cheaters
Cycling is a very popular hobby in Cary, but for all of the people riding around town in their ill-advised spandex outfits, we have seen little improvement with regard to cycling-friendly roadways and parks. Many of Cary's main roads are finally being expanded to meet the demands of last decade's population growth, but only a few of them have cycling lanes. I often encounter situations where people approach cyclists who are coasting in and out of the breakdown lane and then swerve around them at full speed, with barely a look to see what's happening alongside them. It's irritating and dangerous, all at the same time.
But unlike most residents, I'm not upset because our transportation department has failed to recognize the plight of the avid cyclist; I'm upset because I'm not a cyclist and I hate sharing the road with them. In fact, one of the things I hate most about sharing the road is the phrase sharing the road. I see this admonition on traffic signs and bumper stickers across Wake County, and it's one of the worst ideas I've ever encountered. The cyclist is traveling with a vehicle that he can lift off the ground with one finger; I am traveling with a two-ton steel bullet that's moving at twice his speed. We cannot share the road. Asking automobile drivers to share the road with cyclists is a red herring that pits cyclists against drivers and draws attention away from the fact that our civil engineers have dropped the ball.
Physics aside, there is another reason that I don't like sharing the road: cyclists are bad motorists. Every cycling enthusiast I've ever met[1] is quick to complain about automobile drivers that try to run them off the road, throw things at them, or otherwise treat them as second-class motorists. They talk about state laws that give equality to cyclists and other slow-moving vehicles, but they always gloss over the parts about cyclists being restricted by all of the same rules and signals. The same cyclists who want me to coast patiently behind their peloton as we try to conquer a hill at ten miles per hour are quick to pedal through a red light if there's no oncoming traffic. I also like it when they piggyback with cars that have been waiting at a stop sign; nothing says "responsible motorist" like hanging out in my blind spot through a busy intersection!
Ignoring traffic rules is fine for ten-year-old kids parading around town with their friends[2], but if you want equality in the eyes of the law, you had better sit at that red light and wait for it to change, even if traffic is low and you don't have a license plate. You had better wait your turn on the stop sign merry-go-round. And you had better hope I never run for office, because in Dan Jemiolo America, all cars will be equipped with high-powered lasers.
So much anger.
[1] An enthusiast is anyone who has one or more cycling-related bumper stickers on his car or wears cycling shoes to the office.
[2] Assuming they're smart enough to avoid my car.
Labels: cary, culture, narcissism
1 Comments:
The cyclists do that all the time in Austin, it drives me crazy.
November 8, 2007 9:53 PM
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