[Orestes Munn]

@ShawnoftheDread 99035 wrote:

I would call the illustration Bike Geek.

Especially the smile. Freds don’t smile.

[Orestes Munn]

@mstone 99003 wrote:

Risk assessment by the method of “it hasn’t been a problem for me yet” is what caused the loss of two space shuttles, and less spectacular failings on a daily basis. You asked why people are concerned about double line crossing, then mocked and dismissed the answer. That doesn’t change the fact that people are still concerned about the issue. It would be nice if there were reliable data that we could use to objectively assess the risk, but there isn’t. We know that cyclists are killed by poorly executed passes, but we don’t have solid data on the specifics or on which mitigations prove effective. So we’re left trying to make the best of a bad situation. I’m really unsure why that seems to offend you so much.

Heavens, I’m not offended! I’m the prickly, disinhibited, maniac who’s barely holding it together in this rather polite venue.

Risk assessment? The space shuttle example has a tiny denominator (the number of launches, whatever that is); whereas, the number of cyclists passed over a double yellow is very, very large. Both are high-consequence events, but one is relatively common (high risk) and one is rare (low risk), pace the recent tragedy in Annapolis. The message for me is don’t go up in a rocket.

[Orestes Munn]

@cyclingfool 98936 wrote:

On the topic of double yellow lines, I recently read this. It’s long, but well thought out and well written.

http://iamtraffic.org/engineering/crossing-double-yellow-line/

Interesting. I had no idea the issue was so fraught.

Data point: I was passed by 18 MVs on Jones Mill-Beach Drive between Jones Bridge and Cedar Lane (that’s in the Red state of Maryland), this a.m.. All crossed the double yellow and all gave me plenty of room.

[Orestes Munn]

@krazygl00 98963 wrote:

WOW the election has really affected this town :p

It’s certainly turned me into one hell of a windy old grouch!

[Orestes Munn]

@mstone 98959 wrote:

This is completely unrelated to whether cyclists stop at red lights. Why aren’t we all dead? 1) most of us ride really defensively 2) it’s relatively rare for a driver to have to make a considered decision that directly impacts us. We generally try to minimize the occurrence of situations where safety depends on people making quick decisions under stress to protect other people. Instead, we make blanket rules that don’t require much judgment. (Such as: don’t pass on a double yellow line.)

Note that none of this is specific to drivers; in most dangerous situations people will think first of themselves.

Here’s what you wrote: …in my experience, drivers act based on their assessment of what is safe for them and don’t consider the safety of others much of at all.

Don’t understand? Then let me refine the analogy for you: Your statement embodies the same fallacy of generalization from a isolated cases that is contained in the statement, “In my experience, cyclists have no concern for the safety of pedestrians.” Moreover, it contains an invidious characterization of state of mind.

Remember that next time someone gives you a nice wide pass or follows at a respectful distance until it’s safe to go.

As to your reasons why we’re not all dead, 1) I would submit that most of “us” (meaning cyclists nationwide) ride like idiots and 2) my own experience of forcing quick decisions on drivers, always due to my own inattentiveness or misjudgment, have resulted in immediate action to avoid hitting me (edit: so far).

[Orestes Munn]

@mstone 98955 wrote:

I guess you’re trying to be amusing. I don’t think it’s particularly humorous because, in my experience, drivers act based on their assessment of what is safe for them and don’t consider the safety of others much of at all.

If you really mean this, why is cycling not lethal for us all in the (not very) long run? This is the same fallacy perpetrated by those who “have never seen a cyclist stop at a red light.”

I am amusing myself, if no one else.

Edit: Apologies for the discussions; however, this is relevant to the original question. Do many of us impute a callous indifference to the safety of others to our friends and loved ones who drive and can such an ingrained attitude be altered by having a friend or relation who cycles?

[Orestes Munn]

@mstone 98950 wrote:

The question is, if the passing vehicle is suddenly faced with an incoming vehicle, will the passing vehicle complete the pass, brake and pull back into the lane behind the cyclist, or change lanes into the cyclist?

Yes, or collide head-on with the oncoming vehicle. Next question, please.

