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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
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Gotta design cities for the long term. Most city streets are more than 100 years old, designed for horses but we still use them. 100 years from now how much oil is going to be left? There will be a lot of downsizing, bike riding and smaller cars like those 3 wheelers in India. Car lanes and bike lanes may not be the answer since the car situation will change. We don't want to turn into asia or India (no offense to anyone but asian traffic is crazy) but need to think about the future. I'd say use the whole road but downsize the vehicles on it, maybe regulate or tax cars by how much they weigh, at least in city centers. The bike lanes are good but in the long run I don't think having separate roads is the solution.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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I was sooooo excited to get my Lightspeed a few years ago. had been jonseing for one for years. Rode like a dream, loved it! I found out in no time that I hated riding with cars. Damn near every time I took it out, I had a close call. And I tend to ride in the middle of the right side of the lane so I'm not so easy to squeeze by. Worst was coming back out of Tuolumne. Had 2 big RV rigs pass me. The 2nd one never saw me and damn near took me out with the back end of the trailer. So I switched to 395, then the bike paths in Jackson Hole. Blah. Figured out that when I'm "out", I don't want to be near a road and cars. I sold it. I like hiking out in the woods and mountains better.
Right of way as I know it;
1. Horse
2. Pedestrian
3. Bicycle or other human powered.
4. Cars
5. Big Rigs
Horses are at top because they can be unpredictable.
And yes, if you have 5 or more cars behind you, you can be ticketed for obstruction. We all know that driving slowly causes unsafe passing behavior. Get over it and pull off when you can.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 1, 2013 - 10:38am PT
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Haha good to see this has legs (wheels?) 3 years down the road, though it's too bad the problems seem to be about the same....
Jebus, I did a lot of bike /Bart commuting even after my bike was stem, while locked at a Bart station. My new bike has a beefier retention system.
These days I'm in Moab where the traffic is sparser, though every time I ride the slickrock on my hardtail I Jones one of those D-lux double squish bikes!
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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I'd been saving up my rant for three years.
Had to bump it from the depths.
Speaking of bumps- Tucson's asphalt is like f*#king tectonic plates.
I don't know how the fixie kids or road cyclists do it, I'm happy to have suspension.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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My rant.....the Boulder Sunday morning peletons should learn to share the road.
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weezy
climber
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every time I ride the slickrock on my hardtail I Jones one of those D-lux double squish bikes!
hah jaybro, everytime i ride slickrock on my heavy squishy bike, i jones for my hardtail. nothing like trying to bounce up those brutal steeps on a 40 lb beast with 7" of rear travel absorbing all the hard work.
since this is a rant thread, i would like to extend a middle finger to that juniper branch that reached out and grabbed my arm and almost sent me into the rocks the other day. try that again and see what happens. get my hand saw and bring the thunder down on your stupid tree ass.
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michaeld
Sport climber
Sacramento
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Dey gon' took er' guns!
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portent
climber
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The rules of the road™, say that you treat a bike with the same space requirements as a car, you don't tailgate, you don't crowd. If you need to pass, you wait for the opportunity, and patiently drive slower, until then., remember that a bike will stop a lot faster than you in your car will, plan accordingly!
They also say bikers should stop at stop signs and abide by the speed limit, but I don't see that happening too much in your end of the woods.
Bikes vs. Cars is like the conflict between Israel and Palestine. There is no solution.
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tornado
climber
lawrence kansas
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It is shocking how many bicyclists feel a sense of entitlement and self righteousness when they are totally ignorant of basic traffic laws. The one I most common encounter is getting yelled at for making a right hand turn and pulling into the bike lane 50 feet from the intersection to do it. Somehow many cyclists feel that this is "their lane:".
This morning I encountered this situation and had some 20 something hipster kick my car, call me a motherf*#ker and to get out of "her f*#king lane". She then made a right hand turn in front of me . I caught up with her at the next intersection, rolled down my window, and politely informed her she should read up on traffic laws. I then got a barrage of f*#k you mother f*#ker again and again. Oh well. So here it is in case any of you bicycle advocates out there are confused about right hand turns and bike lanes. Getting in a car' s blind spot in the bicycle lane will get you f*#ked up.http://www.sfbike.org/?bikelane_right_turn
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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The lanes have led to a safer more civil environment for everyone in the city by lowering the tension between motor vehicle drivers and bike riders:
Sad to say, Jim, not necessarily. We've had superb bike lanes going up Auberry Road out of Fresno for years, and yet I'm still confronted with peletons on the weekends at times.
