Posted on 09/18/2011 7:32:42 AM PDT by Immerito
A few months ago, I received a phone call from a cyclist with an incredible story about an incident in Lawrence County, Ohio. Because the cyclist-a guy named Tony Patrick-was in need of an attorney, I hooked him up with Steve Magas, a contributing author to Bicycling & the Law, and a well-known bicycling attorney in Ohio. After hearing Tony's story, Steve took his case. More about that later; first, let me tell you about Tony.
Weekdays, Tony runs his small construction company in Huntington, West Virginia. Weeknights, and weekends, Tony, a Cat 2 racer, can often be found hanging out at Jeff's Bike Shop-that is, when he's not out on a training ride, or racing. And that's not unusual; Jeff's Bike Shop is the center of a vibrant racing scene in Huntington, the second-largest city in West Virginia, and the home of Marshall University.
That racing scene means regular training rides, all of which start out and end up at Jeff's. There's a ride every other day, each geared to a different set of riders, but the real hammerfest is the Tuesday night ride. That's the ride where the locals try, as Tony puts it, to hurt each other over the course of a 23-34 mile route that takes them across the Ohio River, into the back roads of southern Ohio, before looping back across the river into Huntington.
And that's how Tony found himself just outside of Chesapeake, Ohio, one Tuesday night in August of 2008, heading into town to take the bridge back across to Huntington. Tony was riding with "Ryan," a then-16 year old nationally-ranked racer with a 4.2 GPA. ["Ryan" is a pseudonym; I've concealed his identity because he's a minor.]
(Excerpt) Read more at bicycling.com ...
careful you got a little shoe polish on your nose
Sure these two cyclists were boneheads.
Doesn’t sound like the cop was any better. Having a badge and a gun doesn’t make you perfect. He obviously shouldn’t be a cop if he loses control this easily and can’t even manage to pull over two kids on bikes.
There aren't enough trails .... cities usually can't afford that.
5 MPH?! What ... are you 90 years old or something? When I cycle, it's at least 15, sometimes mid 20s. Fortunately, 95% of the drivers I encounter are friendly and do share the road. And I do obey the laws of the road.
Yes, there are groups that do, at times, get in the way. But really .... how much time out of your day are they really taking? A few seconds?
Oh and add in that the cop is a liar, not such a good thing.
“Lesson here is to stay out of Ohio.”
Or keep a couple of doughnuts, Ho-Hos or Twinkies in your back shirt pocket when bicycling through Ohio.
I submit to you that cyclists get it through their heads that they are piloting a vehicle on a public roadway and are subject to all traffic laws. They’re not some at-will hybrid of pedestrian and vehicle, able to shift from on to the other as convenient for them. Do not run stopsigns and red lights. Do not veer back and forth from pedestrian walkways to public roadways as if other traffic is required to give way for you, and do not pass on the right in the same single lane next to the curb, expecting people to magically know you’re there. Do give way for overtaking vehicles. Common courtesy and common sense would go a long way here, but it’s sorely lacking and in fact arrogance is more the rule with cyclists.
What ... you think they don't own cars and pay taxes like you do?
And show me in the laws of your state where it says that they don't have a right to the road.
“Just because I pay registration, inspection, and tax fees for motor vehicle usage on public roadways doesn’t give me the right to drive anything on the road other than what’s specified in the highway code”
And highway code allows for bicycles. shocking I know
0.2 extra points for riding a bike...
Don't play in the road.
Rights, yes. Death, more likely if you play in the road.
I thought baiting was illegal. Which is kinda what got these two guys in trouble in the first place.
Should a citizen obey an obviously unlawful order from a cop? And because a citizen doesn’t comply should that citizen as a result be beaten, tased, shot and killed, or thrown in jail?
My thought too.
At first I was sympathetic to the cop. Then at the “who was getting in front of who” part I started wondering if we had a case of LE rage. Then when I read that the cyclists were trying to get over the bridge to WV, I realized that both were bad actors.
Cycling 101. When I'm on the road, I remember that I am no challenge for 2000 pounds of steel. You won't find me doing any of the things on this list, that's for darn sure.
How to handle ‘Critical Mass’ bicyclers, My experience at Bio 2004:
After moving less than half a block in 20 minutes (one block away from from Moscone), a bunch of bicyclists started riding between the cars, leader with a bull horn, shouting something about taking over the streets.
He had the horn pointed back wards so I didn’t hear him coming. Durn! he got away!
However, I popped my door open in front of the third or so cyclist in the string. (I did look first to make sure he had room to stop).
He screams “You effin’ clymer!!!” (OK, I cleaned it up a little, so sue me...)
I looked up smiled sweetly and said “That makes two of us...”
Totally messed them up. They had to stop and regroup. His buds split leaving him with two young “ladies” to protect him from the mean man in the car. Boo fricking hoo
I closed the door and he started to pass by and continued to berate me. When he was adjacent to the door I popped it open at him, not to hit him, but to persuade him to move along.
He darn near fell off his bike trying to dodge me.
“We’re going to call 911!!!”
“Don’t bother, I’ll call for you” which I did. (The line was busy)
He and the two chicks decided that it was past their collective bedtimes or something and split.
Felt GOOD...
Baiting? By riding on the road legally? If that cop didn’t think it was legal for bicyclists to be out on the road and the bicyclist intentionally road their bikes past that cop to instigate a confrontation then, yes, you could call it baiting. But then how did the bicyclists know this cop didn’t think bicycles should be on the road?
I understand that. Now ... show me in the laws of your state where it says that cyclists do not have a right to the road.
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