Good news for Cyclists(commuters) [modified]
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50 Mph? Bah. The road into town from here is officially 65 Mph and that's just the posted speed. Even so, there are plenty of cyclists on it. I tried it a couple of times, and decided it wasn't worth the risk... ended up cutting through fences, a creek and a junk yard to avoid it last time though, so I can't really blame the folks with decent bicycles for wanting to stay on the pavement. And it's probably not worth pushing for Google to recommend a dirt route with heavy construction interrupting it mid-way...
I know what you mean. In my area, the 50 mph roads are easily spotted by signs that say, "Speed Limit 25." The real solution to this is for cities to fund roads that have a dedicated small strip on the right, in addition to the normal width of the lane, that's just for bikes. If they had their own slot I have no doubt they'd stay in it and everyone would be well served. I do admire the people who ride bikes out of a sense of environmental consciousness. I just wish it was coupled with a more practical implementation. Until then, any vehicle who could get their butt kicked by flimsy, fiberglass Corvette (and in a collision I'd probably even lose an argument with a Harley) should just stay on the porch. :)
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
Just for the record, bikers ride Harleys. Cyclists ride bicycles. But yeah, I'll probably have to watch for heavily armed hamsters just the same. :) It's not just the visibility that's the problem. The roads simply aren't built to safely accomodate a car driving 50 and a bike doing 20. In rare instances where bikes have a dedicated small lane off to the side it's fine. However, most lanes have been designed for the width of a car (and shoulders are often not terribly safe for the cyclist). What typically results is a cyclist riding on the right hand side of a lane and blocking traffic behind him, frequently leaving cars no option but to veer into the next lane in order to go around someone who's doing a fraction of the speed that the rest of the traffic is doing. If the car misjudges to the right, the cyclist gets clipped. Not a good day for either party. If the car misjudges to the left, it's a bad day for the car. Either way, it's a dangerous situation caused by misuse of the pavement. Roads are for cars. Trails are for bicycles.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesSeveral fives here; the cyclists riding on suburbia roads where the speed limit is 40-50 are definitely suicidal individuals. It’s not a matter of if it’s a matter of when you will get seriously injured. City, town, park, reservation area even the highways are more save/because of the bigger shoulders/ than the two lane roads.
The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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Just for the record, bikers ride Harleys. Cyclists ride bicycles. But yeah, I'll probably have to watch for heavily armed hamsters just the same. :) It's not just the visibility that's the problem. The roads simply aren't built to safely accomodate a car driving 50 and a bike doing 20. In rare instances where bikes have a dedicated small lane off to the side it's fine. However, most lanes have been designed for the width of a car (and shoulders are often not terribly safe for the cyclist). What typically results is a cyclist riding on the right hand side of a lane and blocking traffic behind him, frequently leaving cars no option but to veer into the next lane in order to go around someone who's doing a fraction of the speed that the rest of the traffic is doing. If the car misjudges to the right, the cyclist gets clipped. Not a good day for either party. If the car misjudges to the left, it's a bad day for the car. Either way, it's a dangerous situation caused by misuse of the pavement. Roads are for cars. Trails are for bicycles.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesChristopher Duncan wrote:
Either way, it's a dangerous situation caused by misuse of the pavement. Roads are for cars. Trails are for bicycles.
You might find that your local law enforcement see it a little differently. If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass. It's called sharing the road, and it's the law. Impatience is no excuse for violating the law and causing injury to yourself, another motorist, or a cyclist, nor does it make it the fault of the cyclist. ;P
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
Either way, it's a dangerous situation caused by misuse of the pavement. Roads are for cars. Trails are for bicycles.
You might find that your local law enforcement see it a little differently. If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass. It's called sharing the road, and it's the law. Impatience is no excuse for violating the law and causing injury to yourself, another motorist, or a cyclist, nor does it make it the fault of the cyclist. ;P
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
Yeah, that's the argument I hear all the time. Believe it or not, some laws are actually stupid. This is one of them.
LunaticFringe wrote:
If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, when a cyclist is holding up a 50 mph road doing 20 during rush hour traffic, his greatest danger is not getting hit by a car, but rather that some yahoo with a shotgun will go Easy Rider on him. Sharing the road is a very, very bad idea, and is much like a mouse sharing a cave with an underfed lion. Perhaps it's just and fair that they should both have shelter from the rain, but there's just no way that it's going to end well.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
I would have paid the cover charge to watch that!
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesFunnily, it happened in Canton :)
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Funnily, it happened in Canton :)
This I can believe. There are more than a few of the Harley riding sorts out here, including my next door neighbor. However, just to make sure my neighborhood is not misrepresented, the cows a block down the road don't ride. Something about them having objections to leather, though I've never really discussed it with them.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
Yeah, that's the argument I hear all the time. Believe it or not, some laws are actually stupid. This is one of them.
