I was going home from work last night southbound on Arlington Heights Road approaching Higgins when I see several cars getting out of the far right lane. A few seconds later I see they are going around a bicyclist riding in the middle of the lane. A few irate drivers, no doubt wondering what the hell this guy is doing 1) holding up traffic and 2) riding his bike in the street as if he thinks he is in a car, honk, and the guy just smiles and waves in an exaggerated manner.

The light at the intersection of Bennet Rd. and Arlington Heights Rd. is red as the bicyclist reaches it, but as often happens with bicyclists who insist that cars share the road with bicycles, he ignores it and goes through the intersection and gets into the left-turn lane. The light turns green and cars once again have to go around him because he is holding up traffic. I turned right at Higgins as he turned left.

When did people start thinking it was OK to do this? He's riding in the middle of a lane as if he thinks he's in a car, obstructing traffic because he certainly can't maintain the 40 or 45 MPH speed limit on that road, and he's basically taunting/mocking drivers honking at him to get out of the way before he gets seriously hurt or killed. It's almost as if he's daring someone to hit him.

Over the summer I saw someone doing something similar at the intersection of Golf and Meacham one morning during rush hour.

Start seeing bicyclists.

_________________
-- source

bicycles should be illegal.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Agree, total dick move on his part. Thats when you drive by and throw something at him.

_________________

approved without reading


I love going around them and seeing them throw the one arm up like WTF?

I'm a frequent bike rider, but not one of the nut hugger spandex kind. I keep on the sidewalk (since I ride in the 'burbs) whenever possible. You really notice how drivers pay little attention on the road.

_________________
-- source

The only point in the guy's favor is that he was wearing regular clothes and not a little Lance Armstrong outfit. The other guy at Golf and Meacham was. I don't expect people to dress for a bike ride as if they're about to board an airplane, but even if they're in shape those outfits look silly...even worse on people who are pushing maximum density.

This can also be a douchebag sub-nomination for guys who treat a forest preserve as a competitive track. People are casually running, walking, riding a bike, rollerblading, whatever, and here come one or more of these turd jugglers who think they're in the Tour De France.

To play devil's advocate, where do you expect those weekend warriors to ride? Some of them ride 50-60 miles every Saturday. You don't want them on the roads. You don't want them in a forest preserve. I'm talking one of the larger forest preserves, like Busse or the one in Hoffman (8.9 miles, I think), not the tiny Deer Park one.

_________________
-- source

Chicago velodrome. It would be nice to see a few of those in the suburbs.

I don't mind if they ride in the forest preserve, but I don't think it's necessary to ride at full-out speed when there are a lot of other people doing things at a much more casual pace. I frequently see near misses.

Well, a bike is a legal road vehicle. I don't have a problem with him being on the road, but he should obey traffic signals. It would be courteous if he stayed far right thi ugh. Guys probably weren't giving him his three feet. And yeah, he's slower than most traffic but so is your grandma in her car. More bikes and less cars speed up commutes rather than slow them down.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I also don't think it's necessary to stop and chat in the middle of the path, or not pay attention to what your kids are doing. Walkers and runners can be just as bad as bikers on the forest preserve path. Trust me, I'm both a runner and biker. Just be courteous and aware of others when you're out there.

_________________
-- source

Spandex racer boys are by far the worst on the lakefront path. The epitome of self-absorbed douchebaggery. Busse Woods has a speed limit that I've seen enforced on a few occasions. The Loop is a great place to ride Sat/Sun from like 6-9 in the morning.

_________________
Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Oh, definitely. Walkers, joggers, etc., who do oblivious things like that are awful. They should have to clean up the dog shit left by other people who were too fucking ignorant to clean it up.

He's slower than all traffic.

More bikes and less cars would speed up commutes provided the bicyclists are not riding in the street and impeding the flow of traffic because the fastest they can go is 20 MPH under the speed limit.

Bicycles have every right that motor vehicle does.

However, physics doesn't particularly give a fuck about shit like that .... and the ones who don't respect that are the assholes that deserve to get ridden into an oncoming bus. One would think self-preservation would be impetus enough for a lot of those overly-spandexed asshats into brighter riders, but alas and alack, it does not .... not nearly often enough anyway.

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

You're the best, DT. Does that mean the rest of us are underly-spandexed?

_________________
-- source

And those using bicycles have every right to obey stop signs, stop lights, turn lanes, and other traffic signals and control devices. 99% of them seem to ignore these or think they only apply to cars.

