Motorists good/Cyclists bad - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-15-2005, 10:33 AM

(Here's a rarity - a completely one sided article about cyclists and
motorists in Florida........Enjoy!.......alan)

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01/15/05
Bicycle riders show off their age and IQ

People are hostile over bicycle riders who disregard traffic laws, then give
motorists an obscene gesture.

"They are so arrogant," wrote one man who e-mailed the paper. "They think
they own the road."

A front-page story in the Jan. 8 Venice Gondolier Sun, pointed out that few,
if any, bicycle riders obey traffic laws.

Under Florida law, bicycles are considered vehicles. People who ride them
are subject to the same traffic laws as people who drive automobiles.

Coastal Cruisers Bicycle Club President Wanda Short said recently her club
stresses safety at every opportunity.

"We know how vulnerable we are," Short said earlier. "But, our club members
are adults and sometimes adults make bad choices."

The bird, no words

E-mail and letters either dissing or praising the article flew like bullets.
Here is the sum and substance of two of them.

"They (bicycle riders) have no consideration for any one," one man wrote in
a letter. "Their motto (is) 'get out of my way.' "

He also wrote, "God forgive, don't blow your horn to get around them. They
give you the American salute (middle finger)."

One irate motorist made a comparison between bicyclists who give the finger
and trained chimps or orangutans. He said the entertaining primates also can
be taught to give the finger in response to stimuli.

(Clyde the Orangutan flipped off a motorcycle gang in the 1978 film "Every
Which Way But Loose," starring Clint Eastwood.)

The letters and e-mail don't say it expressly, but one motorist who has had
a gut-full of rude bicyclists did -- he said now that the law-breaking
bicycle riders have been outed, people are "mad as hell, and they're not
going to take it anymore."

Stone age communicators

Bicycle riders rely on their middle finger a lot. Some say it shows their
age, others say it shows their IQ.

A reporter rolled down his window to remind a lone rider he sailed through a
stop sign and how that was dangerous.

For his thank you, the reporter got the finger.

Another irate e-mail from a man who was recently sitting at the intersection
of Venice Avenue and Tamiami Trail. He was going to turn left in front of
the BP gas station and go over the Venice Avenue Bridge.

The light turned green and he started to turn left when a pack of 12-14
bicycles came toward him. He thought they would stop because he had the
green arrow. Instead, they whipped to the right and rode directly up the
ramp toward the bridge.

"Now, remember the sign on the bridge ... all bikes will be walked over the
bridge. What a joke," he wrote. "I started to drive over the bridge and I
blew my horn to signal them that I wanted to pass. They never moved at all."

He said he started down the ramp near the end of the bridge.

"I blew my horn again thinking they would move out of my lane so I could
pass them. Well, about four or five of the riders showed me what their IQ
was.

"I drove into the other lane and rolled down my window. Three of the bike
riders threw me the bird again."

Understand 'STOP'?

Police said that bicycle riders who disobey stop signs put themselves and
motorists at risk of injury or death.

Chances are slim that a motorist would be seriously hurt if a bicycle
crashed into a car, police said. However, the motorist could be seriously
hurt or killed trying to avoid a rider who ran a stop sign or improperly
changed lanes in traffic.
.......The Old Testament contains several warnings about the evil of the
digits -- it just doesn't say which digit.

Still, it might be well to err on the side of caution, and assume God
disapproves of the finger.

Source: A (Short) History of the Longest Finger (including "How To Give The
Finger"), ooze.com

You can e-mail Tommy McIntyre at:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].

By Tommy McIntyre

Staff Writer

--

alan

Anyone who believes in a liberal media has never read the "Daily Oklahoman."