Ever jaywalk after a game or stadium event? Ever seen hundreds of people crossing streets against lights?

Mow ‘em over next time. You’ll be a hero on HA.

The Race Card

The drivers near a stadium or other large event know what they are getting into and the crowds aren’t deliberately trying to tie up traffic during rush hour. Critical Mass is all about obstructing traffic and annoying all those evil car drivers.

Of course I don’t advocate running over the Critical Massholes, but stop treating them like they are relatively innocent jaywalkers.

They think they’re green but bicycles are made out of steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber and rubber, just like cars, albeit less of it, and a human exercising at cardio levels puts out CO2 at the same order of magnitude as a compact car.

rokemronnie on July 28, 2008 at 10:59 PM

Now tell many, how many of you ride a bike at least once a week for more than a mile on a main road? I think all of you are ignorant of how freaking dangerous it is for a cyclist on the streets of America, as you need to die first before the police actually do anything with the driver who hits you. I’ve been hit twice by careless drivers who’ve both been cited for their carelessness, and their fines equal less than what it costs if they were to run a red light. The laws in this country need to be changed to be more mindful of cyclists who legally share the road with cares, which is where Critical Mass comes in to bring awareness. While I don’t support their silly outlandish behavior at times, I do support their cause.

Critical Mass exists to piss off drivers. Period. I do more to promote cycling as transportation than all the Critical Massholes combined.

I rode 19.4 miles today, and try to get in ~20 or more 6 days a week. I’ve been using a bike for transportation for 15 years and have been hit by cars three times, twice by careless drivers who turned into my path and once that was my fault when I entered a crosswalk on a very stale signal. I’ve been honked at, sworn at, been called a nigger by white trash teens (I’m a fair skinned redhead w/ a bright red beard), been forced off the road by hostile drivers and in general I’ve experienced the spectrum of abuse that drivers can shower on adult cyclists.

It’s precisely because I’m a cyclist that I oppose critical mass. They are not just counterproductive, they make things more dangerous for those of us who seriously ride.

For those of you who whine about them obstructing traffic, do you yourself know the rules of the road? I’d take the time to learn them before ridiculing because in a lot of states, bicyclists are are allowed to take up the right lane if there’s two or more riding.

I’ve ridden over 25,000 miles and I think you’re insane, regardless of what the law allows. Cyclists should ride single file a safe distance from the curb when there is traffic. Riding two abreast in a traffic lane is asking to get killed. The difference in speed between a car and a bicycle makes taking a full lane a very dangerous thing. I’ll stay 18-30″ from the curb, away from the glass in the gutter and the curb so I don’t strike a pedal, giving traffic enough room to pass in a standard lane.

I’m pretty assertive as a cyclist but I treat drivers with the respect and knowledge that I’ll lose any confrontation. I don’t hold up traffic and try to be considerate of drivers.

rokemronnie on July 28, 2008 at 11:15 PM

but these idiots who cant afford cars think they have the right to disrupt the lives of those who do own and drive cars.

Mojack420

Sorry but the law says that drivers have to share the road with cyclists, who in turn have to obey traffic laws, including those concerning obstructing traffic.

Anyone who can’t get by me on my bike near the edge of the road shouldn’t be driving in the first place.

There are very few road lanes in the US that don’t have enough space for both a bike and a car.

rokemronnie on July 28, 2008 at 11:22 PM

Critical Mass exists to piss off drivers. Period. I do more to promote cycling as transportation than all the Critical Massholes combined.

That may be true, but I still do not feel that’s justification for others to call for their death.

Take it up with whoever made that stupid remark, not me.

The difference in speed between a car and a bicycle makes taking a full lane a very dangerous thing. I’ll stay 18-30″ from the curb, away from the glass in the gutter and the curb so I don’t strike a pedal, giving traffic enough room to pass in a standard lane.

Well around here, riding that far from the curb puts you in the right lane.

Just avoiding debris and drain grates can put you about 18-24″. On most roads that leaves enough room. In general, I try to avoid major roads because I’d rather not ride w/ one eye on my helmet mirror all the time. However, if I have to, I’ll ride on a major road even if there’s no shoulder. Generally that doesn’t create a problem if you’re considerate of drivers and get their eye when needed. Going alone on the right edge of the lane in traffic isn’t usually what makes cycling dangerous. You’re not likely to get rear ended or sideswiped.

If you watch where you are, make sure that drivers can see you and if they can’t, take precautions, you can ride in traffic, but cycling is inherently dangerous even without traffic.

I’m pretty assertive as a cyclist but I treat drivers with the respect and knowledge that I’ll lose any confrontation. I don’t hold up traffic and try to be considerate of drivers.

