cyclist leans against my car at a red light...

[cozye]

Yes my brake light was out.

And yes at the time I did thank him. Sorry did not mean to start a car vs cyclist war.

You didn't start anything. I think your posts have been right on, it was the other comments involving guns and cyclist being a danger to the roads that took it in the direction

What's interesting is how some cyclists sometimes over-react to criticism.

I hardly think defending cyclist against the prevalent attitude of hate by motorists is an over reacting. When you ride a bike for a while and feel the onslaught of raged motorists, using their 3500lb weapons against you even out in the middle of the country side just about every time you ride you will see the need to raise awareness. There is no reason to flip the bird to a cyclist riding on an old country road with zero traffic. Their is no reason to make comments about taking care of them with a 9mm. If anything that's over reacting.

[sblake01]

It's just the nature of the internet. Make a statement and the resposnes will come from several different directions. Remember, grantf, the OP, didn't have a problem with it. He even thanked the guy for pointing out his defective brake light. In 'real life' this would likely been the 'end of the story'. Here? Obviously..not so much.

[ksechler]

Approaching a major intersection on a bike can be terrifying. Staying with traffic flow is key. Jockeying up to the 1st car at light gives visibility. Yeah I might put a finger on the car for clipping in & balance. No harm done. I would hope they would respect the comrade at their side & acknowledge their presence giving rightaway to them at the turn. It's just a bike thing.

Jockeying up to the first car also gives that many more cars an opportunity to run you over. I have been cycling for 22 years. I would NEVER touch someone's car and as far as jockeying goes that's like cutting in line. Bicycle or no you have to wait your turn. Real cyclists don't need to lean on cars, they trackstand.

[5thhorsemann]

Obviously, no one is contemplating violence against cyclists here. The fact is that you could change the “motorist vs. cyclist” to “sail boater vs. power boater” (or vice versa) “boater vs. jet skier”, “skier vs. snow boarder” and so on. Shooting or squishing a cyclist is just too damn messy for the stomach of most, I just wish they have a heart attack going up a big hill or run off into the woods going down the other side.

[olzed]

Interesting discussion. I think it probably reflects current attitudes.

Some care, some don't.

Some do drugs, some don't. Some do graffiti, some don't. Blahblah

Boring if everyone was on the same wavelength.

[Oiluj]

Speaking of idiot drivers, I ran into two today, (not literally). Perhaps they had too much caffene or testosterone supplement...

I also sail, and rarely do I find power boaters to be dis-courteous to sailors on SF Bay.

[5thhorsemann]

Come sail the Chesapeake Bay during Trophy Rockfish season, tacking and trolling don’t mix. We drag a 75 foot wide plainer cable to spread 14 baits, if the sail boater is too close, or too slow, or doesn’t understand what we are doing it can get messy quick. Fortunately, the weather is usually too nasty to sail at this time of the year.

[TomoHawk]

I've seen things from both sides of this issue. I raced bikes for 10 years (and almost made it to USCF Cat II.) In the sub-urban streets, some people yell at you to get off the streets and onto the sidewalk, so I looked at the speedo, and it says 30 MPH! I was younger and more fit back then... 30 MPH on the sidewalk? A police friend at the time definitely recommended that if you can go 30 MPH, you belong in the streets. Once, a kid in an old pinto yelled something profane while I was cruising the parkway (speed limit 25) suggesting I ride the bikepath. Again my speedo had a number of about 25 on it. In college, where there are tons of cyclists, the locals like to bump into you while you are stopped at a light, and you're not recommended to do anything because these hill-country people have 4x4s with (gun racks?)

OTOH, when you hook up with a packline, or a friendly minivan driver, I could cruise at 30 MPH for MILES, and it's a real treat. The packline once went 250 miles for the cancer bike-A-thon, and the minivan guy helped me do my 18 mile parkway route in minutes.

Cyclists come in both types too. You have the respectful kind that use hand signals and ride single file in the street, and ride in a way that make themselves more visible to motorists. then you have the kind that ride all over the place, never bother to check for traffic before jumping into the street, and generally give a bad name for yclists.

For Grants OP, I think I'd have to say that "you had to be there" to make any kind of judgement about the cyclist he encountered. Maybe in NYC, or places like that, it's 'normal' for cyclists to lean on a car when topped, but not in my area. It sounds like the cyclist was the kind that wore the soft gloves...

Edited January 11, 2012 by TomoHawk

[sblake01]

For Grants OP, I think I'd have to say that "you had to be there" to make any kind of judgement about the cyclist he encountered....

Why would I (or anyone else) have had to have been there? Grant was okay with it....

[Oiluj]

Come sail the Chesapeake Bay during Trophy Rockfish season, tacking and trolling don’t mix. We drag a 75 foot wide plainer cable to spread 14 baits, if the sail boater is too close, or too slow, or doesn’t understand what we are doing it can get messy quick. Fortunately, the weather is usually too nasty to sail at this time of the year.

Not Z related, but...

On SF Bay we have a decent amount of commercial traffic. And where I get my boat hauled for annual maintenance is at the end of the Alameda estuary, past the Oakland container ship docks.

I give commercial fishing boats and ships a wide berth. Some recreational boaters don't realize that commercial vessels, especially container and oil tankers, can't change course or speed the way smaller vessels can. To my mind, staying well clear of them is a survival trait...

[chaztg]

I propose that we all watch the movie "Breaking Away" (late '70's, starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid & Daniel Stern). That will awaken the cyclist in us all.

[Oiluj]

I propose that we all watch the movie "Breaking Away" (late '70's, starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid & Daniel Stern). That will awaken the cyclist in us all.

Great movie! Saw it on TV last year and remember watching that "back in the day". The pump in the spokes was a really dirty trick...