Bicyclists suck!

[Resolute 14]

It would make a hell of a lot more sense than what the actually did. And 10th is a road where lane reversals and a bike lane could coexist. It isn't very busy at all outside of rush hour.

[malcolmk14]

Almost took a cyclist out today but I'm not sure if it was my fault or his.

Heading north on 8th Street SW by the Sandman, I was in the right-hand shoulder lane, turning right into the alley between 7th and 6th avenues.

Obviously being in the right lane I did not expect anyone to be between me and the curb when I turned, I shoulder-checked for pedestrians and turned into the alley and boom he appeared out of nowhere and just about took my mirror off.

I had my right turn indicator on for almost half a block before I turned, would that have been his fault? Assuming he is abiding by the rules of the road and acting as a vehicle you would think that he would not try and pass someone on the right when they are about to turn right, no?

[Tinordi]

His fault

[OffsideSpecialist]

I would say it is his fault.

I am a cyclist but have seen my fair share of dummy cyclists too. The other day I was walking downtown and a cyclist decided to pass a bus on the right as he was pulling to the curb to pick up passengers. Lucky for the cyclist the driver noticed him and stopped. I'm surprised I don't hear of more cyclist collisions downtown with all the stupid stunts they seem to pull there.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Almost took a cyclist out today but I'm not sure if it was my fault or his.

Heading north on 8th Street SW by the Sandman, I was in the right-hand shoulder lane, turning right into the alley between 7th and 6th avenues.

Obviously being in the right lane I did not expect anyone to be between me and the curb when I turned, I shoulder-checked for pedestrians and turned into the alley and boom he appeared out of nowhere and just about took my mirror off.

I had my right turn indicator on for almost half a block before I turned, would that have been his fault? Assuming he is abiding by the rules of the road and acting as a vehicle you would think that he would not try and pass someone on the right when they are about to turn right, no?

The fact you were signalling should be more than enough for him to figure out its a REALLY dumb time to lane cut. If you're going to bust up beside a column of traffic, especially a moving one, you have to be very aware of right turners.

I will never bust up the right side of the road if I know I'm going to block people that want to turn right on the red, I'll just wait in line if that's the case. Usually you end up near the front by the time your light turns green anyway.

[BurningYears]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

The fact you were signalling should be more than enough for him to figure out its a REALLY dumb time to lane cut. If you're going to bust up beside a column of traffic, especially a moving one, you have to be very aware of right turners.

I will never bust up the right side of the road if I know I'm going to block people that want to turn right on the red, I'll just wait in line if that's the case. Usually you end up near the front by the time your light turns green anyway.

If there is enough room I will wait between the 2 lanes in the middle so the red right turners can make their turn. No point in blocking traffic from turning.

[Bill Bumface]

This morning, while ON MY BIKE I had a great encounter with a sucky cyclist. I'm riding down Southbound Edmonton Trail, on the road, then when I approach the red light, I hop up onto the pedestrian island. I do this every morning, the intent being I'll cross in the cross walk and hop straight onto the fancy new river walk bike separated pathway system they built for us.

Now this other "cyclist" who is on the road and has crept up the shoulder to the front of the line tells me:

Cyclazi: "I hate to be a pain, but you belong here on the road, you shouldn't be up there."

Me: "I was on the road, but I'm switching to the pathway system now"

Cyclazi: "You need to be on the road. We're in a fight with cars here (we are?). We're in a fight for their respect. If you ride there they aren't going to expect you on the road."

Me: "Let me guess, you're about to ride straight through on the road, across a very narrow bridge (Langevin) and hold up traffic behind you, when there is a bikeway right beside the roadway. I just like to stay out of the way of cars"

Cyclazi: "You can't ride on the sidewalk. That's illegal. There are cyclist dismount signs."

Me: "No there is not. It's a bikeway. That's why there are 'cyclists yield to pedestrian' signs on it."

Cyclazi: "Was that a legal left back there?"

Me: "Mind your own god damn business"

Then, while riding along the sidewalk on the bridge, he's yelling at me about the dismount sign we just passed (I assured him it says nothing about dismounting, only yielding to pedestrians, which I do).

I then turn onto the riverwalk, you know, the multimillion dollar pathway they built to accommodate bikes.

He of course takes the road, because he's fighting the good fight and yells "I bet you're going more than the speed limit of 10km/h".

Me: "The limit is 20km/h #### face"

Cyclazi: "Oh. I bet you're going faster than that too."

I hate cyclists.

I'm not a cyclist, I just ride my bike to work.

[MarchHare]

I hop up onto the pedestrian island. I do this every morning, the intent being I'll cross in the cross walk and hop straight onto the fancy new river walk bike separated pathway system they built for us.

Did you dismount when you hopped onto the pedestrian island, walk your bike through the crosswalk, and then re-mount when you reached the bike path? Or did you stay mounted and ride the whole time?

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Did you dismount when you hopped onto the pedestrian island, walk your bike through the crosswalk, and then re-mount when you reached the bike path? Or did you stay mounted and ride the whole time?