Hossjulia's post about rights-of-way makes me think it's worthwhile to re-post what I posted three years ago, when I encountered a particularly obnoxious jogger insisting on using the bike lane rather than the adjacent sidewalk:
I got a lecture about how I was operating a vehicle, and she was a pedestrian, so she had the right-of-way. The only problem with her reasoning was, of course, that the Vehicle Code says the opposite. Section 21966 states "No pedestrian shall proceed along a bicycle path or lane where there is an adjacent adequate facility." In addition, Section 21954(a) states; "Every pedestrian upon a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway so near as to constitute an immediate hazard."
I guess this illustrates the old saw about a little knowledge. Pedestrians have the right-of-way at intersections and in crosswalks only. She remembered that pedestrians have the right-of-way, period.
Section 21200 states in part, "Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle . . .except those provisions which by their very nature can have no provision." Thus, we have the same rights to the road as a car, but we also have the same responsibilities, e.g., not to impede the flow of traffic. Specifically, Section 21202 provides in part, "Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway . . . ."
And no, portent, the cars vs. bicycles battle is not like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; the car always wins. For that reason, I've always cycled accordingly, kept my eyes and ears wide open, and never had even a close call with a car.
I still say Fresno has been a wonderful town for urban cycling, and it's only getting better as we have added many, many excellent bike lanes to our arterial streets.
John
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portent
climber
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And no, portent, the cars vs. bicycles battle is not like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; the car always wins.
That's true. I didn't say there was no winner, just no solution.
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mechrist
Gym climber
South of Heaven
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Nothing compares to the first day of classes at UC Davis. There is something very special about the oil from the olive trees coating the streets, eskiho's riding 3 wide, round-a-bouts, and a light rain.
Grab a cup of coffee at the Silo, pull up a chair, and let the fun begin!
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michaeld
Sport climber
Sacramento
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I see way more dumbass bikers then cars.
Like a car vs car scenario, if a car wants to make a left turn and cross a lane or two of incoming traffic, they'll judge wether or not it's gonna be safe to go or not.
Most cars making a right turn ahead of a bike can judge if they're far enough ahead to complete the turn or not.
I see a lot of bikers on my commute to work. It's a very busy biking / car road. Direct line from many neighborhoods to midtown Sacramento.
I see bikers riding opposing traffic. I see bikers riding on the side walk. (My coworker has gotten hit by two bikers in the last month making a left turn into a liquor store from K street to 21st.
Bikers DO feel entitled (I'M SAVING THE PLANET BRO! I'M A PEDEISRICLE!" My word. And f*ck hipsters. They block bike lanes with their shitty fixed geared bikes.
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jbaker
Trad climber
Redwood City, CA
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There are certainly idiots on bikes, but studies in both Hawaii and Australia have shown that over 80% of the time the car driver is at fault in car/bike accidents. The most common scenario is that the bicycle is going in a straight line in the direction of traffic and is hit by a turning car.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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"i see way more dumbass bikers than cars"
Well here in New York ,cyclists are part of traffic,yet they are not part of no fault. So if you hit a cyclist in N.Y. ,your insurance company says you are on your own.Depending on your instance,you can lose everything you own.Seeing how there is at least 50 to one cars over cyclists,and an awfull lot of bike/car accidents,i tend to totally disagree with you.
well said Jebus
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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There are certainly idiots on bikes, but studies in both Hawaii and Australia have shown that over 80% of the time the car driver is at fault in car/bike accidents. The most common scenario is that the bicycle is going in a straight line in the direction of traffic and is hit by a turning car.
If Brock Wagstaff is on this forum, I'd be interested to hear his take on this. In 1974 or so, he was a bicycle planner in Fresno, while my long-time climbing partner, Tim Schiller, was working for the Fresno County Council of Governments. At the time, most car/bicycle accidents in Fresno were of bicycles turning into the path of cars rather than the other way around.
John
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michaeld
Sport climber
Sacramento
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"i see way more dumbass bikers than cars"
Well here in New York ,cyclists are part of traffic,yet they are not part of no fault. So if you hit a cyclist in N.Y. ,your insurance company says you are on your own.Depending on your instance,you can lose everything you own.Seeing how there is at least 50 to one cars over cyclists,and an awfull lot of bike/car accidents,i tend to totally disagree with you.
How can you disagree with my statement, if you're talking about New York?
What the f*ck?
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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The cars or their drivers should smarten the f*ck up,thats how,despite whether or not the cyclists are dumbasses or not.It does not matter that the cyclists are dumb or not.[and yes i know some are idiots]
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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cyclists ain't getting no respect in this world until we arm-up. I wouldn't mess with these girls even if I was driving a 1974 low-rider ford truck with a 460 engine.
and here's my commuter cycle - no trouble so far
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