I hate people
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I love you too, honey bunny.
Youāre doing godās work, son.
Incidentally this is a very cultural-specific discussion - I donāt think that point has been raised yet? Here in the UK we have a similar problem to people in the US, weāre too damned polite most of the time, and would rather avoid any hassle, turn a blind eye etc. from what I gather itās even worse in Japan. It kinda winds me up, if Iām honest. People donāt get called out on their bullshit enough - something theyāre much better at on the continent. They donāt mince their words, and if you do something inconsiderate or illegal someone will let you know about it, generally with several expletives. I think this is far more honest and community oriented.
Maybe if everyone that dropped litter got shouted at by anyone nearby theyād be less likely to do it. Actually apply some social pressure to the situation.
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I generally skip the expletives as I find that the majority of the time itās somebody from out of the area who doesnāt know what the norms are. (And in the case of jaywalking in certain townships here it will save them a ticket!) And if Iām the one from out of town I simply observe and I donāt say anything if itās obvious from the piles of trash that such is the norm.
Thatās certainly the level-headed and better approach. Ignorance before malice and all that. Also, everyone has their own shit going on, sometimes they might be a bit off that day. And yea, Iām talking strictly within oneās own community - know your place.
But still, people should be called out for their bullshit - they often only act that way because they know nobody will.
You need to give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car, which isnāt necessarily the same thing. I cycle on roads quite a lot, and even at my speed I would cause traffic jams if everyone had to wait for a second lane before overtaking me. As I pointed out, it was illegal and a little unsafe in this case and I can understand being a bit upset about it. As someone who cycles everywhere though, I get this multiple times a day and donāt excuse people who let their emotions get the better of them while on the roads. Control yourself before trying to correct other road users. He definitely has a less confrontational approach and better result in this case - although to be fair, there probably wasnāt much that would have encouraged a rational response in Superman:
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If thatās the story youāre going to end up with motorists hating cyclists and no one other than fit prime-aged males using the road to cycle.
A car is much wider than a bike, the logical standard is you should leave 1.5-2 m between the car and bike so that if something unexpected does happen, like a spontaneous wipeout, the cyclist can fall down without getting hit. Sometimes this requires 2 lanes but at least where I live itās often possible with 1.
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A normal car, a bike and 1.5m between them do not even fit into a US interstate lane.
But of course there are streets where what exactly constitutes a lane is a little more fluid.
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The guy in the car does some pretty obvious things that are wrong, heās dealt with.
So the guy on the bike obviously posts this because he believes he is in the right, letās look at that:
- chases the guy in the car only to create and perpetuate confrontation - illegal
- on two occasions does not give way to pedestrians on the road - illegal and an instant driving test fail.
- goes as close to the pedestrians as he complains about the car - hypocritical
- mounts the pavement - illegal
- Continues on the pavement at speed - illegal and supremely dangerous. And before you say, apart from the fact that he shouldnāt have been there in the first place, there was a large gap in front of the estate car which he had the option of rejoining the road to make a safe, effective and legal getaway. He has no excuse for this.
Thereās a pot trying to call out a kettle here. I hope he does hand this in to the police, he has some questions to answer.
Isnāt it interesting how cyclists demand a cars width on the road but seem quite happy breaking the law to ride on the pavement often at speed and always too close.
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Which would normaly put you in the opposing lane. So Iām glad we agree.
Oh for goodness sake go away newly registered trolley!
If you canāt see the difference between the two parties in this video then youāre being wilfully ignorant.
He did, and the driver was charged with a public order offence.
Anyway, Iām sure thereās some cyclist hating car forum you can go and listen to your echo in.
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Well the thing is, thatās the law. Itās a single file, one-way road. You arenāt allowed to overtake there,
Well, if heās allowed advertising on his channel (I wouldnāt know, but geez, heād be spewing if he didnāt), that vid could easily have made him $10k so far. Maybe he figured that given the shit heās seen on the roads, sooner or later heād hit the jackpot. If he can get another good one soon and build his following, that might be enough for him to quit his job and just ride around all day shooting video of dickheads!
