Cops on Bicycles behaving badly

[fastar1]

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There is one road in particular where I live that (imo) the cyclists are horrendous. Group of 30+, 2 wide. For about 6-7kms there are hills. So I get why groups train there. However they piss off traffic as no one can pass due to the blind Hills. So everyone is stuck going their speed, and on the uphill parts they can't maintain posted road speed.

Brian P, great post

Single file, would there be room for cars to pass cyclists safely without going into the other lane? If not, the problem isn't their riding formation.

I'm all 3 and I just don't like cyclists. On my bicycle, I always follow the same rules as I do in my car and motorcycle - I never ride as if I'm entitled. It's nothing personal, cyclists are just normal people until they start pedaling.

Garbage trucks and tractor drivers stop at stop signs, stay right, ride on sidewalks, don't pass left turning cars on the on the right at intersections. So do most car and motorcycle drivers. I can't say that for cyclists, I see all those infractions several times each day.

My ask is that cyclist share the road and follow the most basic rules. Stop at red lights and stop signs. Ride single file. Do not pass other vehicles on the right at or near intersections.

Almost all of us break rules any time we go anywhere. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Or don't cast any stones. It's not the deliberate rulebreakers who cause harm out there, it's the careless, inattentive ones. Unless you count an offense to your entitlement as a driver as 'harm', but I don't.

 

[Baggsy]

So worst case scenario how much time would you lose one one trip down the road because of the cyclists?

6-7km at 80kph is about 5 mins.

6-7km at 30kph is about 12 minutes.

That’s the absolute worse case scenario where you’re stuck behind bikes the entire way.

There are quite a few drivers out there who will risk the lives of the cyclists, any oncoming drivers, and themselves for 7 ****ing minutes.

You forget that there may be many many cars stuck behind the 6 bikes riding 2-3 abreast and not letting anyone pass.
If there are 100 cars stuck, that's 700 minutes wasted, and the equivalent pollution let into the atmosphere.
Don't be so self centred.

Single file, would there be room for cars to pass cyclists safely without going into the other lane? If not, the problem isn't their riding formation.

Almost all of us break rules any time we go anywhere. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Or don't cast any stones. It's not the deliberate rulebreakers who cause harm out there, it's the careless, inattentive ones. Unless you count an offense to your entitlement as a driver as 'harm', but I don't.

You don't seem to remember the second half of "he who is without sin . . ." i.e. Go and sin no more.

 

[800over]

You forget that there may be many many cars stuck behind the 6 bikes riding 2-3 abreast and not letting anyone pass.
If there are 100 cars stuck, that's 700 minutes wasted, and the equivalent pollution let into the atmosphere.
Don't be so self centred.




You don't seem to remember the second half of "he who is without sin . . ." i.e. Go and sin no more.

Please find me the group of cyclists that choose to be on roads with 100s of cars on it that will get stuck behind them and be ******. Cyclists want to be on the least traveled roads. We're not talking about cyclist in a downtown environment. We're talking about cyclists in the middle of nowhere.

 

[800over]

What percentage of Cyclist follow the rules? The exact same percentage of Riders that do. They are the same people. Again we are not talking about cycling downtown. We are talking about a group of 6 old people driving on a side road in the middle of nowhere. I like a lot of your posts. But making cyclist carry insurance and plates is asinine. You gonna make 8 year olds get a plate? Insurance? How about we just drive around cyclists...give them extra space? There is no reason not to. And to say it's because they run stop signs ignores the exact same numbers of cars that do the same. I can sit at a light near my work and watch 8 cars in a row roll a red. There aren't 8 bikes a day at that intersection. If cyclist need to pay for liability insurance and plates then they better get the same percentage of funds spent on facilities for them. 1-2% of trips are by bike in Ontario. You think 1-2% of road spending is spent on cycling province wide? Just leave extra space and be patient.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

There are quite a few drivers out there who will risk the lives of the cyclists, any oncoming drivers, and themselves for 7 ****ing seconds.

FTFY

Single file, would there be room for cars to pass cyclists safely without going into the other lane? If not, the problem isn't their riding formation.

