Posted on 06/22/2015 5:14:28 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
Lets face it, bicyclists are becoming unlikable, even to other bicyclists. And if you think there are more important issues, youre right homelessness, political corruption, pet laws or ISIL. But there are good articles about those issues already. As a man who enjoys Netflix like any other guy, eats cheap Chinese food with chopsticks and just spent $40 on premium decaffeinated coffee, I feel Im qualified to talk about The Breakdown of the Family Bike Trail. Ive compiled a checklist, a self-intervention of sorts, that the average bicyclist can use to determine if he or she is indeed, a bike-jerk: 1. Traffic laws are a matter of personal taste. Weve all seen it, havent we? Messengers catapulting up wrong ways, shirtless waifs wobbling down crowded sidewalks, cyclists decked in battle armor tailgating buses in rush hour and the ubiquitous stalwarts: knots of defiant men on a $3,000 bikes, shoulder to shoulder, baiting us while they parallel the curb by 8 feet.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
I’m a cyclist myself, and I agree with all of those criticisms.
Some bike-hating articles irritate me, but this guy is basically right across the board.
"Look at me! I'm Lance Frickin' Armstrong!"
Lycra, the wonder fabric of our age!
Yep, and it is worst in places like Minnesota and Vermont because not only is the cycling season so short, the areas are populated by a large number of leftists with attitude.
Nothing cogent or even real about his “list”. It’s all based on his perceptions. A jerk writing about “jerks”.
We’re starting to experience this now in Pittsburgh, as Millenial bikers are a key part of the weird coalition that elected Bill Peduto as Mayor. He is now closing down perfectly good (and busy) streets to placate their demand for bike lanes. Odd as perhaps no city save San Francisco has less hospitable terrain for bicycling.
I bet his camel backpack is filled with frosting or melted butter.
From the department of redundancy department.
Yep.
Reminds me of the soccer dads in their Land Rovers with the brush guards in the front bumper. I guess you never know when you will have to barrel down a rocky gully while being chased by a pride of lions while carpooling.
I sometimes think they live to cause head on collisions between the cars who have to pass them and the on-coming car.
By the way, we ride scooters on the back roads often favored by the spandex warriors, and honestly, cyclists are the most miserable looking people we see all day. scowling, grimacing, and over-stressed. But there goes a “Human Machine Guy” wave and admire.
Tempting car and truck drivers is a dangerous sport. They may have the right of way, but they have to survive to prove that in court.
I won’t even get into the trail riders at the state parks.
For many years, when I lived in south FL, my 10 speed was my only mode of transportation. So I’m not just ragging on cyclists.
That sign “Share The Road” applies equally to pedal pushers.
And if you mention to them that if they hit a pothole and end up under my car you ruined not only my life but my children’s life too, they get really indignant.
I wish I had said something years ago it I had known it would have made you stop talking to me!
LOL
I walk daily for about an hour but I have been thinking about getting a balloon tire Schwinn with riser handle bars and a big seat to make it easier to go riding and control getting on and off. We used to call them beach bikes. Give me a change of pace from the walking everyday. But then it would be harder to take my dog with me like I do on my walks.
This reminds me, I should clean up my old Trek 15 speed mountain bike and put it on CraigsList to sell. I'll never use it again.
I’d like to see a national bounty on bicycle thugs.
That is so true!
It used to be terrible commuting to work to downtown Minneapolis, because the road was filled with bikes that thought they were cars, and jay-walkers with chips on their shoulders.
These aggressive bicyclist should take a vacation and chill out in Holland for a week or two. They can smoke all the hashish and marijuana they want and cyclists are everywhere. Holland has a long standing bicycle culture
so you’d like to legalize the murder a few hundred thousand people. Neat. You sound like a reasonable person.
Bicycling is just an excuse for guys to wear spandex in public.
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