Cooling off.

On Feb 15, 4:19*pm, DirtRoadie wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:51*pm, James wrote:

landotter wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:32 pm, James wrote:

I know one rider who was being abused for riding his bicycle, so he
reached into the car and took the vehicle keys, then rode off and threw
them into a car yard!

I've done that. In all fairness, they started by throwing glass
bottles at me.

I too have had numerous items lobbed at me from moving vehicles,
including but not limit to, batteries, a beer bottle, some coke cans,
tomatoes and a MacDonald's drink.

My classic was a large soft drink cup (with apparent substantial heft
from ice or remaining liquid) being hurled from a passing vehicle
(open road highway speeds) and passing through the main triangle of my
frame without touching me or the bike.

Almost makes you want to start taking advantage of the 2nd amendment.
DR

Is that the right to arm bears......I think bears are dangerous enough
already....Gilda Radnor credit.
Phil H

On Feb 15, 3:32*pm, James wrote:
*From a friend:

"Guy threw a Big M plastic drink at me last Thursday. After swerving
into the bike lane in front of me he slowed in traffic and kept shouting
abuse. I have no idea what his problem was but thought he needed to cool
off so offered him a drink of my water. I gave as much as I could. He
was non-plused? There's just no pleasing some people."

Ah, so many fond memories of riding with cars... *No really - these
incidents are quite amusing upon reflection.

I know one rider who was being abused for riding his bicycle, so he
reached into the car and took the vehicle keys, then rode off and threw
them into a car yard!

No wonder some of them hate cyclists. *We deserve hatred after taunting
them with our presence on the roads.

JS.

You oughta carry a heavy duty Nerf gun.
Make that two of them.

Andy

James writes:

landotter wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:32 pm, James wrote:

I know one rider who was being abused for riding his bicycle, so he
reached into the car and took the vehicle keys, then rode off and threw
them into a car yard!

I've done that. In all fairness, they started by throwing glass
bottles at me.


I too have had numerous items lobbed at me from moving vehicles,
including but not limit to, batteries, a beer bottle, some coke cans,
tomatoes and a MacDonald's drink.

I wonder how many pedestrians have had debris thrown at them?

I have had a glass bottle thrown at me while walking. It broke on the
sidewalk and struck my foot. I was shod in flip flops, and required
several butterfly bandages to stop the bleeding.

The skepticism I see here regarding the relative danger of walking and
cycling puzzles me, and makes me wonder how many here do any walking for
transportation. Granted that injuries sustained while JRA are more
likely than JWA, I don't think most people either walking or riding
*for transportation* worry much about either. Being struck by
motor vehicles is a worry in both cases.

While collisions usually only happen to pedestrians crossing the
streets, in order to get anywhere in the city one has to cross a lot of
streets. Outside the city one frequently has to walk in the road.
Although I have never been struck either riding or walking, I have
experienced a few close calls. I'm fairly sure that most of them
were while walking.

When cycling I find that almost all drivers yield right of way to me
when appropriate, even if they seem unhappy about it. On the
other hand, many drive as though right of way had no application to
pedestrians. They are not homicidal, and will brake if the alternative
seems to be running someone down -- but not before.

On Feb 18, 7:22*am, Radey Shouman wrote:
James writes:
landotter wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:32 pm, James wrote:

I know one rider who was being abused for riding his bicycle, so he
reached into the car and took the vehicle keys, then rode off and threw
them into a car yard!

I've done that. In all fairness, they started by throwing glass
bottles at me.

I too have had numerous items lobbed at me from moving vehicles,
including but not limit to, batteries, a beer bottle, some coke cans,
tomatoes and a MacDonald's drink.

I wonder how many pedestrians have had debris thrown at them?

I have had a glass bottle thrown at me while walking. *It broke on the
sidewalk and struck my foot. *I was shod in flip flops, and required
several butterfly bandages to stop the bleeding.

The skepticism I see here regarding the relative danger of walking and
cycling puzzles me, and makes me wonder how many here do any walking for
transportation. *Granted that injuries sustained while JRA are more
likely than JWA, I don't think most people either walking or riding
*for transportation* worry much about either. *Being struck by
motor vehicles is a worry in both cases.

While collisions usually only happen to pedestrians crossing the
streets, in order to get anywhere in the city one has to cross a lot of
streets. *Outside the city one frequently has to walk in the road.
Although I have never been struck either riding or walking, I have
experienced a few close calls. *I'm fairly sure that most of them
were while walking.

When cycling I find that almost all drivers yield right of way to me
when appropriate, even if they seem unhappy about it. *On the
other hand, many drive as though right of way had no application to
pedestrians. They are not homicidal, and will brake if the alternative
seems to be running someone down -- but not before.- Hide quoted text -

With that said, pedestrians are also the source of much anxiety for
cyclists, me in particular -- stepping in to the road against the
lights, stepping off the sidewalk without looking to cross the road,
etc. I have gone shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians who look me in
the eye and leave the curb. Last night some Bohemian chick walked
right in front of me, walking against the light and just ambling
across the road. I practically ran her over, and in fact, I wanted to
run her over. This is a pretty law abiding, color in the lines town,
but it still amazes me how many pedestrians don't give a ****. I
could understand a few getting hurt. -- Jay Beattie.

