Who Are the Annoying People Who Ride Their Bikes on River Road During Morning Rush Hour???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can tell some of these people are lawyers lol It's like arguing with a hall monitor

Look yes you have a right to drive on Wis avenue in rush hour

Should you no, should steps be taken to make it easier to do it no, should steps be taken instead to make it more hospitable to drivers who are the vast vast majority of users of this route yes

Most of the people in the travel lanes on Wisconsin Avenue are drivers because the travel lanes on Wisconsin Avenue are inhospitable to people who aren't in cars. That's not an argument for staying off Wisconsin Avenue unless you're in a car; it's an argument for making Wisconsin Avenue more hospitable to everybody, whether they're in cars or not. Why DC would want to prioritize the desires of car commuters from the suburbs over the desires of its own residents, I can't understand.

Because DC has an interest in making rush hours as short as possible? And because the vast majority of knowledge workers are from the suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:by all means keep going. Just lemme get the popcorn first.

Here ya go. Biking is fun. Its economical. Its good for your health. It reduces congestion in this region. It reduces emissions, including green house gases. DC, MoCo, Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax support it. The number of bike commuters is steadily increasing DESPITE historically low gasoline prices. The politics is driven most by the fact that more and more people are riding, and more and more people have close relatives who ride, who explain to them the truth about riding.

Don't eat too much popcorn, carbs plus your sedentary lifestyle are not a great combo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the comments by cyclists in this thread makes me hate cyclists more than I ever thought possible. The entitled smugness is just boundless. I used to be sort of indifferent to them, but now that I think about all the times I've seen them blow through redlights or stop signs, then post here how it's no big thing and deflect the issue saying drivers run redlights too.... you know what? I've never seen a car drive along the shoulder past other traffic waiting for a light, and then drive through the light forcing other cars to avoid them. But I see cyclists do it all the time. Then I read some of them on this thread, it infuriates me. I hate them. HATE them!

I am confused - is your problem behavior at stop signs, or is it filtering to the right?

Filtering to the right is legal and in many places makes traffic work better. In particular I can use it to get to a bike lane, or a right turn, and get out of the way of motor vehicles. I don't filter in places where I am going to have to stay in the general lanes, and will only need to be passed again.

Treating stop signs as yield signs is not legal in the US outside Idaho and Colorado - but it is much like cars going a couple of MPH over the limit - its not really a big deal. Thats not smugness, its reality. The fact is that all types of transportation system users - drivers, cyclists, and walkers, violate the law. In ways that are specific to their mode. Maybe we should discourage that, but its not a reason to hate them as a class.

I also note again, one difference is that most cyclists have driven cars (or even do so regularly) and all walk. While most drivers and pedestrians have never ridden in traffic, and don't actually understand what we do.

Are you on the spectrum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How about this: no one person is more important than everyone else on the road. When one commuter slows down the other hundred, that one's an asshole, whether it's a biker, jogger or pogo stick rider.

Again, you are prioritizing car trips. Bicycle commuters and pedestrian commuters do not prevent car commuters from using the road, but car commuters do prevent bicycle and pedestrian commuters from using the road.

Meanwhile, when I'm driving, who's slowing me down is: other drivers. Please keep your car off the road when I'm driving on it.

Pedestrian commuters were never meant to use the roads, what's with the stupid argument? They have sidewalks and crossroads. Pedestrians aren't jogging in the middle of traffic demanding to have a whole lane to themselves. You're making a stupid argument that roads aren't designed for cars when it is patently obvious that they are.

You must be new. All they have is stupid arguments, which is why everyone leaves this thread utterly disgusted with the cyclists. It's really kind of fascinating to watch them alienate each and every new person, one by one. They've made it into an art.

Road are designed by engineers in the fashion that politicians have directed them to and they can be designed in any number of ways.

It so happens that DC decided several years ago to try to safely accommodate users besides drivers on its roads - that means pedestrians, cyclists and transit users (buses and most recently the streetcar) and in the future it could mean carpool lanes too.

