kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 OK, got me on the trash can, though there is still room to ride between it and the parked car. A cyclist complaining about that really needs to get those wadded panties out of his arse.Maybe we shouldn't be putting our trash cans in the middle of a right of way? I honestly don't think that's an unreasonable request. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I look at it as the only one endangered by a cyclist running a light is the cyclist. A motorist running a light endangers everyone. And, honestly, complaining about cyclists running lights and stop signs just makes you sound like a grumpy old man. Live a little. Don't get so upset at those who ignore government's rules. Get a little anarchy in your life. You may enjoy it.Perhaps the law regarding cyclists should be tweaked, however let's not pretend that a bicyclist cannot endanger others by their irresponsible actions. (Running over a suicidally irresponsible cyclist is probably more distracting to a driver than a windshield crack.)If a cyclist is too lazy to come to a stop and to have to regain momentum, then they're not just suicidal and irresponsible, those are girlie men. They deserve ridicule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 As for the bike riders - its just annoying that they want cars to cater to them and realize they have a legal right to be on the road when they ignore all the laws themselves...if you want to ride on the road - do so legally, and obey the same rules the cars do...I dont get to just buzz haphazardly through a stoplight...they dont either.Ride a bike some time and you'll find that the momentum energy lost from a full stop is rather annoying, and that your visibility to the sides is very good, due to not having a big hood in front of you. You'll start to see why it is ridiculous to come to a stop when there is no cross traffic coming. It serves no real public safety purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Perhaps the law regarding cyclists should be tweaked, however let's not pretend that a bicyclist cannot endanger others by their irresponsible actions. (Running over a suicidally irresponsible cyclist is probably more distracting to a driver than a windshield crack.)If a cyclist is too lazy to come to a stop and to have to regain momentum, then they're not just suicidal and irresponsible, those are girlie men. They deserve ridicule.There is nothing suicidal about crossing against the light when there is no cross traffic coming, and there's nothing difficult about checking to ensure there is no cross traffic coming. Children are taught from a young age to look both ways before crossing the street, and cyclists are just as capable of doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Maybe we shouldn't be putting our trash cans in the middle of a right of way? I honestly don't think that's an unreasonable request.Perhaps you do not have experience with city trash pickup. Let me quote the City of Houston Solid Waste Department...A friendly reminder... When placing your carts at the curb, remember to leave 3 feet between each cart and other objects such as cars, trees, and mailboxes so the SWMD trucks can pick them up quickly and easily.Normally, the cans are placed up against the curb. As a cyclist, you know that this puts the cans in the bike lane of most streets. Heights Blvd. is different, in that the bike lane is to the left of the parking lane. However, on trash day, the parked cars will keep the garbage trucks from reaching the trash, necessitating the cans being placed at the edge of the driving lane in those places where cars are parked. Now, most cyclists...at least those who live in single family homes...are aware of this necessity, and are further aware that it only occurs one day per week. They understand that picking up trash is important. They further understand that, just like riding a bike, making trash pickup more efficient saves energy. However, some cyclists do not understand this. Or, perhaps they do, but they are prima donnas. Or it could simply be that the panties that are wedged between their butt cheeks prevents them from understanding the reasoning behind the cans on the street, and it further prevents them from considering their neighbors at the same time that they accuse their neighbors of being inconsiderate.I find it best to ignore these cyclists. They give the rest of us a bad name, and promote a general hostility toward cyclists. Besides, those who complain about trashcans that can easily be driven around likely have high blood pressure, and will die early of a stroke, in spite of their healthy habits. It is just not worth listening to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Perhaps you do not have experience with city trash pickup. Let me quote the City of Houston Solid Waste Department...Normally, the cans are placed up against the curb. As a cyclist, you know that this puts the cans in the bike lane of most streets. Heights Blvd. is different, in that the bike lane is to the left of the parking lane. However, on trash day, the parked cars will keep the garbage trucks from reaching the trash, necessitating the cans being placed at the edge of the driving lane in those places where cars are parked. Now, most cyclists...at least those who live in single family homes...are aware of this necessity, and are further aware that it only occurs one day per week. They understand that picking up trash is important. They further understand that, just like riding a bike, making trash pickup more efficient saves energy. However, some cyclists do not understand this. Or, perhaps they do, but they are prima donnas. Or it could simply be that the