F&$(k sticks in tights
 

I turn around to leave my location at the ditch this AM and out of nowhere rolls "Lance" doing time trials on the service road. Almost barelling into me. He mutters something at me like I am the A Hole. If you are a cyclist wouldn't a better work out be riding someplace with altered terrain. I hate people sometimes.

there are few things I hate more in this world than spandex wearing cyclists causing traffic problems on cape cod. but its cool cuz the sport has brought us heros like lance armstrong... o wait... :yak5:

:biglaugh:

The Cape cod bike smile. It's a rule you have to smile when you ride a bike on CC
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He was probably racing the yellow boat that went through at Mach 1 this morning..
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I saw that guy freaking on plane with current in a "no wake zone" what a douche rocket
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not a fan of the mindset of super-jock at all

Or twenty five guys riding east on 106 last saturday morning two and three abreast. F'em
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Just an excuse for the bi-curious to hang out in spandex.
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The funny thing about being a cyclist is it's pretty easy to tell the people who can't stand that you have the right to be on the road just by their subtle driving behavior.

Back in Iowa when I was training I used to get beer bottles thrown at me. Here they usually just yell like asshats or buzz you. Most people don't even see the bikes, or if they do can't believe that you're really doing 28mph on the flat and pull out right in front of you anyway.

It also irks me to see cyclists running lights when they don't need to and riding fast on crowded paths. If you're serious get on the road where you belong and ride responsibly.

That being said, remember that RI passed a 3' law a few years ago. If you can't give a cyclist a wide berth you have to wait until the oncoming traffic allows it...BY LAW.

-spence

Problem with that idea is that people drive @ least half way in the opposite on coming traffic lane totally over compensating...
and two cars both driving around 40 mph in a head on collision has the force of IMPACT as one car doing 80 MPH into a bridge wall....

yeah Swimmer, My wife gets total road rage on uncool cyclists wanting to yell a-hole and flip-em off...
that it takes a great persuasion to mellow her out.... as road rage is widely enforced now.

Not really, if you follow the law you simply have to wait to cross the double yellow line until there's no oncoming traffic. If the cyclist is obeying the law they're riding as far to the right as is practical given the conditions, it's not hard to get around unless the road surface is very poor or gravel washout pushes a bike to the left.

In heavy traffic this certainly could cause a backup of cars, but such is life. Nobody has any more right to the road than anyone else.

-spence

Awaiting MikeP to chime in....

One time, back in Iowa in the late 80's we had a big group riding a double echelon stretched across the road in a crosswind. Now back then this was perfectly legal and considering we're on country farm roads not that terrible of a nuisance.

This driver gets so pissed he pulls in front and slams on the brakes. Get's out of his car and one of our Cat 2 riders starts head butting him with his helmet on :humpty:

Great theater. If that happened today it would be on national TV.

-spence

I don't know about R.I., but up here going over the yellow line to pass is a no no. If your over that line and crash guess who is it fault.

And I think WestPortMafia is right. They are a bunch of bi-curious males in spandex, and it gives them a legit excuse to buy that chit they put on so thier butts don't chafe, which they probably use otherwise.

Here's the actual text...

31-15-18

I think in most states there are many provisions to cross the center line of the road. If you hit someone by doing so you'd violate the statute and certainly be at fault...hence, why you have to wait.

-spence

Well what ever the laws are there is no need to be a sprint hero on the access rd at the canal. I have no issue with bikers on the road for the most part. Vacation people tend to act as though You are supposed to make sure they get a pass on everything. I stay on Samoset in Eastham most weekends I can not tell you how many times I have had to jack on the brakes because a family all the sudden just blasts through te intersection with the Rail trail. They ignore the stop signs they act as though they are pedestrians. It's to the point I stop every time I approach a CCRT intersection.
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Spence you better leave your spandex home if we fish this week! Sw wind is honking and doesn't seem like it wants to slow down
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The glasses with the mirror attached to see who is making love to them from behind are pretty funny too.
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Courtesy all around is the answer and it should start with the biker.
First rule of the road is keep to the right and 2 or 3 abreast is just
asking for trouble.
Spence, you are cranking at 28 mph on a flat, what is that about 135 avg rev/min?
Average recreational biker rides about 12-14 mph.

In decent but not great shape I'll average 17-18 on short (under 20 miles) rides solo. Doing intervals heading into town I'll be in the mid to higher 20's for a good stretch and closer to 30 for a bit if there's a good tail wind...on mostly flat.

With a group of decent riders you can ride a lot faster.

The point is, the people in spandex aren't usually just poking along.
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I'll give them as much room on the road when they start paying license, registrations, excise taxes, and are subject to penalty for not following the rules of the road like the rest of the drivers and motorcyclists.

I'm not even going to touch this one as I already had my fun. Lol
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I'm in full agreement that dangerous or otherwise stupid behavior shouldn't be tolerated.

-spence

Excise taxes usually go into the general fund, not necessarily for roads. But regardless, most riders on the roads have cars and certainly do pay excise, license and registration taxes already. I know I sure do.

As for penalties, bikes generally have to follow the same rules as cars and can be hit with the same fines. It's just that the police aren't usually targeting them.

-spence

And until police do start citing them, I will continue with my current attitude.

That sounds about right Spence, your staying in good shape.
Can't believe, but it's true, the professionals ride an average flat, up and down in the mid 30's with an average cadence of mid to high 130's.
Rode for 40 years, before spandex and gel seats, :), and gave it up because of 3 close calls in the last year.
Way to dangerous, drivers in a hurry, drinking, drugging and worst of all cell phones, texting. Be careful out there, we want you to be around for the conservative sweep. :love:

I'm a fat ass right now, those numbers were from a year or two ago when I wasn't even exactly in great shape cycling wise. Rode for the first time this year just this week, I had to hunt for a cycling top that fit :fury:

Pro's can ride incredibly fast when they want. A cadence of 130 would be a high sprint, average for most pro's and fast recs is more around 90-100. In shape or not I usually ride at 100 unless I'm out of the saddle...

It's awesome to see the stages at the Tour where the top teams are cranking the pace up to 40 in the closing KM and guys in the high 40's during the sprints...

-spence

Perhaps just not enough are breaking the law. It's also possible that your bias is attributing unlawful behavior to perfectly lawful riding just because it annoys you.

Funny story...I was nearly ran off the road by a pickup hauling a trailer a couple of years ago. A few miles up he was parked on the side of the road and I called him on it. Not something I would normally do as it's generally not wise to start confrontations but I was seriously ticked off. Guy chases me down and we get into it. Turns out he was an off duty cop who didn't even have a clue what the bike laws even were...he just didn't like bikes.

-spence

I would never intentionally try to run anyone off the road or harm anyone at all. I will however voice my opinion very loudly and let them know when they are riding irresponsibly.
Try driving in Boston every day and dealing with these idiots. Just because Mayor Menino implemented bike lanes doesn't give them the freedom to blow right through red lights and veer into traffic haphazardly. If they are in the bike lane and obeying the rules of the road, I don't have a problem with them at all. Very few do though and when one gets hit, or worse, killed by a motorist, the outcry for more bicyclist tolerance is unbelievable. What about the driver that has to live with that on his conscience the rest of his life but knowing he did nothing wrong?