I'm curious. How many of us here are cyclists?

[Rivrrat]

I'm bored because of our damned winter storm here, so I'm a posting fool.

How many of us ride for fun or fitness?

I'm mostly a road rider, but I venture into the dirt( sand here) for a change of pace. The problem for me with going off road is I tend bleed during my ride.

[Drenis]

I'm more curious to know who tries to run those terrorists off the road?

Sorry but where I live, this city was not designed or constructed for cyclists to share the road and therefore when they passed a law that its now LAW to ride a bike on the ROAD, not SIDEWALK (even kids!), I began to see cyclists try to own the road and not adhere to laws such as STOPPING AT A STOP SIGN MORON.

As a person who enjoys some riding here and there and some trails... I hate cyclists. Get back on the sidewalk to stay alive!

[bikerboy]

So Drenis, you hate yourself! You claim to be a bicyclist. I see lots of moron car drivers every day. Some people think they are privileged and do what they want. Doesn't make it right.

[Rivrrat]

I've been riding off and on semi avid since my teens (I'm 54 now) and I REALLY have a problem with those jerks you're talking about. They give all of us a bad name.

For me, I try to stay as far to the right as possible given the road conditions, and I NEVER ride two abreast when there's traffic.

I drive a lot for my job, and there's times I feel like stopping and telling jerk riders they're wrecking it for all of us. HOWEVER if they're trying to stay to the right you need to understand they need to be there too.

[oldrocker]

Havne't found a gel seat good enough for my fat ass...

[gudnoyez]

I ride mountain bikes Got a Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale, I have one cruiser a Raliegh for the paved stuff. Once the snow melts and the woods dry up a bit I'am out there, I get cabin fever during the winter months.

[gudnoyez]

I'am also a Charger fan but the Vikings take priority. The 6 mile ride uphill through the woods is a son of bi#$h, till you get to the top, there is a swing rope on a tree to swing off the top into this mine pit to cool off the 6 mile down hill is well worth your effort of going the 6 miles uphill a couple more pits to cool off in on the way down.

This is one of many courses at this spot in northern Minnesota a bunch of Iron ore pits. I will be 50 the 26th of this month wont let that slow me down yet. I was riding a Giant 29er that day you can see the iron ore dust on the tires. Mountain biking is a blast. Nothing better than a day out in the woods on your bike!

[Drenis]

So Drenis, you hate yourself! You claim to be a bicyclist. I see lots of moron car drivers every day. Some people think they are privileged and do what they want. Doesn't make it right.

Re-read my post. It caters to a specific group of "cyclists". Let's not get started on how some people drive... but in case you do, I can direct you to some local youtube videos.

Cheers!

FTR, I own a Trek. Didn't get out last season and don't know if I'll get out this season.

[Rivrrat]

Cool pics Godnoyez which one is you?.

I've been riding my fat butt back into shape on my old Trek 850 steel framed mtn bike, and I've been averaging times on pavement close to (or equal to) what I've done on my Team Fuji road bike in the past. I've been restoring that bike for a couple of months now. It's done and I'm ready to get back on the old steel diva.

I'm pretty sure I'll clock times faster on the road bike than I did in my 30's or early 40's (I'm 54 now). I'm pretty stoked about being faster than I was when I was a young stud.

[gudnoyez]

I'am wearing the Charger shirt yeah used to ride motocross had a YZ, a RM, 250cc back inthe late 70's crashed doing a crossup one day trying to be like Bob Hannah. I broke 3 ribs a collarbone and my sternum, laid me up for three months, after that sold my suzuki and bought a road bike a raleigh 10 speed got into mountain biking over in Germany in the 80's lived in the foothills of the Black Forest they are crazy about off road biking over there. yeah I say that myself about speed however my avs on my bike has gotten lower with each passing year if I average a AVS of 16mph on a road bike I'am a happy camper. Have fun ride safe.

