Pet Peeves Among the Pedals

Not about pedestrians, not about motorists, just about our fellow cyclists. We are all so different that stuff is bound to frustrate when we approach riding in such different ways, explain to those we think are less experienced, etc. Ok, tell us your stories, tell us your pet peeves, we're all friends! 

I'll start out with a pet peeve of mine... The cyclist that blows past me so close to me I felt the wind of their SWOOOOOSH as they fly past me but they say nothing to warn me. We're in tight quarters in the bike lane. Buy a bell and/or tell me you are there! 

p.s. sure, your pet peeve may be the forum post that's been done before but I kinda feel like this tucks into other topics so this time I'm giving the pedal pet peeve front and center.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on July 27, 2017 at 10:38am

"If I want to race to the next light it should be my prerogative."

Plenty of motorists feel the same way! ;)

Permalink Reply by Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin on July 27, 2017 at 3:11pm

I'm one of the fastest riders in Chicago...

I suspect there's a lot of people who would argue with you on that.

Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on July 28, 2017 at 3:27am

This is shoaling. A phenom described here so many times that I think it might be the number one annoyance perpetrated by otherwise well mannered cyclists.

Permalink Reply by Kat on August 1, 2017 at 1:47am

A#1 - bikers on sidewalks

- shoalers, particularly man-shoalers

- my irrational pet peeve is bikers who use crosswalks to "further" themselves, especially to circumvent 6-corner lights (e.g. along Lincoln).  

- bikers who text.

Permalink Reply by David Henri on August 1, 2017 at 2:10am

Can I ask why do man shoalers bother you more than woman shoalers?

If someone thinks they need to get in front of me - go ahead.  I'll catch you at the next light and I won't be all sweaty when I arrive at work.

Permalink Reply by Kat on August 1, 2017 at 4:29pm

Because I assume men underestimate me because I'm a woman - and then I feel the need to show them why they should respect the sports bra (which I do more often than not).  And then I am all sweaty at work.

Permalink Reply by BikeScnhook on August 1, 2017 at 3:30am

OMG, I thought I was the only one who had the irrational irkedness at those Lincoln Avenue folks!! Glad I'm not alone...

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 1, 2017 at 3:13am

Shamers - Whether it's shaming people for not wearing a helmet (it's NOT the law) or yelling at me because I didn't put my foot down at a stop sign of an empty intersection, I find it annoying and holier than thou. 

Huggers - Ok, this may seem like a shaming thing but it really scares me when people hug the parked cars with their bikes. Doorings waiting to happen and I just hope it's only a broken collar bone and NOT being thrown into traffic. So I try my best not to shame but to apologetically explain they are riding dangerously close to potential doors swinging open. I can't help it, I worry. And not matter how nicely I say it, the response is always pretty negative. But I keep doing it out of the hope that even if they found me annoying, it made them think and hopefully change the behavior. 

Weavers - Hold your line! Please don't weave in and out to avoid cars - own your piece of the road because every time you move to the right, you have to merge back into traffic and motorists have very little short term memory. I've seen this at intersections and places where there are a few open spaces before having to merge back in with traffic. 

Permalink Reply by Ernesto Lube on August 1, 2017 at 3:17am

This...

A rare instance of Congress and Dearborn being easy in the morning - yet, this rider could have waited for the cyclist green.

https://youtu.be/HIFtKQLKNc8

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on August 1, 2017 at 4:10am

Could have sure, but why? She waited until there were no pedestrians crossing and no more vehicle traffic with the right of way. Be safe at all times and yield the right of way when appropriate, but there is no need to waste moments of your life waiting needlessly for a light to change color.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 1, 2017 at 4:17am

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and here are my reasons why I do my best to be patient at red light intersections...

1. That video of the cyclist that went into the intersection and got hit. 

2. Bobby Cann - Knowing the type of cyclist he was, I'm sure it was safe and clear but then a drunk driver flew through at a dangerous speed. And the judge used riding against the red to let Ryne off too lightly. Our loved ones deserve better than what happened in this case.

3. #2 tells me that a big intersection may look safe, may look clear but if you venture through, understand there is always a risk something unexpected happens and if you do it against the red, you will likely lose in court if you are lucky enough to survive

I'm not talking about smaller intersections that are completely empty. I'm specifically referring to the larger ones, especially in the middle of the day.

Permalink Reply by Ernesto Lube on August 1, 2017 at 4:23am

True. But the camera didn't see how she went around traffic on the next street (Lake St.), on the car's green and left turn only light green, and cyclists had the red - she went around other cyclists waiting for the green, then I lost sight of her. 

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