I don’t do either of those either, and just out of curiosity where do you ride around? Problem is for me the drivers in Orlando show zero respect towards cyclists and oftentimes go out of the way to harass and even attack cyclists.

Some drivers are jerks. I think Critical Massholes makes the problem worse. I ride in suburban Detroit, occasionally in the city. I’ve ridden on Telegraph Road, on Eight Mile, and on Woodward going both up to Pontiac and all the way downtown.

I was in Orlando once. I brought my bike and rode from the strip on International out to Disney and back most days. There was a lot of undeveloped land still along the route, I even got chased by a bull that had somehow gotten alongside the road. I think a couple of times I took my bike in the rental car and rode around a lake outside of town. I didn’t have trouble on my bike there, but traffic was a hassle and I had an accident in the rental car leaving a KMart parking lot. Lady tried to pass me on the right exiting the lot as I turned into traffic. Cop gave me a ticket for improper lane usage but I fought it by mail and won, because the damage on my car where she hit me could only have happened if I had already made the turn, making me part of the flow of traffic with right of way.

rokemronnie on July 28, 2008 at 11:52 PM

Some here have suggested that he should have applied his brakes. Even that requires more time than he had when the cop lunged at him.

Again, he probably had it coming, but it isn’t evident from this video.

FloatingRock

Here’s how I see the sequence. The cop spots him before he enters the frame. Bike starts to veer left almost as soon as you see it, to my view trying to avoid the cop. Cop continues on an intercept vector. Bike continues to veer left as cop nears him, then leans right, accelerating with the right pedal. I think he knew the cop had him targeted and he was trying to go around the cop.

Other cyclists might react differently, but in the same circumstances (well, I’d never ride with Critical Massholes) I’d hit my brakes as soon as I saw a cop on intercept vector to my bike. The guy had plenty of time to stop.

I have been stopped by cops on my bike three times. Once was a jerk cop who didn’t like me riding on an empty freeway service drive (the road was there before the freeway) near the Detroit Zoo, so I thanked her and turned out of her jurisdiction. Another stopped a friend and I for not having lights when we were doing intervals up and down the blvd in front of the cop shop. The other time was on a Sun morning ride w/ the Wolverines, a local sports club that has produced cycling and skating champions and olympians. When I’m fit, I can barely hang with them on the 70 mile ride. On the way back, while riding pretty much single file on some winding roads through the lakes in Oakland county, some jerk in a van got angry, crossed the yellow line unnecessarily to pass us, and apparently called the cops to say we were obstructing traffic, which we weren’t. The cop was coming from the other direction, crossed traffic and dove onto the shoulder, stopping our path. We were riding pretty much in a pace line, maybe a foot from the wheel in front, and it was pretty hairy how we had to swerve and brake to avoid crashing into her cruiser or going down on the gravel shoulder. The ride leaders cooled her out, but when I got home I called the duty officer and complained how unsafe her actions were. He was a mountain bike enthusiast and agreed.

Still, in this case, unless proved otherwise, I’m going with the cop on this one.

rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 12:08 AM

You flippin idiot. By trying to AVOID the cop who was moving into his path as he moved towards the curb? WTF? Are YOU a cop? Cause you sure sound like one in trying to defend that one. I hope you or one of your children gets a take down like that sometime, then lets hear the tune you start singing. Jerk.

KMC1

I think I have an interesting perspective on this. I generally side against cops. To enforce the law you can’t be above the laws. I’m also a serious cyclist who knows a thing or two about riding and avoiding trouble. So, as a cop hater and cyclist I say that If he wanted to avoid hitting the cop he could have slowed down or stopped. He had plenty of time and if I was riding and a cop was staring me down and moving in an intercept vector you can damn well be sure that I’d stop. I’m just telling you how I’d react as a cyclist. Remember, the video is shot from an angle close to the POV of the rider. If I saw a cop acting like that to me, I’d stop and ask him what the problem was. As a cyclist it looks to me like he’s trying to go past the cop by veering left and then accelerating.

That’s just how it looks to me. He had an opportunity to avoid a collision and instead tried to outrun the cop. Whether the cop had legal grounds to stop him or not, the guy didn’t act prudently.

rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 12:18 AM

It should be noted that Critical Masshole rides most likely violate all sorts of laws.

The criminal justice system and the NYPD IAB will resolve this matter. There is likely other video, from surveillance cameras and other bystanders, from other perspectives, that will shed light on what happened.

I just don’t think the cop went batshit crazy and decided to single out some innocent anarchist.

The cop and his partner’s motions look too deliberate.

rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 12:24 AM