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Question for cyclists

23,265 Views | 299 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by txags92
AndesAg92
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Do you enjoy breaking traffic laws on a regular basis?

What goes through your mind when your riding down 2 lane memorial drive and pass the "bicycles on roadway prohibited" sign?

Htxag09 and other resident cyclists, what say you?
Stat Monitor Repairman
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I have seen someone on a road bike on the no-shoulder section Memorial just outside of downtown. Kind of wild because there is a dedicated bike trail directly below it.
TriAg2010
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1.) I think cyclist should be held to the same responsibility as drivers including following posted signs.

2.) I see drivers disregard posted signs every damn day, so off of thy high horse.
DiskoTroop
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If we could just convince the police that this is a new income generator for the city we might have a great cyclist comeuppance.
LRHF
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I avoid dangerous roads and obey most laws. It's stupid to blindly blow stop signs and weave in and out of traffic. Many of the people you are doing this aren't real cyclists.

You may hate hearing this but often times, it is safer for the cyclist and cars for us to bend the rules a bit.

As an example- we stop for red light and wait until it's safe to proceed. If nobody is making a left hand turn in front of us and there are cars behind us, we do roll prior to the light turning green. Gives us time to get clipped in and maintain a steady predictable path with some speeds. When the light turns green, the motorist sees is and knows how or when to best pass us. I'm sure this may bother some of you but it's safer for everybody.

Happy to have a civilized discussion on this with examples but won't participate in mindless banter about paying taxes...
The Milkman
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Do cyclists think its reasonable for the 4 of them to allow traffic to build and force cars to change lanes and pass during prime rush hours?
CW Griswold
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I always thought, someday when I grow up I'm gonna get a bicycle. Then people will have to notice me, and they'll have to deal with my **** for once. The open road! The wind on my face! I'll go from city to city! Rowrrowrroowwrr! Everyone lookin' at me! "Who's that guy? He must be a Hoo- he must be tough!" Vromvrom, vromvrom, vrooom! I'll have my girl on the back seat holdin' on to my fat belly - sure she's missin' a few teeth, but she thinks I'm coool. That's why, when I grow up, I'm gonna be a bicycle rider!
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Ag_07
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In
txags92
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I know every vehicle driver obeys every law on the books, and would never dream to disregard any sign directing them to drive in a specific way. So let me be the first of hopefully many to deeply apologize to you for the way that you were triggered by seeing a cyclist driving on a road. Can you please show us on the doll where the cyclist touched you?

Seriously though. When I am on a bike, I do my best to follow all of the rules of the road. I ride as far to the right as I safely can (which is what the law requires), which is also not the same as riding as far to the right as possible. The Memorial area has put themselves in an interesting twist. The pedestrians who live there have persuaded the parks to in effect ban bikes from riding on the "bike path" in Terry Hershey Park by enacting a blanket 10 mph speed limit, and writing tickets for violations that are more expensive than driving 55 through a school zone, and can't be eliminated via taking defensive driving. On the other hand, their "no bikes allowed on the road" signs are most likely to be illegal under Texas law if they were ever challenged. And violating them is a moving violation that is significantly cheaper than the Terry Hershey Park speeding ticket, and can be eliminated via defensive driving.

The reality is that with the Pandemic, more people than ever are wanting to use bikes for recreation and in many cases for commuting. By shoving them off of the "bike path" in the park that was designed to be used as a route for commuting and recreation in favor of pedestrians, the county has forced a confrontation between cyclists and motorists on roads that were deliberately not designed to have room for bikes to safely ride there. Your questions may be honestly intended, but cyclists are just tired of being told over and over "you can't ride on the road, go ride in the park", and "you ride too fast in the park, if you want to go that fast, go ride on the streets", and "why would you want to ride a bike on the streets? It isn't safe!", and "Why can't you ride over to the side of the road so that motorists can pas you easier" (where it isn't safe at all to ride because of debris and crappy road conditions), etc.

Yes, we would love to ride somewhere other than the streets. Or we would love to ride in a designated shoulder/lane that was safe for our use and out of the way of motorists. When we do ride in the streets, most of us try to follow the laws, and we do get angry at other riders who don't, because we know that we will all get blamed for their bad behavior. But at the same time, I am not responsible for their bad riding, anymore than you are responsible for the bad driving of every other motorist on the road. Keep in mind, that when a cyclist or group of cyclists "take the lane" by riding down the middle or not all the way to the right, that is not always illegal. In cases where the side of the road is full of debris or where the lanes are already narrow, the safest place for the cyclist to ride may be closer to the middle of the lane, and doing so forces cars to make sure they have room to safely pass before passing, instead of trying to squeeze by in a way that is inherently unsafe for the cyclist and often ends up with a cyclist in the ditch or worse.