panties that are wedged between their butt cheeks prevents them from understanding the reasoning behind the cans on the street, and it further prevents them from considering their neighbors at the same time that they accuse their neighbors of being inconsiderate.I find it best to ignore these cyclists. They give the rest of us a bad name, and promote a general hostility toward cyclists. Besides, those who complain about trashcans that can easily be driven around likely have high blood pressure, and will die early of a stroke, in spite of their healthy habits. It is just not worth listening to them.Going from the bike lane to car lanes and back to bike lane is dangerous, so some cyclists will choose to just stay in the car lanes for the duration.The cited example is a little too perfect, and yes, there is room to go right of the cans in this case, but I doubt even the majority of them are following this template.Also, I'm going to lay the blame with the city's waste department who think that trash cans belong in bike lanes, not cyclists using best practices to stay alive. Not all cities are so myopic. http://ladotbikeblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/dont-trash-the-bike-lane/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 § 42.03. OBSTRUCTING HIGHWAY OR OTHER PASSAGEWAY. (a) A person commits an offense if, without legal privilege or authority, he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly: (1) obstructs a highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle, hallway, entrance, or exit to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access, or any other place used for the passage of persons, vehicles, or conveyances, regardless of the means of creating the obstruction and whether the obstruction arises from his acts alone or from his acts and the acts of others; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I look at it as the only one endangered by a cyclist running a light is the cyclist. A motorist running a light endangers everyone. And, honestly, complaining about cyclists running lights and stop signs just makes you sound like a grumpy old man. Live a little. Don't get so upset at those who ignore government's rules. Get a little anarchy in your life. You may enjoy it.Im predicting plenty of anarchy in the near future...sometime around November 6th give or take a day....but in the mean time I will still just be that grumpy old man who resents bike riders who want to use the road but not abide by its rules.As to the reason the cars stop without a stop sign when the bike is coming from a direction with a stop sign - its because we know from watching these yahoos that most times they wont stop, and the pain in the butt of dealing with an accident and possibly hurting someone is not worth the 1 second saved by slowing down to be sure the biker was actually going to stop. Some of us may get a tiny bit of enjoyment from ensuring that the bike rider has to follow the rules and actually stop....anarchy? Ya, I enjoy it sometimes...but recently Im too tired from fighting with a 2 year old to bother doing anything else.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Ride a bike some time and you'll find that the momentum energy lost from a full stop is rather annoying, and that your visibility to the sides is very good, due to not having a big hood in front of you. You'll start to see why it is ridiculous to come to a stop when there is no cross traffic coming. It serves no real public safety purpose.You want to ride a bike on a public road, you obey its rules...I dont really care how inconvenient it is....I use far more fuel stopping at red lights and its annoying as you say, but I still have to do it b/c its the law....I can see quite clearly that there is no traffic coming, but I still have to stop. My stopping for no oncoming traffic serves no safety purpose either but I still have to do it. Obey the rules or stop riding on public roads.As to last week - the blvd was full of cars at about 6:00 when I went by and most homeowners/businesses had already placed their cans in the right of way.The bike I was behind stayed in the vehicle lane from around 6th all the way to 11th because of the cans. Like I said, Im not a militant driver, but it necessitated a grumpy old man post.I am going to continue snapping pics of bike riders breaking laws...its really easy to do on Heights - NONE of the riders follow any of the laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleak Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Watch out Mark. The bicycle Reputation Police will be along shortly to chastise you for using the wrong word. Unless you have seen every single rider on Heights Blvd ever. Just warning ya.And once again while waiting for the bus yesterday, I get to watch an Uptown bicylist apparently forget the laws. He was going the opposite direction of traffic on Post Oak Blvd, but it was OK - he was on the sidewalk in front on Niemanns. Then he crosses Post Oak at the pedestrian crossing in front of Niemanns (while the light was green for the street) and cuts through the parking lot of Dillards to get over to Westheimer. But I'm sure it was all to conserve his momemtum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Since the weather is nice, I think I am going to leave work early and ride my bike on Heights Blvd. It will be nice knowing that no other cyclists will be there for fear of encountering a trash can. You guys enjoy your banter...or whatever it is that y'all are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 You want to ride a bike on a public road, you obey its rules...I dont really care how inconvenient it is....I use far more fuel stopping at red lights and its annoying as