human bipeds moving about

shiloh0 · #1 (**permalink**) 08-08-2008, 08:20 AM

last night i nearly collided with a person on foot. she walked right out into the road in front of me. i was going about 30. only way i saw her was due to the glint off her cell phone (which she was talking on)
i don't know whether she was just being careless, distracted by her conversation, or maybe wasn't expecting a bicycle to be moving at that speed, but i guess we should really watch for pedestrians to do this type of thing.

Large Filipino · #2 (**permalink**) 08-08-2008, 09:11 AM

It's worst when they have their iPods wedged in their ears. They can't hear you screaming. This dude had some hand weights and playing like all athletic with his music jamming. As I passed him he started swinging away these weights. He came within a millimeter of my face.
Boy was he shocked. I asked him to turn down his music because I was SCREAMING at him to give way.

Weedylot · #3 (**permalink**) 08-08-2008, 05:49 PM

I think it may be that others in or on the road don't realize that the bike they see is going 20mph or so.On more than one occasion I've had to do a double take to gage the speed of an approaching bike when I'm driving in my cage.

deacon · #4 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 07:16 AM

I want this to have exactly the right tone so I am being serious not silly when I say, "I have great sympathy for those of you who have to ride their bike to work or can not choose their own time to do things."

I plan my rides to avoid the most traffic and people. Occasionally I run into traffic or pedestrians walking along the roads. I always give them a wide wide birth. Cars tend to sneak up on me.

But still I can not imagine dealing with more than one or two cars at a time. So please be careful out there. We are no match for 2tons of auto and those pedestrians are no match for us. It would be hard to live with myself if I seriously injured someone with my bike.

jasonh · #5 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 01:27 PM

I'm generally ok with cars and people. Though today I was cruising down the bike lane only to come up on some dude jogging in the bike lane, when there is a perfectly good sidewalk right next to him. There was nobody in the right lane, so I just changed lanes till I passed him. No biggie.

I've only had a few incidents with cars, and just the one with this guy this morning as far as pedestrians go.

My particularly favorite incident with a car was just last week. I pulled up to a red light and was in the middle of the right-hand turn lane. Some lady pulls up behind me in an SUV. I'm waiting for traffic to clear so I can turn, and I require it to be a little more clear than a car obviously. She pulls around next to me in the middle lane which goes straight. Coast is clear so I start to move, and she pulls out and makes a right turn in front of me! I yell "HEY!" at her with my hands out like "What the heck?" and she just looks at me with this bewildered look on her face. Yep, she made a right turn from the "straight-only" lane, with no blinker. At a red light. In front of another turning vehicle.

Other than the occasional dipwad like that though, I really don't have much of an issue with obstacles on the road, so I don't really care about when I ride.

Weedylot · #6 (**permalink**) 08-13-2008, 11:59 AM

Here in Tucson, some of the marked bike lanes "disappear" on approach to an intersection. The result is a biker that is traveling straight through the intersection is now crowded all the way over to the right side of the "Right turn only" lane (which causes confusion to cell phone wielding cagers) or left out at the edge of the straight through lane in an unmarked "no mans land". It can add riding excitement to your day...

deacon · #7 (**permalink**) 08-13-2008, 01:38 PM

There are no bike lanes here. We still live in the gas guzzling mind set. I go to the home depot for parts so I have my route worked out. I go when there is the least traffic so that I can move around inside the automobile lane. there is a four lane road from which I have to enter a left turn lane to make a turn.

I move to the left lane well before the turn lane and I ride on the left edge of that lane. No it ain't kosher but I don't have to change two lanes at the last minute either.

A bike rider does what bike rider has to do.

jasonh · #8 (**permalink**) 08-13-2008, 02:14 PM

Most of our roads have bike lanes. On ones that don't, there are a couple options I use. If the road is a 35mph or higher road, I generally stay in the right lane as far to the right as I can be. If the road is up to 35mph and there isn't much traffic, I'll stay towards the left side of the right lane (motorcycles are safest riding on the left side of the lane). Unless I'm in a bike lane, I ALWAYS pull to the center of the lane when coming to a stop sign/light.