If you don't like the cyclists riding where you drive, go to the next city council meeting and encourage them to construct roads with bike lanes or to institute reasonable policies to allow shared use of "bike paths" by bikes and pedestrians. Keep an eye out for TXDOT public meetings or solicitations for input on upcoming road projects and encourage them to account for bike use in their road planning. Much of the current issue on the west side of Houston as caused by Steve Raddack's long tenure as county commissioner, during which his engineering office adamantly opposed including planning for bikes in the construction of any roads under their purview. Many streets that had wide shoulders where bikes could safely ride were rebuilt as curb and gutter construction with no room for bikes, over the objections of cyclists who gave their input to TXDOT. Raddack's office consistently pointed to the "bike paths" in the parks as alternate places for cyclists to ride instead of the streets. And now, in one of his last acts before leaving office, he implemented the 10 mph speed limits that have effectively banned cyclists" from using the "bike paths" he touted as an alternative to riding on the streets.
LRHF
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The Milkman said:

Do cyclists think its reasonable for the 4 of them to allow traffic to build and force cars to change lanes and pass during prime rush hours?


No. When we do group rides, we leave in the morning and pick routes where people can reasonably pass. But- if a group is riding, it can be safer to ride like this. I personally Don't like super busy roads and understand the frustration motorist can have and realize it may lead to an accident or death.
Bigballin
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rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
txags92
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Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
Bigballin
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txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
Cyclist run through more red lights and stop signs per capita.

Try again
txags92
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Bigballin said:

txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
Cyclist run through more red lights and stop signs per capita.

Try again
Drivers speed more, veer out of their lanes more, and drive distracted while reading their phones and texting. All of which are far more dangerous than a cyclist rolling a stop sign. Your turn to try again...
drumboy
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Bigballin said:

txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
Cyclist run through more red lights and stop signs per capita.

Try again
I roll red lights and stop signs on my bike and in my truck. One has a much greater threat of serious damage to the other. I don't have a road bike and I'm holding up traffic on my e bike or mountain bike so no horse in the race here but I did get a bit annoyed w/ cyclists on TC Jester when there's a bike path so close to the road...but they're not breaking any laws, just forcing me to possibly slow down & change lanes.

I love these monthly threads where folks can get their rocks off on cyclists when they could easily man up and stop by CM if they weren't keyboard warriors.
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txags92
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drumboy said:

Bigballin said:

txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
Cyclist run through more red lights and stop signs per capita.

Try again
I roll red lights and stop signs on my bike and in my truck. One has a much greater threat of serious damage to the other. I don't have a road bike and I'm holding up traffic on my e bike or mountain bike so no horse in the race here but I did get a bit annoyed w/ cyclists on TC Jester when there's a bike path so close to the road...but they're not breaking any laws, just forcing me to possibly slow down & change lanes.

I love these monthly threads where folks can get their rocks off on cyclists when they could easily man up and stop by CM if they weren't keyboard warriors.
Yeah, CM is a whole other thing. I am a cyclist, and saying I HATE CM is just way to gentle of a description. They cause so much motorist anger towards cyclists that then is taken out on other non CM-affiliated cyclists, often when they are riding by themselves.

The funny thing was the video I saw one time of a city somewhere else where there was a crackdown on cyclists, so all of the group rides around town started studiously following the laws, and the motorists around them went berserk. Instead of a group of 20-30 cyclists riding in a double line group, and all going together through a four way stop as a group, they broke down to single file, and every single cyclist stopped, put their foot down, and looked both ways before going through the stop sign. So instead of all the cyclists getting through the intersection in 20-30 seconds, it was a 5 minute ordeal for the cars forced to sit behind them in line as each cyclist stopped and obeyed the law. But how could they complain? They were getting what they always thought they wanted...the cyclists were obeying the law and stopping at the signs. What they found was that it was far more of an annoyance and much more disruptive to traffic flow than if the group rode is it normally had. In fact, in many states, cyclists have the right to treat stop signs as a yield sign, because actually stopping, and then getting back up to speed crossing an intersection is slower and more disruptive to traffic than if they actually "roll the stop" like you would a yield sign.
SidsBurnerAccount
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txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
http://www.criticalmasshouston.com/