you say, but I still have to do it b/c its the law....I can see quite clearly that there is no traffic coming, but I still have to stop. My stopping for no oncoming traffic serves no safety purpose either but I still have to do it. Obey the rules or stop riding on public roads. But why do you stop? Why follow a law just because it exists? Do you ever exceed the speed limit? That's illegal, you know, and we're a nation of laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 But why do you stop? Why follow a law just because it exists? Do you ever exceed the speed limit? That's illegal, you know, and we're a nation of laws. I can't explain that one....I don't speed down Heights b/c its a nice street - but I do speed on the freeway....though not by some Houston standards...I try to stay around 70 most of the time.... Im not sure why not stopping irritates me more than anything else (except not slowing in school zone) its illogical but speeding to me seems like less of an issue than ignoring stop lights & stop signs...perhaps because speeding is far more common? Possibly because I view people who ignore stop signs/stop lights as arrogant...but speeding is just something people do. Ive always been annoyed at people who pretend that traffic signals don't apply to them - as if they were special or something....its like the guy who runs the shoulder in a merge to get further ahead....him thinking he is special just causes more traffic for everyone else. It may be irrational, but it still annoys me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luciaphile Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I've always been annoyed at people who pretend that traffic signals don't apply to them - as if they were special or something....its like the guy who runs the shoulder in a merge to get further ahead....him thinking he is special just causes more traffic for everyone else.Recently, nearby, a cyclist was killed by someone doing something similar, getting to the right onto the shoulder and passing everyone to get to the light and turn. It likely seemed to the elderly driver, if he had any thoughts at all, that he was doing something harmless.The other day near home, in the car, I came up suddenly behind a grade-schooler on a skateboard, in the middle of the single lane. They like to fly down the hill - they don't have to push for a quarter of a mile. He turned around and calmly held up one imperious finger to say "Wait a second, lady."I wasn't the least bit upset. On the contrary, I thought, "Little urchin, you are awesome. I salute you."No, he wore no helmet. Yes, I realize he could have been killed, helmet or no. Yes, if I had been the one to hurt him, I would be devastated, probably permanently unhinged.I don't seem to be able to regard things in such stringent, consistent terms as the people on my favorite thread on my favorite obscure internet forum.The cyclists have legs like pistons (it's not terrible, living on the bike route) so I don't think they're girlie men.To come to a full stop on a bicycle would in nine out of ten situations be stupid, though consistent with statute; for drivers, it should be habitual, but I've noticed guys find it unnatural. You all must be model citizens.I don't believe the tree of liberty is really nourished by the occasional mild insubordination of safely and deliberately violating some minor traffic law, but it's preferable to that blood of tyrants business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I can't explain that one....I don't speed down Heights b/c its a nice street - but I do speed on the freeway....though not by some Houston standards...I try to stay around 70 most of the time....Im not sure why not stopping irritates me more than anything else (except not slowing in school zone) its illogical but speeding to me seems like less of an issue than ignoring stop lights & stop signs...perhaps because speeding is far more common?Possibly because I view people who ignore stop signs/stop lights as arrogant...but speeding is just something people do. Ive always been annoyed at people who pretend that traffic signals don't apply to them - as if they were special or something....its like the guy who runs the shoulder in a merge to get further ahead....him thinking he is special just causes more traffic for everyone else.It may be irrational, but it still annoys me.I propose that the reason you do it is that: You don't see it as dangerous when done within reason and the chance of getting cited for it is small.It's the same thing for cyclists and stop signs. Rolling it when nobody is coming is about as dangerous as going 2 MPH over the speed limit, and the chance of being cited is almost nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Recently, nearby, a cyclist was killed by someone doing something similar, getting to the right onto the shoulder and passing everyone to get to the light and turn. This is actually following the law. Cyclists are required by Texas state law to ride as near to the right as practicable, on road or shoulder. Practicable can be somewhat subjective, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luciaphile Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 kylejack, I certainly did not mean to imply that the cyclist was at fault! The driver had appropriated the shoulder! And it is a well-known avenue for cyclists, he should have expected there to be one. Very sad. Another white bicycle with flowers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Oh, I see what you mean. Yeah, that's lousy. Yeah, too many ghost bikes out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I can't explain that one....I don't speed down Heights b/c its a nice street - but I do speed on