Just sayin'

[Papawto5]

Bikers and walkers - - - - - common sense trumps one's rights and privileges.

Choose your routes carefully. If there's 3 streets headin' your way, pick one that's NOT narrow and has a shoulder. Sure, you have your rights, but you're trusting your future existence to some phone talkin', message sending, day dreamin' drivers of lethal cars and trucks.

"Picked off" bikers and pedestrians make the local news 1 or 2 times a WEEK here in central Indiana. Most were doin' it right and exercising their rights.

PLEASE use sidewalks where available. Use wide roads with shoulders. Don't ride 3 abreast. Walk facing traffic (omg, you trust drivers, you don't see, to see you?). DON'T assume anything when it comes to predicting the behavior of today's clueless drivers. Don't be walkin' or ridin' close to traffic lanes when the drunks are driving home. After your kids ride away from your house, secretly follow them to see how "smart" their riding decisions are.

Common sense trumps your right to 3' feet of the outside edge of a traffic lane.

I'm ready for your responses to this rant . All I can say is that more and more walkers and riders are "dead right". Pick your routes carefully. There are choices you can make 95% of the time that improves your chances of seeing tomorrow.

Last year's final score: Cars and trucks - 11,206- - - - - - - Walkers and riders - 17

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by Papawto5

Bikers and walkers - - - - - common sense trumps one's rights and privileges.

Choose your routes carefully. If there's 3 streets headin' your way, pick one that's NOT narrow and has a shoulder. Sure, you have your rights, but you're trusting your future existence to some phone talkin', message sending, day dreamin' drivers of lethal cars and trucks.

"Picked off" bikers and pedestrians make the local news 1 or 2 times a WEEK here in central Indiana. Most were doin' it right and exercising their rights.

PLEASE use sidewalks where available. Use wide roads with shoulders. Don't ride 3 abreast. Walk facing traffic (omg, you trust drivers, you don't see, to see you?). DON'T assume anything when it comes to predicting the behavior of today's clueless drivers. Don't be walkin' or ridin' close to traffic lanes when the drunks are driving home. After your kids ride away from your house, secretly follow them to see how "smart" their riding decisions are.

Common sense trumps your right to 3' feet of the outside edge of a traffic lane.

I'm ready for your responses to this rant . All I can say is that more and more walkers and riders are "dead right". Pick your routes carefully. There are choices you can make 95% of the time that improves your chances of seeing tomorrow.

Last year's final score: Cars and trucks - 11,206- - - - - - - Walkers and riders - 17

Totally agree Papa Steve. Even on my own street, which they rebuilt and put in a really nice, maintained sidewalk, there's this one woman who insists on walking on the side of the street without the sidewalk, basically in the roadway. Makes no sense to me but I suspect she's always walked there so having a safe sidewalk isn't going to change her habits.

I tend to ride my bike as much as possible on sidewalks. It was nice while in FL, they have lots of sidewalks everywhere. Around my home, there are some, but not everywhere.

[lanerd]

3 abreast? They shouldn't even ride 2 abreast as most bicycle lanes are just not wide enough and puts the bicycle rider that is close to traffic in jeopardy. Bicyclist should always ride in tandem with sufficient space between them.

We were coming back from Whistler BC a couple of weeks ago and came across an accident where a car had hit several bikes that were riding side by side. We counted three bodies laying in the road covered up waiting for the meat wagon and traffic was held up for over an hour. I still can't get that sight out of my mind....

[huntnski]

Drivers today won't even give me in my 40' MH the legal right away that I have coming I dare think they would yeald for a second for a bike!

While we're ranting, while in Myrtle Beach last year for the IRV2 rally, we seldom rode our bikes in the CG for fear of being run down by golf carts!

[Papawto5]

[QUOTE=lanerd;2624735]3 abreast? They shouldn't even ride 2 abreast as most bicycle lanes are just not wide enough and puts the bicycle rider that is close to traffic in jeopardy.

Well aware of the legally required method of riding a bicycle in a group. I should have said, "use your brain, don't ride 2 or 3 or 4 abreast" like I've seen on busy country roads in our county north of Indy. By saying 3 abreast I thought that my intent was understood as implying "don't be stupid like fellow dead riders". Your Saturday morning caravan of 38 bicycles are already an excellent target without that nonsense.

I am not anti-cyclist. Some riders, however, have gone OUT OF THEIR WAY to show their legal right to ride anywhere they d_ _ n well please and they're paying a dreadful price for their arrogance in proving they're allowed to ride in dangerous places. Same with walkers.

[99-Am.Star]

Yep, "Watch Out For Motorcycles" is a great slogan, I just wish the police would ticket the ones running in between two row's of cars waiting for the light to change, so they
can shoot out in front of the cars and do a wheelie for 300 feet. I say let them drive in a correct manner and I won't have to look out for them......This is only to tick off those riders who do these things, not those that are responsible cyclists.

[LarrytheBear]

I been a "biker" and a bicyclist. People in cars and trucks tend to not see cyclists of any kind. It is up to the cyclist to stay out of the way as much as possible and to be seen (lights) as much as possible. I only had to lay my motorcycle down once when a lady pulled out in front of me when I had the right-of-way. I could have been dead right but I chose to give way. Common sense goes a long way when riding.

This country has many great bike trails and that's where I love to ride.

[sdennislee]

Good advice.

I ride bike trails when available.

[biosensai]

Been a cyclist since we started full-timing. I always tell people I'm not one of the 'crazies'. I only ride in areas that are safe, but my definition of that is widening over time. Just as quickly as I learned that many motorists see an RV, think slow, and pull out in front of you, I learned that many people are so irritated by the crazies, that they think we all are. So I stay out of everybody's way. Especially the guys on go fast bicycles. They sure do not want to share the road with guys like me only pedaling at 15 mph.
What really irritates me are the pedestrians that walk in bike lanes. Sidewalks are for pedestrians. Bike lanes are for cyclists.

[jpharley]

In some locales, it is illegal for bikes to ride on the sidewalk.