Housing's been a bit slow lately. There's probably a glut of roofing nails to be had cheaply.
Posted on 10/08/2007 12:35:56 PM PDT by Caleb1411
Critical Mass, the loosely organized bicycle group that ties up rush-hour traffic once a month in Minneapolis, has demonstrated who rules our streets. But Minneapolis isn't the only place where the Mass mob has strong-armed the police and City Hall, and left outraged motorists fuming but impotent. Today, Critical Mass cyclists cow commuters in more than 300 cities, from Denver to Rio de Janeiro, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The ride got its start in San Francisco (where else?) in 1992 with about 50 cyclists. Authorities there looked the other way as riders ran red lights and snarled traffic. Soon, the event was drawing hundreds, even thousands, of riders.
And therein lies a cautionary tale for Minneapolis.
Today, ugly confrontations are a fact of life in the City by the Bay, and traffic is a bad trip on the last Friday of the month. Cyclists sometimes scratch or beat on cars, taunt or spit at motorists, and come close to running down pedestrians.
Nevertheless, police maintain a hands-off stance, acting as little more than bystanders.
In March 2007, a mother who had brought five young girls to the city for a birthday party wandered into the path of 3,000 Critical Mass cyclists. Hundreds swarmed around her minivan, circling wildly and pounding on its windows. As the terrified children sobbed, one rider threw his bike and smashed the van's rear window. Damage totaled more than $5,000.
The incident provoked citizen outrage. But Mayor Gavin Newsom -- after a few empty threats -- declined to order arrests or more controls, and merely beefed up the ride's police escort.
How did San Francisco get into this state of anarchy?
The city ran up the white flag 10 years ago, after a pitched battle in July 1997 set a pattern of capitulation.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Ping
I’m thinking the answer to this is thumbtacks. Lots and lots of thumbtacks.
Then the motorists should engage in more protected first amendment rights of physically clearing the streets of all obstructions!
I’m thinking “accidentally on purpose” opening the car door at JUST the right time... like when one of those idiots is riding by.
Housing's been a bit slow lately. There's probably a glut of roofing nails to be had cheaply.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRoEbC22ppY
Just the look on that butt ugly hippy when her bike gets run over is fantastic.
Let these morons ride through Vegas.. lol I can guarantee you it will turn ugly. Lots of armed people here AND lots of gambling junkies who cant be late for bingo.. as well as the drunks.. haha
Add 12,000 Leftists on bikes, stir, shake well.. and stand back.
Well, it’s San Francisco.
Easy there, I’m a cyclist who rides to work and I’m all in favor of putting more people on bikes.
That said, anarchist tactics are inappropriate and taint the whole cycling community with the antics of a few, the one-percenters.
Think before you do something malicious that could endanger someone’s life, we are not all a-holes out there. The crash you cause could injure somebody who is just trying to get around without putting any money in the pockets of OBL and the Islamonutballs.
Cannister
Just as long as you don’t put thumbtacks around my bike, I’m fine with it. I’m sick of these pretentious bikers in this area. They make the rest of us look bad.
LOL !
Cyclists should be forced to use the sidewalks . They have no business being in the road if there are no bike lanes available .
Those are too tall. You need small stuff that that won’t shine in the sun.
I'm thinking aluminum baseball bats would be a good non-gunpowder solution to this problem.
Why!?
Bicyclists are--supposedly--required to obey all the same traffic laws as those driving automobiles. Why are they given a free pass?
Not impotent, just governed by rules of civility. Rules that apparently DON'T govern the bicycle thugs. It's just a matter of time until that veneer of civility wears through and some bicyclists start getting their heads bashed. Ironically, the motorists who start swinging will then be painted as "lawless" and "hooligans."
I do not mind sharing the road with bicyclists, however I just ask that rules of the road be obeyed, this a huge problem in my area with all the Armstrong wannabes....
as long as you aren’t one of those Gomers that rides his bike in the street where there is no shoulder, but there exists a perfectly good sidewalk to not obstruct traffic in, then I’ll let the comment pass.
or loose gravel....
Yeah, but a roofing nail will take out a car tire also and I'd like to avoid collateral damage. A regular size thumbtack doesn't have a long enough spike to penetrate a car tire but will take out a bicycle tube quite nicely. You could buy 10 thousand of them for less than a hundred bucks and spread them thickly all along the route. Watching hundreds of these jerks changing tires or carring their bike cuz they have no spare would be worth the cost.
They stayed by the bikes like they’re more important than their health. It’s a bike, they could buy a new one for $100.
“Nevertheless, police maintain a hands-off stance”
Is that Larry Craig style?
You'd be shocked how much some of these guys pay for the superlight alumnium frame touring bikes.
Oh, I’ve nothing against your avergage cyclist who’s trying to save gas...it’s these nut-jobs who block traffic and destroy people’s property and are trying to “save the planet”! who I’ve got it in for. Truth be told, it would take an awful lot of aggravation for me to snap and do something that could actually hurt someone.
What kind of nutjob would see a Disabled license plate and think the person should be riding a bike?
“Bicyclists are—supposedly—required to obey all the same traffic laws as those driving automobiles. Why are they given a free pass?”
Wow. Post #20 shows the first evidence of intelligence concerning “nation of laws.”
(previous posts say shoot them.)
Heck, a crowbar in the spokes will hurt quite a bit.
Hyperbole is a very old tradition in the English language, yes?
Naah... no shooting necessary. Just wait for them to stop for a rest, then draw on the "Kenworth vs. motorcycles" scene from Smokey & The Bandit for inspiration.
Just slap a piece of duct tape over your license plate number first.
Yes, it appears to be another form of “ Eco-terrorism “ as they are imposing their will upon the the motorist masses in the name of the enviroment .
Nothing more self-righteous than a mob of bicyclists slowpoking down the road, lol.
Actually, some of the bikes that they ride cost upwards of 500 to 1000 dollars, sometimes even 3000 dollars. And yes, it’s worth it having a bike that costs more than 500 dollars because maintenance is less, it’s a more comfortable ride and the bike lasts for more than one riding season. I own a bike that costs 300 dollars (Which is considered a deal for a high performance bike) and I’ve only had a few problems with it since I’ve owned it.
Oh goodie! Governor Deval Patrick (idiot par excellence), of MA wants to make MA more bike friendly. This sort of nonsense will be coming to Boston in no time flat.
Ahhh , but the police aren’t enforcing said traffic laws in regards to these Eco - Terrorists . So what are the motorists to do ?
Wait, a member of the liberal MSM criticizing the bikers? The sky must be falling.
Trillions of people who engage in hyperbole should be tortured and killed, because hyperbole is worse than Nazism.
I think that there are two groups of cyclists. The Armstrong posers who tend to obey the laws and spend big bucks on their bikes , and then these idiotic eco - Hippies who obey no laws and try to provoke altercations .
Just as long as he knows that most bikes will have to be left in garages and houses during a winter Noreaster, which would mean people are going to flock the streets with cars and cause even more traffic gridlock, then fine, make Boston more bike-friendly.
What a feminine thing for a man to say. What a fag.
If we didn't have so many young heroes out in the sandbox showing daily that they are as great a generation as America has ever produced I would think we are lost as a country.
Regards
As a bicycle rider myself, I’d suggest that a broomstick would provide a more focused response than would thumbtacks.
I’m a 3rd type. A guy that obeys the laws, spends moderate bucks on my bikes and who sprays mud on pretentious road bikers who think they’re the second coming of Lance Armstrong with his mountain bike.
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