1. joe
   Admin
   Posted 3 years ago #
   

   Interesting blog post by Denise Balkissoon on being snarky about Toronto cyclists:

   • Yesterday, the New York Times ran a piece about the Bike Snob, who has gained notoriety and made celebrity friends thanks to his funny rants about NYC cyclists. I thought I’d take this opportunity to first link you to his very clever blog, and then tell you my own personal pet peeves about the Toronto cyclists that I curse every day.

     1. People that are too cool to stop at stop lights but too lame to go fast.

     2. People that listen to music while riding.

     3. People that ride really fast on the sidewalk.

     4. Low riders. I just think they look dumb, and bad for your hips.

     5. People that ride next to each other and chitchat on busy streets.

   More at Balkissoon.com

2. toddtyrtle
   Moderator
   Posted 3 years ago #
   

   Most of those don't bother me directly (well, #1 is pretty damned annoying, and #3 as well) but really what bugs me is what some of that behaviour does for driver perceptions and attitudes regarding whether or not we're entitled to infrastructure because "we're all a bunch of scofflaws".

   But then I get further annoyed because really there are not scofflaw cyclists, there are scofflaw people. Some of them ride bikes, some of them drive cars and others walk. No one group is more prone to it than others. (That said, truth be told I'm much more biased against scofflaws in 3000 lb metal boxes due to the obvious extra damage they can do compared to those on foot or two wheels)

3. singerb
   Member
   Posted 3 years ago #
   

   Yeah there are scofflaws in every walk of life, but I see cyclists flagrantly scoffing at the law more often than motorists. I see it every day on my commute. Do cars drive recklessly? Sometimes, yes. But they rarely run reds (though in Toronto a light isn't technically red until 2 seconds after it stopped being orange, it seems!) blow through stop signs, never mind drive on the sidewalk. Why? It's no mystery: the consequences for doing these things are serious. Stiff fines, license suspension, your car impounded and so on and so forth. I think, I hope anyway, there is also a realization of the damage a car can do to a human body -- though perhaps not enough of one.

   Cyclists can reasonably get away with believing they are less likely to kill someone else -- themselves aside -- while riding. That said, it has happened, and will happen again. But I wonder if laws or enforcement need to be stiffer to increase the financial and "hassle" factors that attempt to keep car drivers in check?

4. Duncan
   Moderator
   Posted 3 years ago #
   

   None of those people really bother me as much as "bike salmon." (Side note: ever since I learned this term on Bike Snob I've been using it daily, my friends are not impressed)

   This is especially bothersome on major arteries like Queen Street where I'm already looking out for doors, street cars, street car tracks, buses, delivery trucks, broken glass, errant garbage, people crossing the street... the last thing anyone needs is someone coming head-on. I find Toronto bike salmon, although their numbers appear to be declining, are also pretty stubborn and refuse to give way as if everyone else is doing it wrong.

   Duncan's City Ride - That's my blog about cycling in the city of Toronto, natch!

5. joe
   Admin
   Posted 3 years ago #
   

   Here's Bike Snob's post on Bike Salmon. Pretty humourous!

6. toddtyrtle
   Moderator
   Posted 3 years ago #
   

   @Singerb I'd say the majority of cyclists don't blow through stop signs so much as roll through them Idaho-stop style. And if 2.5 hours of observation at Bellevue and Nassau means anything I would say 90% of cars did just that. Likewise during that time, I observed 5 cars going the wrong way down a one way street. A couple of those were doing it in reverse. Yes, technically their headlights were facing the right way but going the speed limit in reverse for over a block counts as going the wrong way in my book.

   And try driving the speed limit on a 400 series highway (heck, any road), and tell me that there are no scofflaw drivers. Seems like rolling stops and speeding are ignored when comparing scofflaw behaviour. And tell me, how are the consequences doing for stopping street racing and DUI? (Hey, I've got an idea, let's start saying "Don't give those scofflaw drivers any more infrastructure until they learn to obey the rules of the road!" ;-) )

   I still stand by it. Pushing the limit is standard behaviour for a goodly portion of all human beings regardless of number of wheels below them.

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   Member
   Posted 10 months ago #
   

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