Crappy Cyclists

God damn, with the nicer weather the increase in the amount of just plain shitty cyclists on the roads is absolutely astounding. If they are going to treat bicycles like any other motor vehicle then they really need to start looking at a basic license test and fee of some sort. The amount of sheer stupidity I see every day is mind boggling.

A few of my pet peeves:

1) The Red Light/Stop Sign ignorer. Dumbass, if your crossing a major roadway at either rush hour don't even attempt this if traffic is anywhere near you. This may be fine at 3am, but it's still illegal. At 8:30am or 4:30pm you have a death wish. I hope it comes true. I'm sick of locking up my brakes to avoid your stupid ass.

2) The Sidewalk Rider. Your NOT allowed to ride on the sidewalk. I repeat NOT. NEVER. EVER. Unless your a child. This is for good reason. Number one: When I pull out of a parking lot/driveway etc. with limited visibilty I can poke my nose out slowly and check for pedestrians relatively safely. They are moving slow enough as I am that we can avoid running into each other in the time it takes to spot each other. With your bicycle going 20-30km/h on the same sidewalk neither one of us can react in time.

3) The Sidwalk Weaver. I hate you even more than the Sidewalk Rider. You go back and forth from sidewalk to road to save time. Too bad you never bother looking for traffic before you quickly cut back onto the road. Don't assume I can suddenly swerve 3 feet to the left to make room for you in bumber to bumber traffic. Or that I even saw your stupid ass coming at full speed down the driveway off the sidewalk. If cars have to wait for a break in traffic to return to the road then so does your stupid ass.

4) The Stealth Rider. WTF is wrong with this idiot? If it's after sunset and your out at night get your self some lights dumbass, or at least a few reflectors. I can NOT see you pulling out onto the road, in the dark, wearing dark clothes, with no lights. If you pulling any of the above manuevers then your extra stupid. Hope you get that Darwin Award real soon.

5) The Zip Up From Behind Right Turn Blocker. The idiot that even though they are 4 to 5 car lengths behind you thinks it's a good idea to continue going straight along the curb side at an intersection while your trying to make a right hand turn. Guess what a$$hole, what your trying to do is illegal, AND incrediblly stupid. Try stopping like the cars behind me and WAIT YOUR TURN to continue going straight. I have the right of way being 5 car lengths ahead of you with my turn signal on. Just imagine if the cars behind me attempted this crap by driving over the sidewalk you dumb ass.

I have no problem what so ever with curtious serious cyclists. The ones who learn the rules of the road and act in a safe and civil manner. I do all I can to afford them the same courtesies as any other driver.

What I can't stand is the huge influx of well intentioned idiots who have taken up cycling to "help the environment" with absolutely no clue how to ride safely. I'm guessing the majority of these fools have never driven and therefore must not have any clue what the rules they MUST obey are.

A mandotory riders test and license of some sort would help these idiots out for their own well being. I'm sick of dodging them. The next one will just have to go splat!

Other then the god damn at the start and the splat at the end, this would make for a great letter to the editor. And some time fine reading for all cyclists.

I look forward to StNorbeters response...

Yeah, about 80% of the riders I see on my bike ride in to work fall into the above category.

Dont forget:

The 'No-Helmet' rider

The ' I own the sidewalk rider'

The 'zig zag rider' - the ones that are in the road, but zig zag between lanes to make time

But my personal fav - is the ex hippie bearded guy that I see quite often on my ride home. Complete sidewalk weaver as you describe, but this guy jumps to the sidewalk to blow the red light and then back to the road after the intersection. And is ALWAYS in the wrong lane. You sir, are an a$$hole. And quit fricking drafting me!

hehehehe........

Bet ya didn't see that one coming, eh GOM

I hate cyclists who ride like sh1t. They give those of us that ride well a bad name!

Don't cut on to the sidewalk to blow the red and he wont be drafting you?

I agree.....wholeheartedly.

Naaah......he drafts me up to the first red, then he hops the sidewalk to blow the red and back onto the street. I usually catch him before the next light 'cause I am faster than he is. he drafts me until the next red....repeat until plaza drive, then he starts zig zagging between lanes and rides the median lane from Plaza to University Cr.

