Five messages for those who think they need segregation.

 

Eric Ellis - Illustration Corporation

Why it's good to see you.

Vantage in the Queue | Commute Orlando

"A land beyond space or reason... you have entered the Door Zone."

"We have met the enemy, and he is us." - Walt Kelly

As a counterpoint (in both ways) to the post below, here's not only a European cyclist behaving in such a way as to make all cyclists pay (lane splitting, riding in blind spots, weaving between cars, cutting off a car trying to turn left, violent response followed by cowardly running away), but here's also a response/comment defending this type of action attitude.

psychocandy

I'm not a fan of bike nazis, or obnoxious lycra warriors, but I get just as sick of those goodie-goodie cyclists that say: "I come to a complete stop at every stoplight and stop sign just like I'm supposed to. If we want to be accepted, we have to [take it up the ass without lube on a daily basis] blah-blah blah."

Listen, the whole point of riding a bicycle is because it's fun, it's healthy, and sometimes it can be faster than a car. But you're also a sitting duck in traffic. My philosophy is that you take your own risks. If/when cagers make honest mistakes (cutting you off when they're texting while driving doesn't count as an honest mistake, btw), that's part of life.

But when an asshat like that Hyundai driver start using their brute force to step on the little guy, you got every right in the world to take matters in your own hands. If the Hyundai driver wanted in to that lane so badly, he could've waited. And he wouldn't've ended up paying for it with his mirror.

No wonder segregation is so popular.

Driver jailed for using bus 'as weapon' against cyclist

Driver jailed for using bus 'as weapon' against cyclist

But in a US discussion of this incident, this comment stands out.

initialdave

I ride and drive, and it's really very simple: A cyclist on the road isn't riding IN traffic, they ARE traffic, and should behave as such. I stop at red lights and stop signs because not doing so has a damn good chance of getting you killed, and you're entirely to blame if it does.

Cycling on the road is not dangerous, either to me or to other road users, because I treat it as the dangerous activity it is, obey the rules, and look where I'm going. Most car drivers do too. When I've nearly been hit, it was down to someone either not seeing me, or not paying enough attention to realise I was doing 30+mph when they did see me coming.

I see a lot of other cyclists who ignore red lights and stop signs, and you can call me a heartless bastard if you want, but I'm really not bothered if they get creamed by a truck when they do. You have a responsibility for your own safety, take charge of it.

You want to know something interesting about acting like every other vehicle on the road when I'm cycling rather than thinking I can do whatever I please? I have never been involved in a single altercation or incident of road rage. Ever. In more than ten years and thousands of miles. Funny that.

Now, as for the video of the bus hitting the cyclist, there is no excuse for that. It doesn't matter how the cyclist behaved, or what he did, if you are so fucking childish as to think that attempted murder (because that's what it is) represents a reasonable solution to a disagreement, you should not be driving anything, anywhere, ever.

The whole "Damn cyclists deserve it because they don't obey the rules" is idiotic. If you see a guy on a bike run a red, feel free to think "What a douche", just as you would if a car driver did the same. But I don't give a badger's hairy noonoo for your sense of fucking entitlement that says everyone should get out of your way because you think your legal right to use the road is greater than theirs. Grow up.

As a driver: Cyclists, if you are on the road, you are a vehicle. Fucking act like it.

As a cyclist: Drivers, don't think of cyclists like pedestrians, think of them as motorbikes with very small engines.

As both: Critical Mass (because if it's not been brought up yet, someone WILL mention it at some point) is still nothing but an excuse for a bunch of selfish assholes to congratulate themselves on how wonderfully selfish and assholier-than-thou they are.

The Desegregated Cyclist: How Wide Should the Lane Be?

The Desegregated Cyclist: How Wide Should the Lane Be?

Cavett Emptor

- photo: U.S. Postal Service

"As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it."   

- Dick Cavett 

Left, right, crossing, confusing, contradictory, crashing... seems about right for D.C.