The Chainlink

You blew the red light east bound on Lawrence at Damen at 5:26 pm this evening.

 

There was enough time for the biker in front of me to make it half way into the intersection, northbound on Damen, before you came whizzing past my front wheel.

 

I yelled "You're an idiot!" at your big haired chick, self, and you looked back at me. I meant it!

 

I woulda testified for any of the cars, that managed to not kill you, if they had.

 

Keep riding like a tard!

love,

gabe

 

Witness bad behavior during your commute? Feel free to post. Maybe that lovely human can read it and think they are famous. Maybe you can also inspire the whole generation of kids to shower but we can start with small things.

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I've seen this guy before (as that's my route too). Blowing Diversey-Western-Elston is just nuts.

Matt Talbert said:

I doubt the guilty party here will read this, as someone with such reckless disregard for traffic laws and commuting etiquette is unlikely to post on The Chainlink (or so I hope).

You were a heftier, middleish age cyclist on a black mountain bike in a burgundy shirt. It started when you decided to pull the classic ass hat move known as sidewalk shoaling to get in front of me. Despite passing you shortly thereafter at my comfortable pace, you shoaled me again at Addison-Kedzie-Elston, where you proceeded to obstruct traffic for a brief period of time to cut in front other cyclists and right-turning cars. I never had a chance to give you a piece of my mind since you went on to blow every freakin red light you came across, even endangering yourself when blowing the Diversey-Western-Elston red light. I know I will take some heat for saying that you made cyclists look bad (yes, I know, cars shouldn't blow red lights either) but you did. It's one thing to burn a red light when there are no cars in sight (I don't care for this much either, but I'll choose my battles), it's another to disregard a high traffic intersections such as the aforementioned. At least cut out the obnoxious side-walk shoal.

My route as well. I've witnessed the risky riding this dude engages in and I'm left wondering. How can the gain of 2-3 minutes over the course of a commute be more valuable than your life?

Boggles the mind.


Chris LaFrombois (8.5 mi - o.w.) said:

I've seen this guy before (as that's my route too). Blowing Diversey-Western-Elston is just nuts.

Matt Talbert said:

I doubt the guilty party here will read this, as someone with such reckless disregard for traffic laws and commuting etiquette is unlikely to post on The Chainlink (or so I hope).

You were a heftier, middleish age cyclist on a black mountain bike in a burgundy shirt. It started when you decided to pull the classic ass hat move known as sidewalk shoaling to get in front of me. Despite passing you shortly thereafter at my comfortable pace, you shoaled me again at Addison-Kedzie-Elston, where you proceeded to obstruct traffic for a brief period of time to cut in front other cyclists and right-turning cars. I never had a chance to give you a piece of my mind since you went on to blow every freakin red light you came across, even endangering yourself when blowing the Diversey-Western-Elston red light. I know I will take some heat for saying that you made cyclists look bad (yes, I know, cars shouldn't blow red lights either) but you did. It's one thing to burn a red light when there are no cars in sight (I don't care for this much either, but I'll choose my battles), it's another to disregard a high traffic intersections such as the aforementioned. At least cut out the obnoxious side-walk shoal.

To the jackwagon in the huge straight frame, CDL needing truck.  USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL!

I now have a charley horse the size of Rhode Island in my calf from my pedal digging in after I fell trying to avoid being crushed.

Oh, and you have a CDL you should know better than to be on your phone!

And it is only 2-3 minutes! My bike computer stops the timer when I'm at a stop (which is actually annoying), but I ran my RunKeeper app this morning and it was literally a 2 minute difference.

Chitown_Mike: Scary!


Peter said:

My route as well. I've witnessed the risky riding this dude engages in and I'm left wondering. How can the gain of 2-3 minutes over the course of a commute be more valuable than your life?

Boggles the mind.

I had a similar experience with a tour bus this morning. That's the scariest thing I feel like I ever encounter on the streets. 

Chitown_Mike said:

To the jackwagon in the huge straight frame, CDL needing truck.  USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL!

I now have a charley horse the size of Rhode Island in my calf from my pedal digging in after I fell trying to avoid being crushed.

Oh, and you have a CDL you should know better than to be on your phone!

I do not understand why any rider would put himself in that situation in the first place... passing a large vehicle on the right, especially entering an intersection is the quickest way to find out out how a bug feel right before it hits a windshield

Well, whenever I encounter it, I'm in my own lane, either a sharrowed right lane or a bike lane. I ride alongside large vehicles because they're slow, I'm going faster than they are, and it should be safer to pass them on the right than on the left - as long as they don't do anything they're not supposed to do.

If it's a close call that I can see, I'll brake and hang back, for sure. But sometimes you're about five feet from clearance and then they decide they don't know how to stay in their lane...


Michael A said:

I do not understand why any rider would put himself in that situation in the first place... passing a large vehicle on the right, especially entering an intersection is the quickest way to find out out how a bug feel right before it hits a windshield

I usually wouldn't pass but he originally made like he was going left and was sitting for almost 20 seconds after stopping (no cross traffic), then me made right (I fell), then he made left, stopped, I rode past, and then he continued left while on his phone.

I hesitated to pass but once I saw him going left I felt safe to pass, especially with the 5' or so of space he left between the truck and the curb.  I am normally overcautious around trucks because I drove a box truck for a long time and know the blind spots are enormous.  But did think a 3" x 5" device in his face was the problem.

Michael A said:

I do not understand why any rider would put himself in that situation in the first place... passing a large vehicle on the right, especially entering an intersection is the quickest way to find out out how a bug feel right before it hits a windshield

The hesitation you saw makes me think he was lost; you have to be extra careful around those guys.

I've found that a really loud air horn can help here. The driver doesn't expect such a loud noise from a bike. But staying out of that situation is probably best. I try to pass buses on the left if I'm going faster or I see a stop coming up.

@Michael A:

Q: What's the last thing that goes through a bug's mind as it hits your windshield?

A: Its asshole.

;-)

Steve

Simon Phearson said:

If it's a close call that I can see, I'll brake and hang back, for sure. But sometimes you're about five feet from clearance and then they decide they don't know how to stay in their lane...

Had another cyclist zip past me right off my shoulder it seemed (I was bending down to grab a drink) when I was stopped onto the 2 northbound lanes of Caldwell @ Gross Pointe, then proceed to blow the light, and then sit blocking the right turn only lane a block later so none of the cars could turn onto Touhy, even though there was no cross traffic and turn on reds are legal there.  I mentioned to him that it is illegal to blow a light, his response?  Something equally as useless as his inability to ride in a fashion that doesn't obstruct everyone else around him.

Rock on long haired dude that doesn't understand simple traffic laws and courtesy!

This is the "glass ceiling" for cycling IMO. We will never be generally accepted and respected unless and until the majority of us act like we are traffic.

Steve

Chitown_Mike said:

Rock on long haired dude that doesn't understand simple traffic laws and courtesy!

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