pick as many as apply~

I added a few options.

BTW I'm not near as much an urban outlaw as my sweet lil' ol' wife!

I roll through stops signs to beat the cars who are rolling through the stop signs.

There is one spot I ride on the sidewalk for about 10 feet to avoid going another four blocks and doing a U turn. Riding on the sidewalk is much safer in this particular spot, so I do it.

I'm generally a pretty safe commuter. It's tough enough already in the OC commuting. I don't want to get myself killed.



joe

I treat each stop sign differently. If it's in a quiet neighborhood, I'll probably roll through it (had an off-duty cop chew me out once when I did this by his house). If it's at a busy intersection, I'll stop no matter what. The #1 sign comes out if I'm having a really bad day.

You forgot my two favorite violations:
1. Buzz pedestrians who cross against the light
2. Sneak up behind joggers taking up the bike lane and yell, "GIDDYUP!!!"
:-)

........Sneak up behind joggers taking up the bike lane and yell, "GIDDYUP!!!"
:-)

I'll have to remember that one.

You forgot my two favorite violations:
1. Buzz pedestrians who cross against the light
2. Sneak up behind joggers taking up the bike lane and yell, "GIDDYUP!!!"
:-)

Lol

I also used to enjoy body-checking tourists on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Also left off bending or breaking off car antennas. I used to do that in my youth...

I'd like to see another category for dealing with clueless pedestrians wearing iPods. I still don't really know how to deal with these drones.

You forgot my two favorite violations:
1. Buzz pedestrians who cross against the light
2. Sneak up behind joggers taking up the bike lane and yell, "GIDDYUP!!!"
:-)

my poll options were limited to 10 choices, but MB1 modded that - thanks ;)

I checked off a few myself, stop signs, red lights, headphones. I was thinking of this during the ride in this morning: getting stopped and just how many violations the cops could cite me for if they were paying attention at a given point.

I generally try to keep the signs & lights limited to quiet areas where I'm not doing it "in your face" to drivers who are obeying the laws I'm breaking.

my poll options were limited to 10 choices, but MB1 modded that - thanks ;) ..............

I figured you SoCal guys would never ever consider riding on a freeway without a death wish. One of these days when traffic is backed up enough I'll post an illustrated freeway ride report.

I'll sneak through a stop sign if no one is around, otherwise que up.
I'm sorry but it there is a half a mile parking lot i'm spliting lanes. I don't ride a bike to sit in traffic :)

There should be an option "wage war with taxis" for those of us who deal with those vindictive habitual road terrorists!

I figured you SoCal guys would never ever consider riding on a freeway without a death wish. One of these days when traffic is backed up enough I'll post an illustrated freeway ride report.

a few years ago the messengers included the downtown 110 freeway as part of their alley cat, during rush hour. 5 lanes of traffic crawling along at 5pm when all of a sudden cyclists are bombing down the onramp and fanning out past the cars. Someone is rumored to have helmet cam footage....I need to find that.

I don't ride a brakeless fixie. Aloha.

Great Poll! Made my day. Seems I am a criminal...:frown2:

a few years ago the messengers included the downtown 110 freeway as part of their alley cat, during rush hour. 5 lanes of traffic crawling along at 5pm when all of a sudden cyclists are bombing down the onramp and fanning out past the cars. Someone is rumored to have helmet cam footage....I need to find that.


If you ever find that, be sure to post it. That would be awesome.




joe

but spankin it on the bike is something i haven't mastered yet

but spankin it on the bike is something i haven't mastered yet


Overheard at the office, "hey Yuri, tell us again how you dislocated your shoulder/broke your collarbone (pick one)".

Hmmm. Only two violations ( stop signs and #1!) but multiple counts of each.

sigh. And i keep telling myself to lay off the finger. It seems to have a mind of its own.

PW

I voted but I forgot to check off "usually helmetless".

Overheard at the office, "hey Yuri, tell us again how you dislocated your shoulder/broke your collarbone (pick one)".

er, i mean....

With my single speed I run way more lights/stopsigns, I only checked the things I do all the time... I also should have checked ride wrong way up one way streets. When I ride our new commuter train, ride up to the platform, the train guys tell me everytime that it's illegal. I don't see any signs...

Hey Hollywood,
Good to see you this weekend in San Jose. Regarding the "spank people's butts as I pass" option, I don't, but I got spanked for the first time on Monday. Car with high school boys. Got me good as they passed. It made a good SLAP sound, and it STUNG. With the lycra, long hair, and smooth legs I think they thought I was a girl.
Peace,

I checked off most of 'em. Sidewalks and going against traffic: very, very rare, but I'll do it when necessary. I never take someone's right-of-way, but I never stop for stop signs. The only time I'll run a red light is when I'm chasing someone down who, um, deserves to be chased down. Otherwise, I think it's too flagrant and adds to drivers' hostility toward cyclists.

I wouldn't normally ride on the freeway (DUH!), but there's a stretch between Ventura and Santa Barbara where you have to.

Now if only you'd added "spitting at cars."

And i keep telling myself to lay off the finger. It seems to have a mind of its own.