[CarlosD]

If I'm not on this site I'm on a bicycling site. I find that the equipment freaks here have a lot in common with the equipment freaks on the cycling sites. Everyone wants to know what components to get, what a fair price is, a lot of interest in vintage equipment, etc. And lots of helpful co-hobbyists.

It's a shame that there is such bad blood between cyclist and drivers (putting aside the fact that nearly all cyclists are also drivers). There are indeed stupid and selfish cyclists out there but the non-riding drivers who whip themselves into a frenzy over their behavior behave inexcusably. Just because you're inconvenienced for a few seconds doesn't give you the right to hit someone with a 3,000 pound vehicle or even give him a brushback.

[rromeo923]

I generally dont ride on roads because I am scared of drivers. I love to ride trails (easy ones). I am bit more of a runner though. I always ran because I played soccer. In the last two years I upped my game and started running farther. I did a half marathon last year and am doing another half plus a full marathon this year. Once i get that out of my system I will go back to more zen running. Running when and how far based on how I feel at the moment. Anyway. Bikes and running are much fun.

[joeparaski]

I've got 2 bikes, one for road and one hybrid. The road one is a Specialized Roubaix all carbon and the hybrid is a Specialized Elite. I use them mostly for fitness.

Joe

[mantis]

I'm also a mountain bike rider. I can't wait till the winters over and get out there.

[gudnoyez]

If I'm not on this site I'm on a bicycling site. I find that the equipment freaks here have a lot in common with the equipment freaks on the cycling sites. Everyone wants to know what components to get, what a fair price is, a lot of interest in vintage equipment, etc. And lots of helpful co-hobbyists.

It's a shame that there is such bad blood between cyclist and drivers (putting aside the fact that nearly all cyclists are also drivers). There are indeed stupid and selfish cyclists out there but the non-riding drivers who whip themselves into a frenzy over their behavior behave inexcusably. Just because you're inconvenienced for a few seconds doesn't give you the right to hit someone with a 3,000 pound vehicle or even give him a brushback.

I hear you I also check out some of the MTB forums, the debate over Shimanno vs Sram or XT rear derailers vs XTR, or the weight weenies sometimes there are a lot of heated debates kinda like starting a cable thread here

[Thorton]

I bike to stay in shape. Have an old TREK 850. During the winter, I split time between the stationary bike and the treadmill. I prefer riding on a paved or dirt road. I usually try to stay on less crowded roads.

[KellyMic]

I rode BMX Vert for most of my pre-teen through teen years.

http://members.socket.net/~kelly/

[Toolfan66]

I like riding as well.. I also hate cyclists on the road, they can't keep up with the speed limit, they feel you should get out of the way, I also feel if they are going to be on the road the bikes need to ad hear to the same laws as a car or motorcycle. All lights, turn signals, tail lights, head light, side mirrors? so you can see whats coming up on you? also if your going to ride it on the road it should be plated just as any other vehicle has to have..

Don't most states have laws that you can be ticketed for impeding traffic?

My view is you wouldn't walk down the middle of the road with moving vehicles that can kill you, why in the hell would you ride your bike down the same road when you can't get out of the way fast enough?

Just stupid IMO...

[Toxis]

I ride for fun and fitness. Starting to get into some beginner mtb races too. I just built up a new mtb bike for trail work and then converted my old mtb into a hybrid for road and gravel rides. Even signed up for a 100mi gravel ride first of June. Going to be crazy... I love and live to be on a bike.

[DSkip]

For me, I try to stay as far to the right as possible given the road conditions, and I NEVER ride two abreast when there's traffic.

I go through Denton daily and its a cycling city. It's kind of an "Earthy" city once you start getting close to the UNT campus. We actually have biking taxis to get you around that area on nights/weekends. We also have "bike lanes" on some of the more traveled roads. While I don't personally mind cyclists, I get annoyed when they go 15 mph in a 30+ and there is no way to get around them, all the while there is a sidewalk 5 feet off the road.

