That also ride bikes.
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Why the hate for Cyclists?
- Thread starter AndreusMaximus
- Start date
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Most of the very cyclists that are being described here are likely higher income thus paying more taxes…
LeftyGunner
Sharpshooter
I don’t hate cyclists, but I think sharing the road is a terrible idea…IMHO bicycles and cars do not belong on the same road at the same time.
There is a reason modern cars have crumple zones, seatbelts, airbags, safety glass, automatic lane departure assist, automatic braking, blind spot awareness, and everyone driving them is required to carry liability insurance…
…human beings are terrible drivers. We hit stuff with our cars all the time, and I think it is only getting worse out there with the rise of smartphones.
I stopped riding a motorcycle a few years back because of all the distracted drivers. It felt like I had a near miss every time I rode…it wasn’t fun anymore.
I don’t wish injury or any other type of malice against cyclists…even the “bad”ones…but I can only muster so much sympathy for the bad experiences adults have while playing in traffic.
There is a reason modern cars have crumple zones, seatbelts, airbags, safety glass, automatic lane departure assist, automatic braking, blind spot awareness, and everyone driving them is required to carry liability insurance…
…human beings are terrible drivers. We hit stuff with our cars all the time, and I think it is only getting worse out there with the rise of smartphones.
I stopped riding a motorcycle a few years back because of all the distracted drivers. It felt like I had a near miss every time I rode…it wasn’t fun anymore.
I don’t wish injury or any other type of malice against cyclists…even the “bad”ones…but I can only muster so much sympathy for the bad experiences adults have while playing in traffic.
It appears I was off by about a decade. The first brick-paved road in the US was laid in 1873. The first concrete-paved road was laid in 1891. The latter was paved not for bicycles, but for horses.
All the information I can find points to roads being paved for pedestrians, horses, and motor vehicles - not specifically for bicycles.
Bicycles only pay road taxes if they also... drive motor vehicles.
What is this sorcery you speak of?
Should they also not allow farm equipment, horses and buggies, livestock, and other permissible uses of roads?
Lets not forget the Old Cobblestones. A few east coast towns still have a few streets built with cobblestones that were built in the 1700's.
Most streets with cobblestones were ripped out with being to rough for wheels of any kind, they were built for foot traffic.
The league of American wheelman were a big part of the creation of paved roads.
How Gilded Age Bicyclists Paved the Way for the Modern Highway System
The Good Roads Movement of the late 19th century began as a grass-roots crusade to improve roads for bicyclists. By the 20th century, it had turned into a national effort embraced by the automobile industry, railroad tycoons and presidents.
www.governing.com
How Bikes Helped Invent American Highways | What It Means to Be American
Before there were cars, America’s country roads were unpaved, and they were abysmal. Back then, roads were so unreliable for travelers that most state
www.whatitmeanstobeamerican.org
That's great propaganda for the Tesla-driving elites of the 1800s. They made a lobbying organization - but nothing changed substantially until horse-drawn carriage drivers (such as farmers) and, more importantly, automobile drivers, got on board.The league of American wheelman were a big part of the creation of paved roads.
How Gilded Age Bicyclists Paved the Way for the Modern Highway System
The Good Roads Movement of the late 19th century began as a grass-roots crusade to improve roads for bicyclists. By the 20th century, it had turned into a national effort embraced by the automobile industry, railroad tycoons and presidents.
How Bikes Helped Invent American Highways | What It Means to Be American
Before there were cars, America’s country roads were unpaved, and they were abysmal. Back then, roads were so unreliable for travelers that most statewww.whatitmeanstobeamerican.org
Quit moving the Goalposts. This started with "paved" paved started in America a few hundred years before the 19th century.The league of American wheelman were a big part of the creation of paved roads.
How Gilded Age Bicyclists Paved the Way for the Modern Highway System
The Good Roads Movement of the late 19th century began as a grass-roots crusade to improve roads for bicyclists. By the 20th century, it had turned into a national effort embraced by the automobile industry, railroad tycoons and presidents.
How Bikes Helped Invent American Highways | What It Means to Be American
Before there were cars, America’s country roads were unpaved, and they were abysmal. Back then, roads were so unreliable for travelers that most statewww.whatitmeanstobeamerican.org
People didn't want to walk in mud.
LeftyGunner
Sharpshooter
That’s a valid question Mike, I’ll do my best to give you a strait answer.
The roads belong to everyone, and we have to find a solution that allows for all appropriate uses. Restricting bicycles from using public roads in all circumstances is, in my opinion, counterproductive and short-sighted, but keeping cars and bicycles apart is absolutely the best way to keep both cyclists and our badly-distracted motorists safe.
I think the answer starts with better commuter infrastructure, including commuter trains and dedicated commuter bike routes.
Without taking a different approach to infrastructure inviting people to share the road is an invitation to tragedy.
What is clear is INGO has just as many entitled whiners as the rest of the population. “Stay out of my way.” The INGO motto…
Timjoebillybob
Grandmaster
- Feb 27, 2009
- 9,419
- 149
SMV code also applies to bicycle at least for most riders. Tour de France competitors maybe not. SMV definition includes human powered vehicles, and I'm guessing that most bicycles aren't operated at speeds over 25 mph.
You've stated that before. What the first paved roads were for has nothing to do with what they were made for now. If you want to go with that, the first roads were for foot and animal traffic.
