This is a good explanation of the double-standard that is sadly all too common. 

 

http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/09/22/every-nyc-traffic-crash-should-be-investigated-like-the-central-park-fatality/

General Motors offers bike sharing service to 19,000 employees on its Tech Center Campus

http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2014/Aug/0826-bike-share.html

Not Ohio, but worth sharing nonetheless.....

 

Streetsblog Network ‏@StreetsblogNet  8s8 seconds ago

Man arrested for trying to bike through a Taco Bell drive thru http://abc7chicago.com/news/man-arrested-after-trying-to-order-taco-bell-drive-thru-on-bike/403861/ … Really?

I nearly got arrested by a cop for biking through a drive-through lane. The Taco Bell had no problem with me ordering via bike, but when I came to pay and pickup, I was informed that the lane was for "vehicles" only. I reminded them that a bicycle was a vehicle...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/bono-will-need-surgery-after-crashing-his-bike-in-central-pa

 

Not in Ohio but the incident is an example of what I've long observed -- that your biggest danger while riding a bike is other bicyclists.  Bikes can and do move much more erratically than do cars.  No brake lights, no turn signals, and we underestimate how nasty a spill can be when hit by another bicyclist. 

Not Ohio, but worth sharing nonetheless.....

 

Streetsblog Network ‏@StreetsblogNet  8s8 seconds ago

Man arrested for trying to bike through a Taco Bell drive thru http://abc7chicago.com/news/man-arrested-after-trying-to-order-taco-bell-drive-thru-on-bike/403861/ … Really?

 

You should try reading the article.  He was arrested for being violent. Yes, the employees were wrong not to sell to him, but he was wrong for refusing to leave.  When police came, he was violent.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/bono-will-need-surgery-after-crashing-his-bike-in-central-pa

 

Not in Ohio but the incident is an example of what I've long observed -- that your biggest danger while riding a bike is other bicyclists.  Bikes can and do move much more erratically than do cars.  No brake lights, no turn signals, and we underestimate how nasty a spill can be when hit by another bicyclist. 

 

And yet how many cyclists are killed or seriously injured by other cyclists compared to those killed and injured by motorists? 

According to to the pedestrian and bicycle information center:

 

http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_crash.cfm

http://www.nhtsa.gov/nti/811841

 

Six most Frequent Sources of Injury Percent

Hit by car 29

Fell 17

Roadway/walkway not in good repair 13

Rider error/not paying attention 13

Crashed/collision 7

Dog ran out 4

http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/bono-will-need-surgery-after-crashing-his-bike-in-central-pa

 

Not in Ohio but the incident is an example of what I've long observed -- that your biggest danger while riding a bike is other bicyclists.  Bikes can and do move much more erratically than do cars.  No brake lights, no turn signals, and we underestimate how nasty a spill can be when hit by another bicyclist. 

 

And yet how many cyclists are killed or seriously injured by other cyclists compared to those killed and injured by motorists? 

 

Many.  One of my bother's friends has permanent brain damage from a bike-on-bike collision and one of my aunts was air cared from an accident caused on a group ride.  I've seen people take absolutely ridiculous spills on group rides caused by the erratic behavior of the group, not by any cars. 

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/bono-will-need-surgery-after-crashing-his-bike-in-central-pa

 

Not in Ohio but the incident is an example of what I've long observed -- that your biggest danger while riding a bike is other bicyclists.  Bikes can and do move much more erratically than do cars.  No brake lights, no turn signals, and we underestimate how nasty a spill can be when hit by another bicyclist. 

 

And yet how many cyclists are killed or seriously injured by other cyclists compared to those killed and injured by motorists? 

 

Many.  One of my bother's friends has permanent brain damage from a bike-on-bike collision and one of my aunts was air cared from an accident caused on a group ride.  I've seen people take absolutely ridiculous spills on group rides caused by the erratic behavior of the group, not by any cars. 

 

 

Interestingly enough, while your anecdotal evidence and stories are stirring and certainly unfortunate, the data shows that accidents with automobiles are far more common and serious. If we take just half of the "rider error" category and attribute it to some sore of incident with a car, and give the other have to bike-on-bike, that's still over 35% of bike injuries caused by an interaction with a car vs 14% as caused by interaction with another bike.

 

I am curious what the other 50% consists of - riders injuring themselves of their own accord? Falling, sidewalk/trail issues, animals.. what else?

If these dash cams get more popular in the United States, we'll start seeing that more of the bike accidents involving cars are caused by the bicyclists themselves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3CnugkmWig

 

Why do you keep insisting on a point that's not supported by facts?  Just because you can find examples of cyclists self-injuring it still doesn't mean it's more dangerous, as you seem to believe.  Anecdote does not equal data. 

I was in this situation yesterday. Bike next to me in bike lane, at a green light. I was turning right, the bike was going straight. Who has the right of way? No accident be cause I slowed down, but could have been bad.

I was in this situation yesterday. Bike next to me in bike lane, at a green light. I was turning right, the bike was going straight. Who has the right of way? No accident be cause I slowed down, but could have been bad.

Treat the cyclist as you would any other motorist. If a car was next to you and going straight, who has the right of way?

 

^Sorry, that's not much help.  I'm turning right, I might not know if the cyclist was just behind me to the right.  I couldn't treat him as if a car was right next to me, as that would be like turning right from the inside lane.

I was in this situation yesterday. Bike next to me in bike lane, at a green light. I was turning right, the bike was going straight. Who has the right of way? No accident be cause I slowed down, but could have been bad.

 

Bike has right of way, absolutely. You can't just turn right in front of a bike going the same way you are anymore than you can turn left in front of a car going the opposite way. You must yield.

Why do you keep insisting on a point that's not supported by facts?  Just because you can find examples of cyclists self-injuring it still doesn't mean it's more dangerous, as you seem to believe.  Anecdote does not equal data. 

 

It's impossible to gather comprehensive and accurate bicycling accident statistics because relatively few accidents are reported and there is obviously a tendency for embarrassed bicyclists to not report an accident that they caused. There is also a tendency for people who know that they were at fault to embellish their stories to make themselves look like a victim.  These vehicle dash cam videos are devastating to the "whoa is me" culture that pervades the internet, since it's inevitable that bike crash videos captured by helmet-mounted Go Pro cameras will go viral amongst the sort of people who want to blame a lack of bike-specific infrastructure for everything. 

You're still just projecting your own biases, trying to justify a position that only you seem to think is the "real truth" but without any real evidence to back it up.  Even if it were true that more accidents happen bike-on-bike or bike-self, you have provided nothing to suggest that those are any more serious than bike-car crashes, which are usually reported, especially fatalities.  The very few fatalities that involve a cyclist and a pedestrian or another cyclist get blown way out of proportion in the news because it's such a rare occurrence.  In the same vein, the most car crashes happen in parking lots, but they're never fatal, so are they really that dangerous? 

Well until these dash cam videos started appearing, there wasn't much hard evidence of the sort of thing I suspected was happening.  For the past 10 years serious bicycle accidents periodically make the rounds via social media, and immediately all and sundry swarm to blame the car, when in at least a few cases I was pretty sure it was actually the bicyclist who made the error of judgment. 

 

The problem is that the bike helmet thing is a lot like conceal carry.  It's the symptom of paranoia bred by an industry.  Even if someone does break into your house or mug you on the street, it's unlikely that the hand gun that you carry is going to diffuse the situation in the way the industry advertises that it will.  Same with bike helmets -- it's incredibly unlikely that a typical bike helmet will protect you from serious head injuries in a wreck where your head gets hit.  A motorcycle helmet would but it's completely impractical to wear a motorcycle helmet while bicycling. 

 

 

Bono's injuries are apparently pretty serious:

http://news.yahoo.com/bono-opens-up-about-injury-in-blog-post-u2-142448276.html

 

Claims he might not be able to play guitar anymore.  I can vouch as someone who had a really weird injury in 2010 and expensive visit to the emergency room for nerve damage that losing the ability to play guitar is really, really upsetting.  It took more than a year before I could play again.  Although I think losing the ability to bike due to a biking injury would be the cruelest punishment.   

