Missed connection

[dasgeh]

Wow. There must be something in the water today. It’s a beautiful day. We should all be out on bikes.

@Hancockbs 63046 wrote:

Taking it just a bit further, if you filter past cars that recently passed you in a safe manner, don’t you think they have a legitimate beef if they have to wait to pass you safely again?

Honestly, if one road user is using the road in a safe and legal manner, do any other road users have a “legitimate beef” with they fact that they delay each other or that one is going faster than the other? For example, if I’m in a bike lane, and the car lanes beside me are stopped, should I stop? Will they have a legitimate beef with me if I keep going in the bike lane? What if that bike lane then ends and I merge into traffic? Would they have a legitimate beef with me if I don’t wait for the last car stopped when I approached? What if the bike lane is blocked? What if I couldn’t see the blockage until I was right up on it? And what about the car turning right, who will have to stop for pedestrians? Do I, as a cyclist, have a legitimate beef with that driver for slowing me down?

This is similar to the “what to do when a lane is disappearing because of construction or whatever” dilemma. We all go faster if we all use the available pavement. It’s different in that some of us are using different vehicles with different rights, but the underlying logic is still there.

So I’m going back to my “judge not, lest the be judged” box. If you’re in a car, and you get “beefed” at other road users for being PALs*, I think you should look inward. Road usage (especially driving as fast as you can) is a privilege, not a right.

*PAL = predictable, alert, legal — not OUT OF MY WAY SO I CAN GET HOME AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE

Finally, if you’d like to have a conversation about the propriety of filtering being legal, that’s fine. And if you’d like to have a discussion about situations where it’s a good idea for the cyclist to filter, that’s fine too. But if I, as a cyclist, filter legally, it’s because I think it’s the best thing for me. And it’s legal. So you don’t have a legitimate beef with me any more than you do with all of the other cars in front of you on your drive home.

[consularrider]

@dasgeh 63079 wrote:

Wow … It’s a beautiful day. We should all be out on bikes …

There you go, channeling your inner Dirt!

[ShawnoftheDread]

I move that the acronym PAL be modified to mean Put A Lid on it and we all go back to writing snarky fake classifieds about our commuting encounters. Or packing up to run out of work early and go for a bike ride.

Except that I’m going to point out that dasgeh’s a JERK because she merges into traffic at a later point than I do.

[Mikey]

@ShawnoftheDread 63077 wrote:

I always do this. I’m a bad person. Or a non-felon, depends on your outlook.

^
|___________Would you want this guy waiting in line for the women’s room? )

[bobco85]

Hoo boy, a lot has already been said.

Without getting too much into it, I can at least add this bit of info:

In DC, bicyclists are allowed to filter. Check the Pocket Guide to DC Bike Laws page 9 (also shown in the DCMR Section 1201.3(b))http://www.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/On+Your+Street/Bicycles+and+Pedestrians/Bicycles/Bicycle+Laws

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Mikey 63082 wrote:

^
|___________Would you want this guy waiting in line for the women’s room?

But what if I change my name to ChelseaoftheDread?

[DismalScientist]

I think the question amounts to whether cyclists should filter so that they can shoal cars. If the road makes it difficult for cars to pass cyclists, then I would call this shoaling. We have a thread suggesting that some forum posters consider shoaling at “legitimate beef” when done to other cyclists. Why would it be surprising that some drivers have a similar view of cyclists shoaling them?

[Mikey]

@ShawnoftheDread 63084 wrote:

But what if I change my name to ChelseaoftheDread?

I was talking about this guy –> ( :-3o)

[DismalScientist]

@ShawnoftheDread 63084 wrote:

But what if I change my name to ChelseaoftheDread?

Perhaps Tim can arrange this.:p

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Mikey 63088 wrote:

I was talking about this guy –> ( :-3o)

Who dat?

[rcannon100]

[IMG]https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/5182736896/h30333054/[/IMG]

[nikki_d]

@DismalScientist 63034 wrote:

Maybe if the cycletrack wasn’t put down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue, but instead bike lanes where put on the right side of the road, this wouldn’t be an issue.:rolleyes:

Oh, you mean like the pedestrian “launching zones” on 15th St and L St? Yeah, it wouldn’t make a difference. Pedestrians would still be standing in it.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@nikki_d 63094 wrote:

Oh, you mean like the pedestrian “launching zones” on 15th St and L St? Yeah, it wouldn’t make a difference. Pedestrians would still be standing in it.

Yep. Pedestrians have a serious dislike of on-curb standing.

[mstone]

@Mikey 63082 wrote:

^
|___________Would you want this guy waiting in line for the women’s room? )

Is that supposed to be an anatomically correct emoticon?

[mstone]

@DismalScientist 63086 wrote:

I think the question amounts to whether cyclists should filter so that they can shoal cars. If the road makes it difficult for cars to pass cyclists, then I would call this shoaling. We have a thread suggesting that some forum posters consider shoaling at “legitimate beef” when done to other cyclists. Why would it be surprising that some drivers have a similar view of cyclists shoaling them?

well, if you want a more nuanced answer about a specific question, you need a more nuanced question. I think I’d sum up my reaction to the above with a simple “don’t be a jerk”.

[Author]

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