Being both a commuter cyclist and a vehicle driver, I hate what I am seeing on the roads these days with some of the commuter cyclists. I agree with all of the statements that grumpyrom has made. When I am in the vehicle mode, I do not stop for the cyclist who is on the sidewalk. If I am turning left or right and there is a cyclist on the sidewalk trying to cross, for the most part I will not stop until it is absolutely the very last minute, just to prove a point. I will say something to that cyclist, similar to the fact that sidewalks are for pedestrians, cyclists are to be on the road. If a cyclist is using a pedestrian crosswalk I will also make a point of saying something to them if they use the crosswalk to ride across the road.
I took a new route to work this morning on my bike just because I am tired of the construction on McPhillips and found that it is the same amount of time either way. The new route took me over the Salter Bridge (and yes I stayed on the road, not like most who take to the sidewalk), down Logan to Sherbrooke. I actually took Henry and then straight on Sherbrooke to avoid the left turn lane from Logan on to Sherbrooke as I am not comfortable with being in the left turn lane with all of the 18 wheel traffic. Sherbrooke/Maryland to Portage and then I used the diamond lane on Portage the rest of the way to Polo Park. I encountered only one driver who crowded me on Maryland and the diamond lane on Portage was great, only had one bus that actually slowed and waited until the lane was clear to pass me. BUT it was 7AM in the morning so the traffic was light, going home will be a different story!!!
The police need to start ticketing the cyclists who are not obeying the laws of the road. Yes it may take away from other more important things but in the grand scheme of things, saving a life by ticketing a cyclist and making the cyclist aware of what s/he is doing is wrong may be one of the most important things a police officer could do on his/her shift.

Ok...I'm not going to quote a bunch of things here...just point out a couple of mistakes.

#1 - from grumpy's post...NO, THE LAW IS NOT "ONLY IF YOU'RE A CHILD". for sidewalk riders.
The law is "Wheel size larger than 16" (or whatever that is in mm). I've actually seen a couple of people riding those foldup bikes with 12" wheels down the sidewalk of Portage. "Technically" they are legal. AND..."technically" that 10-year-old kid whose parents got him a 26" wheeled bike so they wouldn't have to buy him another one (or that he stole) is ILLEGAL riding on the sidewalk.

If you're going to quote the rules...make sure you know what they are.

#2 - St. Norberter
The 'no helmet' rider...screw them. There's no law about having to wear one (unless you are riding a power-assisted bicycle). If they want to ride that way...that's up to them. It's not smart...but I've caught myself heading out and forgetting my helmet a couple of times this year...and realize it feels "different" only after I've ridden far enough it's not worth going back. I don't think it SHOULD be a law either...it's like the seatbelt law...yeah...it's a good idea to wear one...but it should be a preference.

I think most the other issues mentioned I 100% agree with. As to that moron switching back and forth between sidewalk/roadway...I've taken one of them out on Portage. He went up on the sidewalk, and as he came off the next intersection the light was green, so I anticipated when he would come back on the road and was there "just" ahead of him...and then stopped dead. Put him into the curb and on his ass.

I've also stopped the cyclist who "weaves" in and out of cars because they are close to the right shoulder, so he comes riding up the left side of the lane. Usually I roll my window down and open my door as they approach. They usually have a comment or two, and I calmly (honestly...calmly) tell them they are a vehicle, like any other in the line of traffic...and they will wait their turn like anyone else.

My favorite was about two weeks ago...at Arlington. I was coming out of the back lane behind RBC, and just as I got to the sidewalk, some idiot goes weaving around the front of my van (nearly hit me) so I honked my horn at him. He rode about 10 yards and decided he would turn around and confront me...big mistake.
He comes riding up to my window and starts yelling "why are you honking at me!?!?!?!", and I just said..."cause you nearly got killed for riding on the sidewalk illegally."

He says "i'm allowed to ride on the sidewalk when.." I cut him short and said "NO!!!!!! You're NEVER allowed to ride on the sidewalk...EVER...NEVER...NO EXCEPTIONS...!!!"

He hit my window with his hand...I said "ooohh...that's tough...i'd offer you to hit me instead...but then your bike would end up under my vehicle, and you'd end up in the hospital...so get your ass of the sidewalk and learn to ride, or start walking!!!"

And he did...put his bike in the street and rode off.

I saw him again yesterday when my daughter and I were out riding...and he was actually riding on the street!!!

I think I need to 'borrow' AA to take on a lunch time walk with me down Portage Ave....

There are plenty-o riders on the sidewalks at lunch time, weaving and dodging peds. The downtown street patrol doesn't do anything, and there's hardly any foot patrol officers around to address this, if they even do so anymore.

I'm a young person, so nobody listens to me, and most of the jerks on the sidewalks downtown are older.

