Why are some bike riders so torqued up?

GoldenMotor.com

flatblack

New Member
May 22, 2011
374
1
0
Fairfax, VA
While driving to work today, I see a middle-aged mom in spandex on entirely too large cruiser with her 7 yr old or so girl behind her riding along the sidewalk. You know the type. We've all see them. Anyways, she wasn't just out for a little cruise. She was moving! The little girl struggling to keep up. She comes to a business exit that passes over the sidewalk where there's a car waiting to exit. The car's bumper is MAYBE 6" over the sidewalk, tires still remain in exit drive. The woman screechs the 29er to a halt with the little girl nearly taking her out from behind. Mind you, the car had been sitting there the entire time. Not just pulling out from nowhere. The woman then procedes to try and tip-toe her way off the bike. Starts yelling, screaming and and forces the car back. All she had to do is go slowly around the all of 6" of the car with plenty of sidewalk left. Instead, she becomes a great example to her daughter of what not to do...

Sorry for the rant, but instances like this really set me off. I know that riders put there selves in danger and it's easy to get pissed when you think you;ve been wronged, but really? No need for actions like this.
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Have you ever seen the movie "Mommy Dearest"?
Some folks seem to have a screw or two loose upstairs, and unfortunately their lives are miserable for it. They go off on anything/ anyone around them, spreading their misery around as they go through life.
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
58
Moosylvania
Because when you wear spandex and ride a bicycle you go insane in the membrane.
LOL, ayup. Is a blood flow problem. AKA "spandacerculatory disorder"

I drive a truck in the mornings and find some folks behavior very saddening. Most especially in front of little ones. Just passes on the stupid. Dunno, we are all wired differently but we all need to work on just this sort of thing.
 

John the Chimp

New Member
Jun 4, 2011
81
1
0
Simi valley ca
I was going to say, the car was impeading on her ability to break the law.
I actually have gotten a tickit for riding my skateboard on the sidewalk. The ticket was for operating a wheeled vehicle on the sidewalk. He said it could've been for speeding also.
Needless to say the judge threw it out and yelled at the cop for waisting his time.
Like it was said earlier some people have to make everyone around them just as miserable as they are.
 

moonshiner

New Member
Apr 23, 2011
199
0
0
tennessee
idigits abound all around, on both sides , just another day in paradise ,yeah its illegal to ride anything on the side walk, i still do where there is no shoulder on the road or its just too dangerous not to , i figure a ticket is better than dead ... dnut
 

decoherence

New Member
Aug 23, 2010
476
2
0
sebring,fl
i have been hit twice on a peddle bike. both times i was at a cross walk.
i made eye contact while they were stopped & then i proceeded.
both times messed up a rim. the 2nd one i was hit hard enough to be thrown into US441. a lawyer sent me info to sue but i wasn't interested in that. it would have been nice to get a new rim.

in florida we have the "no bikes on the side walk" laws.
there are permissible exemptions. like if there are curbs that leave no shoulders. to prevent bikes from trying to traverse storm drains.
if i have my motor running i stay on the road. if peddling on the side walk & i approach a pedestrian i go on the grass.
if approaching a group of people i cut the motor.
people tend to dart randomly when they hear something coming toward them.
 

happyvalley

New Member
Jul 24, 2008
784
1
0
upper Pioneer Valley
C'mon, if you're asking why a cyclist can be on edge, just log some miles on bikes on public roadways and you see who the real jerks are. Hint: they have four wheels.
I live in a fairly bicycle friendly area and I've been cut off, pushed off the side, had drink cups thrown out of windows, yelled at, given the finger and nearly hit on several occasions. A year ago in March my wife was hit by a truck going the wrong way on a one way street! She escaped serious injury by jumping off the bike but was still knocked to the ground as the truck stopped on her bike crushing it. It was more than a year before she got on another bike, just recently as a matter of fact so yeah you could say she is a little edgy about traffic.
 

gobigkahuna

New Member
Apr 25, 2011
268
0
0
E NC
True to a point, but while driving my car I've run into (well not literally) a number of bicyclists that were "pushing the envelope", ie. zig-zagging through traffic to make a light, riding 2 or 3 abreast in the bike lane so they are also blocking the car lane, riding their bike through a pedestrian cross walk and expecting autos to yield to them as if they were pedestrians, etc. etc. Quite honestly, some bicyclists deserve all the grief they get.
 

flatblack

New Member
May 22, 2011
374
1
0
Fairfax, VA
C'mon, if you're asking why a cyclist can be on edge, just log some miles on bikes on public roadways and you see who the real jerks are. Hint: they have four wheels.
I live in a fairly bicycle friendly area and I've been cut off, pushed off the side, had drink cups thrown out of windows, yelled at, given the finger and nearly hit on several occasions. A year ago in March my wife was hit by a truck going the wrong way on a one way street! She escaped serious injury by jumping off the bike but was still knocked to the ground as the truck stopped on her bike crushing it. It was more than a year before she got on another bike, just recently as a matter of fact so yeah you could say she is a little edgy about traffic.
You're assuming that I haven't.

All I'm saying is if she was out for a ride with her daughter, there was no reason to be flying down the sidewalk in the manner she was. The little girls legs were about to fall off trying to keep up! Then top it off with the awesome behavior and we've got #1 mom of the year. Safety first! Ha!
 

gobigkahuna

New Member
Apr 25, 2011
268
0
0
E NC
I live near a middle school and the two most dangerous times of the day to be on the road are at 7:30am when all the soccer Moms are driving like banshees to drop off their kids and at 3:30pm after they've picked them up. You can just about count on them -not- to stop for any stop sign, -not- to look before going right at a red light, and -not- to stay within the posted speed limit. I'm betting your #1 mom drives her gas guzzling SUV just like she rides a bike.
 

rustycase

Gutter Rider
May 26, 2011
2,746
5
0
Left coast
It takes all kinds.

Fortunately there was at least one tale of a municipal clerk who had become tired of the tedium.

ALWAYS, contest a citation!
rc
 

happyvalley

New Member
Jul 24, 2008
784
1
0
upper Pioneer Valley
You're assuming that I haven't.

All I'm saying is if she was out for a ride with her daughter, there was no reason to be flying down the sidewalk in the manner she was. The little girls legs were about to fall off trying to keep up! Then top it off with the awesome behavior and we've got #1 mom of the year. Safety first! Ha!
No, not assuming anything and nothing personal so please don't take it that way. Occasionally I see venting about spandex cyclists etc and for the most part I see it as attempts at humor. Still, when I log in here it says motorbicycling com. I can say I've never had a drink cup thrown or been run off the road by a spandex wearing roadie.

I agree on the safety first, I used to tell my son: 'when you're riding a bike around cagers, even if you're in the right you can end up dead wrong'.
 

DuctTapedGoat

Active Member
Dec 20, 2010
1,179
10
38
38
Nampa Idaho
I have my own personal feelings about spandexers.

You ever walk into a bicycle shop? Sure ya have. Ya ever mention, "...on my motorized bike..."? Sure ya have.

What was your responses? And I don't mean that one guy who was cool - I mean the others. And not the others that are like "Oh, okay." I mean the ones that are like, "Will you not park your bike on our racks?" That's the difference between spandexers and regular bicyclists.

Now, keep this in mind. Not every guy who wears spandex is a spandexer, and not every bicyclist is cool with MxB's. Spandexer is more a term for the uptight, bigoted, "I'm a bicycle, respect me," "That's not a bicycle, go eff yourself," etc etc.