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I occasionally ride in a cycling group (Cary/Morrisville) for beginners and they teach everyone to ride single file and far right. It allows people to draft off each other. The person in back usually calls out when a car is coming. And, the group stops at every red light and every stop sign and often signals other cars to go ahead.
Ironically, the most danger I felt was when a peleton of about 50 lycra lizards riding 3 and 4 abreast zoomed past our fledging group on the left, they got really close to where I was riding over on the right, and of course they were screaming ON YOUR LEFT the whole time...as if we didn't know they were on our left and within a foot of us.
I occasionally ride in a cycling group (Cary/Morrisville) for beginners and they teach everyone to ride single file and far right. It allows people to draft off each other. The person in back usually calls out when a car is coming. And, the group stops at every red light and every stop sign and often signals other cars to go ahead.
Ironically, the most danger I felt was when a peleton of about 50 lycra lizards riding 3 and 4 abreast zoomed past our fledging group on the left, they got really close to where I was riding over on the right, and of course they were screaming ON YOUR LEFT the whole time...as if we didn't know they were on our left and within a foot of us.
I get the feeling we ride in the same group together
Ironically, the most danger I felt was when a peleton of about 50 lycra lizards riding 3 and 4 abreast zoomed past our fledging group on the left, they got really close to where I was riding over on the right, and of course they were screaming ON YOUR LEFT the whole time...as if we didn't know they were on our left and within a foot of us.
How far was vehicle traffic backed up with all these cyclist on the road at the same time?
Btw, I really liked your other post. You said what most motorist are thinking.
This post?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TabbyCats
I give bikers an extra wide berth when passing and only when I can see around the next corner or incline/decline. I'm afraid of those wobbly-up-hills riders because you never know when they might wobble my way a little too hard and lose it as I'm passing them. I'd also never blow my horn at them or scare them....or even flip them off. BUT, I do resent them being on the roads with cars.
When I was a kid riding a bike, I was taught that the road belongs to cars, that I should always give them the right of way and pull over into the ditch if I have to in order to let them pass. After all, I'm just a kid out "playing" and drivers are adults with places to go and people to see...... Imagine my surprise when I got a license one day and learned that bikers have rights on the road, just like cars!
Now, I applaud those who bike to work or to run errands and save gas. But, when a biker is out there for their leisure, that's another story. Why should drivers who might be rushing a sick kid or pet to the doctor/vet be inconvenienced by someone getting their exercise? Aren't there any bike paths for that? I don't think twice about bike riders on neighborhood streets--I expect it and love seeing it, even if I have to slow down for a few seconds until I can get by, but up the speed limit to at least 45 out on a heavily traveled county road (twisty and hilly!) and I get irritated. I drive Six Forks / New Light almost daily and it gets old, especially when there's several bikers together or biker after biker. Especially when I'm so afraid for them--and myself--that I don't take passing them lightly. Maybe if I just blew on by them, I'd be a little less irritated. Heck, when I see one approaching in the opposite lane and a car coming up from behind them, I pull as far over in my lane as I can to make it easier on that car to pass the biker because I don't know if he's one of those guys that doesn't care if he gives bikers a wide berth or not.
I'm sure this is not going to be a popular opinion, but I just had to say it (because you'd never know it by how I treat bikers on the road). In a perfect world, the roads would be created to be wide enough to have a bike lane or at least just a wider shoulder for them to get closer to so cars could safely pass without having to swing into the other lane to do so. Or more bike paths that bikers would be obligated to use when they go ride for "exercise".
Can you tell I just got slowed down by some bikers? The worst is when you have to wait to get around them and then end up at a stop light and they get past you.....so you have to pass the SAME rider(s) yet again on the other side.
So, before you blast this--it's JUST an opinion and how I feel. It is in no way reflected in how I drive alongside them. I give them their space and legal rights. There's not a single biker I've ever passed that would ever know I feel this way. But boy does it feel good to get it off my chest and say it!
Carry on.... :-)
Funny, because I responded to that one too, in a supportive way, and still have people making stuff up about me feeling entitled. I didn't "blast" this post, in fact I said most of those things irritate me too, as a cyclist.
But I did get to thinking about the bolded paragraph. What would have an even BIGGER effect on reducing traffic would be if cars did the same thing proposed here. You know, just use the cars for work, and getting your sick kids to the grocery store. Imagine how much more room there'd be on the roads if drivers didn't use their cars to drive to the gym, or to go to the movies or the mall, or to go golfing, or to run errands within two miles (when they could walk or ride a bike). It would have a much bigger effect on reducing traffic than banning cyclists.
Obviously, that would never happen, and I'm not even calling for it. But to want cyclists to be banned from recreational use, so you can have more convenience to your own recreation is a bit hypocritical, isn't it? Still seems the best thing is that everyone just follows the law (cyclists and drivers) then there would really be almost zero problems. Unfortunately "a few bad apples" from both groups don't do that, and ruin it for all.
There are some stretches on New Light where you'd have to stay slow for a cyclist for quite a ways before you'd be able to safely pass. Much worse than Six Forks where I was almost in an accident I almost caused because I was impatient and inconsiderate and passed illegally with no regard to the rules or laws of the road!
I apologize for being so rude to you, Not_liking_Fl. I know you're a safe driver, and would never put a cyclist or motorist in harms way. I'm sure your quick thinking and mad driving skills saved the old cyclist and the poor innocent folks driving in the other car. I also acknowledge that the curve you're referring to on Six Forks is unsafe for bikers. Please forgive me. Big K
Apology accepted.
Last edited by Not_liking_FL; 08-16-2015 at 04:20 PM..
Wow, people sure do get worked up about cyclists on the road. Somehow I've managed to live here 10 years without putting other people in danger while passing cyclists. And I drive all over the Triangle including popular cycling routes.
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