Duly noted.

I know I'm not fair, but I feel like it's a fairly harmless thing to be unfair about. In Asheville they have all sorts of bike days and call to action lets get wider roads days, etc. so it's a pretty active thing, except out in the sticks where I live. Maybe something about seeing someone in spandex provokes some instinctual disliking. Lots of my friends are mountain bikers, and admittedly some of there snobbery has rubbed off on me.

Flying Rabbit: Prayers to your friend.

Capn: I dunno, I didn't think Leon's posts merited that much vitriol I think that some bikers can use more prudence in re: to where in the road they decide to take up space--clearly they have as much of a right to the road as cars in many municipalities, but I certainly do see a LOT of cyclists who could use more caution when riding and recognize that a single bicycle in the middle of the lane is not always the optimal location to ride in the midst of moderate to heavy traffic. Your points are well taken, but bicyclists do sometimes do some pretty dangerous things (for themselves and motorists) and such risks could be modified by (for example) just staying a little closer to the shoulders.

Ayah: I did that once--'twas surreal. I was extremely fortunate not to get hurt and I was thankfully wearing my helmet. From the reation of the driver she was a lot more freaked out than I was.

Leon: I am definitely NOT a spandex biker. If you're unfamiliar with them, look up what a Tweed Bike Ride is. My wife just organized one yesterday, and had over 60 bikers show up. Slow bikes, old fashioned clothes, waving at people and taking it easy, that kinda thing. Anybody who splits hairs about what kind of bike you have to be on in order to be accepted is missing the point, grossly. I hate that snobby shit.

Aero: Sorry bout the soapboxing. And like I said, I don't apologize for guys who have a good shoulder and still ride dead center. Also, the bike messenger crowd in NYC strike me as rude, snobby, dangerous blowhards who take all that good energy and turn themselves into something just as bad as the cab drivers we all hate. The wife and I took a biking trip there last month to try out all the new lanes and bridge work, and I personally saw a messenger kid blow through a redlight crosswalk, shoving a mom and stroller aside. Fucking stuuupid.

Matt, thoughts and prayers to your friend.

I wear my helmet all the time, regardless of locale/recreation level. I feel a bit naked without it, and I've taken enough diggers and head-bounces on pavement to know it's a very inexpensive life-saver.

yeah, absolutely. it's really bizarre to ride a bike now without a helmet. and i don't even want to think about where i'd be without one now. a couple years ago i got absolutely creamed by a car flying through an intersection when i had the right of way. once it was determined i was ok, the waiter who saw it from his cafe said, "man, that looked awesome." i felt pretty good about that, even though my bike was a bit busted up.

The tweed bike ride does sound pretty cool.

this reminds me i need to get a helmet soon.

Hey Cap'n I hear exactly what yr saying...it's just that sometimes I see some bikers and I just end up shaking my head in disbelief (and they usual stand out cos by and large most cyclists are pretty sensible with how they ride).

i saw a guy riding through smith college with his 4 year old daughter hanging onto his neck from behind.
she was wearing a helmet.

jesus h

I always ride to school and work these days.

I could afford to take a limo but I like to do what little I can for the planet. And my body appreciates it.
The result of biking 60 - 100 miles a week, I've fallen many times and almost been hit many too.

I always wear a helmet. I always have nice blinky lights on too. I never listen to headphones or make phone calls.

I do run lots of red lights but I'm always very safe about it.

I think it's called the "Minnesota Stop Law," actually - wherever it is, some state formalized the fact that bikes can safely and slowly go through a red light if they slow down first, check for cars, and nobody's coming. Building momentum back up for every damn light really sucks, and if nobody's coming... why not.

yes, i believe it was idaho that put into law that bicyclists can treat stoplights as stop signs and stop signs as yield signs. most cars do the latter, so why not bicyclists? i saw a bike cop talking on a cell phone the other day, so i don't think they're going to cite me for coasting through a redlight.

i do that all the time.

There should be some sort of bike tax, licenses, or registration to help pay for the roads. This would raise awareness to people that bikes are allowed on the roads too. When I first moved to Chicago, I was baffled that adults weren't allowed to ride on the sidewalks. Someone I almost ran over had to tell me about it. It makes sense because so many people in Chicago can walk, but it never occurred to me because I was coming from Cincinnati which is a commuter town.

Some of these bikers ride with reckless abandon, like kids playing with matches. It's like they are just inviting a terrible accident to happen. They are easily differentiated from the good riders since they usually don't wear helmets.

Does not compute. Why would you penalize/tax bicyclists for the reckless nature of gas-powered vehicles?

Also: see motorcycles. People still cut them off, tailgate, etc and they are licensed and insured vehicles on the road.

I need to get my wheel trued for the summer and my back brake cable replaced, but when we first moved here, we had one vehicle which the wife used, and I biked to work. We lived in central Austin. I biked 7.5 miles south to work, taught at a middle school, biked 12.5 miles north to work to teach at a high school, and biked 10.5 miles home. 28.5 miles total, definitely more than an hour on the bike, in hills the like of which don't exist in chicago, in heat that rivals satan's armpit.

Biking to work isn't a realistic option for you because you haven't done it yet, but it's totally possible, and I guarantee you, there are people doing it.

This is the opinion of every driver on the roads that has never cycled in traffic. Once you get off your ass and out of your stupid fucking car and bike to work (or anywhere for that matter) you'll realize what a cyclist goes through on the roads and will instantly gain respect for them.

Cyclists aren't a big deal. It's the closed minded IDIOT drivers out there who see cyclists as nothing but something they have to wait 1 to 5 seconds until they can pull 3 feet to the left and go around.

Fuck off and go drive your cars in the woods

Should have worn an helmet stepping out of the shower this morning. Slammed my head into a shelf... Now, I'm getting paranoid I'm going to go out like Natasha Richardson.

Seriously.

really?! even my hometown of 5,500 in rural pennsylvania has a law about adults riding bikes on the sidewalk.

He was pretty cool about it. [whisper](I think we can save him)[/]

Yeah, I thought that was the pretty standard rule. Plus, you get people yelling "Its a sideWALK!".

Madeira, OH doesn't have the need like you big city folk.