Angry Bicycle Rider

[spooker]

You know, I said this basically from the beginning.

The only people that are "cut off" are those that aren't anticipating that they will be.

All this arguing about letter of the law and bicycles are for people that don't understand simple physics. Mass times velocity

I wholly agree with your first point ... year round cycling in Kelowna for 8 years now and not an accident to show for it (except for the self-inflicted mountain trail spills) ... and only the occasional driver yelling at me, which means he sees me and that's my what I like, visible means safe ...

As for the second point, you sound like you're explaining the driving patterns in a Mad Max film ...

[What_the]

You know, I said this basically from the beginning.

The only people that are "cut off" are those that aren't anticipating that they will be.

All this arguing about letter of the law and bicycles are for people that don't understand simple physics. Mass times velocity

I wholly agree with your first point ... year round cycling in Kelowna for 8 years now and not an accident to show for it (except for the self-inflicted mountain trail spills) ... and only the occasional driver yelling at me, which means he sees me and that's my what I like, visible means safe ...

As for the second point, you sound like you're explaining the driving patterns in a Mad Max film

Actually. That's My point exactly. Lol :)
Mass of a vehicle times velocity encountering "200 lbs"? Well do the math.

The moment I was a child where a car warped my tire in a parking lot, I figured this concept out.

Personally, for my self, while riding a bike, im predictable and will signal where necessary.

What I won't do, is place my life in the hands of other drivers. *bleep* them and any "rules". At the end of the day, the only rule is what what gets me home and alive the next day.

[What_the]

But I get what you're saying.
It's just life sometimes dictate otherwise.

Ill ride the sidewalk where necessary eg. And give way to others. Don't ask me to gamble mass vs velocity.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

I never said it wasn't a valid mode of transportation good for you I'm glad you enjoy riding your bike and I have no problem with bikes but if your tires cant handle a little gravel then your running the wrong tires period theres no excuse for weaving into traffic and onto sidewalks because your tires cant handle some gravel

Again total BS...i dont see Corvettes changing their tires to handle a bit of dirt, they go around patches of gravel. Hell even big shiny trucks, with the right tires, do it at times.. And lots of cars do it...all the time.
Did you come from Dawson Creek maybe..?

[khutchi]

so instead of having proper tires on your bike you choose to ride in and out of traffic up on the sidewalk and be a hazard in general, well done

I got to disagree. 25mm tires are standard on road bikes. When there is more gravel in the bike lanes than the car lanes it sends the wrong message to cyclists. We need as thin as possible tires to keep up 40-50k/hr on flats when we have no choice but to use a car lane (i.e. no bike line or a bike lane ends randomly). If i chose "proper" tires i would be more of a hazard going 15km/hr down clement ave forcing cars to choose between passing me aggressively or have a brain aneurysm from frustration. I agree if it were a little gravel and my tires were failing then yeah i would be a moron with too thin tires. But i spent a pile on DT 240s so that i can keep up with the flow of traffic with safety in mind. I didn't anticipate that the roads would not be maintained by the city. Trust me a would have rather saved the money but i was thinking about drivers. There is some truth in what you say though. It is a compromise but it really shouldn't be one.

@ Spooky "those of us who have been riding responsibly for years are getting frustrated ... the City has a habit of doing something good while at the same time doing something that makes no sense ... and then drivers don't get a clear message either ... so we end up with issues such as this"

You hit the nail on the head so hard here. 100% agree well said

[kumazatheef]

Good lord ... this thread ...
It's like an argument via game of telephone : take the last comment, add own bit and argue the new piece rather than the original ... actually, pretty much any forum thread

With regards to the actual thread topic and the first post: I feel your pain, definitely an odd exchange and some passion.

[Mitch85]

so instead of having proper tires on your bike you choose to ride in and out of traffic up on the sidewalk and be a hazard in general, well done

I got to disagree. 25mm tires are standard on road bikes. When there is more gravel in the bike lanes than the car lanes it sends the wrong message to cyclists. We need as thin as possible tires to keep up 40-50k/hr on flats when we have no choice but to use a car lane (i.e. no bike line or a bike lane ends randomly). If i chose "proper" tires i would be more of a hazard going 15km/hr down clement ave forcing cars to choose between passing me aggressively or have a brain aneurysm from frustration. I agree if it were a little gravel and my tires were failing then yeah i would be a moron with too thin tires. But i spent a pile on DT 240s so that i can keep up with the flow of traffic with safety in mind. I didn't anticipate that the roads would not be maintained by the city. Trust me a would have rather saved the money but i was thinking about drivers. There is some truth in what you say though. It is a compromise but it really shouldn't be one.

@ Spooky "those of us who have been riding responsibly for years are getting frustrated ... the City has a habit of doing something good while at the same time doing something that makes no sense ... and then drivers don't get a clear message either ... so we end up with issues such as this"

You hit the nail on the head so hard here. 100% agree well said

A little of topic, but I've always wondered why certain cyclists choose to run down Clement, and complain about the lack of bike lanes, and gravel on the bikes lanes, when there is a multi-use trail that parallels it the whole way?

[LTD]

I never said it wasn't a valid mode of transportation good for you I'm glad you enjoy riding your bike and I have no problem with bikes but if your tires cant handle a little gravel then your running the wrong tires period theres no excuse for weaving into traffic and onto sidewalks because your tires cant handle some gravel

Again total BS...i dont see Corvettes changing their tires to handle a bit of dirt, they go around patches of gravel. Hell even big shiny trucks, with the right tires, do it at times.. And lots of cars do it...all the time.
Did you come from Dawson Creek maybe..?

why would where I come from make any difference I have a nice car with expensive rubber band tires and I don't have to avoid dirt if you have to avoid it with your road bike tires then you have the wrong ones the tires on my bike seem to work just fine on dirt I even ride on the greenway and its all dirt quit defending some ones stupidity

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

I use Clement, because I worked north of Clement.
If I was coming from town heading home, then I would use part of that trail.

I admire that you use your nice car with Oring tires to run over dirt, but seriously........ low profile wide tires are not like road bike tires.
When its all dirt, or all pavement, you dont have a choice..... But that is not what our bike lanes are always like.

[khutchi]

A little of topic, but I've always wondered why certain cyclists choose to run down Clement, and complain about the lack of bike lanes, and gravel on the bikes lanes, when there is a multi-use trail that parallels it the whole way?

Yeah i just picked a random street. That multi-use trail in fact is the rails with trail and I for one use that no matter which way I'm going as it's too nice not to...