It is really disheartening when anything about cyclists or pedestrians is brought up in the graduate-level transportation engineering class I am currently taking at Cleveland State. The professor, thank god, at least makes an attempt to talk about non-vehicular transportation modes as viable alternatives, but is generally laughed at by my classmates if anything but cars are talked about. When talking about sign placement for cyclists today, the class said that it didn't matter and that it should be placed at head-level so as to "decapitate the d-bag cyclists because they deserve it." Other students casually make references to running over pedestrians all the time for "getting in their way." The class couldn't seem to grasp why demolishing neighborhoods to build or widen freeways was at all negative. While I understand that many of the students are joking and exaggerating when they say such things, I believe it still generally shows the attitude of a large segment of those who will be influencing transportation policy, planning, design, and implementation in the near future. This is a graduate level class and these students will, probably, be getting jobs at places such as ODOT in the next year or two. After a month and a half in this class, the lack of care for (and curriculum on) the social, environmental, etc implications of transportation (or the "fuzzy stuff" as the professor says) has become apparent. How can we expect those who are in decision-making positions to make sound, well thought out choices if they simply regurgitate information from transportation engineering manuals from the 1940s-50s (yay traffic flow!) with little regard to the millions of actual people affected by their choices?   

^ I think everyone who violates the law should be punished, and obviously that includes motorists. Yes, car crashes kill thousands annually, but I believe the majority of those casualties are those riding in the same vehicle or in other vehicles--not pedestrians--and the result of too much alcohol consumption. But motorists don't generally have the cavalier attitude to the degree cyclists have with respect to laws; and no, I don't think the targeting of cyclists is "unbalanced" against them, but if anything the other way around. That's why they get away with so much!

 

No traceable licence plates helps too.

Yes, car crashes kill thousands annually, but I believe the majority of those casualties are those riding in the same vehicle or in other vehicles--not pedestrians--and the result of too much alcohol consumption.

 

Not true where you live:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/nyregion/in-reversal-new-york-city-traffic-fatalities-rise.html

It is really disheartening when anything about cyclists or pedestrians is brought up in the graduate-level transportation engineering class I am currently taking at Cleveland State. The professor, thank god, at least makes an attempt to talk about non-vehicular transportation modes as viable alternatives, but is generally laughed at by my classmates if anything but cars are talked about. When talking about sign placement for cyclists today, the class said that it didn't matter and that it should be placed at head-level so as to "decapitate the d-bag cyclists because they deserve it." Other students casually make references to running over pedestrians all the time for "getting in their way." The class couldn't seem to grasp why demolishing neighborhoods to build or widen freeways was at all negative. While I understand that many of the students are joking and exaggerating when they say such things, I believe it still generally shows the attitude of a large segment of those who will be influencing transportation policy, planning, design, and implementation in the near future. This is a graduate level class and these students will, probably, be getting jobs at places such as ODOT in the next year or two. After a month and a half in this class, the lack of care for (and curriculum on) the social, environmental, etc implications of transportation (or the "fuzzy stuff" as the professor says) has become apparent. How can we expect those who are in decision-making positions to make sound, well thought out choices if they simply regurgitate information from transportation engineering manuals from the 1940s-50s (yay traffic flow!) with little regard to the millions of actual people affected by their choices?   

 

The personal finance guru Dave Ramsey is very anti-new car, especially the financing of a new car or any car, but oddly never calls for improved public transportation or bicycle usage.  In fact I recently heard him make fun of bicyclists on his show with a sarcastic flourish about "feeling the wind in your hair".  The solution to people's personal finance woes is right in front of us. 

 

 

A good article arguing against mandatory bicycle helmet laws:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/15/dont-make-bicyclists-more-visible-make-cars-stop-running-them-over/?postshare=8131429103904288

 

I have stated my opinion on this matter elsewhere but it bears repeating...bike advocates always rally around any bicyclist involved in a bike vs. car accident.  Sometimes, like in the case of the drunk driver who killed the bicyclist in suburban Cincinnati last year, there is no doubt that the driver was responsible.  But many times the bicyclist is as much or more at fault do to riding that might be legal but set the stage for an avoidable accident.

 

We should not be encouraging the same sort of people who drop cell phones and cameras regularly to get into biking.  They are people whose minds jump to step 8 in a 3 step process before beginning step 2.  They are the same people who get into a lot of minor car accidents.  They simply don't have what it takes to block out distractions and think through, in real time, what the hell is going on on a public road.  No amount of bike lanes, reflective clothing, blinking lights, or bike helmets are going to change that. 

State Rep Shanon Jones is back in the news...after inserting language into the state budget that prohibits any state spending on Cincinnati's streetcar project, she is now doing the auto industry's bidding once again and looking to slap bike helmets on kids: http://www.wlwt.com/news/New-bill-would-require-Ohio-children-to-wear-bike-helmets/32919640

 

There is widespread speculation that the auto industry is behind the mandatory bike helmet laws as a way to thwart bike share programs, bike commuting, and casual bicycle use. 

State Rep Shanon Jones is back in the news...after inserting language into the state budget that prohibits any state spending on Cincinnati's streetcar project, she is now doing the auto industry's bidding once again and looking to slap bike helmets on kids: http://www.wlwt.com/news/New-bill-would-require-Ohio-children-to-wear-bike-helmets/32919640

 

There is widespread speculation that the auto industry is behind the mandatory bike helmet laws as a way to thwart bike share programs, bike commuting, and casual bicycle use. 

 

We need to vote these nuts out of office!

State Rep Shanon Jones is back in the news...after inserting language into the state budget that prohibits any state spending on Cincinnati's streetcar project, she is now doing the auto industry's bidding once again and looking to slap bike helmets on kids: http://www.wlwt.com/news/New-bill-would-require-Ohio-children-to-wear-bike-helmets/32919640

 

There is widespread speculation that the auto industry is behind the mandatory bike helmet laws as a way to thwart bike share programs, bike commuting, and casual bicycle use. 

 

Then why is the only city known to mandate them for grownups ultra-liberal Shaker Heights?

Moved Tour de France video to a new thread in the Sports section:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30217.msg763788/topicseen.html#new

KG ‏@KG_DC  11m11 minutes ago

Wow, drivers hit cyclists with relative impunity while juries dole out awards for this w/ an hour of deliberation?! http://m.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke/cyclist-who-collided-with-runner-on-roanoke-greenway-wins-civil/article_06cee958-8513-58d7-9cce-e30ebef81155.html?mode=jqm …

KG ‏@KG_DC  11m11 minutes ago

Wow, drivers hit cyclists with relative impunity while juries dole out awards for this w/ an hour of deliberation?! http://m.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke/cyclist-who-collided-with-runner-on-roanoke-greenway-wins-civil/article_06cee958-8513-58d7-9cce-e30ebef81155.html?mode=jqm

 

I say it over and over again, but biking on recreational paths is often as or more dangerous than biking on many roads.  People on foot and other bicyclists behave much more erratically than do cars.  The problem is that few people who claim to be bicyclists have actually biked enough to observe this. 

KG ‏@KG_DC  11m11 minutes ago

Wow, drivers hit cyclists with relative impunity while juries dole out awards for this w/ an hour of deliberation?! http://m.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke/cyclist-who-collided-with-runner-on-roanoke-greenway-wins-civil/article_06cee958-8513-58d7-9cce-e30ebef81155.html?mode=jqm

 

I say it over and over again, but biking on recreational paths is often as or more dangerous than biking on many roads.  People on foot and other bicyclists behave much more erratically than do cars.  The problem is that few people who claim to be bicyclists have actually biked enough to observe this. 