the freeway....though not by some Houston standards...I try to stay around 70 most of the time.... Im not sure why not stopping irritates me more than anything else (except not slowing in school zone) its illogical but speeding to me seems like less of an issue than ignoring stop lights & stop signs...perhaps because speeding is far more common? Possibly because I view people who ignore stop signs/stop lights as arrogant...but speeding is just something people do. Ive always been annoyed at people who pretend that traffic signals don't apply to them - as if they were special or something....its like the guy who runs the shoulder in a merge to get further ahead....him thinking he is special just causes more traffic for everyone else. It may be irrational, but it still annoys me. I'm glad you're being honest about it The guy who drives in the breakdown lane to bypass traffic annoys the hell out of me. The guy who doesn't make room for people coming up an onramp, or speed up intentionally to make sure they're in front annoy me. The guy who does the speeding up to stay in front of merging traffic REALLY annoys me when there's a lane next to him that's empty that he could easily change lanes into and everyone would be happy. (I always make it a point to let them get in front of me, then I pass them in the next lane, honk and wave). The guy who cuts across double white lines instead of waiting for the appropriate time to move into the next lane annoys me. The most annoying though is tailgaters. If I were the kind of person to get all road ragey, I'd probably flick boogers on their car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I could go on for days about bad driving habits of people in cars - there are literally millions - but this one is about bikes. They still need to stop at the stop sign/stop light....I dont care if a bike speeds, I dont care if a bike rider does not wear a helmet, I dont care if he does not signal a turn (unless he cuts you off) but by golly he needs to stop at the traffic signals if he wants to use the road with all the same rights as a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I didn't stop at the lights. Sue me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleak Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Nah - just fill up your lane with trash cans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Nah - just fill up your lane with trash cans.I would just use them as an obstacle course. You know, lemons, lemonade.It is rather interesting to hear supposed urban pioneers complain about having to ride their bikes around a trash can. I would expect this from suburbanites who demand their landscape to be perfect and master planned, but to hear it from people who likely brag about their mountain biking prowess when they hang out at bars is downright strange.FWIW, as I was coming home I approached a stop sign at Columbia and 8th. Coming down 8th was a full sized Suburban. Needless to say, I slowed to let him pass. Imagine my surprise as he stopped and waved me through the stop sign, then turned onto Columbia behind me. For all of the wailing and gnashing of teeth, this is the 3rd time this week that motorists...two in large SUVs...have literally stopped in the road to give me the right of way. Sure, there are bad drivers and cyclists, but y'all are blowing this way out of proportion. Quit playing victim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleak Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 But some of the most vocal urban um, promoters also have problems with all the other wonderful parts of living in urban bliss. Homeless, parking, neighbors, etc. I think they gripe about Cinco Ranch et al so much because they secretly desire to to turn their present Heights/Montrose/Mid-town/fill-in-blank location into their own private version of it but are afraid to ackowledge that fact.I think you must just give off a terrifying vibe when you ride your bike. You cowed into submission 2 SUV's. Truly must be a site to behold upon two wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Yes, I must be quite the beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 But some of the most vocal urban um, promoters also have problems with all the other wonderful parts of living in urban bliss. Homeless, parking, neighbors, etc. I think they gripe about Cinco Ranch et al so much because they secretly desire to to turn their present Heights/Montrose/Mid-town/fill-in-blank location into their own private version of it but are afraid to ackowledge that fact.Are you suggesting that they come out of the suburban closet...so to speak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Meanwhile in Vichy Heights... Historic area terrorized by outlaw bikers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleak Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Are you suggesting that they come out of the suburban closet...so to speak?I think we have some members that are strongly fighting the urge. Denial ain't just a river in Eqypt.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleak Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Meanwhile in Vichy Heights... Historic area terrorized by outlaw bikers At least they are close to period correct. Might be a bit early per Red - but hey - better TOO historic than too modern - that is unforgivable. Even for viscious Vichy outlaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Meanwhile in Vichy Heights... Historic area terrorized by outlaw bikers This seems like a movie that would have best been made in the 70s, or early 80s starring Chuck Norris.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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