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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The warning signs are for bikes on the sidewalk along that stretch of Sheridan, which is ignored a lot and is a separate issue.  Sheridan itself is just too narrow for bikes and cars to coexist in medium to heavy traffic.  There's just not enough space on the right for cars to pass, and buses dig up potholes and break pavement making the right side even more dangerous.  I always wonder if people biking on Sheridan are unaware of the inner streets, afraid of them or are just being assertive and looking for a reason to get angry.

It's not such a problem on the weekends when traffic is lighter, and Winthrop and Kenmore are not the most bike friendly streets with asphalt cracks and uneven/sharp speed humps, but I commute that way and avoid Sheridan like the plague.

"I believe that bikes are not allowed on Sheridan between Hollywood and the campus (Devon?)"

 

You, like those drivers, seem to be incorrect:

 

9-52-021. Riding bicycles on sidewalks—Penalty.
(a) The penalty for any person age 18 and older who rides a bicycle on the sidewalk adjacent to North Sheridan Road, between West Ardmore Avenue and West Sheridan Road (6400 north) shall be as follows:

(1) The bicycle shall be temporarily disabled without permanent damage; and

(2) The violator shall be subject to a fine of $250.00.

(b) Following passage and approval, this section shall be in full force and effect upon the posting of signage notifying bicyclists of the penalty for violation of this section, and shall be repealed one year from its effective date, without further action by the city council.
(Added Coun. J. 2-6-02, p. 79154, sec. 1)

 

The signage along this stretch also refers to this rule.  No signs about keeping your bicycle off of the road.  If it was not allowed it would be posted according to this:

9-52-020. Riding bicycles on sidewalks and certain roadways.

c) Bicycles shall not be operated on Lake Shore Drive or on any roadway where the operation of bicycles has been prohibited and signs have been erected indicating such prohibition.

 

I guess we are simply bullied off of this stretch of road.

The obvious solution to this is to ban cars on this stretch then. 

Tricolor said:

  Sheridan itself is just too narrow for bikes and cars to coexist in medium to heavy traffic.  There's just not enough space on the right for cars to pass, and buses dig up potholes and break pavement making the right side even more dangerous.  I always wonder if people biking on Sheridan are unaware of the inner streets, afraid of them or are just being assertive and looking for a reason to get angry.

>>You, like those drivers, seem to be incorrect:

 

I stand corrected.  I looked around a bit and could find nothing to back up my impression.  Still, I will ride just about any street but this stretch...

It's not as much as issue of being bullied as much as it's dangerous on a bike and disrupts traffic so much anyone aware of the alternative would take it for their own safety, let alone a feeling of civic duty to avoid snarling an already overused road (your attitude may vary).

That said I'd really like to see a better alternative than Winthrop and Kenmore currently provide.  Sheridan can't be widened enough for bikes; that chance was lost when it was rebuilt about ten years ago for the new giant sewer running under it.  Various plans to force more traffic to Broadway or Clark aren't going to fix the problem, either, as there would still be buses and thousands of people living in highrises along the lake.


NYC said:

I guess we are simply bullied off of this stretch of road.

I didn't even like driving that stretch of Sheridan when I lived in RoPo, and avoided it on a bike at all cost.  I still find myself up there occasionally and agree with the suggestion to take Kenmore heading north until you're past Loyola's campus, and Winthrop heading south.  But it can be hard to figure out if you haven't ridden it before.

Still, glad you made it through in one piece NYC. 

To the kind gentleman in the white subcompact going Northbound on Western across the overpass of the Eisenhower tonight as I was riding back from the NOT Halloween party who, while you had FIVE FRAKING LANES with almost zero traffic to cross this overpass you decided you wanted to get right up behind me and beep your horn and bump me from behind.  While it was so very nice of you to give me a little push to help me up to speed, unfortunately the impact was enough to pop my U-lock out of it's cradle on my back rack and crash into your headlight and then bounce under your car and make a horrible smashing sound again as it passed under your car -crunch-crunch-crunch-CRUNCH.  

It sounded pretty bad going under there.  But you did't seem too concerned as you sped off  leaving the scene without bothering to so much as ask if I all right.

I hope it ripped a slow-leak hole in your brake lines  and causes them to fail and result in you hitting a concrete embankment somewhere at high speed.   I saw you were all alone in your car so I won't feel guilty about you taking anyone else with you.

Have a nice rest of your life, kind sir. 

Gold minivan SE on Clybourn at North Ave. u blew passed me to get to a red light at Halsted i passed u back and u gave me the NYC second honk. I loom ad u r waving at me angrily. I told u that u drive like a bag of dicks. U gave me the finger i told ya fuck you. It was fun. Hope u die ya eurotrash piece of shot.

Scumbag pigf***er in a black SUV with his poor daughter in the passenger seat.  Riding down Fullerton around 5 pm, this sadistic piece of doo-doo sped up and cut right in front of me just to park his small penis mobile.  No one behind him for at least a block or more.  When I approach his car, still in my bike lane, I see him looking at me in the side mirror with his mean pigf***ing face, just waiting for a response from me.  And so I obliged:  "Douchebag!" and I left it at that.  

After riding 50 feet he hurls back a bit more extreme obscenities and threatens to 'kick my ass' so I turn around to ask him what his problem with me is.  Now this freak really gets twisted, as he gets in my face and makes up some bullshit about me cutting in front of him, saying that's why he retaliated.  Never happened, psycho.  At first I couldn't tell who was witnessing this mess from the passenger seat, but after a while it became clear it was his daughter.  Shame it wasn't your wife, at least pal.  She looked like she had no idea what was going on, and bit too young to realize how stupidly you acted, so with any luck your daughter will think you did a real 'cool' thing.  I'm sure you hope that will make up for all the other shitty things you do to her, and good things you don't do for her.    

Dear semi driver:

I understand your desire to urgently turn North onto Elston from Milwaukee.  It must be annoying to drive a tractor trailer through the city.  But for future reference if you would like to make a sweeping right turn and want me to move out of the bike lane using your turn signal to convey your intention will likely yield far better results than revving your engine and slowing creeping up on my rear tire.

Thanks,

Derek

Remember if you can't see the truck driver's face in his mirror he CAN'T see  you. 

But the truck was behind me.  I was stopped at the red light with one foot down waiting for a green.  He had a green arrow to the right but wanted to swing wide through the bike lane which became clear upon glancing back and seeing him pointing for me to move.

In retrospect he probably wanted me to run the red light.  I'll assume his directional and car style horn were broken and he was just being courteous when using an engine rev to signal his intention Vs the air horn.

Short of running the red light or unclipping and walking my bike to the sidewalk I'm not sure what else I could have done.  

James BlackHeron said:

Remember if you can't see the truck driver's face in his mirror he CAN'T see  you. 

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