Continuing the discussion from "Affordable" Health Care / Healthcare.gov:
Cyclists: blessing.
Cyclist haters: menace.
2 Likes
Why should cyclists pay for the lane? A bicycle is not going to do anywhere near the same wear and tear as a car.
1 Like
I used to ride a lot. It was really nice to have your own lane. Riding on the road always made me nervous. I would always wear bright shirts. At night I used 2 headlights & a flashing red tail. Granted it was usually only about 15 miles at night. Weekends Iād ride 40-45 miles on a day, I rode every other day.
Them god forsaken goat head thorns were a menace until I got Stans No-tubes.
A car causes virtually no wear and tear on a well designed road. Nearly all of the actual wear and tear is caused by large commercial vehicles and environmental wear.
A road only has so much capacity, which is a function of speed mostly. So a bicycle actually consumes more capacity then a car on highways, arterials, and collectors. A toll on all vehicles, including bicycles would be a fair way to pay for the faciliies, if the technological problem could be solved.
I ride on roads all the time and the only issues I have had has been with lycra clad cyclists riding illegally in groups to draft one another.
1 Like
was not aware of such lawsā¦
care to share? (for the too lazy to look it up, I guessā¦)
1 Like
In my experience itās been the homeless or nearly-homeless people on bikes doing illegal stuff, making surprise moves, riding at night with no lights that have scared the bejesus out of me because I almost killed somebody. (three separate times now)
The lycra clad people and the ones just out for a nice ride seem to know how to drive already.
On the point of cycling lanes taking up room that is otherwise usable, often these are just cut into the existing shoulder, so they spend a little more money making sure the shoulder is finished properly and the painting is done well to both get cyclists out of motor lanes and encourage more cycling-type commuting, reducing the car traffic load.
A good example of where this could happen is Greenville Ave from Mockingbird down to Ross. The lanes are SUPER wide, already enough to accommodate a ābike laneā and a car lane. I regularly ride down Greenville safely and comfortably on the āshoulderā*, whereas Matilda Ave, one block over, is two motor lanes with no shoulder and much more scary for a cyclist.
*NOT the sidewalk
It was a group of lycra clad riders that clipped my front wheel as they passed me, two abreast. They left me laying unconcious on McDermet roadā¦ and kept riding.
Since drafting is illegal for vehicles in Texas, and bicycles are defined as vehicles, cyclists riding in pelatons (to draft) are illegal.
Maybe we need a cycling SIG at DMS. Lots of roads nearby that are virtually abandoned after six around the Spaceā¦
Wear on the road scales with the weight of the vehicle to the fourth power, thus while a typical passenger vehicle (car or truck) causes virtually no wear, it does cause wear relative to a bicycle.
But the point is one of CAPEX since the lifespan of the two surfaces would be effectively identical (were the vehicle portion limited to cars and ought trucks), so my contention is a bit pedantic. Most cycling lanes Iāve seen around here are essentially an additional 3 feet of roadby the curb seemingly achieved by narrowing the other lanes by a foot or so at the cost of re-striping the road. MUPs seem to be used more by clueless pedestrians walking ill-mannered dogs on flex leashes always at max extension, so I do not ride those like I used to.
I do wish more states would implement the Idaho stop for cyclists - makes riding much more pleasant when youāre not stopping for side street stop signs with almost zero traffic.
1 Like
Before I started riding I swore I wouldnāt, but I totally do this all the time when there are no approaching cars.
On the other hand, some asshole did this on me and I nearly ran him over with my car. Mostly because he blew through a 4-way stop instead of yielding!
Thatās funny, because the ābike lanesā around here consist of painting the two chevrons with a bicycle above in an existing lane and/or posting signs besides the road such as ābicycles may use full laneā. Bam! Bike lane. We are cycle friendly. Look how dedicated we are to green solutions like cycling! Pffffft.
1 Like
My number one pet peeve with cyclists are the ones you cleanly passed in open road, who catch back up at a stop light and pass you, heading to the stop line. This leaves all the cars who passed you in fairly open conditions now in a plug with no space to lane change around you until the left lane clears out.
Want 4 wheelers to respect your right to the lane? Respect the full width of the lane and donāt make people pass you a second time in worse conditions than they did the first time.
(All of this presumes that he cars are going faster than the cyclists, like on the fairly open roads with 40 to 50 mph speed limits where I normally encounter them and change lanes to pass.
I walk my dogs past two four-way stops once or twice a day. The only times I ever see cars come to a complete stop is when another car is coming. I mean nobody.
I just wonder where all these drivers are that stop at every stop sign - theyāre the ones that get up in arms about cyclists rolling stop signs right?
2 Likes
Rolling stops/California stops are a pet peeve of mine. If I were an officer, Iād be that asshole to watch & give tickets. I gripe at my wife for doing this. lol. It is a Stop sign not yield.
I think I roll through a stop sign (anything less than legal stop) considerably less than 10% of the time. But Iāll agree I seem to be a minority in that.
(The definition of legal stop I heard many years ago is that with wheels stopped, the suspension must be rebounding to rest at least half way. Or in other words, if energy stored in the suspension would cause a manual transmission cars wheels to turn forward if you released the brakes, you aināt stopped)
Low-speed cycling and cars do not mix. Ban cyclists from roads with > 35 MPH speeds.
Flame on!!! 
2 Likes
Cyclists have to be greater road hazards than texting. Iām sure there are stats that indicate cyclists come in number one as an extremely dangerous road hazard that should be banned completely. @jast, can you confirm?
1 Like
Nah.
Itās all suppressed by the BikeMafia and their lobbyistsā¦
2 Likes