Re: OT: joining the ranks of two wheelers again

Tom Sherman

Tom Keats wrote:
> In article <fvc981$elc$1@registered.motzarella.org>,
> Tom Sherman <sunsetss0003@REMOVETHISyahoo.com> writes:
>> Tom Keats wrote:
>>> In article <ZcXyi.14446$B25.4428@news01.roc.ny>,
>>> Arif Khokar <akhokar1234@wvu.edu> writes:
>>>> Second, it's the
>>>> responsibility for those who don't have the right of way to wait for a
>>>> suitable gap in traffic before proceeding. That means that cyclists and
>>>> drivers waiting to turn or cross an intersection must wait for traffic
>>>> to clear before proceeding.
>>> That's what non-suicidal, rational people do.
>>> Despite popular opinion, people who aren't operating
>>> motor vehicles aren't /that/ idiotic.
>>>
>> Ever ride your bicycle on a college campus?
>
> Yes.
>
>> Yes, people are that
>> idiotic, and rush into the street in the middle of the block without
>> looking. That is why I preferred to ride a 'bent, so I would not fly
>> over the bars and land on my head if one of the idiots took me out (been
>> there, done that, earlier in life).
>
> I've /never/ run into anyone with my uprights.
>
I refuse to slow down for idiots.

>> Many of the cyclists are not any better. I have been hit a couple of
>> times while walking by sidewalk riders - one overtaking from behind
>> (clipped by the end of the handlebars) and one who was coming around a
>> blind corner hugging the building wall
>
> I don't particularly like habitual
> sidewalk cycling. That said, I've
> never been hit by a sidewalk rider.
>
Maybe you have been in a less crowded area.

>> I was recently almost hit by a
>> fixie poseur who was making a right turn on red without stopping or
>> yielding.
>
> Car drivers do that a lot. I guess he was
> a car driver on a bike. There are all too
> many of those.
>
The guy is lucky he avoided me, since he would likely have landed on his
face. Hitting a pedestrian while riding an upright usually is much worse
for the rider.

>> Notice that none of these incidents involve the dreaded steel and glass
>> cage.
>
> I notice that you lived to tell the tale.
>
The one incident with an upright involved several children running out
in front of me while being screened from view by a parked vehicle. I was
able to slow to less than 15 mph before the collision with an estimated
70 pound child (I probably weighed about 105 pounds at the time). The
result was a nasty scalp wound for me, a bent fork on my Peugeot, and a
minor scratch on the idiotic child's knee.

Had I been riding a proper recumbent, the outcome would have been much
more in my favor.

> I guess you're sharp enough to survive all
> these dreaded onslaughts.
>
Hey, if a moron on a bike wants to run into me when I am a pedestrian
and have the right-of-way, I will lead with my shoulder.

> Heck, I survive & thrive well enough with
> my ~normal~ bikes.
>
> I don't need to look to other configs
> to make-up for my judgmental mistakes.
>
How is having others violate one's right-of-way a judgmental mistake?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Tom Keats

In article <fvdu8e$gnq$1@registered.motzarella.org>,
Tom Sherman <sunsetss0003@REMOVETHISyahoo.com> writes:

>>>>> Second, it's the
>>>>> responsibility for those who don't have the right of way to wait for a
>>>>> suitable gap in traffic before proceeding. That means that cyclists and
>>>>> drivers waiting to turn or cross an intersection must wait for traffic
>>>>> to clear before proceeding.
>>>> That's what non-suicidal, rational people do.
>>>> Despite popular opinion, people who aren't operating
>>>> motor vehicles aren't /that/ idiotic.
>>>>
>>> Ever ride your bicycle on a college campus?
>>
>> Yes.
>>
>>> Yes, people are that
>>> idiotic, and rush into the street in the middle of the block without
>>> looking. That is why I preferred to ride a 'bent, so I would not fly
>>> over the bars and land on my head if one of the idiots took me out (been
>>> there, done that, earlier in life).
>>
>> I've /never/ run into anyone with my uprights.
>>
> I refuse to slow down for idiots.

I refuse to run-over anybody. Even the cognitively challenged.
Your above statement sounds so Car Driver-ish.

Sometimes we all have to slow down. Sometimes we all
have to speed up. Nobody has to hurt anybody just because
they're operating a certain kind of vehicle.

>>> Many of the cyclists are not any better. I have been hit a couple of
>>> times while walking by sidewalk riders - one overtaking from behind
>>> (clipped by the end of the handlebars) and one who was coming around a
>>> blind corner hugging the building wall
>>
>> I don't particularly like habitual
>> sidewalk cycling. That said, I've
>> never been hit by a sidewalk rider.
>>
> Maybe you have been in a less crowded area.

Heh.

>>> I was recently almost hit by a
>>> fixie poseur who was making a right turn on red without stopping or
>>> yielding.
>>
>> Car drivers do that a lot. I guess he was
>> a car driver on a bike. There are all too
>> many of those.
>>
> The guy is lucky he avoided me, since he would likely have landed on his
> face. Hitting a pedestrian while riding an upright usually is much worse
> for the rider.

It's bad all around.

>>> Notice that none of these incidents involve the dreaded steel and glass
>>> cage.
>>
>> I notice that you lived to tell the tale.
>>
> The one incident with an upright involved several children running out
> in front of me while being screened from view by a parked vehicle. I was
> able to slow to less than 15 mph before the collision with an estimated
> 70 pound child (I probably weighed about 105 pounds at the time). The
> result was a nasty scalp wound for me, a bent fork on my Peugeot, and a
> minor scratch on the idiotic child's knee.
>
> Had I been riding a proper recumbent, the outcome would have been much
> more in my favor.

How so? Would there have been less hurtin' of people
all around?

>> I guess you're sharp enough to survive all
>> these dreaded onslaughts.
>>
> Hey, if a moron on a bike wants to run into me when I am a pedestrian
> and have the right-of-way, I will lead with my shoulder.

If you say so.

>> Heck, I survive & thrive well enough with
>> my ~normal~ bikes.
>>
>> I don't need to look to other configs
>> to make-up for my judgmental mistakes.
>>
> How is having others violate one's right-of-way a judgmental mistake?

The decision to retaliate is always a mistake.

Try not to retaliate. That just emits more bad vibes
into the world. There are usually more artful solutions
than BF&I. Often the solution is the realization that one
is one of many mistake-prone people.

This world needs more good vibes. Let's make 'em.
Lead 'em in with your shoulder & your heart & your
pedal-pumpin'.

And screw ego.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca