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That’s just it, it isn’t legal to ride like that.
But they do it anyway.
And water bottle stops in the road that brings all traffic to a halt.
Apparently it is too hard on law enforcement to enforce the law on those guys.
Someone posted some of the laws about it further up thread.

But who suffers?
Those of us who live there, ride and try to be conscious of our surroundings.
We get the idiots who rage over the genius spandex douches
aiming at us in misplaced anger direction.
(I’m out in orange county ny. Some rural spots, but let’s be real here. Rural doesn’t mean “block the darn roads”, and cops can’t be bothered for it unless someone is hurt as they are a reaction force not a preventive force these days.)

Actually cops are a huge part of the problem.

As a cyclist who avoids roads whenever possible -- which is "always" except for a few short, wide connecting roads between trails or bike paths, it burns me up to have to renegotiate the vehicle code at every intersection where some blue-hair thinks she's doing me a favor by waving me through a right of way I don't have.

Why do I have to do this?

Because of a handful of d0uchebags who don't obey the vehicle code. Let's face it: most people -- including the so-called "professional drivers" commenting on this thread are CRAPPY drivers. They don't know how to drive very well even when the vehicle is commanding 100% of their attention, which is never never. They're distracted by eating, phoning, texting, arguing with their mates, disciplining their kids, drinking, getting high ... Now add to that the aggravation of a few near misses with idiots and they feel completely justified in talking about maiming or killing cyclists.

A lot of this could be ameliorated if police would stop issuing tickets to motorists who're 15 miles over the speed limit, and issue citations to bicyclists who are in flagrant violation of the vehicle code or common sense.

Here are some violations the cops give a pass to all the time:

Cyclists riding on city streets and dark country roads with no lights of any kind (just reflectors) after twilight.
Cyclists on sidewalks jammed with pedestrians.
Cyclists on the wrong side of the road.
Cyclists passing cars on the right in the same lane.
Cyclists riding two, three and even four abreast with following traffic.
Cyclists going down narrow one-way alleys in the wrong direction.

If motorists would just see police issuing citations for these flagrant violations, the heat level would go way down, the spandex class might learn something, and everybody's life would be a lot more pleasant. Especially mine. I don't appreciate the mindset created by negligent bicyclists any more than the idiots who think they'd be justified in killing someone over their momentary impatience.