Are you trying to die?

[Gerrinson]

I'm in New England. It is January, and despite the burst of warmth a few days ago, it is now cold again. As in 7 degrees Fahrenheit. So of course, I saw several people riding bicycles today. Normally, I'd say, to each their own. Even in this cold. BUT, there's always one.

I was east-bound when I saw one person on a bike from nearly 1/2 a mile away riding in the middle of the west-bound lane, as 3 cars passed them in a passing zone. All of this is perfectly normal and fine, except, as I got closer, I realized the MoronCycle was also traveling EAST.

Yes, that's right, this prime specimen for defending eugenics programs targeting the terminally dumb was riding in the middle of the lane against traffic. And forcing the oncoming traffic to swerve around him.

The MoronCycle missed one more shot at a Darwin Award when, as I approached from his rear, he finally decided to switch to the middle of the east-bound lane. Directly in front of me, without signalling his intention or even glancing over his shoulder to see if there was traffic.

Fortunately, the west-bound lane was empty so I was able to just swerve around him, since there is no way I would have been able to stop in time given the 40-ish MPH difference in our traveling speeds. I was rewarded by him flipping me off in my rear view. As if it was in some way my fault that he can't handle riding a bike.

I am hoping that the reason he was biking on this frigid day is because he is no longer allowed to have a license for driving a car. I can only imagine the damage he could do with a bigger vehicle and apparently a complete lack of situational awareness.

[Rosco the Iroc]

I'M ON A BICYCLE YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME MY OWN LANES AND GET OVER 4" TO PASS EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE ROOM i HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS CAR execpt
When the pack of racers from the local Velodrome suddenly think every road they are on is an closed Ture de Pennsy track and ride 4 across
Don't follow any of those pesky tricolored lights in the air strange red or yellow signs.
Of course only ride on twisty back roads marked 40+ that 2 cars barely fit on that most sane riders never go on and act shocked when you almost get run over.

[Gerrinson]

Of course only ride on twisty back roads marked 40+ that 2 cars barely fit on that most sane riders never go on and act shocked when you almost get run over.

Oh, were you one of the other drivers that saw this dude yesterday?

[MadMike]

Years ago, I was getting onto a stretch of road that would best be described as a mini-expressway. It's about a mile, maybe a mile and a half long, and takes you to the edge of the river, then across into the city. I don't think there are any "Motor vehicle only" signs on it, but you'd have to be an idiot to ride your bike on it. Well, there were two idiots who were doing just that. When I first got on, they were just riding on the shoulder, and then one of them blindly swerved into my lane.

I had to slam on the brakes and cut the wheel hard to miss him. Luckily there was no one in the other lane, because I ended up at a complete stop angled partway into the next lane. I'm not normally a confrontational person, but that time I had spewed out a bunch of profanities at the guy before I even knew what was happening.

[Blue Ginger]

I'M ON A BICYCLE YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME MY OWN LANES AND GET OVER 4" TO PASS EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE ROOM i HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS CAR execpt
When the pack of racers from the local Velodrome suddenly think every road they are on is an closed Ture de Pennsy track and ride 4 across
Don't follow any of those pesky tricolored lights in the air strange red or yellow signs.
Of course only ride on twisty back roads marked 40+ that 2 cars barely fit on that most sane riders never go on and act shocked when you almost get run over.

Holy shit! Do you live in my city? Every weekend we have the Hell Ride. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Ride,_Melbourne

I fucking hate these people. An ex-boss used to join them every weekend when he hit his mid-life crisis. He was there the weekend when a bunch went straight through a RED light and killed an old man crossing at the lights. Now thousands of dollars and hundreds of police hours are used every weekend to keep these morons in line. And there is a wide bike path that was created just because of them that they refuse to use.

Most people I know avoid this area like it has the plague. At the end of the ride, all the cafes in the area are fully of sweaty mostly middle aged men in lycra. Yuck! Only once have I had the displeasure of being caught at the tail end of it. I was in a cafe for a friends birthday brunch when it got swarmed. This was before it was as publicly known as it is now. The place went from relaxing to 'get me out of here' in about 10 seconds.

[notalwaysright]

This is making the bicyclists in my town look so good. I mean, there are the crazies of course but I can't say I've had a bad incident in quite a while. I know I've said it before but the people who are just commuting to work or school rarely cause me any problems. It's those recreational cyclists that tend to run in packs. Same as gangs or bullies, they grow worse when they're in greater numbers. My dad was in a group for years and that group was the kind who yelled at other cyclists who were breaking laws, lol.

As a driver I do my best to be vigilant in checking mirrors before I turn, in case of a cyclist along side me. I only pass when safe, and give lots of distance. I try to do my part, but we all share the road with the idiots... Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Best purchase I made was buying a dash cam!

[protege]

And there is a wide bike path that was created just because of them that they refuse to use.

Similar deal here. The city went to great expense to put in bike lanes...which are barely used. They took over entire traffic lanes so one person could ride to work. At least those of us in cars get to have fun at their expense--several of the riders were whining about how the city didn't bother to plow their precious lanes. Seriously? Many of those lanes are separated from car traffic by pylons or curbed. Do you really think the city is going to put forward the effort to keep them clear for the four people that would use them? No, they're going to keep the roads clear for the buses, and the thousands of cars.