[Orestes Munn]

@jrenaut 98939 wrote:

I agree about the extra room – that’s why I generally ride in the middle of the lane when there’s not room to give me 3 feet.

If you’re suggesting we change the law so that passing a cyclist becomes a legal exception to the yellow line rule, we can have that discussion, but I think 1) It won’t make any noticeable difference and 2) I don’t like putting cyclists in the same bucket as “non-moving obstructions” as I think it sends the wrong message.

I’m in general agreement with you. If I’m “taking” the lane, I certainly expect not to be passed over a double yellow, but if I’m not, I don’t really care and, in fact, often prefer it, if some driver puts their left wheels in the other lane for a second or two, assuming it’s safe to do so. Maybe this latter is the source of my confusion here.

[Orestes Munn]

@jrenaut 98934 wrote:

You mean other than it being illegal? It’s unsafe, and probably in ways that a lot of people don’t realize. What if someone has just parked on the opposite side of the street, checks behind them for traffic, and opens the door? Or a similar situation where I was driving and making a right turn from a stop sign onto a one-way road with a bike lane. I almost hit an idiot on a bike who was going the wrong way in the bike lane because I wasn’t expecting her to be there.

Seems to me all of that could happen with a broken white line, as well, and there are instances where crossing a yellow line is legal, as in the case of a non-moving obstruction, as I pointed out above. I would much prefer being given a couple of feet more room, even on a broad lane, than have someone give me a close brush due to a slavish adherence to the letter of the law.

[Orestes Munn]

What’s the big deal about the yellow line? It takes a few seconds for a motor vehicle to get around most cyclists, less time (and with better visibility) than to go around a stopped garbage truck. What’s wrong with crossing it to pass something moving slowly when it’s safe to do so?

[Orestes Munn]

I think jealousy is a small part of the mix of negative emotions, which cyclists elicit in drivers. More important, I believe, is the bullying instinct. As humans, we have strangely conflicting reactions to weakness and vulnerability. We like to help and protect, particularly in the abstract, but defenselessness also brings out aggression, all the more so when the object of that aggression draws attention by prancing about in apparent smug insouciance. Much as it shames me to admit it, I have had this feeling. In fact, I think the red light scofflaw crap is 75% rationalization for pure aggression, which few can admit they feel. I think the “Lycra” complaint comes much closer to what really sets drivers off. Nothing else explains the unprovoked assaults and attacks I have experienced in my five decades on the road.

[Orestes Munn]

Does sound like plantar fasciitis, which is far and away the most common cause of foot pain. The plantar fascia is a sheet of connective tissue, which spans the sole and is subject to stretch when the foot bears weight on a flat surface, e.g. a shoe with insufficient arch support, or is otherwise hyperextended. As someone notes above, tight gostroc/solei can cause or exacerbate it. If it’s PF, it could be correctable by moving the cleat or a different pedal stroke, but each of those has its own unpredictable consequences, too. Just an Internet opinion, but I’d start with the shoe and make sure it’s got a nice stiff sole and as much arch support as you need. I’d also ice it after rides if it really hurts, wear supportive footwear off the bike, and do the classic PF therapy exercises found many places on the web. They can be curative.

[Orestes Munn]

@jnva 98516 wrote:

http://www.arlnow.com/2012/11/27/bicyclist-survives-after-dump-truck-rolls-over-his-head/

And that’s exacly why I wear a helmet.

[Orestes Munn]

@DanB 98383 wrote:

I’m not saying she’s right or wrong (and definitely not in the same league as Gino Bartali), but I thought it was interesting that Kaci Hickox used a leisurely bike ride as a protest.

I’ll offer an opinion: Go Kaci!

[Orestes Munn]

Those are pretty radical track bars and it’s been a while, but I don’t think most riders wouldn’t use them for anything but sprint events, even on the track. They would be outright dangerous on the road, in my opinion. Bars are very much “de gustibus”, but have intended purposes and should match the intended use of the bike.

I have a set of bullhorns on a SS commuter, which I put about 3000 mi/yr on for several years. I love them, but that’s just I.

There are some modern, short-drop bars available in 26 mm. I know because I just investigated this in modernizing my 1980s road racer. In the end, I went with an adapter and a set of Ritchey Classics. I’m still not sure I like them.

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