Bikes on the college campus annoy the crap out of me. And I don’t mean motorcycles, I mean legcycles.
Here’s why.
Bikes do not belong on the sidewalk or in other pedestrian areas. You know, WHERE PEOPLE ARE WALKING.
There I said it. Flame away you pedaling namby pambies!
Yet the bike riders zoom around on sidewalks and near about run people over. I don’t think they should be on the sideWALK to begin with and certainly not if they can’t pilot their vehicle well enough to avoid clipping people with their handlebars. I did see one bicycler start to lose control of his bike, swerve to avoid hitting a pedestrian and then crash awesomely. And lo, I did laugh. (He wasn’t hurt).
What really burns my biscuits is when they jet through a crosswalk and expect the cars to stop for them. The crossWALK is for WALKERS. People on foot. I will stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk everytime but I ain’t brakin’ for no fool on a two wheeler. Half the time they are moving too fast for me to react anyway. Hey hey hey, don’t think just ’cause you in the crosswalk mean you is right. I stop for pedestrians and for things bigger than me. A bicycler is neither of those.
I think bikes belong on the road. How many times have I heard the lycra-clad masses whine “Same road, same rules” to the car driving folk? A LOT. They want car drivers to recognize them as legitimate road sharers. Yet, how many times have I seen a bike rider pedal right on through a red light or stop sign? A LOT. “I’m a bike, I don’t have to stop.” You don’t want me to run you off the road when I pass you? Then obey the same laws that I do in my car and I’ll respect you. I have been known to roll down my window and yell at these law breaking riders “same road, same rules, pal!” I mean, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
I guess that’s about it.
When Swalm was being built and all that nice chainlink fencing was beautifying the drill field, the walkway to Allen was lined on the now-Swalm side by this fencing. I was walking to class and stepped to the inside of the sidewalk to avoid stepping in some unsightly thing and, unbeknownst to me, a biker zooming up behind me had to slam on the brakes and veer, yes, into the fence. I wish I could describe the sound that came from the bike, the fence, and a face zipped along the chainlink. I did feel bad about being a causing agent of this incident, but I thought, “Really? On a busy sidewalk with the bike? Damn.”
I sure there was scarring.
YEAH!
Hahahaha. Somebody should make a vidsketch out of this. I guess Kary, since it’s your idea, you should. Yeah. That’d be funny.
A-M-E-N
I could not agree with you more. I haven’t had to deal with the college campus part in awhile, but still live the road battle with them fools daily. They seem to have a gift to find the curviest, smallest roads to pedal on. If it weren’t for my keen driving skills, I fear several would be dead.