How best to respond to dangerously belligerant bikers (bicyclists)

This is true, but if they had been riding single file near the white line, neither of us would have had an issue...

LOL! There is a 12 mile "rail trail" near here, and there's another 8 mile one even closer.

I love bicycling! But I also realize in an 'arguement' between me and 2400 pounds of metal, I'm probably going to be the loser...

That is what I was thinking. As best I remember, that was the instruction for riding motorcycles during the very very brief time I had one. If the cyclist knows that there is a problem and works to co-exist with the other road traffic, surely we could all get get along together.

I disagree. I despise the arrogant cyclists who think that they are more important than motorists, but at the same time, motorists who think they are more important than (reasonable, courteous) cyclists are just as bad.

There is no legal priority of one over the other, save on limited access highways. So there's no real basis for such an opinion. Rather than saying "move somewhere that you can't afford" how about "don't be in such a hurry that you have to pass every cyclist that you see RIGHT NOW."

nate

Do they take you to your office? the grocery store? I doubt it...

not that "rail trails" are bad... we have one here and it's more useful than you'd expect, but it won't take you everywhere you want to go. Really, it seems to be most used recreationally rather than as an alternate to riding on a road to get to a specific destination. (and there's lots of dog-walkers, just plain walkers, etc. so often you have to ride slower than you would on the road.) Even though it exists, you have to get on it first. That means either riding on the road, or else driving to the trail, which defeats the whole purpose of cycling in the first place. (and do you have a car already placed at the point of the trail closest to your destination as well?)

nate

Drill and tap a hole in the tailpipe (behind the catalytic converter) of your vehicle.Rig a container of used motor oil and a valve.Next time they give you a problem, 'Smoke' them off the road.

George Hayduke's Book of Dirty Tricks.

Don't get mad.Get even. cuhulin

See my comment upstream where I said I liked cyclists, and went out of my way to give them room. But most drivers aren't as nice as me about it.

And yes, most states DO have an 'impeding the flow of traffic' law. In Indiana, if more than 3 cars were backed up behind you (no matter what vehicle you were in or on), you were obligated to pull off at the next plausible opportunity, and let them go by.

I agree. But I get the vibe from a lot of people (not necessarily directed at you) that even if a cyclist holds up one car for a few seconds that that's unacceptable. If there's no curb or shoulder, there's no practical way to pull off. Likewise, a cyclist may be riding in the middle of the lane not to be a jerk but because either he can't see far enough ahead that were he in your situation it would be safe to cross the center line to pass, or he can actually see oncoming traffic. It may look like he's blocking you, but he's really trying to prevent you from making an unsafe maneuver.

nate

These people were out for a "training ride".

Ah, good old George!

A bicyclist only needs a dirt track about 1.5 inches wide. It is attitudes such as yours where people demand bicyclists get off the road because of driver incompetence and piss poor road design/bulid quality/etc that generate anger in some.

What you wrote above is about as absurd as demanding a car driver find himself a flatbed tow truck because trucks dominate the road space by size and incompetence of drivers.

The only times drivers stack up behind me is when one incompetent driver is causing that condition and passing up multiple chances to pass.

Hachiroku said

I was thinking the same thing.

Swerve left Car -v- bicycle: Car wins Swerve right Car -v- bicycle: Car wins

Repeat as many times as bikes.

;-D

There are lots of those, too.

I was pulling over for an ambulance today, and Captain Oblivious behind me thought I was pulling over for him...

I just enjoy the multi-colored hood ornaments...

I've known several people over the years who drove vehicles with flashing lights on a regular basis. Intersections, especially where 2

5-lane roads meet, terrify them. Ever see a 1-ton box ambulance try to maneuver through a grid-locked intersection where left-turners are 2-car-lengths past the stripe? And yes, I've had the guy behind me honk and give me the finger as he pulled around me as I was stopping in the curb lane to keep an open lane for the oncoming ambulance/fire truck/cop. (Around here, they usually roll all three. It is like deer crossing the road- you see one, there is usually another right behind it. I wait for the first one to pass, and look upstream. before I pull out.)

Have trouble carrying that broad brush? I didn't demand anything, and noted in a previous post that I go out of my way to be nice to bike riders, and share the road. But not every driver is as nice as I am, and even self-righteous bikers who are legally in the right will LOSE when they tangle with a car. Smug doesn't help much in a hospital bed, or a coffin.

BTW, you need more than a 1.5 inch track- you need room to steer around rocks or whatever, and make minor corrections to keep balance, and simply room for the wide part of your body. A 36" clear path would be adequate, 48" would be better. What if a kid or another biker 'comes out of nowhere' from behind a tree or parked truck? Some quiet morning, before there is traffic, try riding (or even walking) down a painted stripe for more than 100 feet- see how successful you are at staying exactly on the stripe, and how much horizontal space you actually take.

-- aem sends...

I wouldn't recommend that for the simple reason that the stripe is likely the slickest part of the roadway.

But if that weren't the case, I bet I could do it.

nate