Jay Beattie writes:

On Feb 18, 7:22*am, Radey Shouman wrote:
James writes:
landotter wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:32 pm, James wrote:

I know one rider who was being abused for riding his bicycle, so he
reached into the car and took the vehicle keys, then rode off and threw
them into a car yard!

I've done that. In all fairness, they started by throwing glass
bottles at me.

I too have had numerous items lobbed at me from moving vehicles,
including but not limit to, batteries, a beer bottle, some coke cans,
tomatoes and a MacDonald's drink.

I wonder how many pedestrians have had debris thrown at them?

I have had a glass bottle thrown at me while walking. *It broke on the
sidewalk and struck my foot. *I was shod in flip flops, and required
several butterfly bandages to stop the bleeding.

The skepticism I see here regarding the relative danger of walking and
cycling puzzles me, and makes me wonder how many here do any walking for
transportation. *Granted that injuries sustained while JRA are more
likely than JWA, I don't think most people either walking or riding
*for transportation* worry much about either. *Being struck by
motor vehicles is a worry in both cases.

While collisions usually only happen to pedestrians crossing the
streets, in order to get anywhere in the city one has to cross a lot of
streets. *Outside the city one frequently has to walk in the road.
Although I have never been struck either riding or walking, I have
experienced a few close calls. *I'm fairly sure that most of them
were while walking.

When cycling I find that almost all drivers yield right of way to me
when appropriate, even if they seem unhappy about it. *On the
other hand, many drive as though right of way had no application to
pedestrians. They are not homicidal, and will brake if the alternative
seems to be running someone down -- but not before.- Hide quoted text -

With that said, pedestrians are also the source of much anxiety for
cyclists, me in particular -- stepping in to the road against the
lights, stepping off the sidewalk without looking to cross the road,
etc. I have gone shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians who look me in
the eye and leave the curb. Last night some Bohemian chick walked
right in front of me, walking against the light and just ambling
across the road. I practically ran her over, and in fact, I wanted to
run her over. This is a pretty law abiding, color in the lines town,
but it still amazes me how many pedestrians don't give a ****. I
could understand a few getting hurt. -- Jay Beattie.

Makes perfect sense to me. Pedestrians have very little incentive to
follow the rules. There is no opprobrium when they break them, and no
reward for following them. Why cross in the crosswalk when no one
yields anyway? Why wait for a walk signal when drivers at a red light
will just take it as their chance to turn right?

The only thing left to consider is how likely one is to be actually
run over.

There certainly are countries in which pedestrians are expected to
follow the rules, and drivers and cyclists are expected to yield
to them when the law requires. The US just isn't one of them.

"Radey Shouman" wrote in message
...
There certainly are countries in which pedestrians are expected to
follow the rules, and drivers and cyclists are expected to yield
to them when the law requires. The US just isn't one of them.

Vacationing in Seattle for the week some years ago, I was struck by how
traffic would stop mid-block to allow me to cross. Now, I had at that point
been crossing busy streets this way for 40 years, and didn't need the help.
Just time the opening in traffic on both sides, and go. And it wasn't just
that once. Each time I stepped off the curb, drivers on both sides hastened
to stop short while I crossed. Even more spooky, all I could detect on their
faces was tolerant patience. This was on 1st Ave., at and near the art
museum. For the rest of that week, I waited for the light to cross. It was
so strange...

I never got an answer for all the times since that I've asked. I want to
believe there is a corner of this world where common courtesy is extended
without being taken at knife point. The cynical side of me says it's just
some locally onerous laws or insurance riders about pedestrians in the
street. So, does anyone here from Seattle know? Three times in a row isn't
coincidence or a lark. Or was it just the whole town conspiring to screw
with my mind?

On Feb 18, 4:09*pm, Radey Shouman wrote:
Jay Beattie writes:
On Feb 18, 7:22 am, Radey Shouman wrote:
James writes:
landotter wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:32 pm, James wrote:

I know one rider who was being abused for riding his bicycle, so he
reached into the car and took the vehicle keys, then rode off and threw
them into a car yard!

I've done that. In all fairness, they started by throwing glass
bottles at me.

I too have had numerous items lobbed at me from moving vehicles,
including but not limit to, batteries, a beer bottle, some coke cans,
tomatoes and a MacDonald's drink.

I wonder how many pedestrians have had debris thrown at them?

I have had a glass bottle thrown at me while walking. It broke on the
sidewalk and struck my foot. I was shod in flip flops, and required
several butterfly bandages to stop the bleeding.

The skepticism I see here regarding the relative danger of walking and
cycling puzzles me, and makes me wonder how many here do any walking for
transportation. Granted that injuries sustained while JRA are more
likely than JWA, I don't think most people either walking or riding
*for transportation* worry much about either. Being struck by
motor vehicles is a worry in both cases.