First asphalt road I can find was 1870 in front of City Hall in Newark NJ And since per IM's link bicycles weren't patented until 1866 I kinda doubt they were the reason for it.
Asphalt Paving Throughout History | Asphalt History | UNIQUE Paving Materials
UNIQUE Paving Materials highlights the history of asphalt pavement and repair. To learn more about asphalt history, as well as the extent of our product line, please contact our team today.
www.uniquepavingmaterials.com
Neither of those two say that the first paved road was for bicycles. See above.The league of American wheelman were a big part of the creation of paved roads.
How Gilded Age Bicyclists Paved the Way for the Modern Highway System
The Good Roads Movement of the late 19th century began as a grass-roots crusade to improve roads for bicyclists. By the 20th century, it had turned into a national effort embraced by the automobile industry, railroad tycoons and presidents.
How Bikes Helped Invent American Highways | What It Means to Be American
Before there were cars, America’s country roads were unpaved, and they were abysmal. Back then, roads were so unreliable for travelers that most statewww.whatitmeanstobeamerican.org
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If then they all follow the rules.. too many times I have experienced the school of tropical fish riding across the road and then an almost altercation occurs because you want to pass them. I understand to a point because I have ridden on the road but stay to the right and go single file because the alternative is to be a hood ornament..
Timjoebillybob
Grandmaster
- Feb 27, 2009
- 9,419
- 149
Full disclosure. Don't currently ride a bike, but used to ride one a good bit. I didn't always stop for stop signs, but I did if others had the right of way. I did slow down and make sure it was clear though. And did my best to not impede faster traffic. I don't mind bikes, but do mind some riders.
AndreusMaximus
Master
Exactly.
And this is a big part of why I tend to sympathize more with the "get over" attitude than with the "I have just as much right to be on the road as you" attitude.
The notion of your average cyclist as a poor, hard-working guy just trying to save money on his commute to work may sound nice, but in reality is a minuscule percentage of cyclists on the road. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with those folks, or any other courteous, traffic-law-abiding cyclist, and I don't wish bodily harm on any of them, nor wish their rights to be restricted due to the actions of a few ne'er-do-wells.
What I do see as a legitimate complaint, though, is exactly the scenario that @BehindBlueI's described: Cyclists using 55-mph winding, hilly highways as their exercise course. When Billy Joe, driving his beat-up $1500 car on his Friday morning commute to work gets stuck behind Richard Highman on his $3,000 bicycle riding square in the middle of a two-lane no-shoulder highway barely doing 5mph up a steep incline with no safe way to pass, and Richard is like "Move over? Why, you entitled prick, don't you know I have every bit as much right to use the road as you?" yeah, I'm not gonna call Billy an "entitled whiner" if he gets a little ticked off.
No, I don't think more government is the solution. I don't advocate for laws against bikes on the road, or requiring registration, or anything else. I just say, if you're one of the 90+% of cyclists who are out their riding for exercise/recreation, I just think the polite thing to do is to give deference to motor vehicles in most circumstances, purely as a matter of courtesy. And from my experience, most cyclists I've encountered seem to do just that, and overall I'd say I have a pretty positive view of cyclists.
I just don't "get" this minority of cyclists who seem to think they have to plant themselves square in the middle of the road every time in order to prove that they have "just as much right to the road" or something.
I have to agree, it's never some bricklayer on a Schwinn headed to the job site. Always some guy on a $3k carbon framed crotch rocket.
That said, I still respect their right to ride on a road, just want the small minority of gram-shaving zealots to grok the context of bicycle vs Ford F250.
Given the right topic, we are all whiners.
When I was a kid in WV I had a 7 mile loop I rode along.
I just want commonsense bike laws.
Like use the bike path if it's there.
Stay off this road from 6 - 9 am and 4 - 7 pm. Just like I can't park in certain places during certain hours.
Move to single file when holding up traffic. Unless guarding a minor.
Bike must have a motor capable of 100 mph and producing at least 64 ft lb of torque.
Stuff like that.
BehindBlueI's
Grandmaster
- Oct 3, 2012
- 25,962
- 113
Let's remember the thread title. Why the hate? Road cyclists recreationally block traffic. That's why people hate you. Simple enough.
The "but it's leEEeeegal... <.< whine has no affect on why people hate you. Go fart in a crowded elevator, look around and say "but it's lEEeeegal!" and see if that changes anyone's reaction. Lots of legal actions are inconsiderate dick moves. People may have to tolerate it, but they can still hate it, and you. And they do.
As far as farm equipment, etc. Of course farm equipment can use the roads. It's a legitimate necessity for them to do so, just like road work may slow traffic. You don't *have* to inconvenience everyone else with your pedal toy, you choose to.
Again: Road cyclists recreationally block traffic. That's why people hate you. Simple enough.
The "but it's leEEeeegal... <.< whine has no affect on why people hate you. Go fart in a crowded elevator, look around and say "but it's lEEeeegal!" and see if that changes anyone's reaction. Lots of legal actions are inconsiderate dick moves. People may have to tolerate it, but they can still hate it, and you. And they do.
As far as farm equipment, etc. Of course farm equipment can use the roads. It's a legitimate necessity for them to do so, just like road work may slow traffic. You don't *have* to inconvenience everyone else with your pedal toy, you choose to.
Again: Road cyclists recreationally block traffic. That's why people hate you. Simple enough.