Do police still hand out tickets for riding on the sidewalk? I think we need a little more cyclist enforcement around here. And this is coming from someone who rides in to work in the summer time (I take the road, wear my helmet and obey the traffic laws as any other vehicle on the road) and doesn't ride in the fall/winter months because it's too dangerous.

If I had the time during the work week, I'd be walking Portage sidewalks STOPPING any cyclist on a sidwalk, and issuing "citations" (flyers actually) informing them that what they are doing is breaking the law and instructions on how to properly ride on the roadway.

I've also had dreams of sitting on the sidewalk and as some idiot goes speeding by on their bike on the sidewalk of jamming a big stick through their spokes...but I imagine that will just get me in trouble.

I will say when I win the $50M on Friday, I'll be putting together my petition with the city to finally address the problem...I'll have the time to do it then .

"#1 - from grumpy's post...NO, THE LAW IS NOT "ONLY IF YOU'RE A CHILD".
for sidewalk riders.
The law is "Wheel size larger than 16" (or
whatever that is in mm). I've actually seen a couple of people riding
those foldup bikes with 12" wheels down the sidewalk of Portage.
"Technically" they are legal. AND..."technically" that 10-year-old kid
whose parents got him a 26" wheeled bike so they wouldn't have to buy
him another one (or that he stole) is ILLEGAL riding on the sidewalk.

If
you're going to quote the rules...make sure you know what they are."


ACTUALLY.... depends where you are.

The province has one rule, the city another.

AGEsAces wrote:I will say when I win the $50M on Friday, I'll be putting together my petition with the city to finally address the problem...I'll have the time to do it then .

I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed AA. Ummm, I'm winning the $50 million... But I'll hire you to police city sidewalks for these cycling scofflaws.

2) The Sidewalk Rider. Your NOT allowed to ride on the sidewalk. I repeat NOT. NEVER. EVER. Unless your a child.

I thought it was the size of the bike's wheel that determined if it was legal or not on a sidewalk....something like 16" .

The HTA

Bicycles on sidewalks
145( Subject
to subsection (9), no person shall operate on a sidewalk a bicycle with
a rear wheel the diameter of which exceeds 410 mm.

Exception to subsection (
145(9) Subsection (
does not apply to a sidewalk that is marked by a traffic control device
permitting the operation of a bicycle on the sidewalk.

And I am sorry but I simply can not find the City's regulation on the matter.

Perhaps there isn't one.

....and thanks for that.

There was, I know that much. did they change it the last time they updated the bylaws? Perhaps.. I dont know, cant really search right now.

Sorry, but I'd say the intent of the wheel size regulation is to keep adult sized bikes off the sidewalk. Just cause you can fit your adult frame onto a kids bike to defeat the purpose of the law doesn't make you less of a douche.

But yes, techinically AA is right.

I know one thing for sure, if I won $50 million I definitely wouldn't spend my time or money trying to enforce petty by-laws.

heh.. with that kind of money you could incorporate your own town and MAKE YOUR OWN BYLAWS!

As a part time cyclist I feel safer on the side walk them most roads you just have to use common sense , ie around pedestrians and driveways . You take your life in your hands on most thoroughfares in Wpg with the idiot car drivers out there. The a$$holes that blow lights cause they do not have enough time on the yellow to stop or get thru hey Jondo

I had a zigzag rider crash into the drivers side door of my truck on my way home last night.

JT Estoban wrote:I had a zigzag rider crash into the drivers side door of my truck on my way home last night.

Did you laugh? I would have

No, the bugger was coming up beside me on the left, because the right side had a parked car.

I saw he was probably coming up that way, so I inched over to the left, which kinda made his bike hit the side of my truck when he got to it ....at which point he accused me of attempted murder, (seriously!) followed by accusing me of being an atheist (an atheist....really!)....this is all without me opening my mouth to say anything yet btw.

Incredible.

Apparently I'm "filled with hate" for calling him out on his illegal lane change and making sure he couldn't pass me on the left.

This is the first time I've been called a murder...and the first time I've ever been called a murderer-atheist! (what that has to do with anything, I still don't know)...it wasn't until after that I thought of opening my door instead.

Friggin' bugger.

I gave him a lecture on his illegally zipping thru traffic, but it's clear he wasn't listening to a word I was saying, and was more concerned with yelling out random, stupid sh*t like murder and un-christian.

I think anti-semetic was thrown in there too now that I think about it....the guy was a complete tard.