 

I don't see anything wrong with cyclists on recreational paths. Even if a bike is more likely to hit a pedestrian on a bike path compared to a car hiting a cyclist, the likelihood of life-threatening injury is probably substantially smaller. One of my favorite paths is the Olentangy River Trail and I'd bike along it all the time and don't recall any instances where I almost ran someone over. If I approach someone, I just slow down and make some noise and say something along the lines of "excuse me," "behind you, "to your right" and so on. If you've ever worked in a kitchen where there's a lot of people in a small space, you follow a similar protocol that would cause anyone with common sense to not make sudden drastic movements once they hear someone say "behind you with a knife" or "hot pan, coming through" etc.. Of course people lack common sense everywhere and there's always that risk of it not working but I don't think that should prohibit cyclists from using paths. I can see why others might disagree, that's just my opinion. I expect everyone to be aware of their environment.

Prove it Jake.  As bad as the injuries in this case were, that's a very unusual situation.  The worst crash on a bike path between a cyclist and a pedestrian is going to be much less severe than the majority of bike/car crashes.  It's like when a roundabout is installed and the total number of crashes goes up slightly, everyone cries "ermagherd teh traffic circle is so unsafe!" without noticing that the number of serious and fatal crashes has dropped nearly to zero while trading for a few more fender benders.  Or like when helmets were introduced for soldiers in WWI the number of head injuries coming into hospitals increased markedly, "wow these helmets increase head injuries!"  No, the soldiers were getting hurt rather than killed. 

 

According to the 2012 National Survey on Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behaviors, nearly a third of all injuries are caused when bicyclists are struck by cars. 

 

Six most Frequent Sources of Injury:

29% Hit by car

17% Fell

13% Roadway/walkway not in good repair

13% Rider error/not paying attention

7% Crashed/collision

4% Dog ran out

 

http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_crash.cfm

http://www.nhtsa.gov/nti/811841

International cycling news here -- shows that Europeans can be idiots about biking, too (surprisingly so!)...

 

Through blood, toil, sweat, and tears, UK will prevail—against cycleways.

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/cycleways-more-damaging-to-london-than-the-blitz-claims-lord-lawson/018809

 

In the 16th minute, Duff of Guns N Roses sez mountain biking helped him get sober and helped him turn his life around:

Making the meme rounds as a classic example of how government "helps".

 

 

Leonardo DiCaprio loves Citi Bike:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-introduces-girlfriend-true-154723994.html

 

Leonardo DiCaprio loves Citi Bike:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-introduces-girlfriend-true-154723994.html

:-P he's probably one of the people who ride on the sidewalk and the wrong way in bike lanes :x

 

I couldn't believe it when I saw this story. Hey, how about cracking down on bicyclists who ignore the law and endanger the safety of pedestrians!! (something people have been begging the cops to do for years!)--

 

NYPD Cracking Down On Motorists Who Drive, Park In Bike Lanes

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/05/16/nypd-bicyclists-initiative/

 

Leonardo DiCaprio loves Citi Bike:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-introduces-girlfriend-true-154723994.html

:-P he's probably one of the people who ride on the sidewalk and the wrong way in bike lanes :x

 

I couldn't believe it when I saw this story. Hey, how about cracking down on bicyclists who ignore the law and endanger the safety of pedestrians!! (something people have been begging the cops to do for years!)--

 

NYPD Cracking Down On Motorists Who Drive, Park In Bike Lanes

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/05/16/nypd-bicyclists-initiative/

 

If a driver doesn't pay a ticket their license can get suspended.  Not so with bicyclists.

 

Leonardo DiCaprio loves Citi Bike:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-introduces-girlfriend-true-154723994.html

:-P he's probably one of the people who ride on the sidewalk and the wrong way in bike lanes :x

 

I couldn't believe it when I saw this story. Hey, how about cracking down on bicyclists who ignore the law and endanger the safety of pedestrians!! (something people have been begging the cops to do for years!)--

 

NYPD Cracking Down On Motorists Who Drive, Park In Bike Lanes

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/05/16/nypd-bicyclists-initiative/

 

If a driver doesn't pay a ticket their license can get suspended.  Not so with bicyclists.

