disrespectful cyclists...

Ok, I know most of us on here keep out of the way of normal road traffic (cars...), but today I surely wished i had it in me to run people over. On the way home from my girlfriends house, after a nice long bike ride on the canal pathway , I encountered a whole group of cyclists, mostly older cyclists out pedaling for fun (nothing serious looking). Noticing they almost all had mirrors and helmets I thought, good they will move over to the right and I can get by them no problems.

WRONG

Most all of them, after seeing me in their mirrors or turning their head and looking at me, even after flashing my highbeams quick (thought it would let them know I was there), would swerve out into MY lane. Not just a few feet, I mean almost all the way to the yellow line. They were even passing eachother while i was trying to get around them all. Now im a very considerate person, I do what I can because Im a cyclist too, but this was outrageous. They KNEW I was there, and yet didnt follow NY state law, and keep to the right. One cyclist doing this isnt that bad, but a whole group (there was about 10 maybe more) kinda irritated me... Like I previously stated, sometimes I just wish I wasnt as courteous as I am. But I dont need a criminal record either, I love my freedom here in America!

Sorry for the rant, but I was really really dissapointed to see people that were obviously cyclists (not just people riding bikes) act so DUMB.

Of course they probably thought I was just a typical mid-20s guy tryin to speed around them, but I was just trying to get around them before one decided to swerve out in front of me.

OK, Im done...anyone else encounter this???

I am getting close to being an older cyclist and I hope I don't fall into this catagory. I have noticed that the most inconsiderate cyclists that I encounter tend to be the older ones. I usually don't have much trouble with the younger ones. If they seem inconsiderate, it is usually because they don't realize that I am there (quiet bike). The older ones that seem inconsiderate tend to beleive highly in "respect your elders and let them do whatever the hell they want to do!" Now this is not every older cyclist, and there are some downright inconsiderate younger ones, but most of the inconsiderate ones that I encounter tend to be the older cyclists.

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umm...re-read what i wrote lol. Nothing against older cyclists, or older anyone (I was brought up right). I just noticed most were probably 50 or slightly older. I could be wrong...

i was saying that i was Driving a car, and they did not move over like NY law tells them they should...I was just dumbfounded and now realize why so many motorists dont like cyclists. what i was most amazed by was the fact that they were riding all the way into MY lane and seemed not to care if i hit them or not. Maybe they escaped the psych ward too...

didnt mean to sound like i had anything against older cyclists, in fact quite the opposite, ANYONE thats out cycling (especially the umm "elderly"?) puts a smile on my face, but there are laws, and 'Share the road' goes both ways, not just for cars.

Y'all take care, and keep right when traffic is behind you

how many lanes did the road have? was it a no passing zone (i.e. double center line)? was it a busy road?

It could be that they were trying to take the lane because it wasn't safe to pass due to a minimal shoulder or that another car was coming...

2 lanes (opposing directions), no passing for most of it (curvy section) and yes, other cars were coming as well towards us. while there wasnt much shoulder, they were all they way out at least halfway into my lane. I have no problems riding on such road conditions and staying out of the way of other vehicles. There was NO reason they had to take up half my lane and not even try to give me room.

Oh well, ill probably never encounter something like that again. Had it been a charity ride, i wouldnt have had a problem either, but these were just a few people out taking up the backroads ignoring state traffic laws...

well, I know in jersey that there are exceptions to the "ride to the right as far as practicable", but even if that were the case, riders are not supposed to ride more than two abreast. the question is whether there was enough room to allow you, an oncoming car and the cyclists at the same time... if not then they should take the lane and you have to wait to get around, at least here in jersey... if there were a few cars backed up behind them then they should pull over and stop to let them through before getting back into the road...

I live in New Jersey and I would never take up the lane no matter what the law says. If the shoulder is too small to pass or, as usual, has an obstacle then I stop and wait till traffic is clear and then continue on.

Better to slow up or stop than get plowed under by some putz in a 50 ton SUV that is driving, talking on a cell phone, eating and pulling on his pud all at the same time.

I take up the whole lane while crossing bridges or about 50 to 60 yards from where I will be turning left at an intersection...the reason I do this on the bridge is if someone passes I don't want to be pinched against the wall if they decide they can't make it for some odd reason...yesterday...3 cars passed me on that bridge on the wrong side of the road...its about a 150 feet long...and there is no passing allowed on a bridge period...

When I encounter a "group" like this I use it as an educational opportunity for my fellow cyclists. I gently remind folk that to get respect you have to give respect. I think it also helps that I have 4 bike racks on the top of my car....

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If they had singled up, would you have had room to pass them in THEIR lane while still allowing them 5 feet or so of road for safe maneuvering and clearance? A single file line would be longer and would take longer to pass; would that have presented other problems?

yeah, I would too, if I tended to have those problems... but I don't.

actually, if you never "take the lane" then how do you handle an intersection?... I find that in order to NOT get run over from right or left hooks, you have to be in the lane. not even mentioning the fact that a good share of drivers don't really pay attention to whats happening on the shoulder of a road... I guess the alternative is to stop all the time (that also causes confusion for motorists by the way...)

ok, I'll bite... whats the educational opportunity here? I still haven't been able to figure out completely who is really wrong here... the cyclists should have gone to single file but if it was unsafe to allow the OP to try to squeeze in then they should have taken the lane so that the motorist knows that he has to go around to pass...

I rarely stop. 24 mile ride yesterday and I stopped once for this reason. Some putz threw an empty case out the window and the shoulder was a sea of broken beer bottles. I could hear cars coming so I stopped and waited for it to clear.

There is a decent enough shoulder on most major roads and the local country roads are quiet enough during the times I ride that passing cars have no problem. If I sense a problem(obstacle, blind curve or especially narrow road) I'll pull over for a few seconds.

There's a short section of Route 206 I ride that splits to two lanes with the right lane turning off to Route 94. An off ramp basically. The shoulder is huge there so no problem in that respect. And 75% of the time I can just glance back and see it's clear and take the right lane for a few seconds to continue on 206.

But if it's not clear, there is no way in hell I'm just sliding over and taking up the lane. I'll stop and wait for my chance to go.

I guess it comes down to this. I don't believe a bicycle has the right to take a lane. Notice I didn't say it wasn't legal, so I'm not interested in some governmant code that says I can take the lane under certain circumstances. I just believe that right of way between a 4000 pound car and a 180 pound schmuck on a bike, the choice is easy. The car goes first.

thats fine, its not like I care how you ride... but this thread was supposedly about "disrespectful" bikers and there are instances where its not being disrespectful but considered to be a legal course of action.