http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-bicyclists-versus-drivers-20100101,Cyclists crowding roads irk motorists
By Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel
January 2, 2010
By Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel
January 2, 2010
On Sunday mornings, Joe Goloversic hops in his pickup and drives the back roads from his home in Clermont to his job as a security guard in Windermere. Along the way, he encounters dozens of bicyclists wearing skintight outfits and sleek aerodynamic helmets riding in large packs.
"The road, honest to God, is sometimes covered with bicycles," Goloversic said.
Slowing down and passing the racing cyclists has typically been a minor inconvenience. But now Goloversic and other motorists say the herds of riders are becoming increasingly larger and creating a dangerous situation on the winding, hilly roads in south Lake and west Orange counties. Goloversic said he recently punctured a tire after he was forced off the road while trying to avoid hitting a group.
"I was so mad I could spit," he said. "They're sharing the road with cars going 40 miles per hour or more, and they are spread four or five across, and they won't let cars try to pass."
It wasn't always this way. The ride began as a small group of riders in the early 1980s. Through the years, bicyclists from across the state have been drawn to the area because of its unique rolling terrain. But with the exploding growth in recent years ? including in Clermont, Windermere and Groveland ? bicyclists are increasingly competing for the same asphalt as motorists.
"We are all using the same stretch of road, and we all have equal rights to the road," said Robert Alfert, an Orlando attorney who regularly rides with a large group of bicyclists on Sunday mornings from Windermere into Lake County. "But as our community becomes more developed and more crowded, some of these inconveniences will get worse."
After a growing number of complaints from residents, Lake County deputy sheriffs have started issuing warnings to bicyclists for not riding in single file as state law requires and rolling through stop signs.
On Sunday mornings, Joe Goloversic hops in his pickup and drives the back roads from his home in Clermont to his job as a security guard in Windermere. Along the way, he encounters dozens of bicyclists wearing skintight outfits and sleek aerodynamic helmets riding in large packs.
"The road, honest to God, is sometimes covered with bicycles," Goloversic said.
Slowing down and passing the racing cyclists has typically been a minor inconvenience. But now Goloversic and other motorists say the herds of riders are becoming increasingly larger and creating a dangerous situation on the winding, hilly roads in south Lake and west Orange counties. Goloversic said he recently punctured a tire after he was forced off the road while trying to avoid hitting a group.
"I was so mad I could spit," he said. "They're sharing the road with cars going 40 miles per hour or more, and they are spread four or five across, and they won't let cars try to pass."
It wasn't always this way. The ride began as a small group of riders in the early 1980s. Through the years, bicyclists from across the state have been drawn to the area because of its unique rolling terrain. But with the exploding growth in recent years ? including in Clermont, Windermere and Groveland ? bicyclists are increasingly competing for the same asphalt as motorists.
"We are all using the same stretch of road, and we all have equal rights to the road," said Robert Alfert, an Orlando attorney who regularly rides with a large group of bicyclists on Sunday mornings from Windermere into Lake County. "But as our community becomes more developed and more crowded, some of these inconveniences will get worse."
After a growing number of complaints from residents, Lake County deputy sheriffs have started issuing warnings to bicyclists for not riding in single file as state law requires and rolling through stop signs.
