Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by S on February 21, 2014 at 12:07pm

According to the report, they were only partially blocking the path and there was still room for the cyclist to get by. It's not as if the car was moving or anything like that.  In any case, I wonder how the cyclist reacts in the warmer months when the path tends to be packed with everyone and everything.

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Permalink Reply by Haddon on February 22, 2014 at 2:41am

Unless there was another white BMW (I think) by the chess deck the other day I went right by this and it wasn't a problem, average summer days with the flinstone pedal bikes are way worse. 

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 22, 2014 at 4:25am

You nailed it Jeff. But I have to admit to a perverse sense of gratification from this incident of bike rage. It does seem that sometimes individuals who are at the command of their Ultimate Driving Machines, act as if they own the road, and it can get dangerous for us folks. 

Also, that lifelike scene of  the UDM stuck in bumper to bumper traffic would be further spoiled by the spandex clad young man whizzing by in his expensive Italian racing bike.

Jeff Schneider said:

Well, I really don't agree with the lady harassing the photographers (who were just doing a job), but I do get how she felt.  Cyclists have so few routes that we can call our own.  Most major streets are really unpleasant or downright unsafe for us to use, because they were designed for cars and cars only.  To ride for transportation we have to learn the geography of the city in detail to find routes with less/slower traffic, where drivers won't run us off the road.  So, blocking our little LFP for an auto photo shoot seems perverse.

As an aside, I find it interesting that the locations that are attractive for car advertising are precisely those without cars.  After all, who would be motivated to buy a German luxury car by seeing a realistic photo of it stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in front of decrepit strip malls on Milwaukee Ave.?  And if your SUV really had access to unspoiled wilderness, as in commercials, all the drivers would soon despoil those lovely spots.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on February 22, 2014 at 5:49am

This is a prime example of why people don't like cyclists and think of them as self righteous entitled a-holes. 

So the path was partially blocked, get he 'f' over it and get on with your life; other people need to live, move and work in the city and sometimes it might get in your way.  Get over it because, and trust me on this one, at some point you are in somebody's way yourself.

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Permalink Reply by Davo on February 22, 2014 at 7:11am

I was stopped downtown once for some car commercial shoot. The officer was a little standoffish at first but I told him I wasn't on a crunch for time so …whatever. Then we started chatting about all kinds of things while I waited the few minutes of my day for the shot to happen. Maybe it didn't bother me so much because Im sort of in the "industry". I don't see the point of this cyclist coming back to make a bigger incident out of nothing.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 22, 2014 at 8:05am

Dude, you blew the biggest opportunity of your life. Had you wandered nonchalantly into the shoot, sporting your shades and confident gait, I'm sure you would have been discovered by the director and be a mega star today. But you said you were already in the industry, so maybe not.

Davo said:

I was stopped downtown once for some car commercial shoot. The officer was a little standoffish at first but I told him I wasn't on a crunch for time so …whatever. Then we started chatting about all kinds of things while I waited the few minutes of my day for the shot to happen. Maybe it didn't bother me so much because Im sort of in the "industry". I don't see the point of this cyclist coming back to make a bigger incident out of nothing.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 22, 2014 at 8:38am

It took the crew an hour to clean off the water droplets and rebuff the car finish to its original shine. Not to mention, of course the puddles left on the pavement that they just had to wait around to dry before they could finish the shoot. After factoring in standard work expense inflation, I'm sure the producers could have sued her for 5 gees, easy.

Jeff Schneider said:

Of course what the water bottle lady did was stupid.  But it was just silly and pathetic, not threatening.  That's why it's a funny story; that's why we won't need to have a 'Water Bottle Lady Courtroom Update' discussion.


Davo said:

I was stopped downtown once for some car commercial shoot. The officer was a little standoffish at first but I told him I wasn't on a crunch for time so …whatever. Then we started chatting about all kinds of things while I waited the few minutes of my day for the shot to happen. Maybe it didn't bother me so much because Im sort of in the "industry". I don't see the point of this cyclist coming back to make a bigger incident out of nothing.

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Permalink Reply by Davo on February 22, 2014 at 8:51am

Unfortunately Im more of a "behind the scenes" guy. So I was just needing out on the Jib car.

Joe Guzzardo said:

Dude, you blew the biggest opportunity of your life. Had you wandered nonchalantly into the shoot, sporting your shades and confident gait, I'm sure you would have been discovered by the director and be a mega star today. But you said you were already in the industry, so maybe not.

Davo said:

I was stopped downtown once for some car commercial shoot. The officer was a little standoffish at first but I told him I wasn't on a crunch for time so …whatever. Then we started chatting about all kinds of things while I waited the few minutes of my day for the shot to happen. Maybe it didn't bother me so much because Im sort of in the "industry". I don't see the point of this cyclist coming back to make a bigger incident out of nothing.

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Permalink Reply by Mark on February 22, 2014 at 1:29pm

I hope the Chicago Park District received a nice fee for allowing the shoot. They deserve it for all of the work they have put into maintaining the LFT this winter!!

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Permalink Reply by Reboot Oxnard on February 23, 2014 at 11:32pm

OK, what are the odds this gal is a chainlink member? Own up to it and win a t-shirt!

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