Bicyclists on 30A
- Thread starter beach angel
- Start date
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Think about it...
Absolutely, I agree.I for one am willing to be courteous to cyclists on the road and give them their space and follow behind, below the speed limit, until there is room to pass them safely, for I have no desire to injure someone due to their bad behavior.
However I would really like a cyclist to explain to me why some, and most I have ever seen; do not observe the rules of stop signs.
If I am in my car and traffic is heavy and I am in a line of cars waiting to move up to the stop sign, the cyclists will not wait in line with the cars.
Instead, to me they do something very dangerous, and that is squeeze past the cars on the right side, then blow the stop sign.
Sorry but after that type of behavior they lost the respect of others.
So cyclists do you wait in the long line with vehicles at stops signs and traffic lights or do you keep moving?
Let?s corner those cyclists who are already in oxygen debt and close to spontaneous combustion in the Florida heat between your noxious exhaust and my super-heated radiator while we relax in our air conditioned comfort.
By removing the slight cooling effect of the breeze they experience while in motion they may fall prey to heat stroke and with any luck collapse to the side of the road thereby saving us 5 seconds at the stop sign.
Be warned, once you start believing you should enforce the rules of the road on others you start down that slippery slope to aggressive driving and road rage.
But do not despair there is hope. The first step is admitting you have a problem. Recite the following:
Hello, my name is (insert name) and I am an aggressive driver. It has been (insert number) days since I last cursed/buzzed a cyclist on 30A.
I shall not cause any portion of my motor vehicle to enter the bike path without first coming to a complete stop.
I shall not pass my two wheeled brethren without allowing the prescribed 3 Ft safety margin.
Feel the anger subsiding?
As for me, of late I feel mysteriously drawn to the Dark Side. I must resist beachsteeler?s lament of ?staying on the road since it pisses off so many people?.
But I WILL not give in.
Hello, my name is pennstater and I am a habitual cyclist. It has been 63 days since I last cursed/flipped off a motorist on 30A.
(Editor?s note: The writer has not actually been on 30A in 63 days. Please read 5 minutes in lieu of the misleading 63 days above)
I shall not ?blow? or roll through any stop signs.
I shall not abridge the right of way of any behemoth SUV or their smaller kind.
I shall relegate myself to the lowly bike path forever doomed to circumnavigate the clueless, ipod equipped pedestrians who fail to heed even my loudest cries of ?passing on your left?.
There, I said it and I do feel better.
If I have offended any please accept my heartfelt apologies. Clearly this northeastern shut-in suffers from a severe case of seasonal affective disorder exacerbated by a prolonged absence from the healing waters of the Emerald Coast.
Ah the angst. Where?s a black pick'em-up truck bedecked with confederate flags and a gun rack with you most need it?
Happy New Year
I can't help but chime in on the discussion here. I am a biker who loves to take my hybrid out every day. I come out from Seagrove 395 and onto 30-A. If I head towards Seaside I ride on 30-A until I cross Watercolor then jump on the bike path and travel as far as my legs will take me that day. I am on 30-A till I cross Watercolor because to be on the bike path earlier than that is in my mind more unsafe for the walkers and joggers and casual cycylists. I stay to the far right on the white line, stop at all stop signs but do admit to rolling "slowly" through the stop sign in Seaside this time of year since it is so quiet. When I head the other way towards Rosemary I am on 30-A until I pass all the entrances to the condos and develpments. The bike path to that point is rough and I have almost been hit more times than I care to remember as folks pull right out onto the bike path from their condos without even looking. They then stop right in the path and block it and as I slam on my brakes so I do not flip over the car they just stare at you as if they have no idea! Which of course they have NO IDEA! Thank goodness I am not a small child on a bike. I don't flip them off or yell at them, just look at them with the same blank stare as they look at me. Not worth the fight.
Anyway, I practice safe defensive biking, am courteous to EVERYONE even though the drivers are sometimes not courteous to me. I don't flip anyone off as I am thankful to have such a beautiful environment to bike and appreciate the beauty of 30-A.
When the pedal is on the other foot and I am driving my car I am in defensive mode and yield to bikers, give plenty of right of way when passing. My guess is 95% of everyone out there feels the same way too. Those folks who feel the need to flip off bikers and get mad because they think every bike should be on the bike path and every biker is rude should move out of Paradise, because if living or visitng down here causes this much stress then I can only imagine what everyday life does to you.
My suggestion is we take the 5% who can't seem to get along with others here in paradise and ship them over to Tupelo street to join forces with that gang! At least we would know where NOT to ride our bikes!
Let's all be thankful for what we have and where we live and make 2010 a new start!
Anyway, I practice safe defensive biking, am courteous to EVERYONE even though the drivers are sometimes not courteous to me. I don't flip anyone off as I am thankful to have such a beautiful environment to bike and appreciate the beauty of 30-A.
When the pedal is on the other foot and I am driving my car I am in defensive mode and yield to bikers, give plenty of right of way when passing. My guess is 95% of everyone out there feels the same way too. Those folks who feel the need to flip off bikers and get mad because they think every bike should be on the bike path and every biker is rude should move out of Paradise, because if living or visitng down here causes this much stress then I can only imagine what everyday life does to you.
My suggestion is we take the 5% who can't seem to get along with others here in paradise and ship them over to Tupelo street to join forces with that gang! At least we would know where NOT to ride our bikes!
Let's all be thankful for what we have and where we live and make 2010 a new start!
I guess some people have not adjusted yet to SoWal time.
They need to spend hours every day sitting in real traffic in a major city. Or a week in Denmark riding their bike to work along with most of their neighbors.
If you haven't already done so, try going north on the 395 bike path, then through the streets of Watercolor. Pick up the bike path near the west end of Watercolor where it crosses to the south side of 30A. Much safer than 30A or the bike path through Seaside during peak traffic times.
Going east through Seagrove on the road isn't too bad because 30A has a shoulder there and the line has been recently repainted. But I am really careful traveling westbound because that side has no shoulder. If road traffic is heavy I will just slow down and use the path. At least motorists crossing the path from the driveways have a better line of site for westbound cyclists.
Thanks, I do go those back routes when it is the busiest times, when it is quiet I take the main roads. Better safe than sorry!