Some Bicyclists Make All Bicyclists Look Bad

[Subby]

Wow that link he posted is pretty scary. Hope that pickup driver was charged with assault.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Certifried 27159 wrote:

I, too, have only been on this forum for a short time. I’ve come to see that the cyclists here are far from the average cyclist. They’re responsible ambassadors of the community. Your first post was seething with anger, venom, and disdain for “all cyclists”.

—>>> Some Bicyclists Make All Bicyclists Look Bad <---- Now your latest post is additionally hostile. I’m not sure how you expect this community to respond. I also am not sure if you’re pointing the finger in the right direction concerning “insult and talk down to someone”.

Totally agree. ML85 started off pissed, which is fine to a point, and received some snarky remarks and questions of authenticity, but MOSTLY got constructive criticism. There was even a Jesus quote directing us all to look to our own actions before worrying about others. What more could you want?

[rcannon100]

Cant walk into a room, poking people in the eye, and then get upset when you get a poor response. Here is some more religious texts to think about:

“An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind”

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1478[/ATTACH]

[americancyclo]

@ml85 27145 wrote:

rather than provide constructive feedback

Here are two action items you can begin pursuing this instant.

1. Take a breath and relax. You cannot control others.
2. Volunteer to help WABA or BikeArlington. You can influence others.

http://www.waba.org/get_involved/index.php
http://www.bikearlington.com/pages/get-involved/

[dbb]

@Subby 27160 wrote:

Wow that link he posted is pretty scary. Hope that pickup driver was charged with assault.

He has been served, according to DCist

http://dcist.com/2012/06/driver_who_ran_down_cyclist_last_au.php

[off2ride]

ml85,

Don’t be discouraged. Keep riding. I see stuff like that everyday when I ride to and from my vehicle. I don’t really give a rats ass anymore about these knuckle heads trying to beat the red light without looking for incoming traffic. I will assist though if they get hurt but I’m not gonna preach. They know better. They just choose ignore safety. As far as respect, I mind my own business while I’m riding but if they are deliberately disrespectful to me, then they’re going to get the same treatment. An eye for an eye. The universal gesture is the “Head shaking” on a bone head move. That’s what I do after making eye contact. So yeah, keep riding. Don’t let this recklessness get to you. I’ve been commuting to work since the mid 90’s and all it takes is common sense to be safe.

@ml85 26945 wrote:

I’ve been a bike commuter for about 8 months now, and if I decide to stop biking to work it will be because of other bicyclists. I just can’t believe there are so many disrespectful, arrogant, and dangerous bicyclists out there (there are obviously good ones, but it’s the bad ones who stand out). A few examples that have frustrated me:

1. Bikers blowing through red lights without looking: At a minimum I stop at red lights to make sure there are no cars coming, but multiple times bicyclists have blown past me without looking, causing drivers to slam on the brakes. I don’t care if a bicyclist gets run over going through a red light, but if a driver is going to swerve to avoid them, then I’m in danger and I don’t appreciate that.

2. Bikers not yielding to pedestrians: I saw a biker go through a red light on the Custis Trail near Rosslyn and yell at a pedestrian who was crossing onto the sidewalk with the crosswalk signal. He screamed at her and intentionally stuck his elbow out to hit her as he blew past other bicyclists and pedestrians waiting patiently. Another time I stopped for children crossing the MVT at Gravelly Point when 3 bicyclists blew past me and knocked over a small child. The bikers of course screamed at everyone who was in their way.

3. Bikers not yielding to cars: I saw a biker start to cross Lynn St. in Rosslyn while there was a red light for cars and pedestrians (so again running red lights). A car stopped then started to turn at the same time the biker started crossing (the car had 100% right-of-way), but the bicyclist screamed and berated her for even thinking about turning.

4. Bikers not respecting other bikers: A bicyclist dangerously cut me off to pass me without warning right before getting on to the 14th St. Bridge, then proceeded to go just slowly enough that I couldn’t pass. At the end of the bridge there was a line of bicyclists behind him, and he spit off to the side of the trail. Of course this huge cloud of spittle ended up on my face. And I’m constantly passed by bicyclists who don’t give any warning, or who specifically start to silently pass me as I’m trying to pass someone else.

Besides using this forum to vent about stupid bicyclists, how can I handle these situations in the future? These problems occur more frequently than runners in bike lanes or drivers being oblivious to me. I fear that drivers and runners will see these examples of fools on bicycles and treat me like one of them, putting me in danger. And I really don’t want to go back to taking Metro to work…

[Author]

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