like yield signs and red lights as stop signs (usually). Now granted there are a few reckless idiots who blow through stop signs and red lights, but they are a minority just like annoying reckless drivers on cellphones are a minority (maybe). It's funny how myself and these people are breaking the same laws. Which carry the same punishment.
Did you know that it's sometimes safer for a cyclist to run a red light if he is alone? Rather than wait for traffic to catch up, creating the potential to be right hooked by a turning driver? The most common fatal accident for cyclists, btw. I guess it's better for some people to die than break the law...
btw Belmont's bike lane (one way, east bound) ends at 24th when the street becomes two way. You can still bike on it without too much issue, though it's not the easiest. Better than Hawthorne though which is to be avoided like the plague unless you are really experienced and/or suicidal. Salmon is a great but it's bike route designation switches between Taylor (one street north) which can get confusing.
Absolutely, it was snide. I don't give a hoot if it's ever safer for a cyclist to run a red light. It's always illegal. How sad that your post doesn't elevate my opinion of bicylists. Because I think it's great to bike. And Sunnyside is a great place to be doing it. I just think the rules of the road should be followed.
Absolutely, it was snide. I don't give a hoot if it's ever safer for a cyclist to run a red light. It's always illegal. How sad that your post doesn't elevate my opinion of bicylists. Because I think it's great to bike. And Sunnyside is a great place to be doing it. I just think the rules of the road should be followed.
so I guess the law trumps both personal safety and common sense. Yep, this country is in trouble.
I've seen you, hymalaia, and so have my children, who I'm trying to teach to ride their bikes in Portland and not get killed. We think you're one who has no regard for safety, yours or anyone else's who happens to be driving near you.
Look at it this way, if 100 cyclists are out on the road and 99 of them follow the driving rules, then auto drivers expect that ALL cyclists will follow the same pattern. Then you come along with your "I treat stop signs like yield signs" mentality and all of a sudden the pattern is broken. When the auto driver is expecting you to stop, you roll through the intersection instead. You've deviated from the expected norm and it's YOUR DEVIATION that will eventually cause an accident, not the auto driver who expected you to play by the rules.
You are not special, you don't get to morph the laws to fit your deviant thinking. I don't know how you can say you make your decisions based on personal safety and common sense when it's the exact opposite.
I pray that we don't see your bike painted white and locked up to a street sign in the Sunnyside neighborhood anytime soon.
I've seen you, hymalaia, and so have my children, who I'm trying to teach to ride their bikes in Portland and not get killed. We think you're one who has no regard for safety, yours or anyone else's who happens to be driving near you.
Look at it this way, if 100 cyclists are out on the road and 99 of them follow the driving rules, then auto drivers expect that ALL cyclists will follow the same pattern. Then you come along with your "I treat stop signs like yield signs" mentality and all of a sudden the pattern is broken. When the auto driver is expecting you to stop, you roll through the intersection instead. You've deviated from the expected norm and it's YOUR DEVIATION that will eventually cause an accident, not the auto driver who expected you to play by the rules.
You are not special, you don't get to morph the laws to fit your deviant thinking. I don't know how you can say you make your decisions based on personal safety and common sense when it's the exact opposite.
I pray that we don't see your bike painted white and locked up to a street sign in the Sunnyside neighborhood anytime soon.
believe it or not I'm highly cautious as a cyclist. I don't care much about getting killed but I don't want to become paralyzed or lose teeth or something like that so I ride accordingly. For what it's worth I did follow laws exactly when I started cycling but I quickly realized how silly (and at times stupid) it was. Following the law will not keep you safe as a cyclist. They were made for cars. I do agree that there are cyclists who break the laws in stupid ways but I'm not one of those. Strange as it may seem, I'm probably one of the safer, more cautious riders out there. If you have problems with me, you have problems with cycling in the city. Might as well come out and say what you really feel and stop paying lip service what's fashionable.
Though I get the sense people on here aren't really reading what I'm saying. They just hear "break the law" and gasp, as if that was a "keyword" and I'm speaking to a bunch of computers/robots. Also, I believe the last two ghost bikes to be placed in inner-Portland were both following the law. At least the girl by the Crystal Ballroom was, not sure about the guy on Interstate Ave (I think he was though).
Well, If you're one of the better riders out there, then more power to you, I guess. I drive professionally 10 hours a day in the metro area and I've seen so many crazy cyclists. Glad to hear your not one of them.
Best to you,
Rushenee
Well, If you're one of the better riders out there, then more power to you, I guess. I drive professionally 10 hours a day in the metro area and I've seen so many crazy cyclists. Glad to hear your not one of them.
Best to you,
Rushenee
i doubt there are any more crazy cyclists than drivers, probably less considering how vulnerable they are, comparatively. A couple things might be going on;
1.) when one has been riding regularly for a while (say six months) one's perception changes regarding what is and isn't safe. What may have seemed nuts when you started out really isn't that bad anymore. As an analogy, remember when you started driving, it probably seemed nuts the first few times you traveled at 60 mph on a narrow urban freeway. But when you do it every day it seems perfectly natural. But if you only did it a couple times a year it'd probably always seem insane.
2.) no matter which way you cut it, cyclist are marginalized in America and even here in bike friendly Portland (though we are miles a head every other large city). So sometimes an aggressive style is necessary if you don't want to always be waiting 20 minutes at each intersection.
of course it'd be a lie to say that cycling is safe, and if some of this stuff looks dangerous, well that's because it is. But getting out of bed in the morning is not safe, and there is little to indicate cycling is any more dangerous than other forms of transit so long as one is paying attention/watching out for themselves which despite how it may look, most cyclists are. They have to considering the consequences of an accident.
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