Unless you're driving a Leaf, it's close to impossible to pass without complying with the 1M law (which is the bare safe minimum with the percentage of MAMILs out there) and not cross the centre line.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

There is one road in particular where I live that (imo) the cyclists are horrendous. Group of 30+, 2 wide. For about 6-7kms there are hills. So I get why groups train there. However they piss off traffic as no one can pass due to the blind Hills. So everyone is stuck going their speed, and on the uphill parts they can't maintain posted road speed.

There are groups like that everywhere. Most of them (unlike the one in the article) are shop sponsored racers, and when they're together in a group are some of the most egocentric pricks on the planet (and that's coming from a former racer). The lower the CAT number, the bigger the head.

 

[meme]

Single file, would there be room for cars to pass cyclists safely without going into the other lane? If not, the problem isn't their riding formation.

Almost all of us break rules any time we go anywhere. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Or don't cast any stones. It's not the deliberate rulebreakers who cause harm out there, it's the careless, inattentive ones. Unless you count an offense to your entitlement as a driver as 'harm', but I don't.

Yes

 

[caboose56]

Yes

I haven’t got out a tape measure but if I’m hugging the white line, as I typically do, and a passing car puts their drivers side tires on the centre line that works out to an acceptable gap.

 

[caboose56]

You forget that there may be many many cars stuck behind the 6 bikes riding 2-3 abreast and not letting anyone pass.
If there are 100 cars stuck, that's 700 minutes wasted, and the equivalent pollution let into the atmosphere.
Don't be so self centred.




You don't seem to remember the second half of "he who is without sin . . ." i.e. Go and sin no more.

The situation I described is highly unlikely to ever actually happen. The situation you describe is even less likely to ever happen.

That being said, I don’t ride in groups. The biggest group I’ve ever ridden in was 3 (including myself).

There are an unacceptable number of people who are not willing to slow down and lose 2-3 seconds on their journey to give the legal minimum amount of space.

As many motorcyclists have started using cams to protect themselves, I am considering it too.

 

[crankcall]

Back to original topic, I like the irony of the ret officer that allegedly blew the stop sign and gets arrested for not giving his name. I'd love a recording of that conversation, such respect amongst the boys in blue

 

[meme]

I haven’t got out a tape measure but if I’m hugging the white line, as I typically do, and a passing car puts their drivers side tires on the centre line that works out to an acceptable gap.

100%. If it looks like you are attempting to stay safe then you have my utmost respect for doing this on a human powered vehicle.

I love 2 wheels (you know that). However I see more infractions nowadays by bicyclist than I do motorcyclists/truckers and taxis combined. Historically I've found the aforementioned 3 the worst culprits on the road.

Gonna miss ya at Mosport this year btw

 

[sircastic]

My parents live on a street just off 15th sideroad in Milton which is popular for both cyclists and motorcyclists. Every Saturday and Sunday in the warmer months there are cyclists out on that road blocking traffic. Yes - blocking traffic they are riding 20 km's below the limit and riding 3 or 4 abreast.

This area is farm country, I'll drive behind a tractor going slow without a second thought. They can't move that quick and they have to drive those roads. Cyclists who ride 3-4 abreast blocking traffic instead of being close to the line and letting others pass are *********.

 

[LePhillou]

You all sound like the people who tell me

"OH I HEARD OF THE MOTORCYCLE GUY WHO DIED DOING WHEELIES ON THE NEWS"

"OH YOU RIDE A MOTORCYCLE? I HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER THAT DIED RIDING ONE"

"OH YOU HAVE A MOTORCYCLE, YOU DO THAT WEAVE IN AND OUT OF TRAFFIC EH?!"

"OH MOTORCYCLES ARE JUST TOYS! YOUR WIFE LETS YOU RIDE ONE?'

"OH YOU HAVE A MOTORCYCLE, YOU HAVE A HARLEY OR A CROTCH ROCKET? OH IT'S NOT A HARLEY, SO YOU MUST BE GOING 180 KM/H ALL THE TIME (and if i had a harley) MAN THOSE MOTORCYCLES ARE LOUD"

Meaning most of you talk about cyclists like those people.

I'm a cager, a motorcycle rider and a cyclist... and the hypocrisy here is real.



If you tell me you don't do your full stop when your vehicle is immobile at every single stop, raise your hand.

If you tell me you don't slow down at every single yellow light (in whatever vehicle you are in), raise your hand.