Similarly in MD & VA political decisions have been made about that - HOV lanes, soon lanes for transit and more and more bike lanes and many efforts to make roads safe for pedestrians too.

And the laws in all 3 jurisdictions to different extents protect the rights of pedestrians and bikers on roads.

So the enraged drivers on here who don't understand what is happening politically or what the laws are can bitch and complain all you want and unfortunately with the lax law enforcement in this area you also have a lot of leeway to be dangerous self entitled assholes behind the wheel but you are very much wrong about what is going on.

All of which has zero to do with the actual issue, which is biking down a major artery that has not been signed to safely accommodate bikes at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:by all means keep going. Just lemme get the popcorn first.

Here ya go. Biking is fun. Its economical. Its good for your health. It reduces congestion in this region. It reduces emissions, including green house gases. DC, MoCo, Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax support it. The number of bike commuters is steadily increasing DESPITE historically low gasoline prices. The politics is driven most by the fact that more and more people are riding, and more and more people have close relatives who ride, who explain to them the truth about riding.

Don't eat too much popcorn, carbs plus your sedentary lifestyle are not a great combo.

Thank you. Entertainment at its finest. Please continue with your buffoonery. I can only imagine it will charm as many people as it already has

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the comments by cyclists in this thread makes me hate cyclists more than I ever thought possible. The entitled smugness is just boundless. I used to be sort of indifferent to them, but now that I think about all the times I've seen them blow through redlights or stop signs, then post here how it's no big thing and deflect the issue saying drivers run redlights too.... you know what? I've never seen a car drive along the shoulder past other traffic waiting for a light, and then drive through the light forcing other cars to avoid them. But I see cyclists do it all the time. Then I read some of them on this thread, it infuriates me. I hate them. HATE them!

I am confused - is your problem behavior at stop signs, or is it filtering to the right?

Filtering to the right is legal and in many places makes traffic work better. In particular I can use it to get to a bike lane, or a right turn, and get out of the way of motor vehicles. I don't filter in places where I am going to have to stay in the general lanes, and will only need to be passed again.

Treating stop signs as yield signs is not legal in the US outside Idaho and Colorado - but it is much like cars going a couple of MPH over the limit - its not really a big deal. Thats not smugness, its reality. The fact is that all types of transportation system users - drivers, cyclists, and walkers, violate the law. In ways that are specific to their mode. Maybe we should discourage that, but its not a reason to hate them as a class.

I also note again, one difference is that most cyclists have driven cars (or even do so regularly) and all walk. While most drivers and pedestrians have never ridden in traffic, and don't actually understand what we do.

Are you on the spectrum?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can tell some of these people are lawyers lol It's like arguing with a hall monitor

Look yes you have a right to drive on Wis avenue in rush hour

Should you no, should steps be taken to make it easier to do it no, should steps be taken instead to make it more hospitable to drivers who are the vast vast majority of users of this route yes

Most of the people in the travel lanes on Wisconsin Avenue are drivers because the travel lanes on Wisconsin Avenue are inhospitable to people who aren't in cars. That's not an argument for staying off Wisconsin Avenue unless you're in a car; it's an argument for making Wisconsin Avenue more hospitable to everybody, whether they're in cars or not. Why DC would want to prioritize the desires of car commuters from the suburbs over the desires of its own residents, I can't understand.

DC's interest is in making transportation efficient and safe for all DC residents, not in the actual length of rush hour.

And most of the knowledge jobs in DC are not going to leave because it takes a bit longer to drive on Wisconsin (or similar arterials) Aside from the many knowledge workers who live in DC, there are plenty who commute from Virginia, who go more less directly from I395 or other bridges to downtown without using the arterials, and there are plenty of suburban commuters from both Md and Va who use metrorail, MARC, VRE, commuter buses, or even - gasp - bike.