 

Your point?  Do pedestrians who jaywalk (a "crime" developed by the automobile lobby in the first place) have their license suspended?  Oh wait no, there's no such thing.  Plus, "crack down on bicyclists who ignore the law and endanger the safety of pedestrians"?  The NYPD itself has been doing that for years, but not in the sense of "cracking down" but deliberately and unfairly targeting cyclists.  Police would park their cruisers in the bike lanes and then ticket cyclists for not riding in the bike lane.  They'd set up speed traps in Central Park and ticket cyclists for going 2 mph over the speed limit.  All this while ignoring truck drivers and other motorists driving 50 mph in 30 mph zones.  All this while motorists who kill and maim cyclists and pedestrians are let off with no criminal charges and in many cases no ticket whatsoever, because the motorist "felt bad about it."  The actual danger caused by cyclists is so small that suggesting a crack down is absurd.  Plus if the problem is sidewalk riding and salmoning, then that's a very good indication that facilities for cyclists are sorely lacking and should be fixed. 

 

Leonardo DiCaprio loves Citi Bike:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-introduces-girlfriend-true-154723994.html

:-P he's probably one of the people who ride on the sidewalk and the wrong way in bike lanes :x

 

I couldn't believe it when I saw this story. Hey, how about cracking down on bicyclists who ignore the law and endanger the safety of pedestrians!! (something people have been begging the cops to do for years!)--

 

NYPD Cracking Down On Motorists Who Drive, Park In Bike Lanes

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/05/16/nypd-bicyclists-initiative/

 

If a driver doesn't pay a ticket their license can get suspended.  Not so with bicyclists.

 

I had my driver's license suspended for 6 months for a bicycling incident.  I had to get a temporary license and retake the test with the lady driving around with you. 

 

 

Leonardo DiCaprio loves Citi Bike:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-introduces-girlfriend-true-154723994.html

:-P he's probably one of the people who ride on the sidewalk and the wrong way in bike lanes :x

 

I couldn't believe it when I saw this story. Hey, how about cracking down on bicyclists who ignore the law and endanger the safety of pedestrians!! (something people have been begging the cops to do for years!)--

 

NYPD Cracking Down On Motorists Who Drive, Park In Bike Lanes

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/05/16/nypd-bicyclists-initiative/

 

If a driver doesn't pay a ticket their license can get suspended.  Not so with bicyclists.

 

I had my driver's license suspended for 6 months for a bicycling incident.  I had to get a temporary license and retake the test with the lady driving around with you. 

 

 

The irony is you were treated differently from a bicyclist with no driver's license.

I especially like it when cyclists blithely ride around wearing earbuds, like the happy-go-lucky bike share user in the picture. This always contributes to safe streets :x (In fairness, the street was blocked for the annual orgy of nuttiness known as the NYC Dance Parade --yes, there is such a thing--that culminates in the East Village; but unfortunately you see this sort of selfish, inconsiderate behavior from cyclists all the time).

 

I especially like it when cyclists blithely ride around wearing earbuds, like the happy-go-lucky bike share user in the picture. This always contributes to safe streets :x (In fairness, the street was blocked for the annual orgy of nuttiness known as the NYC Dance Parade --yes, there is such a thing--that culminates in the East Village; but unfortunately you see this sort of selfish, inconsiderate behavior from cyclists all the time).

 

 

I'm also surprised by how many times I see drivers in cars wearing headphones while driving...

I especially like it when cyclists blithely ride around wearing earbuds, like the happy-go-lucky bike share user in the picture. This always contributes to safe streets :x (In fairness, the street was blocked for the annual orgy of nuttiness known as the NYC Dance Parade --yes, there is such a thing--that culminates in the East Village; but unfortunately you see this sort of selfish, inconsiderate behavior from cyclists all the time).

 

So... You would rather they fully encase themselves in metal and glass with a stereo?

