Is it me, or is this rude?

[juf2m]

I am still new to cycling (and cycling etiquette) so I may be way off here but here is what happens to me frequently:

I will be riding in the bike lane on a roadway. I come up to an intersection and wait for the light to change. All of a sudden another cyclist or two will ride past me and make a point of going right in front of me, and then taking off when the light changes.

Are they just assuming by the look of me that I must be SO SLOW that they couldn't possibly wait? Half the time I end up passing them anyway! I feel that if I am at the front of the line, at the road marker, they should wait behind me and pass later if they need to.

It's not the end of the world of course, but it just seems kind of impatient/rude to me....

 

[yrbjr]

Just to give the benefit of the doubt, they might just be trying to stay in the bike lane. Or they could just be rude. Do you say anything? Or is passing them enough for you?

 

[juf2m]

No I don't say anything, I am a pretty non confrontational person.

The layout is that I am in the very front of the bike lane, they squish their way beside me, and either wait slighly ahead of/and beside me, or they go so far ahead of me they are practically in the perpendicular traffic. Some of them I pass, some I don't...either way, how impatient can you get? You'd think they could wait a few minutes before shoving themselves in front of my nose as if I were invisible...

 

[Telegram Sam]

It's rude- thats all there is too it. While passing him may work for you, My mom had a great fix for rudeness that our culture has long forgotten. Drag him by the earlobe off his bike...shout some profanity at him in refference to his errant behavior, and then tan his hide with a frame pump. While it lacks tact and style, it certainly corrects rudeness quickly.

 

[juf2m]

That is tempting I'll tell ya!

 

[Russity]

Don't feel bad about this. These guys are just tools. I put in about 400kms a week, including cycling to work every day and I get this kind of thing all the time. Experience has told me to just let it go. They are either too macho (rather them than me), too dumb (likewise) or too stupid to know any better. Whichever it is, my theory is that they are more likely to get hit by a car than me if they weave between the traffic and are prepared to take risks. Also... I'm never in that much of a hurry to get to work!!

 

[Rollo]

the fact of the matter is though that if they have been riding behind they know if they are riding faster than you so they are not definately assuming anything.

Having said that it is rude and they should hop in behind and if they are riding faster overtake once you are all riding.

Just make sure you don't get hung up on it, use it as motivation, if they think they are faster than you just stick on their back wheel it'll drive them nuts when they don't drop you staright away.

Rollo

 

[DiabloScott]

Some of them are probably rude, but not all. I'll do this if I'm sure I'm faster than the guy who's already stopped AND there's a lot of stopped cars because it may be unsafe to pass the cyclist while at the same time all the cars are trying to pass both of us. I'm not rude about it, but some guys are SLOW!

 

[lokstah]

I dunno... road etiquette, whether we're talking about cars, bikes, scooters or semi-trucks, is built on accident prevention. Common car behaviors considered rude, like tailgating, cutting-off, or merging without signaling are troublesome because they make safe driving difficult for everyone.

I've never thought of road position (further up the road, further back, first off the light, last off the light) as contributing much to safety or positive etiquette. I think whether it be at an intersection or on the open road, if it can be done safely, pulling ahead is kosher. I don't think passing other cyclists, even at a light, is rude if it's done safely and smoothly.

If it's bumpy, tight, or otherwise physically awkward, that's bad. My take, at least. Be safe out there, and have fun.

 

[SpearSlinger1]

Yeah, it's rude. The polite way to pass is when everyone is underway. The responsibility for safely overtaking is always on the person doing the passing.

Just this morning on the way to work I was stopped at a stop sign when another cyclist blew by me on my right and hung a left right through a 4-way intersection. We drive/ride on the left over here. I caught him in a little over a hundred yards and chewed his butt pretty good. He didn't have much to say because I didn't give him a chance. Very satisfying.

 

[MountainPro]

sounds pretty rude to me..

i wouldnt be as restrained as you, but i would just call them a couple of pricks rather than kick thier wheels in..

 

[juf2m]

Thanks for all the responses! I am all for safety, and don't mind being passed while we are riding (if they are that much faster than me, more power to 'em), but I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks "presumptuous passing" is impolite.

 

[MsMittens]

juf2m, it is rude and I know what you are talking about. It's happened to me and most of the times end up passing them (I've been a pretty good judge of when they are truly faster than me and when they aren't). My solution to it was to take the full bike lane and stand in the middle rather than step on the curb (as I've seen some cyclists do). That way they'd really have to push me over if they are that determined but rarely do they do that.

 

[gemelk]

I am still new to cycling (and cycling etiquette) so I may be way off here but here is what happens to me frequently:

I will be riding in the bike lane on a roadway. I come up to an intersection and wait for the light to change. All of a sudden another cyclist or two will ride past me and make a point of going right in front of me, and then taking off when the light changes.

Are they just assuming by the look of me that I must be SO SLOW that they couldn't possibly wait? Half the time I end up passing them anyway! I feel that if I am at the front of the line, at the road marker, they should wait behind me and pass later if they need to.

It's not the end of the world of course, but it just seems kind of impatient/rude to me....

I'm kinda of the opinion that it is, at the very least, very impatient of those other riders, especially if you pass them shortly thereafter, and yes, I think it borders on being rude.

It's the same mentality that drivers have of whipping past you only to brake and make a turn - it's stupid, arrogant and dangerous.

Sadly, it's how competitive some are. The best revenge is saying "On YOUR left!" as you pass them!

Eric

 

[JSWin]

Yeah some people are like that. Always need to be in front of other people. Ahead of them, not worth it. Let them go. I don't think these kind of people look at anyone and say they are slow. I think they just have some deep need to be better than anybody in their way. Drivers do the same thing. I don't pay any attention to them. It's a dumb mentality.

 

[AtlantaSports]

Just to give the benefit of the doubt, they might just be trying to stay in the bike lane. Or they could just be rude. Do you say anything? Or is passing them enough for you?

I think that it is more of the first thought. It makes more sense to me whenever I read the explaination.

 

[coffee_minion]

It sounds rude.

 

[Keyan]

Maybe they just want to catch your attention. They probably need an audience don't you think? I know you were able to handle the situation well just do not get affected by these people you will meet a couple of them still. Stay calm and do not be rude to people who are rude from the start because it will not work.

 

[Volnix]

It sounds rude.

I want to slide my seatpost in your mother's seat tube.

 

[Darktone]

Do what I do- when I catch up to them and pass them I throw a stick in their spokes. They show me more respect the next time I see them. Lol