I ride the whole time, pretty much on the white paint line where the crosswalk and the roadway across the bridge meet.

[habernac]

I am a cyclist, but I do hate guys like that, hulk.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by habernac

I am a cyclist, but I do hate guys like that, hulk.

I'll bet you mind your own business, and on an average day don't piss off anyone else on bikes or in cars, am I right?

I just try get to work as quickly as possible while pissing off the least amount of people. It's worked really well for me so far until today.

I bet this guy is in on those rides where 80 bikers get together to clog the whole road on 10th street just to establish their rights as bikes.

He'll probably next be spotted in the middle lane of Crowchild.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I ride the whole time, pretty much on the white paint line where the crosswalk and the roadway across the bridge meet.

You were in the wrong, then. Pedestrian islands and crosswalks are for pedestrians only. The only way a cyclist can legally use them is to dismount and walk your bike across.

That side, the other cyclist was a total ass. Cyclazi indeed.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I'll bet you mind your own business, and on an average day don't piss off anyone else on bikes or in cars, am I right?

I just try get to work as quickly as possible while pissing off the least amount of people. It's worked really well for me so far until today.

I bet this guy is in on those rides where 80 bikers get together to clog the whole road on 10th street just to establish their rights as bikes.

He'll probably next be spotted in the middle lane of Crowchild.

Yeah, it takes a lot to get me going now.I have a pretty thick skin from almost a decade of bike commuting. The fact is there are some people out there who are just dicks. On both sides of the car/bike argument.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

You were in the wrong, then. Pedestrian islands and crosswalks are for pedestrians only. The only way a cyclist can legally use them is to dismount and walk your bike across.

That side, the other cyclist was a total ass. Cyclazi indeed.

I wasn't legal, that is correct. The line up of ~30 cars waiting to go over the bridge didn't mind me breaking the law, and in fact probably appreciated it. The nice lady I was waiting on the pedestrian island with didn't seem to mind either especially when I waited for her to begin crossing before getting back On my seat. There are always cops at this intersection and none of them have ever had a problem either, even when on foot at the crosswalk. If they ever warn me I'll stop doing it.

[BurningYears]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I wasn't legal, that is correct. The line up of ~30 cars waiting to go over the bridge didn't mind me breaking the law, and in fact probably appreciated it. The nice lady I was waiting on the pedestrian island with didn't seem to mind either especially when I waited for her to begin crossing before getting back On my seat. There are always cops at this intersection and none of them have ever had a problem either, even when on foot at the crosswalk. If they ever warn me I'll stop doing it.

I think most people wouldnt mind you riding in a pedestrian area as long as you dont blow by them almost hitting them or giving them a heart attack. As well ding your bell and most people are fine with moving over. I will even thank them verbally when they move over.

[OutOfTheCube]

Gah, at least it'll be -30 soon and all you damn hippies will be back in your cars.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Gah, at least it'll be -30 soon and all you damn hippies will be back in your cars.

Not this hippy! I go year round.

I also thank pedestrians verbally when they move over for me. Often the bridge in question is packed and I'll not bother getting people to move over and just hang back at walking pace. I don't like asking 10 people to move to save me one minute.

[squiggs96]

I ride my bike to work, and I hate when cyclists break the law. Wait until the light turns green, use your signals and obey all posted signs and lights. It's not that hard.

I will definitely call people out if they break the law. If you were breaking the law, I applaud him for calling you on it. That said, I hate people who bike on the road, when there are specific bike lines, right beside the road. I asked one guy I see at the gym why he bikes over a bridge and why he doesn't use the bike lane, which has a guard rail separating the two. He said he doesn't want to have to use his brakes when the bike lane goes into the spiral at the end. I asked if he'd rather make all the cars use their brakes when they had to slow down because he was slower than them. He said he didn't care about cars.

I try and get to work without impacting cars, bikers or pedestrians. If any of them are impacting me negatively by breaking the law, I will definitely let them know about it. Hopefully in the future they change their behaviour. Cars that turn right at intersections that state no right turns allowed, bikers that blast through stop signs and pedestrians walking in bike lanes all need to stop. I have no problem telling them that. When I walk I stay in cross walks and wait for the walk signal. When I drive I go on green and stop on red. I expect the same courtesy and abiding by the law by others. If I have to dismount my bike to get to a place I can ride it, I'll do that because it's the right thing to do.

[Kybosh]

A bike lane popped up on 10th Ave while I was away. I thought it was rediculous that the new light at 14th St and 10th Ave was only a single turn (right lane), but now with the bike lane it makes it extra ######ed. Oh my god, I park on 10th Ave and can hardly move anymore. The bike lane goes all the way until the final 10 yards before 14th St, then it is a single turn lane with the left lane only legally going straight (a lot of people do illegal dual turns now).

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

I will definitely call people out if they break the law. If you were breaking the law, I applaud him for calling you on it.

Do you get out of your car and give a stern talking to any drivers exceeding the speed limit? If a car doesn't come to a full stop at a stop sign, do you knock on their window so you can lecture them?