6th May 2008

Basket Case Bike Rider

posted in Frenzied Daddy, Rantings |

I rode my bike for a long time- it was my only form of travel besides my feet and the bus until shortly before the DQ was born. When I drive, I try to respect the boundaries of bikers. I give them plenty of room, check for bikes behind me when I open my door.

There was a seriously aggravating biker lady on 21st yesterday, headed south, near the overpass over I-84. The first thing I noticed was that she couldn’t bike a straight line, so the cars, and we’re talking morning rush hour traffic, the cars couldn’t depend on her staying out of their lane. They had to pass her gingerly. The second thing I noticed was that her helmet was in the basket over the rear wheel. Not on her head. I guess there was something fragile in the basket that was worth more than her brains– not that she was using those! She swerved into traffic a few cars ahead of me to pass another biker. Yeah, not one much for single file. She didn’t signal for that, or when she swerved back into the “bike lane.”

And she ran red lights.

I didn’t have to pass her- she turned left and went up Stark or Oak or something. And she finally used her signals.

Geez.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 7:21 pm and is filed under Frenzied Daddy, Rantings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 4 responses to “Basket Case Bike Rider”

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  1. 1 On May 15th, 2008, Stacy6 said:

    Sigh. I’ve started bike commuting again, and let me tell you, I’m embarrassed to be sharing the road with a lot of the cyclists out there. Running red lights, darting in and out of traffic, taking no apparent responsibility for their personal safety…it’s sad.

  2. 2 On May 16th, 2008, russ said:

    Some of the bike riders are crazy. I can handle the messengers; they’re in a class by themselves. But commuters who refuse to consistently follow the “rules of the road” ( if you’re a bike on the road, you have to obey stop signs and lights ) and who insist on being unpredictable drive me insane.

  3. 3 On May 21st, 2008, Linda Amar said:

    Sometimes I think bicyclists should be licensed. Even (or maybe especially) kids. When I was a kid, somewhere along the line I had formal lessons on rules of the road for bicyclists, I think at school. Do they do that anymore? A lot of bicycle riders don’t have a clue how they are required to ride in traffic.

  4. 4 On May 21st, 2008, rustifer said:

    I don’t know about “formal lessons,” but there were definitely rules in the Oregon Drivers Manual I read when I was *ahem* studying. I also remember having rules given to us about single-file and signals. Helmets weren’t part of my ruleset until about the time we met Marianne. She worked in a trauma ward ( her back was originally hurt by moving a paraplegic without assistance).

    Geez, kids these days. “Get off my lawn!” and out of my bike lanes!

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