_________________

Actually I believe you're quite wrong. I think research would uncover that given the significantly slower acceleration times that so long as they do not pose a real (not irksomely-perceived) threat to their and others' safety, they are not expected nor required to act like a car at stoplights and stop signs (e.g., come to a compelte halt, etc.). I think there was even some legilslation enacted this year in Illinois regarding precisely that, but it'll be a cold fucking day in Tripoli when I start researching faggy bike laws.

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

I ride a lot and I drive a lot. I have some strong opinions about this topic.

I'll be the first to admit I don't religiously follow the rules of the road on my bike. For example, I won't always make a complete stop at a stop sign if no one else is there. But I will always stop if there are pedestrians or if there are cars. Often the driver of a car will want me to go even when he arrived at the four-way stop first. I don't want his right-of-way. I just want him to respect mine. I almost never run a red light on my bike.

From my viewpoint, it's the people on bikes that most often diplay a lack of respect for others, no acknowledgement of social conventions, and a general discourteousness. When I'm driving and one of them blows a red light and cuts recklessly across three lanes of traffic, I like pull up next to him and yell, "Share the road!" And don't even get me started on the messenger douchebags downtown.

Finally, I hate the entire concept of a dope on a bike screaming "ON YOUR LEFT!!!!!!!" I'm sure a lot of riders will say that it's for safety, but what would really be safe would be to drive in a manner where you are capable of stopping on a crowded path. You are responsible for stopping your vehicle. You don't have some divine right to speed through a forst preserve or down the lakefront path as fast as you possibly can. And yeah, I find morons who stop in the middle of the path to have a chat with their kids ("What's wrong, buddy?") annoying as fuck, but I don't own that path. Frankly, I don't see why walkers need to saunter on the path at all. They can walk just as easily on the grass to the left. But that fact aside, it doesn't give me or any other douchebag on a bicycle the right to run them over or even intimidate them with my vehicle.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I will give a warning "on your left" as I approach someone. It's more so the runner/walker/cyclist doesn't veer into my path. Nor do I mind when someone says this to me when I'm running. I usually will raise up my left hand to acknowledge I hear them. I get into the left lane when passing someone on the path, but that doesn't mean idiots, who aren't paying attention, won't wander into your path.

Is it the concept of "on your left," or the tone in which the biker says it, what bothers you? For the record, I don't wear shower shoes when biking.

_________________
-- source

I understand why it's done. I just don't like it when I'm running and a guy does it to me and I never do it when I'm on my bike. You yell, "ON YOUR LEFT!!!!" and I hear "STAY OUT OF MY WAY, MOTHERFUCKER!!!" It's sort of like when someone uses the phrase "excuse me" to do whatever he wants like shove you out of the way and barge in front of you. I figure if I'm coming up from behind someone it's my responsibility to be able stop my bike or avoid hitting a guy who veers. It's not a superhighway.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

At least in New York, they are required to follow all of the rules of the road that cars are.

I doubt they would ever make any exceptions. Can you imagine what it would be like in a major city if bike riders were legally allowed to run stoplights?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Eh, I don't hear it that way. I also don't shout it at the other person. Even if it's a Lance wannabe, or Grandma Betty on her banana seat creeping along, I think it's good to give a heads up. You never know if the idiot walker is going to see some flower on the left side of the path and dart over to take a picture. I've had those moments where I get so involved in my Nickelback or Bieber where I lose track of where I'm running within my lane. Luckily a cyclist is usually there to bring me back to life and out from How You Remind Me-ville.

_________________
-- source

The stupid would educate those brighter by example of their injury and demise, the remainder thus falling in line with good sense.

And what New York does is irrelevant to my point about (potential) Illinois law, so why you threw that in, other than standard hubris, is somewhat odd.

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Almost as odd as acting like an expert without knowing if you are correct.

I looked up the law you referenced. It is specifically if the light sensor is failing to change the light. Motorcycles can do the same. They still have to wait a reasonable amount of time though. It is still completely illegal to run red lights without stopping.

So, illegal in both New York and Illinois. Happy?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

those "on your left" assholes should get a little ringer bell like my daughter. or clown horn. would be more appropriate.

I don't think ONE of those jagoffs ever said it early enough for me to 1)hear 2)comprehend 3)take appropriate action before he was long past me.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Happy that I didn't spend time looking up bike laws, yes.

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Thanks Rick

I was gonna say the stop sign thing I can understand if not agree with, but it would make no sense to legally allow bikers to not obey traffic lights.

_________________

I'm with Greg on this one. And I don't yell it either.

_________________
Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Sometimes while laying in bed I make believe I'm flying a spaceship.