Plus, with that many views, itās quite possible one of the sonās classmates has gone, āOi, I saw your old man being a right prat on Youtube, PMSLā or whatever, thus bringing it to the attention of the rest of the family, giving them the leverage necessary to get this knob-end off to see someone about his obvious anger problem.
I was being a little too hyperbolic to say āanyā distance, itās true :^) but for real, I donāt even notice to within a foot anymore.
good point about the bars, too. I personally prefer to flip 'em and chop the drops for bullhorns, but the width is key. when I started messenging, my mechanic gave me a pair of touring bars (drops, but extra wide.) he thought he was doing me a favor. took 'em off after one shift. gotta fit those tite gapz.
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Cannot agree here. Iāve ridden on such streets on bike and car and have passed/been passed without incident all the time. It was part of a daily route I used to take. It depends highly on the particular road, but they definitely exist. Then again, I live in the US in a moderate-good bicycling town (not a big city.) So YMMV.
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The thing about drops or bullhorns is that since theyāre only as wide as your shoulders, you can tell if youāll make a gap by instinct. Any other bars on the street are kinda dumb, IMOā¦ especially if you ride in tight, crowded streets.
As for the buffer, Iām pretty happy with a foot or so, myself, although the law here in Victoria says 1m is the minimum gap. I think thatās pretty reasonable; if a metre isnāt enough, maybe you should stick to bike paths until youāre confident enough to be on the street, huh.
And regarding the door zone, I often ride in it when space is tight, and merely direct some of my attention to whether any of the parked cars ahead are occupied. If so, Iāll either pay more attention to them or move over if possible. Itās not nearly as much the case these days, but when I was young there was hardly any accommodation for cyclists; I grew up in the door zone. Been lightly clipped a couple of times when I couldnāt quite get out of the way, but thatās it.
itās like youāre reading my mind
when I see someone in the driverās seat of a parked car Iām passing, I put my hand forward and nearer to their door, ready to mash it back if they open it suddenly without looking.
hasnāt been necessary yet, but you know my motto: ābe prepared.ā
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Thereās this thing called Critical Mass, where cyclists come together to dominate traffic and ignore traffic lights, deliberately frustrating drivers. Many folks get up in arms about this, but they need to ask themselves where this militant defiance comes fromā¦
It comes from a better transport choice being marginalised by governments in the thrall of the private sector to piss on the commons for decade after decade, in a foul dance of graft and kickbacks thatās caused an epic blight. The point of Critical Mass is to rub motoristsā noses in their own shit; the gridlock and inconvenience caused by their over-use. They can sit there overheating while they witness a party on two wheels in front of them, seeing the relative freedom of cyclists to travel without stopping at bloody red lights. Because if it wasnāt for dependence on cars, we wouldnāt need red lights for the most part. And the entire fucking biosphere wouldnāt need such urgent rescue from an existential threat. Fuck that noise.
I love cars, okay? But I recognise that when theyāre powered by fossil fuels, you really donāt have any right to use one. Itās just an historically rare privilege. Maybe one of these days, weāll have our shit together enough to do it sustainably, but when that day comes theyāll still be at least 700kg of potential danger weāll still have to regulate, and theyāll still take up a lot of space and cause congestion problems, unless theyāre all driverless. So driving is most definitely a privilege.
But forevermore since its inception, cycling is a birthright.
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Hmm, Iām a bit sceptical about that planā¦ maybe you should get a buddy and a car and practice it under controlled conditions. Not saying you canāt do it, but it seems a bit like hanging onto trucks: tough to balance when significant force is being exerted from/to the rider.
I know what Critical Mass is. And unless this āCritical Massā group of South LA/North OC cyclists ā which never really caught on in California outside of San Francisco ā is made up of mostly white middle-aged dudes in matching bike jerseys riding $1,500+ multi speed racing bikes on Saturdays, then youād be correct.
Sometimes selfish rich people ride bikes AND drive fossil-fueled vehicles, and theyāre not that concerned with the environment or sharing the road.
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