GreatLakes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2015
Considering 99% of the cyclists we see on the road are riding on weekends, it’s a pretty fair assumption.
And you can NOT be serious about the late for work thing! Boo hoo, the cyclist could be late for work if they pulled over for faster traffic!?!? How about all the people who WILL be late for work because ONE cyclist is holding up dozens of cars!?!? I’m sorry, but when you CHOOSE to travel in a manner that automatically creates inconvenience for EVERYONE ELSE, it’s YOU who needs to be accommodating. Again, if a farmer - who by definition is already AT WORK while moving equipment - can do it, so can cyclists. Period.
Quite frankly, you’re basically proving my point for me. If you want to know why so many motorists have a bad attitude toward cyclists, go back & read everything you’ve said. You give courteous riders a bad name.
Yes, it’s a 2-way Street on sharing. I am fully committed to safely operating my vehicle in the vicinity of your bike. I will give you (and motorcycles) additional space whenever necessary. I know your presence on the road WILL cost me time and I’m fully prepared to lose it. Now, is it too much to ask that you do your part to ensure the amount of time I lose BECAUSE OF YOU is a “reasonable” amount of time?
As for the diesel pump, it works like the handicapped stall in the bathroom. If it’s busy, it’s expected that there will be a car of some kind at every pump. OTOH, if there are 16 empty pumps, and the ONE diesel pump is vacant, the courteous thing to do is not block that pump if your car isn’t diesel.
Cyclist are much like drivers, some are better and more courteous than others. The majority are good and courteous but the ones that aren't stand out. If you don't ride often there are some aspects of road cycling that you might not be aware of. For example, riding as far right as is safe is something cyclists should do and most do ride as far right as possible. There are times and roads where as far right as safe is the middle of the road. If you have gutter sewers you can't ride over them with a 23mm wheel. You also can't ride with road debris that car tires can handle. The tires aren't made to handle that kind of debris and in the spring, after all the winter snow melts and before the rain has a chance to clean it out, you very well might not be able to ride too close to the side of the road.
There is also the safety aspect of taking the lane when necessary. If you are on winding roads where it is unsafe to be passed you have to take the lane from time to time to keep a car from trying to speed past you on a blind turn.
The courteous thing to do is move over to the side when it is safe to do so but stopping every time there are cars behind you is a non-starter and there are no laws to my knowledge that necessitates that. Outside of specific laws that grant different rules to cyclists than cars (like an Idaho stop) cyclists should obey the laws. If they go through a stop sign and a police officer sees them they should get a ticket just like a driver that goes through a stop sign.
The vast majority of cyclists are just out there trying to use the road as safely as possible and aren't trying to hold anyone up. The reality of physics means they can only go so fast and can only move over when the road conditions allow for it. Patience from everyone is needed. If it is not safe to pass a cyclist for a few miles that means you don't do it. If it means the cyclist needs to move over when it is safe and stop in line at lights that is what they need to do.