On a side-road near my house last week, I got stuck behind some cyclists heading to work. Three larger guys, fully decked, riding side by side for a half mile never realizing I was behind them. Again, going way too slow for the zone. Eventually one of them glanced back and saw me 15 ft behind them and decided it was a good time for single-file. It was a 2 lane road with no oncoming traffic and I STILL couldn't get around their fat asses.


Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a cyclist get annoyed at drivers, then blow through stop signs or red lights as they please 5 seconds later. Either be a vehicle or be a pedestrian. You can't have it both ways and choose which benefits you at the time.




Thanks for the vent! FTR, the cyclist mentality of Denton is just one of the things about that city that charms me. I have no issues with cyclists who are courteous or who are forced to be on the main road and do what they can to stay out of your way. Its the one who feels supreme entitlement that annoys me.

[cambir]

Road and MTB here. Started out mountain biking in college, now I ride more road.

No need to be specific...there are idiots in every category of humans.

[Syndil]

This is from FL:

"State Law says you must ride as far to the right as practicable. It does NOT say as far to the right as possible. Practicable means capable of being done within the means and circumstances present.

A cyclist should maintain no less than 2 feet of clearance from the edge of usable pavement to have room to maneuver around obstructions and to be more visible to crossing traffic. (NOTE: useable pavement does not include the gutter pan or any area frequently obstructed by debris or other hazards.)

In an extra-wide lane a cyclist should ride farther left—about 4 feet from the flow of traffic—to operate in the focus area of crossing traffic and reduce vulnerability to common collisions

When a lane is too narrow for a bicycle and a car to share safely, the cyclist is entitled to the use of the entire lane. Within this lane, the cyclist usually rides on the right half to facilitate visibility for overtaking motorists, but should ride far enough left to discourage motorists from trying to squeeze past within the lane."

Where I live, basically every road is too narrow to share with a vehicle, and I was taught to always ride in the center or left of the lane to force vehicles to pass you properly instead of trying to squeeze into the lane with you.

[Dabutcher]

I ride a Terratrike now. I love all bikes and feel they r one of mans greatest inventions. My kids r little (8-10). So we stick to bike paths and sidewalks. Probly illegal to ride on sidewalks but we're rebels! I like working on them too. We Spring forward tonight with the time change and the first day of spring is the 22nd . I cannot wait to cruise around! Peace, D

[DSkip]

D, those have always looked fun to ride to me. Are they as simple to ride as they look?

[zane77]

Mountain bike and road bike, waiting for the snow to melt in the mountains and waiting for it to warm up a little bit to get the road bike out. For now it's the trainer with some good music playing. I have tried to ride my bike on the road with ear buds but it scares the crap out of me because I can't hear the traffic around me, so I ride with the music playing in my head lol.

[Strong Bad]

I have a Hybrid Specialized Globe and Cannondale Synapse full carbon road bike. This winter can't go away fast enough!!!

[Speedskater]

Well I did TOSRV more than 25 times. That's 100+ miles South to the Ohio River on Saturday and then the 100+ miles back on Sunday. Some years had close to 10,000 riders.

But now I'm not riding much because:
1] Cell phones and driving. Too many bikes being hit by cars in low traffic, clear view areas.
2] Poor road conditions. Good road maintenance is a thing of the past. Winter weather near Lake Erie doesn't help.
3] Increased auto traffic. The quite roads that we cycled on 20 years are now busy suburbs. If I want to go biking now, I need to put the bike in the car and drive a 1/2 to a safe area.

[CarlosD]

For those of you writing that cyclists should ride on the sidewalk: bad idea. First, it would be dangerous for pedestrians. Second, perhaps you've never been on a good, modern road bike, under 20 pounds with 23mm-wide tires inflated to 120+ PSI. What if I told you that you could only ever take your car on gravel roads? Well, a good road bike is the equivalent of a Porsche and on some flat roads we will be moving typically at 20-25 mph. Sidewalks don't work for us.

