@ascentale A8. I haven’t read through all the great #BikeNite answers, but to answer the second part: no! The most common grumps I hear are downright ludicrous. Time to bust out the excellent https://CyclingFallacies.com/
#BikeNite A8. As someone who has just gotten back to cycling, the complaints I have heard (from driver of vehicle I am in)
"Why are they in the road? They're in the way! Roads are for cars!" (usually, this is 2 or more folks, typically on Saturday morning, sometimes a peloton - in California, cars are supposed to give way anyway.)
"Why don't cyclists follow traffic rules?!" (Usually when someone just ran a stop sign -- sometimes valid, sometimes not).
"Those cyclists think they're in such great shape, cycling in their spandex, hmmmph" (Interpretation: I'm SO out of shape from driving my car everywhere, I am very jealous of cyclists, I am angry now)
@ascentale@nsousanis A8. Based on the things that get yelled my way, probably mostly that it's "slowing them down" or "taking room away from cars". Can't really say it's valid, though, since there's a very narrow range of busy where it's too busy for someone in a car to pass me, but not so busy that I'm being slowed down by all the cars clogging the streets.
I hear a lot about business complaining that their customers all drive, but study after study shows bikers spend more money.
@ascentale@nsousanis A8: Honestly it's that we exist at all and "take space away from" "real" road users, who are of course drivers who drive cars.
As the guy in the pickup who very, very intentionally tried to force me into cross-traffic at an intersection with his truck in order to get me badly hurt or killed screamed at me as he roared by, "GET THAT PIECE OF SHIT OFF THE ROAD!"
(This was when I was in grad school at the University of Kentucky. Why there? That is... a long and stupid story.)
Add comment