While collisions usually only happen to pedestrians crossing the
streets, in order to get anywhere in the city one has to cross a lot of
streets. Outside the city one frequently has to walk in the road.
Although I have never been struck either riding or walking, I have
experienced a few close calls. I'm fairly sure that most of them
were while walking.

When cycling I find that almost all drivers yield right of way to me
when appropriate, even if they seem unhappy about it. On the
other hand, many drive as though right of way had no application to
pedestrians. They are not homicidal, and will brake if the alternative
seems to be running someone down -- but not before.- Hide quoted text -

With that said, pedestrians are also the source of much anxiety for
cyclists, me in particular -- stepping in to the road against the
lights, stepping off the sidewalk without looking to cross the road,
etc. *I have gone shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians who look me in
the eye and leave the curb. *Last night some Bohemian chick walked
right in front of me, walking against the light and just ambling
across the road. *I practically ran her over, and in fact, I wanted to
run her over. *This is a pretty law abiding, color in the lines town,
but it still amazes me how many pedestrians don't give a ****. *I
could understand a few getting hurt. -- Jay Beattie.

Makes perfect sense to me. *Pedestrians have very little incentive to
follow the rules. *There is no opprobrium when they break them, and no
reward for following them. *Why cross in the crosswalk when no one
yields anyway? *Why wait for a walk signal when drivers at a red light
will just take it as their chance to turn right?

The only thing left to consider is how likely one is to be actually
run over.

Yes, that's pretty much how it is in many places. But stepping out in
front of a bike is another matter. That's putting the bicyclist at
serious risk. I can see pedestrians flouting the law, but not putting
others in direct risk.

On the other hand, to walk to the closest restaurant from our house,
we have to cross an east-west highway, four lanes plus a center turn
lane, about 60 feet in all. It's got lots of traffic and no marked
crosswalk, let alone traffic control to help pedestrians.

So we wait with some patience, then cross heading north when a gap
finally appears. It's amazing to me how often westward heading
motorists won't bother to move from their outside lane to the empty
inside lane to take pressure off us.

A few years ago when there was a proposal to add islands to (among
other things) give "halfway" refuges, the local residents shouted the
idea down. One woman told the TV newsman "Anyone who wants to cross
that street is crazy."

Go figure.

- Frank Krygowski

On 2/18/2011 10:40 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

With that said, pedestrians are also the source of much anxiety for
cyclists, me in particular -- stepping in to the road against the
lights, stepping off the sidewalk without looking to cross the road,
etc. I have gone shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians who look me in
the eye and leave the curb. Last night some Bohemian chick walked
right in front of me, walking against the light and just ambling
across the road. I practically ran her over, and in fact, I wanted to
run her over. This is a pretty law abiding, color in the lines town,
but it still amazes me how many pedestrians don't give a ****. I
could understand a few getting hurt. -- Jay Beattie.

That is why this is one of my favorite city bikes:
http://www.terratrike.com/images/trade/RansRocket.jpg. 62-T chainring
out front, and very little chance of doing a "header" in a collision
with a dumb bipedal beast.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

On 2/18/2011 3:09 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
Jay writes:
[...]
With that said, pedestrians are also the source of much anxiety for
cyclists, me in particular -- stepping in to the road against the
lights, stepping off the sidewalk without looking to cross the road,
etc. I have gone shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians who look me in
the eye and leave the curb. Last night some Bohemian chick walked
right in front of me, walking against the light and just ambling
across the road. I practically ran her over, and in fact, I wanted to
run her over. This is a pretty law abiding, color in the lines town,
but it still amazes me how many pedestrians don't give a ****. I
could understand a few getting hurt. -- Jay Beattie.

Makes perfect sense to me. Pedestrians have very little incentive to
follow the rules. There is no opprobrium when they break them, and no
reward for following them. Why cross in the crosswalk when no one
yields anyway? Why wait for a walk signal when drivers at a red light
will just take it as their chance to turn right?

The only thing left to consider is how likely one is to be actually
run over.

There certainly are countries in which pedestrians are expected to
follow the rules, and drivers and cyclists are expected to yield
to them when the law requires. The US just isn't one of them.

Some sort of automated tasering system is needed.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

"Tºm Shermªn™ °_°" wrote in message
...

On 2/18/2011 10:40 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

With that said, pedestrians are also the source of much anxiety for
cyclists, me in particular -- stepping in to the road against the
........
That is why this is one of my favorite city bikes:
http://www.terratrike.com/images/trade/RansRocket.jpg. 62-T chainring
out front, and very little chance of doing a "header" in a collision
with a dumb bipedal beast.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

hope those front forks are not carbon fibre

they could explode . . .


-- ---

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*) . . . bjbear on his treadly

If you think you're too small to have
an impact, try going to bed with a
mosquito in the room. Johan Bruyneel.