Police Trap : For Cyclists?

Dean. Pick a driver....any driver....just about.

I find buses are often impatient and will pass me only to stop a few metres ahead. We end up hopscotching because I obviously have no need to stop, whereas they're stopping every couple of blocks.

yup.. also annoying to the bus riders who have to wait behind the slow cyclists.

Bus and bikes should NOT be sharing a lane.

And both buses and cyclists are annoying to drivers. As pedestrians are annoying to everyone.

So if we all simply drove cars everyone would be happy.

I did report the bus along with the bus number, the stop, the time of the incident, etc so they will know which driver it was. And it was not a younger one, it was one of the more senior drivers as I have come across him before as this is his regular route. And the hopscotching is one of the most annoying things. I hate being behind the bus, not because they stop every block or so but because of the fumes the emit. Enough to make me sick.

yeah the fumes from traffic and buses are on of the major things that made me stopping biking.

Cant be healthy to be working hard and inhaling those kinds of fumes.

I usually end up ahead because they're stopping regularly along main streets like Portage Avenue or Main Street. Otherwise, I'll slow down and let them go ahead. I just think the logical thing to do is guage who would be faster and let them get ahead a few seconds. I'm annoying to them, but it takes just as much time to swerve around me.

Depends on the bus. If it is a super express or an express that isn't stopping for another 6 blocks, I'm happy to let them pass.

But I hate leapfrogging!!! Nothing worse than the 60 going south on Pembina. If the drivers would just hang behind until their next stop after I pass them the first time, there would be no leapfrogging, but they have to pass me back so they can make up the 2 seconds they would lose by following me to the next stop.

Deank wrote:yeah the fumes from traffic and buses are on of the major things that made me stopping biking.

Cant be healthy to be working hard and inhaling those kinds of fumes.

And the bus stops aren't necessarily handy to big up a Big Mac on the way home. Jeez...

St Norberter wrote:Depends on the bus. If it is a super express or an express that isn't stopping for another 6 blocks, I'm happy to let them pass.

But I hate leapfrogging!!! Nothing worse than the 60 going south on Pembina. If the drivers would just hang behind until their next stop after I pass them the first time, there would be no leapfrogging, but they have to pass me back so they can make up the 2 seconds they would lose by following me to the next stop.

I am the self-proclaimed master of leapfrogging Transit vehicles.

rest in peice you crapcycles who dare tangle with a duly appoimted civil servant on a scheduled route.
plus your ass is ugly and the 47 commuters trying to get somewhere have the right of way over your fat flatulent ass perch.

I have two tickets paid for cycling.
noone can beat my record!!

GOM is a crap candy and show strike me with a red bolt ..

tick wrote:GOM is a crap candy and show strike me with a red bolt ..

Is that you pav?

you don't know me.
jimmy cracked corn.
...

i kno u can give me the single diget rating a red group guy needs to maintain a tude.

thumb me down man .. dont make me beg.

O ya
all motorists are dinosaur abusers.

I got nabbed for a ticket last summer on the Osborne bridge (Ironically i was escorting a fellowing co-worker to the downtown whom I had just recently encouraged to begin cycle commuting to but was not comfortable with the roads yet). The police trap was simulatneously stopping cars for speeding (there were about 5 cars pulled over at the time).

We both got 145$ tickets (no demerits, which the police officer at the time was unsure about). When the magistrate saw my ticket, she said to hold on a minute - at which point i saw he run to the back and grab the highway traffic act manual and frantically flip the the cycling section, since she obviously had never had to deal with such a siutation in the past.

I fought the ticket at Broadway on the basis of safety and said that: i knew it was against the law, but in the face of breaking a victimless law vs. safety - i chose safety. I said that any prudent and reasonable citizen would have made the same decision considering curbside road conditions and traffic (note all the cars pulled over for speeding at the time). I explained that i always ride on roads when it is reasonable and the magistrate sided with me.

oversize tires on a sidewalk is a 45$ fine when I got it. .
failure to obey a traffic control device is your $145 fine and you can talk a magistrate down to the sidewalk safety fine

WOOHOO!!!

FINALLY, the word is getting out.

On my way in to work this morning...I was listening to CJOB. Just after the traffic report, the traffic guy (Barkley I think his name is) talking about his driving to work.

