Bikes belong on the street!
by MoeI was riding my Bug to work yesterday (I didn’t have my stuff ready to ride my bike), as I was making a right turn on a street, a dude on a bike coming the opposite way on the sidewalk almost hit me. He started yelling obscenities, so I yelled back ‘You are going the wrong way and bikes belong on the street, you dumbass!’. This is a perfect example why bikes do not belong on the sidewalk AND why one should not be riding the opposite way. In this situation, everyone loses.
Drivers think that bikes belong on the sidewalk, therefore riders that use the streets are not given the proper respect. Riders who use the sidewalk or ride the opposite way are just endangering themselves and others. The only close call I had was with a rider riding the opposite way on the street and not looking up. Both Drivers and cyclists should be educated about the rules of the road, the challenge is, how?
I have been emailing the Atlanta Journal and have asked them to write an arcticle about SAFE BICYCLING COMMUTING. They have written several about how more bikes on the road equal more accidents. They have not written anything that focuses on educating new cyclists and drivers. No response, so I just keep emailing once a week or so.