LunaticFringe wrote:
If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, when a cyclist is holding up a 50 mph road doing 20 during rush hour traffic, his greatest danger is not getting hit by a car, but rather that some yahoo with a shotgun will go Easy Rider on him. Sharing the road is a very, very bad idea, and is much like a mouse sharing a cave with an underfed lion. Perhaps it's just and fair that they should both have shelter from the rain, but there's just no way that it's going to end well.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesChristopher Duncan wrote:
his greatest danger is not getting hit by a car, but rather that some yahoo with a shotgun will go Easy Rider on him.
No, the biggest danger comes from people who think that the road belongs exclusively to cars. :suss:
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
his greatest danger is not getting hit by a car, but rather that some yahoo with a shotgun will go Easy Rider on him.
No, the biggest danger comes from people who think that the road belongs exclusively to cars. :suss:
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
That would be the aforementioned yahoo. Mind you I'm not condoning that sort of thing, I'm just saying that people aren't always rational.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
That would be the aforementioned yahoo. Mind you I'm not condoning that sort of thing, I'm just saying that people aren't always rational.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesYeah... and FSM knows I've seen plenty of cyclists who were seemingly oblivious to their impact on the traffic flow around them. I commuted for decades on a bike, in cities from the Merrimack Valley in Mass to Silicon Valley in Ca, so I've seen plenty of questionable stuff on both sides. ;)
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
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Yeah... and FSM knows I've seen plenty of cyclists who were seemingly oblivious to their impact on the traffic flow around them. I commuted for decades on a bike, in cities from the Merrimack Valley in Mass to Silicon Valley in Ca, so I've seen plenty of questionable stuff on both sides. ;)
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
You live around people long enough, you see all sorts of questionable stuff. :)
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
You live around people long enough, you see all sorts of questionable stuff. :)
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
I've seen enough, thank you; I want to be a hermit. Me, the wife and the critters. :-D
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
LunaticFringe wrote:
Me, the wife and the critters.
:omg: You married Ellie May? I think you just became a folk hero. :-D
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
LunaticFringe wrote:
Me, the wife and the critters.
:omg: You married Ellie May? I think you just became a folk hero. :-D
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
Google Maps now has Bike routes. It gave some interesting route from my home to work (about 15 miles) which is a little shorter (0.9 miles) than my regular route.
modified on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 5:03 PM
Very nice. Now if Google Maps just didn't crash IE7(*), it would be dandy. (*) I'm behind a bastard firewall here at work; I suspect there's a problem there.
Software Zen:
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Yeah, that's the argument I hear all the time. Believe it or not, some laws are actually stupid. This is one of them.
LunaticFringe wrote:
If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, when a cyclist is holding up a 50 mph road doing 20 during rush hour traffic, his greatest danger is not getting hit by a car, but rather that some yahoo with a shotgun will go Easy Rider on him. Sharing the road is a very, very bad idea, and is much like a mouse sharing a cave with an underfed lion. Perhaps it's just and fair that they should both have shelter from the rain, but there's just no way that it's going to end well.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesChristopher Duncan wrote:
Sharing the road is a very, very bad idea, and is much like a mouse sharing a cave with an underfed lion. Perhaps it's just and fair that they should both have shelter from the rain, but there's just no way that it's going to end well.
And the lion shall lie down with the lamb
chop. :rolleyes:3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
Sharing the road is a very, very bad idea, and is much like a mouse sharing a cave with an underfed lion. Perhaps it's just and fair that they should both have shelter from the rain, but there's just no way that it's going to end well.
And the lion shall lie down with the lamb
chop. :rolleyes:3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
:laugh:
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
Google Maps now has Bike routes. It gave some interesting route from my home to work (about 15 miles) which is a little shorter (0.9 miles) than my regular route.
modified on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 5:03 PM
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Yeah, that's the argument I hear all the time. Believe it or not, some laws are actually stupid. This is one of them.
LunaticFringe wrote:
If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, when a cyclist is holding up a 50 mph road doing 20 during rush hour traffic, his greatest danger is not getting hit by a car, but rather that some yahoo with a shotgun will go Easy Rider on him. Sharing the road is a very, very bad idea, and is much like a mouse sharing a cave with an underfed lion. Perhaps it's just and fair that they should both have shelter from the rain, but there's just no way that it's going to end well.
