Salmon fishing

I got him!

Approaching the intersection of Orleans and Ontario from the south, on my way from work just about an hour ago, I saw a cyclist pedaling on the east side of Orleans, getting to the same intersection from the north. Against the traffic. That he didn't have a headlight goes without saying.

I've been in a similar situation several times before, but never had a chance to try this way of dealing with that kind of fish: I slowed down, and kept as close to the curb as I can, forcing the salmon to go around me.

There was enough light still to see the expression on his face.

Priceless!

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on October 2, 2013 at 10:18am

Yes, you are right, Serge.  Of course I am usually going pretty slowly anyway. :-)
 
Serge Lubomudrov said:

This is why, Lisa, I'd prefer to slow down or stop, keeping to the right. Unless it's a child "salmoning." Let the idiot risk being hit by a car. Maybe he will not salmon again.

Lisa Curcio 6.5 mi said:

This is a lose-lose situation for the person riding in the bike lane with traffic.  We ride to the traffic side of the bike lane to avoid getting hit by doors.  The salmon comes along.  Do we move toward the parked cars and risk the door or move into the traffic lane with cars coming up in the lane?  I think I would rather look to see if I could get into the traffic lane.  In fact this happens quite regularly on Dearborn north of Kinzie, and I tend to move to the traffic lane.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on October 2, 2013 at 2:28pm

Well maybe this makes me a horrible person and cyclist but I do salmon on occasion. There are circumtances - too numerous to get into here - that  make salmoning a safe and efficient mode of transport. For example by my house at Clark and wilson or Leland  there is terrible car traffic at the 4 way intersections in the am.   I will salmon for 50 or 60 feet South on Clark until I can cross. Otherwise it's a fairly long wait in a dangerous intersection.

But, when and if I salmon I always defer to the oncoming bike. Usually that means getting off my bike and moving to the curb so he can get by.  I never impact that person's cycling in any way.

Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on October 4, 2013 at 9:42am

Best. Story. Ever.

Jaik - 4.3mi said:

About a year ago...I was on Armitage. There was a younger hispanic guy on a mountain bike going against the flow. I tried to get him to go around. I didn't slow down. I stayed near the cars. As we got closer, his look of panic grew significantly, I thought he would just go out and around me. He wasn't slowing down either. About two seconds before collision, he ran into the parked cars and I had to swerve away from his bicycle. I don't know if he learned his lesson.

Does that mean I caught him?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 4, 2013 at 5:55pm

Don't worry. I just raised a toast to celebrate your moves! ;)

h' 1.0 said:

I hit a guy, also seemed to be a very recent immigrant,  who seemed to be on his way to work as well (two way side street, not quite sure why he was riding on the wrong side.) On Washtenaw pretty much right where they've just (finally) started working on the Lagunitas brew pub.  He came up fast and didn't try to slow down at all...tried to gesture wildly to me to move out to my left I think, but it wasn't clear and I wasn't budging. He went down and scuffed up his clothes, I didn't go down.

I guess I forgot to feel celebratory about it, my bad.



Jeff Schneider said:

The guy was probably just on his way to or from work.   Possibly had not been here long enough to know better.  I feel a bit sorry for him.  OTOH,  when parent-subsidized hipster salmon get caught, that IS amusing. 

Wolf-Pup said:

Best. Story. Ever.

Jaik - 4.3mi said:

About a year ago...I was on Armitage. There was a younger hispanic guy on a mountain bike going against the flow. I tried to get him to go around. I didn't slow down. I stayed near the cars. As we got closer, his look of panic grew significantly, I thought he would just go out and around me. He wasn't slowing down either. About two seconds before collision, he ran into the parked cars and I had to swerve away from his bicycle. I don't know if he learned his lesson.

Does that mean I caught him?

Permalink Reply by berner fone on October 11, 2013 at 5:56am

does it mean that the fact that he was a person of color is totally irrelevant to the story? 


Jaik - 4.3mi said:

About a year ago...I was on Armitage. There was a younger hispanic guy on a mountain bike going against the flow. I tried to get him to go around. I didn't slow down. I stayed near the cars. As we got closer, his look of panic grew significantly, I thought he would just go out and around me. He wasn't slowing down either. About two seconds before collision, he ran into the parked cars and I had to swerve away from his bicycle. I don't know if he learned his lesson.

Does that mean I caught him?

Permalink Reply by David Sincox on October 11, 2013 at 6:23am

I do that.  I slow way down, to the point of stopping.  There is no way I'm letting them force me out into traffic.  I also keep my mouth shut.  If they're dumb enough to ride against traffic, a discussion is likely to be unproductive. 

Permalink Reply by leftoverbacon on October 11, 2013 at 6:52am

If I have room, I signal with my left hand that I'm moving left, I move left, and when the oncoming rider gets close enough, I shout out "Wrong way buddy!". If traffic is too fast and dense, I'll stop on the traffic side of the lane (forcing the oncoming rider toward the curb), make myself as big as possible, and wait for the oncoming rider to approach and say "You tryin' to get us both killed?! Go WITH the flow of traffic!". Never ever ever would I try to force an oncoming cyclist to my left INTO the flow of AUTOMOBILE traffic. If the rider does a head on w/ an auto, I could never live with that notion on my conscience.

Remember, two wheels good, four wheels bad. We should try to encourage good behavior from our fellow cyclists, not try to give Darwin another crack at our limited numbers. We are vastly outnumbered on the streets.

As far as salmoning against the flow of auto traffic, I do it from time to time. Salmoning can be very practical for short distances in certain traffic situations. It's actually legal and encouraged in some parts of the USA. Some streets are one-way for autos and two-way for everything else. In those cases, if there are no painted bike lanes, I'll try to stay on the (my) right side of the road.

Permalink Reply by Maurice on October 11, 2013 at 8:12am

Stopping on the right doesn't force them into traffic.  If you stop, then they can stop too, and nobody crashes.

Permalink Reply by wig [ isaac ] on October 11, 2013 at 8:17am
Shit! I thought maybe some had a love for bikes and fishing like me. Ill go back to sewing and dreaming of salmon. Heres one from last week. This one fish lowered my grocery bill by 40.00 bucks this week. Montrose harbor.
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Permalink Reply by JMG on October 12, 2013 at 4:48am

After a pretty impressive run (if I do say so myself), I just lost my first game of chicken with an old(er) lady salmoning on Wolcott near Wilson the other day. I held my ground and started trying to steer her towards the parked cars but she just kept on pedaling until we got close... AND THEN SHE CLOSED HER EYES

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