I especially like it when cyclists blithely ride around wearing earbuds, like the happy-go-lucky bike share user in the picture. This always contributes to safe streets :x (In fairness, the street was blocked for the annual orgy of nuttiness known as the NYC Dance Parade --yes, there is such a thing--that culminates in the East Village; but unfortunately you see this sort of selfish, inconsiderate behavior from cyclists all the time).

 

So... You would rather they fully encase themselves in metal and glass with a stereo?

no, I would just rather see them simply obey the law and not act like they have been given some kind of special dispensation to violate the rules and regulations (casually crashing red lights, riding on the sidewalk whenever they feel like it, etc., etc.) everybody else has to abide by. Why is that asking so much?

Double standard. 

 

People do dumb things and break laws all the time, whether on a bike or in a car.  Motorists speed constantly, roll through stop signs, run red lights, swerve, park on sidewalks, and do plenty of other jackhole things.  And here's the thing, those are all incredibly dangerous to other people.  While a cyclist is a bit more dangerous to a pedestrian than another pedestrian, the danger of even a small car to pedestrians and cyclists is an order of magnitude greater.  The other difference is that when you see someone do those things in a car, it's "that asshole" [person like me doing many things I do too] but when someone on a bike does it, they're "that asshole cyclist" [other creature I don't identify with doing things I don't understand].

 

Also the thing about earbuds is that what you hear versus what you see only tells you about things directly behind you.  And the only thing of much use would be that you're about to be run over, which you can't really do anything about.  Regardless, what's behind you on the road is not your responsibility.  If you're going to change lanes or turn or whatever, then you have to look to see you're not cutting someone off, but hearing has no bearing on that.  Deaf people can drive cars after all. 

Pretty interesting data comparing male vs. female bicyclists on a Tour de France mountain stage:

https://www.strava.com/segments/1624487

 

Bicycling seems to point out a pretty dramatic difference in male-female physiology -- a noteworthy lower body difference as compared to the more often discussed upper body difference.  Data like this gives the impression that a completely untrained man could put out far more power, at least temporarily, than any elite female bicyclist.  Most moderately fit male bicyclists cab maintain 300W for an hour or more whereas few women appear to be able to maintain 200W for any sustained period.

 

I think this does something to explain why fewer women are into the sport and why female bike commuters don't look confident on their bikes too often.  They can get around, but they're not in control of the machine to the extent that men are.   

 

 

 

 

Zipp just released a new product...carbon wheels with a saw tooth profile and hexagon-shaped dimples:

 

A pair of these Indiana-made wheels sets you back $4,000, more than 2X the cost of their conventional round wheels. 

Pretty interesting data comparing male vs. female bicyclists on a Tour de France mountain stage:

https://www.strava.com/segments/1624487

 

Bicycling seems to point out a pretty dramatic difference in male-female physiology -- a noteworthy lower body difference as compared to the more often discussed upper body difference.  Data like this gives the impression that a completely untrained man could put out far more power, at least temporarily, than any elite female bicyclist.  Most moderately fit male bicyclists cab maintain 300W for an hour or more whereas few women appear to be able to maintain 200W for any sustained period.

 

I think this does something to explain why fewer women are into the sport and why female bike commuters don't look confident on their bikes too often.  They can get around, but they're not in control of the machine to the extent that men are.   

 

Here's an interesting follow up to that data.

 

Biological male dominates women’s cycling event in historic first

 

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/biological-male-dominates-womens-cycling-event-in-historic-first/

 

A biological male who identifies as female has won a major women’s race in the US in what is believed to be a first for cycling.

 

Jillian Bearden was born a male but identifies as a transgender woman and has not had sex reassignment surgery.

 

However, while still a biological man she was able to take part in the event under new rules ushered in by an International Olympic Council decision.

 

Bearden took victory in the 106-mile El Tour de Tucson in Arizona at the weekend in a time of 4hrs 36mins, some 25mins behind the men’s winner; Mexican Olympic cyclist Hugo Rangel.[/]

 

 

This could be interesting in the coming years. What would happen if this starts to become the norm for female competitions? Would there ever be a shift back to splitting up competitions based purely on biological sex?