1) Nu-Fred blows by me in bike lane; 2) Nu-Fred comes into corner too hot; 3) Nu-Fred crashes self in crosswalk. Must be Bike Month.

Tis the season for watching out for more riders now that winter has taken a break.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Stuck on May 13, 2011 at 11:41am
Is there a proper way to call out a nufred?
Permalink Reply by Duppie on May 13, 2011 at 12:42pm
You do know that nobody forces you to read BSNYC, right?

Peenworm Grubologist said:
Yeah, there are some norms hat are good to enforce but so much of the bike snob content is silly fashion bullshit.

Dr. Doom said:
I don't know, since there isn't formal cycling education it's down to cyclists to enforce norms, some of which are silly and some of which aren't. Making fun of Nu-Fred because he likes knickers, messenger bags and single speed bikes is silly (I like all that stuff myself anyway). Making fun of him because he doesn't use lights, rides against traffic at night, beats pedestrians with U-locks, etc. really isn't. Most mockery as far as I can tell has to do with the latter rather than the former; cyclists tend not to care too much about other people's style choices but to care a lot about whether they're safe and conscientious. Even as a helmet skeptic, for instance, I think it's healthy that riders will poke fun at someone who shows up for a social ride without a lid even if they don't know him. Not all peer pressure is bad.
Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on May 13, 2011 at 3:03pm
You don't know that.

Duppie said:
You do know that nobody forces you to read BSNYC, right?
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on May 13, 2011 at 4:34pm


Peenworm Grubologist said:
You don't know that.

Duppie said:
You do know that nobody forces you to read BSNYC, right?
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on May 14, 2011 at 3:31am
Yes.

Dr. Doom said:
I don't know, since there isn't formal cycling education it's down to cyclists to enforce norms, some of which are silly and some of which aren't. Making fun of Nu-Fred because he likes knickers, messenger bags and single speed bikes is silly (I like all that stuff myself anyway). Making fun of him because he doesn't use lights, rides against traffic at night, beats pedestrians with U-locks, etc. really isn't. Most mockery as far as I can tell has to do with the latter rather than the former; cyclists tend not to care too much about other people's style choices but to care a lot about whether they're safe and conscientious. Even as a helmet skeptic, for instance, I think it's healthy that riders will poke fun at someone who shows up for a social ride without a lid even if they don't know him. Not all peer pressure is bad.
Permalink Reply by Gecko on May 15, 2011 at 9:19pm

I have to admit, I was one of the speeders the other day on the straight stretch of the LFP from Monroe to the Shedd.  For whatever reason, I just decided to drop the hammer on my mtb and when I looked back there was a guy on a Klein road bike drafting me out of nowhere.  I thought "screw it" and just kept going, and we were going along just fine until he passed me (at 24mph according to his speedo).  I slowed and gave him some room and sure enough, he almost took out a teenager up ahead who was just walking along talking with his friend.  I'm ok with people going fast and having fun, but they really need to pay attention and try to anticipate every possibility, whether they're riding near pedestrians, cars, or other bikes.  My philosophy is "if the situation looks unpredictable, slow down and give it lots of room".

 

 

in it to win it said:

I don't know if it's "nu-fred" but some of the "lance armstrongs" trying to go full-out on LFP on nice Spring/Summer days

a. crack me up when they get frustrated 'cause everyone else doesn't realize this is their path.

b. create havoc; do they realize this and just don't care, or are they just that clueless?

c. are in way better shape than me, so maybe I'm just jealous.

d. like to ride in packs with a few of them coming at me in my lane; that's going to hurt someday...

 

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on May 16, 2011 at 4:58am
Ah yess! the allure and danger of the LFP yo! Been there also.

El Gecko said:

I have to admit, I was one of the speeders the other day on the straight stretch of the LFP from Monroe to the Shedd.  For whatever reason, I just decided to drop the hammer on my mtb and when I looked back there was a guy on a Klein road bike drafting me out of nowhere.  I thought "screw it" and just kept going, and we were going along just fine until he passed me (at 24mph according to his speedo).  I slowed and gave him some room and sure enough, he almost took out a teenager up ahead who was just walking along talking with his friend.  I'm ok with people going fast and having fun, but they really need to pay attention and try to anticipate every possibility, whether they're riding near pedestrians, cars, or other bikes.  My philosophy is "if the situation looks unpredictable, slow down and give it lots of room".

