rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (10/24/85)
This discussion was born of the discussion of how a motorist should deal with a bicyclist who's obviously running a 4004 with two wait states. See also Charlie Carrington's article...you folks might think that Boulder, being a fine progressive place, small college town, birthplace of the Red Zinger Classic (now Coors Classic), etc., would have reasonable attitudes toward cyclists...but: > > In Boulder, where I live, I find some of the bicyclists are INCREDIBLY > self-righteous about their riding. By this I mean that if they are allowed > to use the right lane, even when the road narrows to one lane they will use > the single lane, riding dead center, rather than moving to the right to let > cars pass or going onto the sidewalk... And this is in spite of the law which, although it gives them the use of the full lane when they need it, still requires that they not impede traffic. > Occasionally, you even see a "violent biker" -- these guys seem to > intentionally get in your way when driving just to cause you grief... We have stories, from folks who ride regularly, of a fellow from one of the bike shops who was carrying a gun on his rides! He started having trouble getting people to ride with him. The parent article describes a confrontational sort of bicyclist who decided to pound on a car that made a turn in front of him... > The drivers solution: he backed up, drove over the guys bike, wrecking it > completely, and drove off. > The punchline: the biker (according to a friend) tried to sue the car driver > for destruction of property. And, as all over the country, common sense and judgment give way to lawsuit. I wonder if the driver counter-sued for the same thing--or perhaps, tried to charge the bicyclist with felony menacing (which he would have been justified in doing given the description of the incident). > Has anyone else seen anything like this? I once hollered at someone who cut me off by blasting past me and making a sharp right turn. In response he tried to back up and hit me. Boulder is superficially accommodating to cyclists, but the people who plan the roads don't seem to ride bicycles. There are lots of places where lanes become right-turn-only or disappear at an intersection, perhaps to reappear on the other side of the intersection. This forces bicyclists to merge across heavy traffic again and again. Large sections of bike path are built immediately adjacent to heavily-traveled sidewalks. The superficial appearance of planning for bikes in Boulder makes the many real dangers all that much worse because they get you by surprise. -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...At last it's the real thing...or close enough to pretend.