As for running stop signs, when a cyclist does this it's because we can hear as well as see whether traffic is coming, and we have determined it's safe to do so. (Note, I'm only talking about serious recreational cyclists in the suburbs or country. City cyclists are a bit different breed, especially messengers and delivery guys.) Of course there are exceptions and there are idiot cyclists just as there are idiot drivers, who invented the rolling stop. But in the case of cyclists we're not talking about a real danger to society here: We're moving slower than cars to begin with and a cyclist+bike weighs maybe 180-250 pounds at the most, vs drivers in cars weighing 3,000 pounds rolling through stop signs.

Are there idiot cyclists? Yes. But if they cause you to use words like "hate" then perhaps you should have your anger issue looked into. Or re-direct it at the guy driving a jacked-up pickup truck tailgating you while yapping away on his cellphone. Cyclists are not your enemy.

[SDA1C]

I have an 07 Profet that I take to the west coast once in a while for some downhill fun in he Northern California/Southern Oregon region. I ride a trainer in the basement occasionally. The wife rides a Specialized and the boy rides an ATX Giant.

I went to a local gathering and rode their expert track. It had a sign on a tree, "WARNING EXTREME DOWNHILL", around the next corner was a 60 degree slope for about 40 vertical feet. I needed a warning alright...how not to fall off laughing. I don't wast me time riding in the Midwest. Its not worth getting my bike dirty.

[DSkip]

For those of you writing that cyclists should ride on the sidewalk: bad idea. First, it would be dangerous for pedestrians. Second, perhaps you've never been on a good, modern road bike, under 20 pounds with 23mm-wide tires inflated to 120+ PSI. What if I told you that you could only ever take your car on gravel roads? Well, a good road bike is the equivalent of a Porsche and on some flat roads we will be moving typically at 20-25 mph. Sidewalks don't work for us.

As for running stop signs, when a cyclist does this it's because we can hear as well as see whether traffic is coming, and we have determined it's safe to do so. (Note, I'm only talking about serious recreational cyclists in the suburbs or country. City cyclists are a bit different breed, especially messengers and delivery guys.) Of course there are exceptions and there are idiot cyclists just as there are idiot drivers, who invented the rolling stop. But in the case of cyclists we're not talking about a real danger to society here: We're moving slower than cars to begin with and a cyclist+bike weighs maybe 180-250 pounds at the most, vs drivers in cars weighing 3,000 pounds rolling through stop signs.

Are there idiot cyclists? Yes. But if they cause you to use words like "hate" then perhaps you should have your anger issue looked into. Or re-direct it at the guy driving a jacked-up pickup truck tailgating you while yapping away on his cellphone. Cyclists are not your enemy.

My issue is not with those who travel at/near the speed limit. Its those who cause issues on busy main streets by lackadaisically pedaling, when there are alternate routes that would keep them off said roads. This happens frequently in my area. Generally, the older cyclists I have no issues with. Denton is a college town and I've almost hit my fair share of cyclists. My wife has seen one get taken down by running a red light and I came up on one about a year ago where the same thing happened. When I came up on that one the bike was mangled to hell and the cyclist didn't look any better. Its the "kids" that cause issues. Each time I've seen this or had it happen, its been college-aged cyclists. Unfortunately, those are the ones that immediately come to mind when the topic comes up.

I respect the ones who treat the bike like a vehicle. If I roll up to a stop sign and a cyclist is coming up, I expect them to stop just like I do. Unfortunately, this seldom happens. I don't like the fact that if I don't see them, I could end up seriously injuring someone because of their lack of respect for traffic laws, especially since the one's who do this I never see wearing helmets. Size of the vehicle has nothing to do with it.

Hardcore cyclists tend to get it. Unfortunately, you guys get lumped in with these bad apples. I actually get irritated when riding with my dad and he starts yelling about a cyclist on the road doing no harm and following all laws and maintaining a speed the best to his ability. Don't go thinking this is an "anger issue", its merely constant interaction with bad cyclists.

PS - more often than not, these cyclists are using your generic mountain bikes, not specifically designed road bikes. A sidewalk isn't going to hurt them.