There are bicycle groups whose sole purpose is breaking the law. Been stuck waiting on them twice. Cops wouldn't do anything.
98Ag99Grad
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I was always a runner, never a biker because I couldn't stand to be on the road with morons in cars. Seriously, don't know how you guys do it.
wessimo
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Another one of these threads? Can we at least save it for a day when nothing else is going on?
LRHF
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We did a CM ride once. I'll never ride with these clowns again but it was a pretty fun experience riding through parts of Houston we've never ridden through. Not really a bike group, mostly alcoholics and potheads! It was dangerous just riding with these clowns let alone dealing with angry motorists. It was a hell of a party!
txags92
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SidsBurnerAccount said:

txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
http://www.criticalmasshouston.com/

There are bicycle groups whose sole purpose is breaking the law. Been stuck waiting on them twice. Cops wouldn't do anything.

Read my post above yours. I HATE those MFers! They have done more to damage the relationship between cyclists and motorists in Houston than any other group I can think of. I would be fine with the cops arresting every one of them that breaks the law.
MarathonAg12
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Cyclists suck.

They suck when I'm driving.
They suck when I'm running.

Cyclists suck.
TriAg2010
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Arguing about cyclist is a good sign nature is healing.
MarathonAg12
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txags92 said:

SidsBurnerAccount said:

txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
http://www.criticalmasshouston.com/

There are bicycle groups whose sole purpose is breaking the law. Been stuck waiting on them twice. Cops wouldn't do anything.

Read my post above yours. I HATE those MFers! They have done more to damage the relationship between cyclists and motorists in Houston than any other group I can think of. I would be fine with the cops arresting every one of them that breaks the law.


You aren't lying. I was browsing their Twitter feed and they are all about virtue signaling and letting it be known that if you have a car, you're a monster.

lancevance
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Havent read any of the posts above. My take on this riding in BCS around campus (20+ yeara ago) and recently in my neighborhood, following road rules on the bicycle causes even more issues. Drivers are not sure how to react when I stop at a stop sigh or slow down and wait for cars to pass before making a left turn.

So now, I usually slow down at stop signs and will check if the other car will let me through.

But those cyclists who split lanes and ride on crowded side walks, eff em.
htxag09
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Lmao. Why the hell are you calling me out? If you knew me at all you'd know that 70% of my riding is on dedicated hike and bike trails. 25% is on the trainer in my garage. And the rest is on roads, mainly roads with bike lanes.

I have no issue holding cyclists accountable for breaking laws. Guys on a road that says no bikes, give him a ticket. Guy runs a stop sign, give him a ticket. I won't quarrel.

I will quarrel with the idea that so many seem to have that only cyclists break laws. I also run. I do most my running at memorial park, but run there. Even in residential areas, cars run stops at a rate of greater than 50% (when no other cars are at the intersection). Why no outrage?

Just last week my wife and I were on a walk pushing our baby in a stroller. We came up to a stop sign a car was approaching. He was turning right (the direction we were walking from), never even slowed down or turned his head to see if someone was on the sidewalk that direction. Looked left, nobody was coming, decided he could just roll right on. Sorry, that's more dangerous than a dumb ass cyclist rolling a stop sign.
txags92
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lancevance said:

Havent read any of the posts above. My take on this riding in BCS around campus (20+ yeara ago) and recently in my neighborhood, following road rules on the bicycle causes even more issues. Drivers are not sure how to react when I stop at a stop sigh or slow down and wait for cars to pass before making a left turn.

So now, I usually slow down at stop signs and will check if the other car will let me through.

But those cyclists who split lanes and ride on crowded side walks, eff em.
I can't count how many times I have approached an intersection on a bike, and slowed way down, while waving for cars currently stopped to go ahead and go. Instead, they wave me across the intersection. So I go, knowing that other cars approaching are going to be saying to themselves "Wow, did you see that? That cyclist didn't even stop at that stop sign, and totally cut off that driver who was following the law and stopped at the stop sign. Let me go post about that on Texags!"

txags92
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htxag09 said:

Even in residential areas, cars run stops at a rate of greater than 50% (when no other cars are at the intersection). Why no outrage?
Because a cyclist touched them in appropriately... Because a driver breaking the law is just being a typical driver. But a cyclist who broke the law was probably wearing lycra when they did it, which makes it SOOOO much worse apparently. Especially when it makes a driver use their brake pedal.
AndesAg92
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htxag09 said:

Lmao. Why the hell are you calling me out? If you knew me at all you'd know that 70% of my riding is on dedicated hike and bike trails. 25% is on the trainer in my garage. And the rest is on roads, mainly roads with bike lanes.

