Subject: Bikes and Cars (was: Re: Driving Pet Peeves)

From: [email-masked] (John Oliver)
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 1995 14:05:55

Antonio S. Esporma writes:

>In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Thomas H. Kunich) writes:
>>In article <[email-masked]>,
>>Antonio S. Esporma  <tony@sebastian> wrote:

> < endless debate about bikes on the road, bike lanes, Bubbas in pickup 
trucks with guns, etc., etc., deleted >

As both a driving enthusiast and a cyclist, I wonder why people can't just use 
a little "common" sense.  (Of course, common sense isn't quite as common as 
you might think.)  

I was out riding last night, and I got pissed off / balked / endangered by 
both a car driver (or two) and a cyclist.  Here's the deal:

1) On a two lane road with a gravelly shoulder, I get passed by a pickup who 
squeezed me to the very edge of the pavement (because of oncoming traffic, he 
couldn't cross the center line).  Plainly in view about 100 yards up the road 
was a red light.  So he endangers me for the convenience of sitting at the red 
light for about 10 extra seconds!  Come on!

2) On another two lane road (frequently used by cyclists), I was rounding a 
gentle uphill right-hand bend, with two trailing cars about to pass me (no 
problem, plenty of room), when a cyclist comes around the bend in the 
opposite direction ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!  Since he was headed right 
at me, and there were two cars about to pass me, I enthusiastically gestured 
that the safest place for him to be in this surprising situation would be 
between me and the curb (rather than having him try to swerve over to the 
right side of the road infront of oncoming cars).  I therefore had to move to 
the left, partly in the way of the cars behind me, to give this schmuck room 
to get by, putting myself at increased risk.  

r.a.d drivers -- please use a little common sense!  I know that when I'm on my 
bike, I'm probably holding you up by a few seconds, but most of the time when 
people rush by me, they only end up stopped at a traffic light a few seconds 
sooner!  If there's an oncoming car, you usually have to wait only a few 
seconds to get by.  Yeah, I may hold you up a few seconds, but what's a few 
seconds, really?

r.b.s cyclists -- we've got to clean up our acts!  Every cyclist you see 
breaking a law is a cyclist who's giving us ALL a bad name!  If we want the 
same respect that is given to cars, then we've got to earn it -- after all 
they outweigh us by about 20:1!  It's our responsibility to educate cyclists 
about using the road safely and responsibly, otherwise we all suffer.

Just my opinion, of course!  But in general, if people just try to get along 
and cooperate, if both sides give a little, then I think everyone ends up 
better off in the end.  Why does everyone have to take sides about everything?

John Oliver
Canton, MI

'94 Probe GT
'92 Trek 2100

******************************************************************************************
All opinions expressed above are my own and in no way represent the views of
Ford Motor Co. 
******************************************************************************************

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From: [email-masked] (OldBicycle)
Date: 25 Jun 1995 23:04:45 -0400

John is a man of intelligence. I salute you, John. Here is a person who
realizes and has thoughtfully observed the stupidity displayed by both
motorists AND cyclists. He is witness to the bizarre dichotomy, the utter
absurdity of the constant "us vs. them" debates and rhetoric...which seems
to go on endlessly in the cycling community in particular. 

It is distressing to see the idiots behind the wheel who cut off cyclists,
but these same yo-yos cut off and break rules with OTHER motorists as
well! Whereas on the other side of the fence, we have those certain
cyclists (not all, but far too many) who think they can do battle with
4000 lbs (or more) of speeding metal and set off to do battle either
verbally or physically with motorists. Even worse, there is the element
who wants to blame all of the world's ills on motor vehicles, GM, the
usual nutty conspiracies.

In case anyone out there really cares, think about this: almost every car
company (INCLUDING GM) somehow either evolved out of a bicycle company or
out of bicycle men. So if anybody wants to blame anybody for the auto-
look back to the bicycle industry, not GM, Ford, of Chysler (all of whom
owe their very beginnings to bicycle companies or bicycle technology or 
bicycle men). The first Mercedes Benz was a motorized tricycle. Example:
how many cars today use Champion or A.C. spark plugs? The man who dreamed
them BOTH up was Albert Champion- a famous bicycle racer and bicycle
mechanic!

Thank you John for some intelligence.