 

 

in it to win it said:

I don't know if it's "nu-fred" but some of the "lance armstrongs" trying to go full-out on LFP on nice Spring/Summer days

a. crack me up when they get frustrated 'cause everyone else doesn't realize this is their path.

b. create havoc; do they realize this and just don't care, or are they just that clueless?

c. are in way better shape than me, so maybe I'm just jealous.

d. like to ride in packs with a few of them coming at me in my lane; that's going to hurt someday...

 

Permalink Reply by Sarah Urbansky on May 16, 2011 at 4:48pm
The LFP is just a madhouse in the summer. I'm a year round biker and always (perhaps naively) try to give bikers the benefit of the doubt, but the other day I got cursed out by a biker for not jumping out of his way fast enough while crossing the path  WITH A BABY STROLLER!! This is after he saw me make a start at it, with plenty of time to stop his bike. I just think bikers should expect to go slow and make stops while riding the path, particularly through the loop area. If I want to go for a good ride, I either head south or avoid the LFP entirely. It seems like it should be common sense that the path was not built exclusively for bikers, as it is only 4 feet wide over by Navy Pier. GrrR!
Permalink Reply by Robert Beck on May 16, 2011 at 4:55pm
All those Nu-Fred's riding their bicycle with no brakes!!!
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 17, 2011 at 2:05am
So you saw him coming, knew there wasn't enough room to cross with your stroller and didn't want to wait for there to be room so you just pushed your stroller into his path/trajectory and just expected him to stop for you and be happy about it?

Sarah Urbansky said:
The LFP is just a madhouse in the summer. I'm a year round biker and always (perhaps naively) try to give bikers the benefit of the doubt, but the other day I got cursed out by a biker for not jumping out of his way fast enough while crossing the path  WITH A BABY STROLLER!! This is after he saw me make a start at it, with plenty of time to stop his bike. I just think bikers should expect to go slow and make stops while riding the path, particularly through the loop area. If I want to go for a good ride, I either head south or avoid the LFP entirely. It seems like it should be common sense that the path was not built exclusively for bikers, as it is only 4 feet wide over by Navy Pier. GrrR!
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on May 18, 2011 at 2:24am
Yeah, I don't get this; why did you 'pull out' in front of him in a manner that required him to stop?  Would you have pushed your stroller into an intersection on a road and expected the motorists to stop?

James Baum said:
So you saw him coming, knew there wasn't enough room to cross with your stroller and didn't want to wait for there to be room so you just pushed your stroller into his path/trajectory and just expected him to stop for you and be happy about it?

Sarah Urbansky said:
The LFP is just a madhouse in the summer. I'm a year round biker and always (perhaps naively) try to give bikers the benefit of the doubt, but the other day I got cursed out by a biker for not jumping out of his way fast enough while crossing the path  WITH A BABY STROLLER!! This is after he saw me make a start at it, with plenty of time to stop his bike. I just think bikers should expect to go slow and make stops while riding the path, particularly through the loop area. If I want to go for a good ride, I either head south or avoid the LFP entirely. It seems like it should be common sense that the path was not built exclusively for bikers, as it is only 4 feet wide over by Navy Pier. GrrR!
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 18, 2011 at 3:00am

At least in an intersection there is a crosswalk and the peds have a reasonable assumption that they have the right of way by law (if not the laws of physics.)

 

Crossing a busy path at an area where it is not a marked crossing and just expecting people to STOP or slam on the brakes so you an cross at your convenience (rather than that of the other path users who are INconvenienced by such rude behavior) is something entirely different. 

 

A more adroit comparison would be pushing the stroller out into traffic in the middle of the block and expecting bikes and cars to stop for them.  People/peds do this ALL the time in the bike lane.  Like us bikes have super-duper brakes and all the time/energy in the world to get back up to speed.   This type of rude behavior towards bikes makes commuting that much longer and more difficult as far as how hard we must work to get where we are going that it serves to discourage people from bike commuting. 

 

I admit that the LFP is a multi-use path and makes a poor route for commuting because of this.  Too many peds with strollers and people walking dogs cluelessly or just wandering about on the path without a care for who's way they get in.   I strongly support an initiative to make a "bike highway" that is apart from the multi-use path on the lakefront in some, if not all, areas along the lakeshore.  

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