Because DC has an interest in making rush hours as short as possible? And because the vast majority of knowledge workers are from the suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
All of which has zero to do with the actual issue, which is biking down a major artery that has not been signed to safely accommodate bikes at all.

It is abundantly clear from this thread that people who resent cyclists on the state avenues of upper NW (and on River Road) are not concerned about cyclist safety (which cyclists surely know about better than they do) but about cyclists "getting in their way"

[Anonymous]

Last time I checked, River Road had partial bike shadows in the curb lane. So the only really complain here is for the stretches of the road where the shadows disappear.

The solution is to get Maryland Highway to add more shadows down to Western Ave.

Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the comments by cyclists in this thread makes me hate cyclists more than I ever thought possible. The entitled smugness is just boundless. I used to be sort of indifferent to them, but now that I think about all the times I've seen them blow through redlights or stop signs, then post here how it's no big thing and deflect the issue saying drivers run redlights too.... you know what? I've never seen a car drive along the shoulder past other traffic waiting for a light, and then drive through the light forcing other cars to avoid them. But I see cyclists do it all the time. Then I read some of them on this thread, it infuriates me. I hate them. HATE them!

I am confused - is your problem behavior at stop signs, or is it filtering to the right?

Filtering to the right is legal and in many places makes traffic work better. In particular I can use it to get to a bike lane, or a right turn, and get out of the way of motor vehicles. I don't filter in places where I am going to have to stay in the general lanes, and will only need to be passed again.

Treating stop signs as yield signs is not legal in the US outside Idaho and Colorado - but it is much like cars going a couple of MPH over the limit - its not really a big deal. Thats not smugness, its reality. The fact is that all types of transportation system users - drivers, cyclists, and walkers, violate the law. In ways that are specific to their mode. Maybe we should discourage that, but its not a reason to hate them as a class.

I also note again, one difference is that most cyclists have driven cars (or even do so regularly) and all walk. While most drivers and pedestrians have never ridden in traffic, and don't actually understand what we do.

Are you on the spectrum?

Because you think anyone neurotypical would have given in to your bullying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the comments by cyclists in this thread makes me hate cyclists more than I ever thought possible. The entitled smugness is just boundless. I used to be sort of indifferent to them, but now that I think about all the times I've seen them blow through redlights or stop signs, then post here how it's no big thing and deflect the issue saying drivers run redlights too.... you know what? I've never seen a car drive along the shoulder past other traffic waiting for a light, and then drive through the light forcing other cars to avoid them. But I see cyclists do it all the time. Then I read some of them on this thread, it infuriates me. I hate them. HATE them!

I am confused - is your problem behavior at stop signs, or is it filtering to the right?

Filtering to the right is legal and in many places makes traffic work better. In particular I can use it to get to a bike lane, or a right turn, and get out of the way of motor vehicles. I don't filter in places where I am going to have to stay in the general lanes, and will only need to be passed again.

Treating stop signs as yield signs is not legal in the US outside Idaho and Colorado - but it is much like cars going a couple of MPH over the limit - its not really a big deal. Thats not smugness, its reality. The fact is that all types of transportation system users - drivers, cyclists, and walkers, violate the law. In ways that are specific to their mode. Maybe we should discourage that, but its not a reason to hate them as a class.

I also note again, one difference is that most cyclists have driven cars (or even do so regularly) and all walk. While most drivers and pedestrians have never ridden in traffic, and don't actually understand what we do.

Are you on the spectrum?

Because you think anyone neurotypical would have given in to your bullying?

NP. Nope, don't think that's the reason....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How about this: no one person is more important than everyone else on the road. When one commuter slows down the other hundred, that one's an asshole, whether it's a biker, jogger or pogo stick rider.

Again, you are prioritizing car trips. Bicycle commuters and pedestrian commuters do not prevent car commuters from using the road, but car commuters do prevent bicycle and pedestrian commuters from using the road.

Meanwhile, when I'm driving, who's slowing me down is: other drivers. Please keep your car off the road when I'm driving on it.

