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Six Forks Rd beyond Bay Leaf Fire station is a unbelievably narrow 2 lane country road. I have lived in Raleigh for over 30 years and have traveled (towed a boat) to the Upper Barton Creek boat ramp for many of those years. Although I see 'bike mile markers' all along that stretch it amazes me who would bike that road. I am myself a biker (greenway trails only) and you couldn't pay me enough to bike that section of road. There is hardly enough room for 2 cars to pass much less a boat/car/bike. If someone wants to bike a road there are so many better choices .....
People as a whole, are just impatient, and getting more so each year. Everyone has a "me first" mentality. I encounter this daily, whether it's rude people behind the wheel of their motorized desks/offices/entertainment centers, or trying to jump in line at the grocery store. I've lost count of the number of times I've been honked at or shot the middle finger for pulling out into "traffic" 100 yards from a red stoplight, and the car I "pulled out in front of" felt like I inhibited them from getting to the stopped traffic at the light by a fraction of a second or so. People will block you in a parking lot entrance exit, while sitting through red lights. It's amazing how rude we are as a society, when inside our 5,000 pound moving cages.
Everyone here is not going to agree, that is your right. Most riders ride out in the country because there are less cars and it is more peaceful. I see cyclists and people walking often on the roads out by Falls Lake. As for the older cyclist that was struggling up the hill you should applaud him. He is out there trying to make his life better. Why not cut him a break, he didn't do anything wrong. He will learn quickly how not to swerve around. Everyone just needs to learn to relax a bit. So what if you have to go five miles an hour for a few minutes, that is not going to kill you. Making an aggressive move past him just might just finish you off, along with others.
John
Applaud him? He came close to causing a serious accident. He did in fact do something wrong. I was not being aggressive, I had no other choice except to hit him. Why is this so difficult for people to understand?
You do realize that it is "your" duty to keep your car under control and drive at proper safe speeds for the conditions. If you are coming up on a blind corner and you have no idea what is around the corner you need to slow down. The speed limit is the top end, not necessarily what speed you should be going. Had you hit that rider "you" would have been absolutely at fault.
John
Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL
Applaud him? He came close to causing a serious accident. He did in fact do something wrong. I was not being aggressive, I had no other choice except to hit him. Why is this so difficult for people to understand?
You do realize that it is "your" duty to keep your car under control and drive at proper safe speeds for the conditions. If you are coming up on a blind corner and you have no idea what is around the corner you need to slow down. The speed limit is the top end, not necessarily what speed you should be going. Had you hit that rider "you" would have been absolutely at fault.
John
I realize that slowing down to 5 mph is beyond ridiculous. Also, I'm not so sure I would have been at fault. The people in the other car that I narrowly avoided hitting would have been good witnesses.
Cycling must be very invigorating and a great way to exercise. I think the problem between cyclists and motorists in these rural encounters is that the motorists are usually intent on doing what most would call working and the cyclists on what most would call playing (recreation).
Drivers on rural roads usually spend more time/miles on the road than do those same cyclists when they are driving, so the rural drivers feel the cyclists are just one more obstacle delaying them. Often there are dump trucks, logging trucks, vans, etc. that barely fit on the road as it is and it takes more time for them to adjust to the fact there are cyclists in the roads where drivers are going 45 to 55 mph. It is scary to everyone.
My opinion (FWIW) is that if the road would not be safe for you to walk along, then it would surely not be safe to bike along. Yes, walkers walk facing the traffic so that they can see what is coming and jump into a ditch if they need to. But cyclists have even less protection other than the endorphins that cause them to be brave when it is not really that safe. Other than developing bike parks I have no idea how eveyone can be accommodated in this situation.
I'm glad you said "most" Some of us cyclists are also intent on that thing called "work." Some cyclists around here engage in what is called "commuting." I don't do it much anymore; I used to do it a lot. It tends to make me leave for work very early, and TRY to leave from work early also...to have less traffic to deal with. (My job as an engineer runs to all kinds of hours, making it tough to do that.) But the traffic is never zero. I have to share the road, and try to do that courteously. But I'm not going to show so much "courtesy" as to never be on it.
I realize that slowing down to 5 mph is beyond ridiculous. Also, I'm not so sure I would have been at fault. The people in the other car that I narrowly avoided hitting would have been good witnesses.
Slowing down to 5 mph instead of killing or injuring the cyclist is NOT "beyond ridiculous", it's called driving safely.
I'm sure that, once past that curve, hill or whatever, the cyclist would have happily moved back to the right to let you pass. Going 5 mph for a mile or 2 shouldn't have been a big enough deal for you to exclude it as an option besides "swerve and almost hit another car" or "run down cyclist".
As a general rule, if you hit something from behind you will be found "at fault." Doesn't matter if you hit a bus, a dump truck, a car, or a cyclist. You are at fault.
People as a whole, are just impatient, and getting more so each year. Everyone has a "me first" mentality. I encounter this daily, whether it's rude people behind the wheel of their motorized desks/offices/entertainment centers, or trying to jump in line at the grocery store. I've lost count of the number of times I've been honked at or shot the middle finger for pulling out into "traffic" 100 yards from a red stoplight, and the car I "pulled out in front of" felt like I inhibited them from getting to the stopped traffic at the light by a fraction of a second or so. People will block you in a parking lot entrance exit, while sitting through red lights. It's amazing how rude we are as a society, when inside our 5,000 pound moving cages.
Pulling out in front of traffic is never a good idea if they are going too fast. Do you want to be right or do you want to be safe? I know what you mean when you talk about blocking. Some people will be nice and let you in. If you need to go through two lanes to get to a turn lane, or even go the other direction, it might take you a while. Who has the "me first" attitude? The person already in traffic or the person trying to get into traffic?
Slowing down to 5 mph instead of killing or injuring the cyclist is NOT "beyond ridiculous", it's called driving safely.
I'm sure that, once past that curve, hill or whatever, the cyclist would have happily moved back to the right to let you pass. Going 5 mph for a mile or 2 shouldn't have been a big enough deal for you to exclude it as an option besides "swerve and almost hit another car" or "run down cyclist".
AGAIN, I did not see the cyclist until I was almost right on top of him. Should we all slow down to a crawl on 45 mph roads when going into a curve? If I had seen him I would have slowed down until I was able to safely pass.
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Some of us cyclists are also intent on that thing called "work." Some cyclists around here engage in what is called "commuting." I don't do it much anymore; I used to do it a lot. It tends to make me leave for work very early, and TRY to leave from work early also...to have less traffic to deal with. (My job as an engineer runs to all kinds of hours, making it tough to do that.) But the traffic is never zero. I have to share the road, and try to do that courteously. But I'm not going to show so much "courtesy" as to never be on it.
