Road Rats in South OK and Similk.

[twobits]

And by road rats I mean cyclists. I was going to post this on the road block thread but figgered it would be deleted as off topic. The delays that the recent all encompassing road block created for commercial traffic actually pales in comparison to what these spandex covered cyclists cause on our hwy's.
I know this will not be popular with many who favour cycling as a responsible and efficient mode of transportation. Let me say right now that I do not disagree with that notion. The cost effectiveness of bike lanes however is another subject topic.
What really pains me, and costs me dearly, is cyclists on our dedicated hwy's. I have no problem with those that ride on the shoulder, but many parts of our hwy's do not have shoulders friendly to bike tires, or there is no shoulder whatsoever. Cyclists are then in the actual lane of traffic. And the motoring public is expected to defer to their presence!!! There are many example of 6 to 10 percent grade hills in the South OK Similk region where there is zero shoulder. Try driving a loaded truck up a grade in the right hand lane cuz you have to to let traffic pass in the left lane and you come up to cyclists in your lane!! You have lost your inertia and now in the basement for gears following a friggen cyclist and there is no way in hades that you will ever be able to pass them by going into the left lane because traffic is ripping past you.
Why do bikes get to usurp the roadway? Why are they not required to dismount and walk the portion of Hwy's that have no adequate shoulder for them to ride on?
And now our gov't is going to spend 100k posting signs for cycling routes on our hwy's. Maybe they should fund proper shoulders for cyclists before they put the signs in.

[Bunnyhop]

Totally agree with you. It is insane for cyclists to be riding on our highways, and if not for the vehicle drivers being careful a lot more cyclists would be hit. Even where there is an adequate shoulder, cyclists insist on riding the white line.

what I see from cyclists is the obnoxious attitude that they have the right to use the highway and dammit they're going to no matter what.

Cyclists using the highways should be required to carry liability insurance. Instead of the vehicle drivers taking all the responsibility.

[gman313]

They do have the right to use the highway - feel free to move if you don't like it

[Steve-O]

Share the road fellas.

[ToddT]

These types of cyclists irritate me to no end. Even worse are the ones that ride two and three wide on Eastside Rd and give you a dirty look for as much as slowing down behind them. They act like there is piles of room to pass them when there is a car coming on the other side of the road.

Generally I hate to paint a group of people with the same brush but a good portion of any I've encountered, whether on road, on this forum or in person, are absolute snobs. I can see some pro-cyclist vitriol headed my direction any time now because of this.

To me there is absolutely no good or safe reason for them to be on the highway.

[gman313]

Anyone not following the rules does irritate me as well. However cyclists are allowed to be there so deal with it.

Chill out, take a breath, and try going for a bike ride. It is very invigorating and you will feel great at the end of it. If you are in such a big rush leave 5 minutes early.

[Glacier]

Alaska had a problem with this, and so what they did is put separated bike paths along their busy highways and freeways. Now there are no longer any more conflicts. In addition, because of this move Alaska is becoming the hotbed of cycling tourism as people from all over the world go their to ride bikes. Maybe we need to do something similar here.

[jimmy4321]

It's dangerous and in the event of an accident , you are f'd!!!

[twobits]

Anyone not following the rules does irritate me as well. However cyclists are allowed to be there so deal with it.

Chill out, take a breath, and try going for a bike ride. It is very invigorating and you will feel great at the end of it. If you are in such a big rush leave 5 minutes early.

And what about commercial drivers? You gonna tell their boss he now has to pay overtime to get the job done because of road rats going up a hill in a dedicated lane of traffic at 5kph? You are sounding rather entitled if you think your recreational activity should trump commerce. Our hwy's were built for the movement of people and goods in motorized vehicles, not spandex covered recreation seekers on pedal power.

[twobits]

Alaska had a problem with this, and so what they did is put separated bike paths along their busy highways and freeways. Now there are no longer any more conflicts. In addition, because of this move Alaska is becoming the hotbed of cycling tourism as people from all over the world go their to ride bikes. Maybe we need to do something similar here.

Absolutely agree. And there should be a licencing fee for all bikes that want to ride on asphalt to pay for safe and separate lanes.

[southy]

Totally agree with you Twobits. This may be a tad off topic but perhaps not really. How long before someone (a cyclist) is badly injured or worse trying to use the painted crosswalk on Naramata Road. Does the city have any idea of how much traffic is on this road? My god - flashing lights (solar powered of course should be a priority) better yet - they should install one of those solar powered crosswalks that flash when activated. With the mayor spreading the love of cycling in our area maybe they could invest in a tunnel crossing. This is a very dangerous area and I guarantee you someday soon someone is going to get hit. Take a short drive out and see for yourself.