Pedestrian commuters were never meant to use the roads, what's with the stupid argument? They have sidewalks and crossroads. Pedestrians aren't jogging in the middle of traffic demanding to have a whole lane to themselves. You're making a stupid argument that roads aren't designed for cars when it is patently obvious that they are.

You must be new. All they have is stupid arguments, which is why everyone leaves this thread utterly disgusted with the cyclists. It's really kind of fascinating to watch them alienate each and every new person, one by one. They've made it into an art.

Road are designed by engineers in the fashion that politicians have directed them to and they can be designed in any number of ways.

It so happens that DC decided several years ago to try to safely accommodate users besides drivers on its roads - that means pedestrians, cyclists and transit users (buses and most recently the streetcar) and in the future it could mean carpool lanes too.

Similarly in MD & VA political decisions have been made about that - HOV lanes, soon lanes for transit and more and more bike lanes and many efforts to make roads safe for pedestrians too.

And the laws in all 3 jurisdictions to different extents protect the rights of pedestrians and bikers on roads.

So the enraged drivers on here who don't understand what is happening politically or what the laws are can bitch and complain all you want and unfortunately with the lax law enforcement in this area you also have a lot of leeway to be dangerous self entitled assholes behind the wheel but you are very much wrong about what is going on.

All of which has zero to do with the actual issue, which is biking down a major artery that has not been signed to safely accommodate bikes at all.

Is that actually true? The enraged MD Driver who started this thread didn't actually say that - I don't know because I rarely drive on River but both CT and WI across the line from DC in MOCO have signs that bikers can take the full lane which to me means it is properly signed.

I doubt the OP cares because he and his defenders are mostly enraged about the law and don't want to follow it but being mad doesn't make you right.

[Anonymous]

Are we watching someone have a mental break in this thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the comments by cyclists in this thread makes me hate cyclists more than I ever thought possible. The entitled smugness is just boundless. I used to be sort of indifferent to them, but now that I think about all the times I've seen them blow through redlights or stop signs, then post here how it's no big thing and deflect the issue saying drivers run redlights too.... you know what? I've never seen a car drive along the shoulder past other traffic waiting for a light, and then drive through the light forcing other cars to avoid them. But I see cyclists do it all the time. Then I read some of them on this thread, it infuriates me. I hate them. HATE them!

I am confused - is your problem behavior at stop signs, or is it filtering to the right?

Filtering to the right is legal and in many places makes traffic work better. In particular I can use it to get to a bike lane, or a right turn, and get out of the way of motor vehicles. I don't filter in places where I am going to have to stay in the general lanes, and will only need to be passed again.

Treating stop signs as yield signs is not legal in the US outside Idaho and Colorado - but it is much like cars going a couple of MPH over the limit - its not really a big deal. Thats not smugness, its reality. The fact is that all types of transportation system users - drivers, cyclists, and walkers, violate the law. In ways that are specific to their mode. Maybe we should discourage that, but its not a reason to hate them as a class.

I also note again, one difference is that most cyclists have driven cars (or even do so regularly) and all walk. While most drivers and pedestrians have never ridden in traffic, and don't actually understand what we do.

Are you on the spectrum?

Because you think anyone neurotypical would have given in to your bullying?

NP. Nope, don't think that's the reason....

So you think there are at least some neurotypical people who would resist your bullying?

[Anonymous]

So the anti-biking posters on this thread have so far engaged in juvenile and lame insults directed at cyclists - i.e. calling them "Nerds", "tricyclists", "pasty white guys who got beat up all the time in locker rooms", etc. They've also repeatedly talked about how they love to honk at cyclists, pass them with 3 inches to spare and otherwise try to scare them with the threat of vehicular assault/murder (lolz I guess?). And the cyclists on this thread are the ones who are acting antisocial? By asserting the fact that they legally have a right to ride on the roads? Yeah ok. If you can't win the argument, just keep lying and insulting the other side. We've all seen plenty of this type.