PW


I checked off most boxes. I ride like a maniac (although I like to think I'm skilled and alert to the point where it doesn't endanger anyone), but one thing I really need to stop is the stupid finger. It doesn't get you anywhere, and it is so commonplace as to be insufficient retaliation for those few who truly deserve it. From here on out I am instituting a self imposed moratorium on middle fingers. May you all be my witnesses.

p.s. How come "skitches minivans" wasn't on the poll?:D

I checked off most boxes. I ride like a maniac (although I like to think I'm skilled and alert to the point where it doesn't endanger anyone), but one thing I really need to stop is the stupid finger. It doesn't get you anywhere, and it is so commonplace as to be insufficient retaliation for those few who truly deserve it. From here on out I am instituting a self imposed moratorium on middle fingers. May you all be my witnesses.

p.s. How come "skitches minivans" wasn't on the poll?:D
Apparently I'm a bad person and going to heck...

The one I'd really like to see someone check is "Skitches Police cars".

a few years ago the messengers included the downtown 110 freeway as part of their alley cat, during rush hour. 5 lanes of traffic crawling along at 5pm when all of a sudden cyclists are bombing down the onramp and fanning out past the cars. Someone is rumored to have helmet cam footage....I need to find that.


I am sure you can find it here.

http://www.digave.com/videos/

I am a better boy scout now on my gearie bike. :D

When I was commuting fixie, I used to blow thru stops and reds. :rolleyes:

I checked off seven of them. Though I almost always ride helmetless when on an MUT, I rarely do will riding on the road and never when riding singletrack, so I didn't check that one. And though I have ridden my bike on a limited access hiway once upon a time, I didn't check that either.

pick as many as apply~

About the only thing I'll do is ride across a section of sidewalk about 30 feet long that connects a cul de sac to the street by my office. I do it at walking speed, though, and I'm very careful.

Very rarely I roll through a stop sign in a secluded residential area, but not when cars are around, and I feel very guilty about it.

I try like heck to get caught speeding, but 45 mph speed limits (on flat ground) make it tough! ;-)

I have gotten so used to running the red lights and rolling through stop signs on my commutes, that I find myself doing it one the days I have to drive.

wow - 27% of voters bang on cars?! I ride pretty aggresively in LA but I don't think I've ever intentionally smacked one. Rest my hand on several instead of unclipping at a light though ;) Maybe I've just never been in a situation that would bring that out in me.

wow - 27% of voters bang on cars?! I ride pretty aggresively in LA but I don't think I've ever intentionally smacked one. Rest my hand on several instead of unclipping at a light though ;) Maybe I've just never been in a situation that would bring that out in me.

The implications of the poll (that likely started out as a bit of a joke) are something to think about. Maybe we all need to take a deep breath anc step back a bit from the way we behave in public.

Me included. :blush2:

I checked many of the boxes. My goal is riding quickly and safely not pretending I'm in a car and following rules made for them. On a good day I'm almost as fast as a big tractor. I believe it's best for everybody if I use my smallness on the bike to disturb the flow of traffic less than tractors do. I also believe that our biggest sin against drivers is slowing them down and try to slow them down as little as possible. I try to keep moving and ride in the manner I want people to walk on mut's.


The implications of the poll (that likely started out as a bit of a joke) are something to think about. Maybe we all need to take a deep breath anc step back a bit from the way we behave in public.

Me included. :blush2:

I run stop signs in rural areas. There's one stop light we run on the commute (way to work). We have to turn left to go over a bridge and we never trigger it. When we rode mountain bikes to work last summer we waited for a few mins once and no one ever came up behind us to trigger the light. So, now we wait until it's green for straight and there aren't any cars coming from the opposite direction.

Also, we ride caross the street by our place and ride on the sidewalk to avoid having to turn onto a busy 4 lane street and cross 2 lanes of traffic into the complex. It's a pretty short section, though.

wow - 27% of voters bang on cars?! I ride pretty aggresively in LA but I don't think I've ever intentionally smacked one. Rest my hand on several instead of unclipping at a light though ;) Maybe I've just never been in a situation that would bring that out in me.
I checked yes on this question, but I've done it once, maybe twice in 7 years of riding.

I imagine it's similar for others, note the poll didn't say which of these things do you do regularly, or in the past month. For me that's just rolling stop signs, nothing else.

most of the rules I brake, I do so as a matter of self preservation.

wow - 27% of voters bang on cars?! I ride pretty aggresively in LA but I don't think I've ever intentionally smacked one. Rest my hand on several instead of unclipping at a light though ;) Maybe I've just never been in a situation that would bring that out in me.
I've slapped cars. I don't make a habit of it, but it's in the arsenal. Most times it's defensive, to get a driver's attention who's merging into me.

Oddly enough, the most impatient, bike-hating, aggressive drivers are on the westside.

I'm a good boy: I stop for all red lights (I have only run one red light, ever, and it was one of those T intersections where I was going straight through it and not crossing lanes of traffic). I usually stop for stopsigns but I will run them once in a while, depending on the conditions at the time.

I always wear my helmet unless it's a shakedown ride in front of the house and I never wear an iPod while riding. I have made cell phone calls while riding, on a few occasions, though. The last time was with a BlueTooth headset on. I always carry a cellphone while riding, just in case, but I usually stop when I get a call or I ignore it altogether.