If you tell me you don't always ride/drive within 10% of the speed limit (which technically is still breaking the law), raise your hand.

I'm gonna guess that most hands would be raised here at this point. We just tolerate those offenses and have accepted them.

I ride my bicycle some days on lakeshore for my commute, at rush hour, and i can guarantee you there's way more traffic than those country roads that were mentioned. Obv im not riding abreast with anyone but i know that i don't create a huge backlog of traffic because people seem to know how to share the road, generally speaking. It will happen that at a red light some cars don't know their distances and are too far to the right so i cannot filter and i might use the boulevard to make it to the front. It's all about adapting and sharing the road without endangering other people.

The cyclists riding abreast i see compare them to the cruiser group rides on the weekends that are 40 deep, loud and proud and slow. They are going speed limit or lower but you can't pass them. In the end, in the grand scheme of things, the few minutes you lose on getting to whatever place you're going to you would've lost somewhere else in your life at a red light, or at staring at the ceiling 1 minute too long or tying your shoe or waiting on your kid to finish their meal or watching a useless tv show or facebook video.

 

[J_F]

What percentage of Cyclist follow the rules? The exact same percentage of Riders that do. They are the same people. Again we are not talking about cycling downtown. We are talking about a group of 6 old people driving on a side road in the middle of nowhere. I like a lot of your posts. But making cyclist carry insurance and plates is asinine. You gonna make 8 year olds get a plate? Insurance? How about we just drive around cyclists...give them extra space? There is no reason not to. And to say it's because they run stop signs ignores the exact same numbers of cars that do the same. I can sit at a light near my work and watch 8 cars in a row roll a red. There aren't 8 bikes a day at that intersection. If cyclist need to pay for liability insurance and plates then they better get the same percentage of funds spent on facilities for them. 1-2% of trips are by bike in Ontario. You think 1-2% of road spending is spent on cycling province wide? Just leave extra space and be patient.

I'm not talking about kids, an 8 year old does not belong on the road
they should be on the sidewalk, and as an adult in the neighborhood
it's also one of my responsibilities to see they are safe

I'm referring to the arrogant, law flaunting adults, the activist types
arrogant in their specialness for not burning gas, initiating conflict, looking for arguments

I do not agree that they are in the same ratio in cycling community
as they are in the motorcyclist community, we have far less ********

as for a group of them on tour on backroads?
no problem whatsoever changing lanes to get around them
if it's a double line or blind corner, just have to wait and make a safe pass
like we have to do with any other vehicle in front of us

 

[Baggsy]

The situation I described is highly unlikely to ever actually happen. The situation you describe is even less likely to ever happen.

That being said, I don’t ride in groups. The biggest group I’ve ever ridden in was 3 (including myself).

There are an unacceptable number of people who are not willing to slow down and lose 2-3 seconds on their journey to give the legal minimum amount of space.

As many motorcyclists have started using cams to protect themselves, I am considering it too.

I agree with that.

 

[Evoex]

Back to original topic, I like the irony of the ret officer that allegedly blew the stop sign and gets arrested for not giving his name. I'd love a recording of that conversation, such respect amongst the boys in blue

If i'm not mistaken he was detained, not arrested.

 

[Mad Mike]

...The cyclists riding abreast i see compare them to the cruiser group rides on the weekends that are 40 deep, loud and proud and slow. They are going speed limit or lower but you can't pass them...

I've never had trouble passing them. Some riders are intimidated by parade rides, not me -- I pass a few at a time. If you come up on bicycle peloton, just honk, most of the time they will go to single file.

 

[LePhillou]

I've never had trouble passing them. Some riders are intimidated by parade rides, not me -- I pass a few at a time. If you come up on bicycle peloton, just honk, most of the time they will go to single file.

Exactly, you communicate! If they're not all **********, they adapt to share the road.

But i guess it's not what most people do.

 

[meme]

Exactly, you communicate! If they're not all **********, they adapt to share the road.

But i guess it's not what most people do.

Beep beep
Gets finger flipped and they maintain their position, two abreast

Good convo

 

[LePhillou]

Beep beep
Gets finger flipped and they maintain their position, two abreast

Good convo

What you don't know is flipping their finger fawks up their cadence, so in the end YOU WIN.

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