I cycle almost daily, including to and from work. I try to be courteous, and not give cyclists a bad name - I pretty much stop at stop signs, use hand signals, use lights, and don't pass stopped line-ups of cars in the curb lane to get to the front of the pack. Like most of you, I was appalled by the video of fellow in the Volvo apparently running intentionally into a cyclist.
But every once in a while, I see a fellow cyclist who's just totally clueless. Yesterday I was riding north on a dedicated bike trail, and came up to an intersection. A semi with a load of long I-beams had tried to make a RH turn from N to E. This lady (looked sort of tarot card/folk music/public radio) had stopped her bike right on the very edge of the corner, and was impeding the semi from completing the turn - it was unavoidable due to the length of the trailer and the narrowness of the street he was turning onto that he needed the corner where she was sitting obliviously on her bike. I'd stopped about 6 m (20 feet back) and was telling her to back up to give the semi room. Finally a spotter got out of the passenger side of the cab and gestured that she had to get out of the way.
Instead of backing up onto the trail, she pushed her bike out behind the trailer where the driver couldn't see her. She appeared on the other side of the street a minute or so later, and so the driver of the semi was able to back up and re-try the turn. After the semi had cleared the intersection, I was able to cross the street with the next green light.
Anyway, I caught up to her at the next lights. She was waiting on the SE corner island waiting to cross to the SW corner. I wanted to say something but stifled myself. No traffic was moving, likely due to only the turn lanes having the green light. The lights changed, and she took off across the crosswalk without waiting for a walk light - across the northbound line of traffic that had just gotten a green light. Three lanes of cars slammed on their brakes and she continued across the intersection oblivious to the fact she was riding against a red light.
My theory is that cyclists like that probably drive the same way. Better that she's not piloting a 4500 lb SUV - at least on a bike she's unlikely to hurt anyone else.
OK, rant over ...
But every once in a while, I see a fellow cyclist who's just totally clueless. Yesterday I was riding north on a dedicated bike trail, and came up to an intersection. A semi with a load of long I-beams had tried to make a RH turn from N to E. This lady (looked sort of tarot card/folk music/public radio) had stopped her bike right on the very edge of the corner, and was impeding the semi from completing the turn - it was unavoidable due to the length of the trailer and the narrowness of the street he was turning onto that he needed the corner where she was sitting obliviously on her bike. I'd stopped about 6 m (20 feet back) and was telling her to back up to give the semi room. Finally a spotter got out of the passenger side of the cab and gestured that she had to get out of the way.
Instead of backing up onto the trail, she pushed her bike out behind the trailer where the driver couldn't see her. She appeared on the other side of the street a minute or so later, and so the driver of the semi was able to back up and re-try the turn. After the semi had cleared the intersection, I was able to cross the street with the next green light.
Anyway, I caught up to her at the next lights. She was waiting on the SE corner island waiting to cross to the SW corner. I wanted to say something but stifled myself. No traffic was moving, likely due to only the turn lanes having the green light. The lights changed, and she took off across the crosswalk without waiting for a walk light - across the northbound line of traffic that had just gotten a green light. Three lanes of cars slammed on their brakes and she continued across the intersection oblivious to the fact she was riding against a red light.
My theory is that cyclists like that probably drive the same way. Better that she's not piloting a 4500 lb SUV - at least on a bike she's unlikely to hurt anyone else.
OK, rant over ...
