Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › RANT – Bicyclists on Alki
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August 9, 2008 at 1:15 am #633380
glocsonMemberI’m up for a Alki Critical Mass! That would be great. But we would probably make the wanna-be “green” people mad, who are driving their CARS. You recycle, and drink organically raised no fertilizer added, non-lethally pressed beet milk but you complain about cyclists????
August 9, 2008 at 2:21 pm #633381
MagpieParticipantWow, I just got a vision of hippies in spandex that scared me..I don’t think it’s the hippies that you have to worry about here, it’s more like the type A guys that are serious bikers that have the attitude. Flower power and make love not war doesn’t usually = rage in my book.
August 9, 2008 at 3:45 pm #633382
bcollinsMemberAlki critical mass? Or target practice? That will be the choice if bad behavior continues.
August 9, 2008 at 3:58 pm #633383
bcollinsMemberOne more thing…I think many of the posts in this thread are far worse than the behavior we’ve all suffered from (be it while in a car or on a bike). Absurd! Vincent and tsunaminw…step back, take a nap, re-read your messages and go get some help for your anger issues.
August 9, 2008 at 5:06 pm #633384
tsunaminwMemberI think you have a pickle in your butt tardboy.
August 9, 2008 at 5:09 pm #633385
austinMemberNo kidding bcollins.. Pretty sad when people’s anger causes them to make anonymous threats via the internet. Drink some tea or hire a shrink.
August 9, 2008 at 5:51 pm #633386
bcollinsMember(virtual hug for tsunaminw)…come on everyone, let’s cuddle. ;)
August 9, 2008 at 8:47 pm #633387
acemotelParticipantthis thread is beyond ridiculous.
August 9, 2008 at 8:50 pm #633388
glocsonMemberTrue acemotel, very true.
August 9, 2008 at 9:06 pm #633389
JenVMemberthreats and personal insults. nice way to align people to your cause, bikers. you’re nothing but a bunch of thugs. “ooh, I’m a boxer, I’ll knock your teeth out” internet tough guys crack me up.
August 9, 2008 at 9:11 pm #633390
bcollinsMemberThat’s it! You all go to bed without dinner! (a hint that you may be acting like children).
August 9, 2008 at 9:33 pm #633391
JenVMemberdog food toting thug… ;)
August 9, 2008 at 11:46 pm #633392
angelescrestParticipantYou mean dorky mom trying to be cool. :0
August 10, 2008 at 3:24 am #633393
JoBParticipantIf you don’t stop this.. this old hippy is going to don spandex and make you watch the ensuing spectacle as i attempt to waddle my body down the street.
this is not pretty.. i warn you!
I wish those of you who call people tree huggers and hippies had a clue what you were talking about.
FYI..
we hippies were the folks in the late sixties who drove the super hi mileage cars before the gas hike and who have always paid as much attention to mileage in a car as to style. I feel bad driving a car that gets 25MPG.
We recycled when it was really difficult finding someplace to take our recycling …
We recycled objects and clothes too.. but we called it hand-me-downs or passing something along.
We rode bikes… 10 speeds was a big deal then and we didn’t wear gear. And yes, we did laundry and grocery shopping by bike.
And we used the public transportation system almost exclusively.
We turned to florescent before it was cool, turned lights off when we weren’t in a room, wore sweaters and kept the thermostat down, didn’t use air conditioning, conserved water and generally tried to use as little energy of any kind as we could.
We grew our own food when possible, both bought our food and volunteered at the local coop..
and experimented with communal resources and living.
That was what we called a hippy.. until drugs and rock and roll co-opted the term.
And you didn’t have to be a deadhead to stay one…
I look like a nice middle aged lady.. and i am still a hippy. i still do my best to live responsibly, to care about the other human beings who share the planet with me and to tread carefully on my planet.
Unfortunately, our bodies aged.. and illness took it’s toll. Many of us can’t bicycle any more even for pleasure…
but i can guarantee you that if we did.. we would obey the rules of the road, ride courteously and stop for stop signs.
We have been responsible citizens since we were all sweet young things… and riding responsibly is just another form being responsible takes.
tree huggers is the name we gave people who chose to go into old growth forests and hug trees.. either on the ground or near treetop.. to stop irresponsible loggers from clear cutting them.
This was dangerous work. Friends of mine have been lamed for life tree hugging.. and some have died.
I have lived the terms hippy and tree hugger and find too much value in them to let you turn them into part of an immature rant.
But that aside.. let’s talk responsibility here.. since you seem to think that drivers should be more responsible.
you seem to think that the driver of a car should slam on their brakes, risking being rear-ended because a bicyclist darts out from between cars into the road…
Ok.. what if that 70+ yr old man hadn’t had the reflexes to stop from hitting a bicyclist who clearly wasn’t watching out for cars when he/she entered the roadway.
who would have been responsible then?
I don’t see anywhere in the law that says that a driver of any vehicle should listen for oncoming cars.. i believe the terminology they always use is that they should look for cars…
Had they looked, even a prius is visible.
And what should that driver have done to alert the biker that he almost ended up roadkill? Nothing?
And how is it that the biker escapes the responsibility to acknowledge that the car stopped to avoid hitting them when they rode irresponsibly..
Do you think the one finger salute is a way of saying thanks for not killing me?
