Wednesday 10 January 2018

Ranty McRanterson

I do try not to rant too terribly much here, but, well.... a grumpy day collided with a rant so.......

I appreciate cyclists.  Like, people who commute (or just ride) on their bike.

I like that they're being healthy, saving gas/fuel and all the good things.  But I have some, I dunno... peeves?  Frustrations?  Total annoyances???

The particular rant I have from my drive home last night is bikers (cyclists) who do not act like vehicles.  Who do stupid/dangerous/unsafe things.  I want to scream sometimes.  You are a vehicle.  You are sharing the road with other vehicles.  Those other vehicles are HUGE AND HEAVY.  And?  They have blind spots.  And expectations.  Expectations of traffic flow, and yes, of cyclists.  So when people (yes lady, I'm looking at you) do dangerous things I get frustrated. 

I also have a pet peeve over what I call "invisible" bikers.  Especially at this time of year, when it's dusk early and dark for a long time, you really should be making yourself as visible as you can.  Blinkies, flashies, head and tail light, reflective clothing, whatever.  Just... don't be frigging dark and invisible.  That goes double for you too pedestrians!

I watched this woman, all decked out, but missing lights, go around a vehicle that was in the right hand turn lane, indicating to go right and wobble in front of said vehicle.  It was completely unsafe for the bike rider and must have been nerve-wracking for the driver.  BAH!

Now, to be honest, the majority of cyclists I drive near/around are awesome.  They respect the rules of the road, they indicate, they are safe and well lit.  I sometimes wonder if it's a matter of people having not driven for so long they forget what it's like to be in a car?  But... anyway.  That was a frustrating (as in stressful) ride home with that particular lady around.  I was glad to have her in my rearview.

Thanks to all the awesome cyclists for making it really easy to share the road.  Poop on the rest. 

2 comments:

Jason Langlois said...

These are my complaints as well.

It's not like drivers are always better (the number of people I've seen with no headlights on at dusk has been too high), but a car seems easier to see coming.

Too many clad in black, no lights, swerve into traffic encounters in downtown lately. :(

On a up note, though, just wanted to say how much you rock and how glad I am you're still sharing stuff with us.

Victoria said...

Thanks Jason.

And yeah, there are less than awesome drivers for sure. Sigh.