While on my way to Naramata I thought I would be a nice guy and stop for a couple cyclists so they could cross - well I just about ended up eating the front bumper of the Ford F-150 behind me. Something has to be done. Could the city be liable if someone was hit?

[cv23]

And what about commercial drivers? You gonna tell their boss he now has to pay overtime to get the job done because of road rats going up a hill in a dedicated lane of traffic at 5kph? You are sounding rather entitled if you think your recreational activity should trump commerce. Our hwy's were built for the movement of people and goods in motorized vehicles, not spandex covered recreation seekers on pedal power.

Sorry but if anyone sounds rather entitled it is you if you think that your mode of transportation should trump another's just because it may have a motor. Should you have to get out of they way of someone with a bigger motor? What about a small scooter that would have to crawl up a hill because it is only 50cc? It's a "motorized vehicle" so you should have no problem patiently waiting behind it should you, even if a cyclist passes that the scooter.
You are very correct that "Our hwy's were built for the movement of people". Many of those roads/highways were built when the method of transportation by people was by horse and wagon, bicycle or even on foot. Long before motorized vehicles became the norm.

While I strongly disagree with cyclists on sidewalks they should and do have every right to operate their vehicles on the roads and highways of this province in any location there is not a dedicated bicycle lane. If you disagree with the current provincial laws it would be far more productive in effecting a change to your way of thinking by contacting your MLA who can rather griping anonymously in a local internet forum.

[cv23]

While on my way to Naramata I thought I would be a nice guy and stop for a couple cyclists so they could cross - well I just about ended up eating the front bumper of the Ford F-150 behind me. Something has to be done. Could the city be liable if someone was hit?

So the guy following you was following to close or not paying attention while driving and you misconstrue this to be the fault of some people crossing the road after a vehicle which you were operated stopped to let them cross. Would you be equally upset if they were pedestrians and not cyclists? Maybe you should be blamed for stopping in the middle of the road?
The municipality will in no way be liable for a cyclist motor vehicle collision as both have the legal right to operate their vehicle on provincial or municipal roadways. Liablity would rest with whichever of the two parties not operating their vehicle in the manner outlined by the law.
Sorry to dis appoint you too but cyclists have as much right to be on the road as you do in your car/truck/motorcycle or scooter.

[twobits]

Sorry but if anyone sounds rather entitled it is you if you think that your mode of transportation should trump another's just because it may have a motor. Should you have to get out of they way of someone with a bigger motor? What about a small scooter that would have to crawl up a hill because it is only 50cc? It's a "motorized vehicle" so you should have no problem patiently waiting behind it should you, even if a cyclist passes that the scooter.
You are very correct that "Our hwy's were built for the movement of people". Many of those roads/highways were built when the method of transportation by people was by horse and wagon, bicycle or even on foot. Long before motorized vehicles became the norm.

While I strongly disagree with cyclists on sidewalks they should and do have every right to operate their vehicles on the roads and highways of this province in any location there is not a dedicated bicycle lane. If you disagree with the current provincial laws it would be far more productive in effecting a change to your way of thinking by contacting your MLA who can rather griping anonymously in a local internet forum.

You obviously do not reside in the South OK or have a business that need hwy's to travel at more than 15 kph for 50% of their trip.
And while I question the economics of bike lanes in general, because all I see is highly underused asphalt, I will give them a pass because they are not in a traffic lane.
Your attitude is both arrogant and entitled when you think a bicycle at 15 kph on a dedicated roadway should be the measure of the lowest speed use of that asphalt. Following your logic, horse drawn carriages should be able to stifle the economy of transport of goods as well. Horse drawn carriages are as legitimate on our hwy's as a pedal bike. Give yer head a shake.

[southy]

CV you are miss my point entirely! This crosswalk which obviously you have not seen, is on a straight section of highway - somewhat hidden with a street on the south side of it and a street leading into the cycling parking lot on the north side of it. There is limited signage warning drivers of the crosswalk which is really an extension of the KVR trail as it crosses the highway. Drop the attitude, I don't give a damn if they are pedestrians or cyclists that's not the issue. It's twofold: One you can't see the crosswalk until you are actually upon it - numerous times I have seen both pedestrians and cyclists hesitating as to whether or not they should cross and whether or not traffic is going to stop for them. Two, as a motorist you are upon this crosswalk before you can really react. If you don't know its there odds are you will see it late. It is a very poorly designed c waiting for an accident to happen. As far as your comments about cyclists - sure they have a right to use the highways and streets, unfortunately some think they have more rights than motorists and usually they are wearing that stuff called spandex. You more than anyone should understand the attitude I speak of.