Bikers vs. motorists...

I'm betting that if he does, it's shaped like a "halo".

 

I don't run red lights. It's not about being a Saint, for me it is about not getting mashed. I don't know if you have ever ridden a motorcycle but, if you have, you have probably noticed that you don't always register as being there to an inattentive motorist. It is 10 times worse on a bicycle and you don't have the acceleration capability of a motorcycle.

And I do wear a bike helmet. Like a seatbelt or motorcycle helmet, I doubt it will save me in a lot of situations but I have been doing it long enough I feel naked without it.

And one other thing about MTB's...An entry level road bike will about twice as expensive as an entry level MTB too.

 

I have to agree with Stu, I never ran a light for exactly the reason he states, nost car/truck/van drivers fail to register bikes until they hit them, of course by that time it can prove to have been a bit fatal for the bike rider.

 

Are we talking about bicycles or motoercycles? Stu, I wasnt writing about you. You didnt start the thread. From what I read into the post, Jhonn is referring to a scooter or moped not a Ninja or Wide Glide. I ride a Harley also but not a Vespa. So Jhonn, what do you ride?

 

My bad a$$ machine is a Trek!

 

A Specialized for me.

 

Well, I've owned and ridden both. I've logged a lot more miles on the bicycle and I currently only ride a mountain bike, though. Just putting some things in perspective from another cyclist.

 

I now have read three pages of this topic and have decided that most of it is making more of the situation than really exists. In all the years that I have driven automobiles, trucks and busses, I have yet to hit anyone. They have always been able to get out of the road, with the exception of one, who ended up on the hood of the car.

 

Dan.
Did you every hit anyone with your horse and buggy

 

Wow. I guess I am going straight to hell. None of you guys ever rode a bike(bicycle) on the sidewalk. EVER!? Or rode against traffic? Or pedaled through a stop sign? Dang! As a news boy in my early days of puberty, I every so often disobeyed the norm. And I'm sure I saw a few of my friends do the same. Now I feel like calling my parents nieghbors to apologize for cutting through thier lawns all those times.

 

Nope! Not that lucky. The one I was talking about that ended up on the hood of the car and up against the front windshield, happened when I was parked at the curb with the engine shut off. The idiot came up the street on the wrong side of the street and ran into the front of my car while it was parked.
After pealing him off of my windshield, I called the cops and they ask him if he was hurt. He said he was and I offered to take him to the hospital, which they allowed me to do. I kicked his butt out of the car and drove away. He proceded to file a report with the PD that said I had hit him. Of course the police already knew about what had happened, so ignored the complaint.
Sad to say the insurance company didn't.. I had a lot ofpapers to filll out and reports from the PD to turn in before they would continue with my coverage. The end of a long story, and needless to say I'm not very fond of bike riders.

 

Craig.
I think we all did that at one time or another, just don't think any of us spit on people though when we were doing it.

 

As a matter of reference, my bike is an 80's Schwinn 10-speed converted to a single-speed fixed-gear. It looks very similar to this: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/dec/RossEppelheimer.htm

And craig a, again, if I'm riding on the shoulder, there's no need to weave or blow through lights. It's pretty simple. The whole point of the thread was how cyclists are usu. disrespected ON the road. I hate biking on the sidewalk. I don't feel like smashing into pedestrians day in and out. And yes, I do wear a helmet.

What a nasty experience, OldDan. 95% of people who KNOW how to ride a bike would never do something that dumb.

Also, I think you'll all be proud to know that I neither kicked nor spit on any vehicles this weekend! Not that I still wouldn't, but I had no need to, ha. Pretty smooth sailing on the streets so far. :whistle:

 

Of course, my ideal ride would look something like this: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2005/sept/Jon.htm

I don't have $500 to drop on customization, sadly.

 

Be careful of spit on car, or throw things, in your country of pistil packing obese homely girls they may shoot you with Uzi or AK-47. it hard of make point others, if you die trying.

 

I don't know what kind of state-run television you're watching, Borat, but America has these types of pistol-packing babes:

 

eh? :mouth: me thinks you are ill informed.

 

I was at work one day, throwing the football out in the parking lot with a co-worker during a 15 minute break. A young lady in a Honda was pulling out of the lot about 50 feet away from us. I saw her stop at the stop sign and check traffic in both directions. She eased out into the street and a guy on a bicycle, riding on the sidewalk and going in the wrong direction, rode right out in front of her. She hit him while barely moving, but it knocked him off the bike and pinned him down under the car underneath his bike. My co-worker and I ran over and lifted up on the front of the car enough that the guy was able to wiggle out from under it. He wasn't really hurt aside from a couple of scrapes and a banged up bike. The girl totally freaked out and we had to take her inside and calm her down before she could drive home.

Later that summer my girlfriend and I took a drive out to another town about 25 miles from me to attend a cookout. The road is a 2 lane highway, 55MPH speed limit, frequently used by bike riders. We had to cross a bridge about a mile before we approached the turn off to exit onto the road where the cookout was being held. There was a woman on a beach cruiser type bicycle approaching me from the opposite direction. She was riding with traffic and was well onto the wide shoulder of the road, but something just didn't seem right. Sure enough, as I approached her, she hit a bump in the asphalt and lost control of the bike. The handlebars cocked sideways and she flew over them and out into traffic.

I saw all of this happen so I was prepared. I was driving a beater Subaru station wagon I used to own that had really good brakes. I jumped on them, turned the steering wheel to the right, and drove off the road in an effort to give oncoming traffic a place to go around the rider in the middle of the highway. Fortunately everyone managed to avoid her and traffic came to a complete stop. She was basically OK aside from skinned up palms and knees.

I don't know if any lessons can be learned from any of this but thought I'd share my experiences- just in case.

 

ROTFLMAO!!!!

 

American bathing beauties?