I have no issue holding cyclists accountable for breaking laws. Guys on a road that says no bikes, give him a ticket. Guy runs a stop sign, give him a ticket. I won't quarrel.

I will quarrel with the idea that so many seem to have that only cyclists break laws. I also run. I do most my running at memorial park, but run there. Even in residential areas, cars run stops at a rate of greater than 50% (when no other cars are at the intersection). Why no outrage?

Just last week my wife and I were on a walk pushing our baby in a stroller. We came up to a stop sign a car was approaching. He was turning right (the direction we were walking from), never even slowed down or turned his head to see if someone was on the sidewalk that direction. Looked left, nobody was coming, decided he could just roll right on. Sorry, that's more dangerous than a dumb ass cyclist rolling a stop sign.

Nothing personal on you, really just the only poster I remember that has posted about Cycling.
AndesAg92
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txags92 said:

htxag09 said:

Even in residential areas, cars run stops at a rate of greater than 50% (when no other cars are at the intersection). Why no outrage?
Because a cyclist touched them in appropriately... Because a driver breaking the law is just being a typical driver. But a cyclist who broke the law was probably wearing lycra when they did it, which makes it SOOOO much worse apparently. Especially when it makes a driver use their brake pedal.

Your over reaction here is the definition of "triggered" my friend.
txags92
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AndesAg92 said:

txags92 said:

htxag09 said:

Even in residential areas, cars run stops at a rate of greater than 50% (when no other cars are at the intersection). Why no outrage?
Because a cyclist touched them in appropriately... Because a driver breaking the law is just being a typical driver. But a cyclist who broke the law was probably wearing lycra when they did it, which makes it SOOOO much worse apparently. Especially when it makes a driver use their brake pedal.

Your over reaction here is the definition of "triggered" my friend.
Sorry I left off the winky face on that one...I do try to have a sense of humor about the whole thing, because I am sympathetic to all sides of the deal. It isn't really cyclists' fault they have been squeezed out of everywhere...it is ****ty foresight and lack of planning by our city and county leaders over decades of time that has created the current conflict between drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. I just think it is funny but also sad how often it comes up on Texags and how upset some of the folks get about it.
htxag09
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txags92's post pretty much hits the nail on the head. Cycling is a lose lose activity right now. Nobody wants you on the roads. So much so they run to Texags to rant every time they see one break a law. Nobody wants them on trails. They ***** and moan about it nonstop. Even though the walkers are the ones causing the main problems (ear muff type head phones, texting, dog running around on a 30' leash and not paying attention to the world around them). So much so they make laws basically making them impossible to ride.

As I said, I ride the trails. That's my choice of the ****ty options. It sucks. It makes it hard to get a good workout in because I'm constantly stopping for cross walks, walkers taking up the whole trail, and just for having to slow down to pass pedestrians as cyclists should.

It sucks. And it's kind of depressing. Cycling is a fun sport. It should be accessible to everyone and if we had a half ass decent infrastructure it could be a viable means of transportation.
ATM9000
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Bigballin said:

txags92 said:

Bigballin said:

rules for thee (driver) but no for me (cyclist)
Yeah, those drivers follow ALL the rules, ALL the time. Never seen one ever not follow the rules, have you?
Cyclist run through more red lights and stop signs per capita.

Try again

A car can cause multiple times the damage, has more natural blind spots, is more difficult to hear your surroundings in and can't stop near as quick as a bicycle can.

So yeah, I get what you are saying and agree cyclists should follow the laws set out for them. But holding cyclists breaking the laws the same as cars doing so is such a false equivalency practically speaking.
Sooper Jeenyus
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You cyclists have me convinced. Auto drivers make the roadway unsafe.

Probably best for you to stay away from it.
HotardAg07
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I'm an avid cyclist who rides basically exclusively on paths to avoid cars, unless it's an organized training ride out in the countryside.

I do think drivers/cyclists and cyclists/pedestrians could use much more courtesy and thoughtfulness towards each other. There's *******s in every form of transportation that I've observed and bikers have no shortage.

However, since ******* drivers could be lethal for me, I'll stick to the paths.
 
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