One of the things he mentioned was:
"And then, from out of nowhere, a cyclist riding ILLEGALLY on the sidewalk almost hit me as I was going through the intersection"

They should play that OVER AND OVER AND OVER again till maybe it will get through the thick heads of those who insist on being stupid.

AGEsAces wrote:WOOHOO!!!

FINALLY, the word is getting out.

On my way in to work this morning...I was listening to CJOB. Just after the traffic report, the traffic guy (Barkley I think his name is) talking about his driving to work.

One of the things he mentioned was:
"And then, from out of nowhere, a cyclist riding ILLEGALLY on the sidewalk almost hit me as I was going through the intersection"

They should play that OVER AND OVER AND OVER again till maybe it will get through the thick heads of those who insist on being stupid.

One solution is to bulid more cycling trails. In Calgary you can cycle downtown while crossing only a couple of intersections.

However, Winnipeg has always considered Best Buy and Future Shop parking to be more of a priority.

AGEsAces wrote:WOOHOO!!!

FINALLY, the word is getting out.

On my way in to work this morning...I was listening to CJOB. Just after the traffic report, the traffic guy (Barkley I think his name is) talking about his driving to work.

One of the things he mentioned was:
"And then, from out of nowhere, a cyclist riding ILLEGALLY on the sidewalk almost hit me as I was going through the intersection"

They should play that OVER AND OVER AND OVER again till maybe it will get through the thick heads of those who insist on being stupid.

Seems to me like drivers are more belligerent and abusive this year than in years prior. Perhaps that explains the increased number of cyclists riding on the sidewalks?

"Perhaps that explains the increased number of cyclists riding on the sidewalks?"

I blame global warming

Deank wrote:"Perhaps that explains the increased number of cyclists riding on the sidewalks?"

I blame global warming

Global warming my ass! Don't you remember the last eight months of temperatures before this week?

That's it - a punch in the head for you 'cause you used that term!

St Norberter wrote:

AGEsAces wrote:WOOHOO!!!

FINALLY, the word is getting out.

On my way in to work this morning...I was listening to CJOB. Just after the traffic report, the traffic guy (Barkley I think his name is) talking about his driving to work.

One of the things he mentioned was:
"And then, from out of nowhere, a cyclist riding ILLEGALLY on the sidewalk almost hit me as I was going through the intersection"

They should play that OVER AND OVER AND OVER again till maybe it will get through the thick heads of those who insist on being stupid.

Seems to me like drivers are more belligerent and abusive this year than in years prior. Perhaps that explains the increased number of cyclists riding on the sidewalks?

Although I don't condone the consistent riding on sidewalks that a lot of cyclists do each day, I will on occassion use the sidewalk if I feel that my personal safety is at risk. I travel through the underpass on McPhillips between Logan and Jarvis on my commute and take the sidewalk through there for safety reasons. I have had too many near misses and one hit in this underpass now to justify my use of the sidewalk. Vehicles do not allow any room for cyclists in this section and for the most don't even see a bike until the car is right on top of them and then the screeching of brakes is horrible. I wear reflective gear, have a light on both front and back so that is not an issue, it is the drivers here that are at issue. When I do travel this sidewalk I look & stop before I cross an intersection or an entry way to a shopping mall as is the case on this sidewalk and wait until the intersection is clear. As well, if there are pedestrians coming towards me, I will stop and allow then passage as they have the right of way.
I also agree with St Norberter that some of the drivers this year are more abusive and beligerent. I have also noticed there are more cyclists on the road this year which is good, maybe the drivers will take more notice and learn their part of the traffic act. And lets not forget that there are some sidewalks in this city that are designated as bike routes (as along Taylor).

St Norberter wrote:

Deank wrote:"Perhaps that explains the increased number of cyclists riding on the sidewalks?"

I blame global warming

Global warming my ass! Don't you remember the last eight months of temperatures before this week?

That's it - a punch in the head for you 'cause you used that term!

ouch!....

Are there really routes designated as shared?

I haven't seen any signs of such. (don't go near Taylor often though).

I've seen signs designating people to walk bikes, but none that say "no bikes' or "shared sidewalk".

I think she means the pathways that are mixed use. If you look at the city's cycling maps, they're noted.