Instead of being grateful for not being roadkill… the biker chose to “salute” the driver more than once.. and then ran a stop sign.
Is that the way a responsible biker behaves?
Sorry.. in this case.. my hat is off to the gentleman who in spite of his age ;> managed to stop and avoid hitting the bicyclist and who tooted his horn to let them know… so they could be more aware next time.
My hat is also off to JenV… When anyone approaches your car and spits and pounds on the car. .that is unacceptable aggression.. whether they are on foot, on a bike or in another car. Aggression is aggression.
spitting and banging on someone’s car is not acceptable behavior.. even if you ride a bike.
The reason that irresponsible and/or aggressive people get away with their behavior without being harmed is that other people are too responsible to respond to them in kind.
Public aggression has gotten out of control and you no longer know who will do you harm… that kind of behavior is as likely to provoke harmful defensive behavior from even responsible people these days…
that biker is lucky she didn’t drive forward over his bike to get away from him… that would have been justifiable behavior under the circumstances.
And a last FYI.. being responsible does not mean doing what you can legally… or illegally… get away with.. regardless of whether you are walking, riding a bike or driving a motorized vehicle.
Being responsible means conducting yourself in such a way that you don’t endanger yourself or others with your behavior.
This soon to be great granny asks for help getting off her soapbox.. and for the time being will respectfully leave the spandex boxed somewhere in the attic ;>
You are so lucky i have mellowed with age.
August 10, 2008 at 4:33 am #633394
AnonymousInactiveI’m posting this here because I am curious what others think about this. And, I guess now I know that I should include the disclaimer that I realize everyone is encouraged and should ride their bikes anywhere….. but little children????
I want to jump in here and comment on something (relating to bikes) that I’ve noticed recently.
I can see this thread has already taken all kinds of turns, so I don’t think it could be considered thread-jacking.
I’m alarmed at families that ride their bikes all together on major streets throughout WS. I’ll normally see the parents at the head of the line and the children riding behind the parents. But, I have seen really little children (maybe 5 or 6), riding in the street, out of their parents sight (the parents are ahead and can’t see them).
I’m surprised to see this, especially in light of the turn this thread (and others) have taken.
August 10, 2008 at 3:24 pm #633395
JoBParticipanti think parents who aren’t patient enough to ride at a speed their children can maintain, shouldn’t ride with their children on city streets… and if adults and children are riding together.. an adult should be bringing up the rear…
but then, i’m into this responsibility thing that seems to have gone out of style.
August 11, 2008 at 5:00 pm #633396
JoBParticipantA tragic reminder as to why we all should be more careful is on the front page of WSB today.
it’s too easy to forget that even in the best of circumstances with the best of intentions.. the unpredicted can happen to any of us.
when it does, lives are at stake.
August 11, 2008 at 5:06 pm #633397
CountingCoupMember“another WS perspective”,
As a bike rider who sometimes commutes to my job (fair weather rider), I thought I would add my two cents.
The road laws are very clear, and if a bicyclist decideds to break them, then its a chance they need to own up to. I have a friend who just received a “moving violation” ticket for failing to stop at a stop sign with his bike.
Kinda sucks as he put nobody in danger while doing it but, those are the laws and as stated in a response above, the laws of the road fully support riding a bicycle on the roads (minus freeways etc.) in this state.
Without trying to psycho analyze the first post on this subject, I am completely open to another interpetation of what occured based on my own experiences on the road with cars.
Regardless of the perceptions of the incident and all of these posts, here is my breakdown:
* Nobody was injured ~ Good Thing!
* Using a horn as an early warning ~ Good Thing!
* Using a horn to act as a repremand ~ Bad Thing!
* Allowing bicyclists the respect of the road laws ~ Good Thing!
* Using a green statement to justify your actions on the road good or bad for car or bike ~ Bad Thing!
That said, using the bike path with a bike on Alki can be a challenge when you add the “fun bikes” (2-6 seaters), baby carriages, skaters, etc but most of all; Walkers…
I find the most attentive walkers that are paying attention are the ones with dogs or baby carriages for reasons that are obvious. And I continue to work on my patience for the coffee house daters who walk around with stars in their eyes or the local highschool groupies hanging out in the middle of the bike path.
Oh well, the road should be always respected like a shark tank for everyone.
August 11, 2008 at 6:27 pm #633398
JoBParticipantCounting coup…
you’re right, that nobody was injured is a very good thing…
and it’s been a good thing on occasion that people like you… take care of people like me… who walk around starry eyed…. or just lost in our own personal space;>
i think it would be easier if we all realized that it’s not personal..
people don’t obstruct bike riders on purpose.. bikes don’t cut into traffic or use road lanes to irritate drivers… and the poor guy in the car who irritates you is just trying to get somewhere the same as you are.
but when accidents happen.. and they do happen.. it can get intensely personal both for the person who gets injured and for those who injure.
just remember you are swimming with sharks and take it easy out there:)
August 11, 2008 at 9:31 pm #633399
angelescrestParticipantExcept, JoB, sometimes there are those who DO obstruct bike riders on purpose, and that is unnerving. It’s like they look at you thinking, “I dare you…” What to do? Maybe there’s something I can do or say that will change their attitude(s)?
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