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesThe law is not stupid, in my opinion, but the arrogance of some cyclists is. Here in Florida, like pretty much anywhere else, "Share the Road" is the law. In fact when I asked about the legality of riding on the sidewalk here in Hillsborough County (near Tampa), the county informed me that it is not illegal here but they would rather I ride on the road as it was safer. (I believe it is illegal within the Tampa city limits, though). Cyclists often keep riding through intersections without looking and motorists usually don't stop at the sidewalk but at the road, so sidewalks inherently set cyclists up for collisions. By the way, in Florida, if a sidewalk is provided it is illegal for a pedestrian to walk on the roadway. Anyway, back to the road... note that the "Share the Road" law goes both ways. Not only does the motorist have the duty to share the road with the cyclist, but the cyclist likewise has the duty to share the road with the motorist. If there is a short stretch of road and no bicycle lane, then the cyclist has the right to ride on the road and the motorist just has to wait if it's not safe to pass. However, if the cyclist is impeding the flow of traffic then the cyclist is supposed to pull over and allow the traffic to flow before getting back on the bike. Some cyclists think "share the road" means they own the road. They don't. If it's a 1/4 mile or so, fine. The motorist can think of it like going through a school zone. It'll take a few extra seconds to get through, so no big deal. But if it's rush hour and the cyclist has 20 cars lined up behind him, pull over. Let them pass. That's not only the courteous thing to do, it is, at least here in Florida, legally required. I ride my bicycle about 18 miles nearly every day. At present there are no bike lanes on any of the roads I take, though the state is adding one on one of them. I don't wear spandex, but I do have a mirror on the bike and use it. I haven't had any problems so far aside from motorists who think they're being nice. Please, if you are going to honk your horn at a cyclist to let the cyclist know you are there, do it when you are behind the cyclist a few hundred feet. Do not honk your horn as you are passing the cyclist. It scares the bejeebers out of me. As I momentarily lose control and my heart misses a beat, honking as you pass makes things worse, not better.
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
Either way, it's a dangerous situation caused by misuse of the pavement. Roads are for cars. Trails are for bicycles.
You might find that your local law enforcement see it a little differently. If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass. It's called sharing the road, and it's the law. Impatience is no excuse for violating the law and causing injury to yourself, another motorist, or a cyclist, nor does it make it the fault of the cyclist. ;P
L u n a t i c F r i n g e
LunaticFringe wrote:
You might find that your local law enforcement see it a little differently. If a car has difficulty getting around a bicycle, it is incumbent on the motorist to wait until he can safely pass. It's called sharing the road, and it's the law. Impatience is no excuse for violating the law and causing injury to yourself, another motorist, or a cyclist, nor does it make it the fault of the cyclist.
AMEN. :thumbsup:
Mike Devenney
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The law is not stupid, in my opinion, but the arrogance of some cyclists is. Here in Florida, like pretty much anywhere else, "Share the Road" is the law. In fact when I asked about the legality of riding on the sidewalk here in Hillsborough County (near Tampa), the county informed me that it is not illegal here but they would rather I ride on the road as it was safer. (I believe it is illegal within the Tampa city limits, though). Cyclists often keep riding through intersections without looking and motorists usually don't stop at the sidewalk but at the road, so sidewalks inherently set cyclists up for collisions. By the way, in Florida, if a sidewalk is provided it is illegal for a pedestrian to walk on the roadway. Anyway, back to the road... note that the "Share the Road" law goes both ways. Not only does the motorist have the duty to share the road with the cyclist, but the cyclist likewise has the duty to share the road with the motorist. If there is a short stretch of road and no bicycle lane, then the cyclist has the right to ride on the road and the motorist just has to wait if it's not safe to pass. However, if the cyclist is impeding the flow of traffic then the cyclist is supposed to pull over and allow the traffic to flow before getting back on the bike. Some cyclists think "share the road" means they own the road. They don't. If it's a 1/4 mile or so, fine. The motorist can think of it like going through a school zone. It'll take a few extra seconds to get through, so no big deal. But if it's rush hour and the cyclist has 20 cars lined up behind him, pull over. Let them pass. That's not only the courteous thing to do, it is, at least here in Florida, legally required. I ride my bicycle about 18 miles nearly every day. At present there are no bike lanes on any of the roads I take, though the state is adding one on one of them. I don't wear spandex, but I do have a mirror on the bike and use it. I haven't had any problems so far aside from motorists who think they're being nice. Please, if you are going to honk your horn at a cyclist to let the cyclist know you are there, do it when you are behind the cyclist a few hundred feet. Do not honk your horn as you are passing the cyclist. It scares the bejeebers out of me. As I momentarily lose control and my heart misses a beat, honking as you pass makes things worse, not better.
I don't wear spandex, either. Trust me, the world is a better place for it. :)
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services