Pickup driver’s fight with cyclists leads to crushed bike, jail

Yahoo ^ | Tue, Oct 22, 2013 12:54 PM EDT | Justin Hyde

[JSDude1]

In the past few years, many cities and local governments have embraced bicycling as a reasonable way to use public roads — carving out special lanes, setting up bike-sharing stations and generally making life easier for those who want to travel by two wheels rather than four.

But those moves haven't come without complaint about congestion and special treatment, and just as biking clubs have grown for weekend riders, so has anti-bike advocacy and concerns about who rules the road — such as the handmade warning signs above from a pro-vehicle group. In a shocking but not surprising turn, one Texas man now faces charges after being caught on video threatening a group of cyclists with a baseball bat — and ending the row by running over a $5,000 bicycle.

[donmeaker]

Generally you can figure how much damage is done by looking at the pressure of the tire. High pressure tires do more damage.

And those darned high spike heels are the worst!

[donmeaker]

I always ride paranoid, even in my truck and van. Illegal aliens seek to get in accidents and profit thereby.

[Stentor]

The 98% of bicyclers who are arrogant assholes give the 2% who are not a bad rap.

In my experience the 2% are little girls under 10.

[donmeaker]

Even a horse putting out a horsepower, wouldn’t last very long.

But for 10 seconds, yes, even old slow me can do that.

My ex-wife has a tricycle she rides to the store, when she isn’t on her broom.

[dennisw]

http://www.mapawatt.com/2009/07/19/bicycle-power-how-many-watts-can-you-produce

Here is a good breakdown on how much watts and horsepower a very strong cyclist can produce. Over a sustained effort of one hour 430 watts was what one cyclist was producing

1 hp(E) = 746 W http://www.rapidtables.com/convert/power/hp-to-watt.htm

****** My mistake was thinking horses produce at the rate of one horsepower when actually they are capable of higher outputs over a short period. At the race track over a two minute race maybe they are producing at 5-10 horsepower

[dalereed]

Biles belong in the trash can on your 16th birthday!!!

I had a Whizzer engine on mine and it still went in the trash on my 16th birthday!!!!

[Red Dog #1]

I cycle a great deal (I’m too old to run the serious mileage needed to stay in shape for Uncle Sam’s PT test) and unfortunately I know some of the people your talking about. There also is no shortage of jack@sses driving cars.

[Paladin2]

There was an article in Scientific American (way back when it was about Science) that had a plot of human output measured using cyclists and intended to get a handle on the design constraints on human powered flight.

I couldn't find it online in a cursory search.

The human body seems to differ greatly from a reciprocating internal combustion engine powered auto.

[BraveMan]

At least with my Bagger I have kinetic energy as a potential deterrent . . .

[Eaker]

I agree.

[SamAdams76]

I'll never forget my first bicycle. It was a Huffy with fat tires and I would ride it up and down the streets in my short pants. Sometimes, I would build a ramp and would right up it really fast so that I could get some "air time". I would pop wheelies and put those baseball cards in the spokes of my tire so they would make that flapping noise. I was careful not to use baseball cards that might be worth money someday so it was mostly Denny Doyle, Bart Johnson and Oscar Gamble cards. Some of those ballplayers had some crazy afro haircuts back in those days. How did they get their hair all frizzy and wild like that?

Anyway, what ruined bicycling for me was that Queen song called "Bicycle Race". It just made bicycle riding seem so...gay. Then they started coming out with those "crash helmets". I just didn't want to look like an astronaut when I was riding my bicycle so I gave it up and bought a motor car instead.

[reed13k]

Here’s the deal - they are under the same rules as a car in every state ice been in. But they think they can ignore the rules and become pedestrian at will. They can’t bikes must obey the rules of the road - if they do then fine treat the auto guys appropriately, but crucify the bikers that break the rules of the road and bastardize the system or give up the ghost on trying to go after the auto guys - and yes I’ve seen disrespect on both Sides but the odds are the bikers are worse.

[JSDude1]

I guess I shouldn’t generalize, but I tend think those people are liberals..of course I am probably wrong..

[raybbr]

A bicyle's narrow tire does much more damage to a dirt or gravel road than a motor vehicle where the weight is more broadly distributed.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! You people in PA will believe anything a govt pogue tells you.

One reason why Wisconsin requires daily or annual permit fees for bicyclists using its rail trail system but allows hikers to use the network for free.

I notice they don't allow motorcycles, who cause less damage according to you, to even use them.

[Bryanw92]

We are not among friends. Many of these FReepers have decided that bicycling is a “liberal” hobby and they hate it. I especially love the “bikes need to be taxed” comments. They are probably the biggest hypocrites I’ve ever seen.

[Bryanw92]

Nice post! Your description of my death is obviously something you put a lot of thought into. Do you masturbate while fantasizing about the sounds of a cyclist dying under the wheels of your mighty car?

[newnhdad]

I think you are overstating that. IMO, there are three types of cyclists. Casual, dedicated and entitled toolbags.

On the road you can easily tell which category the cyclist falls into.
1- Casual bikers usually don’t wear the gear, stay to the right, stay off roads that are known to be dangerous and high risk and yield the right of way to the vehicle that weighs about three tons more.

2- dedicated bikers wear the gear, understand the dangers,respect the vehicles, respect the rules of the road and ride when traffic is light and try to find safe roads and bike trails.

3- entitled toolbags pay $5000 for a bike, pay $5000 for the outfit, ride in the middle of the road, flip off cars, don’t yield the right of way, blow through stop signs, red lights, ride in heavy traffic, ride on known dangerous roads, zip around cars in traffic and expect everyone else around them to thank them for riding. They expect kids and walkers to get the eff out of their way, while they ride on sidewalks and blame everyone else for the consequences of their actions. They also ride side-by-side in packs so they can force responsible drivers to move as slowly as they do and they all think they are Lance Armstrong and have a collective superiority complex that is until they’re wheels up in a ditch because some redneck didn’t feel like waiting while they tried to duplicate Lance’s Alps climb time.

[lightman]

[[LIke]]

PA is full of category 3s.

[Uncle Miltie]

My other bike is a V8 Tundra.

[commish]

The road I live off of used to be a nice long empty rural hwy that was a haven for cyclists. Nobody minded them at all and there were never any issues.

In the last ten years a housing boom has resulted in the road now being traveled by thousands of people every single day and yet the cyclists still think it is their playground. IN addition to all the housing 3 large schools have also been built and have added to the traffic.

With tons of commuters and a 55 MPH speed limit I am shocked that nobody has been completely splattered as the cyclists still ride in packs and insist on doing so during peak commuting and school times.

As a result everyone in the area who used to consider them part of the rural charm now look upon them as nuisances and arrogant fools who seem to be intent on getting hit one day.