I realize that I don't normally rant and rave on here. I usually stick to my reviews and my news about my projects. But every now and then there's something that I just feel downright passionate about. Maybe I'll start doing more of this. It remains to be seen.
Anyway. What I came here to do.
An open letter to those who ride on two wheels:
I don't hate you. I don't. I have many friends who ride bicycles in Toronto. And they're good people. They're among some of my favorite people. I'm well aware that cyclists in this city often have a bad reputation. And I KNOW that it's a few bad apples that spoil the bunch.
Regardless...
I'm not going to complain about how you weave in and out of lanes, in and around cars. Or how you treat traffic signals and signs as suggestions rather than laws, or things which otherwise keep people safe.
Here's what I'm going to bitch about. I know it's petty. I know it's small. But I've seen it so many times in the last few days that I have to say something. I just have to.
IT IS ILLEGAL TO RIDE ON THE SIDEWALKS. When I'm walking down the street (pushing my child in his stroller, or pulling him in his wagon) and I hear you chime your bell to tell me to get out of your way, it makes me want to push you onto the road. In fact, it takes a lot of strength for me not to. Instead I tell you that you shouldn't be on the sidewalk. And you either ignore me, flip me the bird, or act like you had no clue that this would or should be an issue. But the worst was a few days ago when someone on a Vespa honked for me to get out of their way. ON A VESPA! Seriously?!
I realize that this is petty. But I have to say something. And I know that the police have far more important things to do than to give tickets to cyclists - and who knows - maybe they do - maybe there's a really big crack down. But I've been ranting and raving about this long enough to other people that I feel like I have to throw my thoughts out into the www. So there. It's out there. Now I can sleep.
Again, cyclists - I don't hate you. I just hate the idiots among you. I should actually cycle for exercise. And maybe I will. But I sure as shit will ride on the road.
7 comments:
i fucken hate cyclists. they think they own the streets.
A vespa! That's completely nuts!
I've been in TO ten years, equal parts cyclist, driver and pedestrian. Lately, I'm about %90 cyclist. Absolutely everything you've complained about here I've seen performed many times over by motor vehicles- lane swapping, cut off weaving, driving on sidewalks, ignoring laws. Try and find a Toronto driver who doesn't speed- they do not exist.
My beef is how cyclists seem to be magnets for the complaints- its completely fucking ridiculous. I glide through a stop sign and pedestrians yell out at me, despite the fact that absolutely NO cars stop at the very same sign!
A dude illegally wielding a 50lb bike IS NOT the same as a dude illegally wielding his 1000lb car.
Bad cyclists are annoying, bad drivers are murderers. So where is your post about bad drivers?
Get angry about SUV drivers- polluting, self absorbed assholes who have zero respect for their fellow man.
So why are so many bikes on the sidewalks? Simple, its safer. Most of the world is quite logically bike friendly. People come here, experience some attempted murder, and move themselves onto the safer sidewalk. Someone points a gun at you, you tend to move out of the way. You want bikes off the sidewalk? Write a post about adding more bike lanes and removing all these pointless parking lanes. Make the streets safer, the cyclists will use it.
Here's a question, when your child wants her first bike, are you going to insist she rides on the street? Not likely! What parent would throw their kid into a meat grinder? I suppose you could just deny her a bike, but that's unhealthy and just perpetuates this absurd obsession North Americans have with automobiles.
Topanga, give your head a healthy shake. I DO own the streets. I pay taxes, I have every right to be there. I also proudly ride in the centre of the right lane so as not to allow cars to pass me. When they honk, i flip the bird and tell them to fuck off!
Ahh! A healthy debate!
By no means did I mean to say that there aren't insane drivers out there. I agree 100%. And also, I clearly started that my beef wasn't about the WAY people ride their bike - because I know that it's no comparison to the way people drive. My beef is with people riding on the sidewalk. But for the record on your muderers Vs. annoying comment - I've seen my fair share of cyclists causing accidents - I realize it's not as much as motorists, but don't use that as an excuse to justify you gliding through a stop sign - 'cause that's not cool and you deserve to get yelled at for that. Your bike is considered a vehicle and those stop signs are for you. Using the excuse that someone else broke the law so it should be okay for you to is kind of silly.
And in terms of the law, a dude illegally wielding a bike IS the same as illegally wielding their car on the sidewalk. In terms of kids on bikes and sidewalks I believe the law doesn't kick in till their off their training wheels - however I don't plan on letting my kid ride on busy streets. I'll take them off and teach them to ride on the side streets and in parking lots. The same way I would if I was teaching them how to drive a car - I'd build up their confidence and skill before throwing them into the thick of it.
Personally I ride transit as much as possible and only use our car when needed. Should the streets be safer? Of course. Should transit be better? Shit ya. But first and foremost people need to respect the laws that are in place because if you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem.
And I agree that you own the streets and have the rights to be there. Cyclists and motorists alike need to follow the rules.
Hope that helps.
Now stay off the fucking sidewalk and stop gliding through stop signs! :)
Wielding things in public, I'm talking about safety. The law is just a tool to get us there. Sure its illegal to ride on the sidewalk, but its not as dangerous as the many many things cars do. Car runs a light, its worse. Car on the sidewalk- worse. Its physics man, a car goes faster and does more damage when it hits someone.
Cyclists cause deaths as well, to a lesser degree, as you've said. I just don't agree with the flack ratio. If people are yelling at cyclists, they should be firing missiles at drivers. Hey, I agree, the world would be a better place if we all followed the law, but why was it only a cyclist's misdeed that frustrated you to the point of blogging?
Sometimes I lie to make a point quickly, sorry. I'm actually the very rare cyclist who does stop at stop signs. . . .Drivers yell at me because its a slow process to stop on a bike and i hold them up! Likewise, I wait in traffic at red lights instead of sneaking up the right against the curb. Cars honk at me for following the law. . . .and if you think about it, drivers would love to have us all up on the sidewalk, its more space for them.
So look at it from our point of view. We've got a group of people on foot screaming at us to follow the law, and another group of people wielding death machines screaming at us to break the law.
The final insult is that drivers and pedestrians seem to agree that WE of all people 'own the streets' and hate us for it!
I think we're on the same page here. And again, I didn't start this to argue the safety of bikes vs. cars, or the level of idiocy involved in the people that drive one or the other. Like you said, that's a whole other blog.
What drove me to write this was the fact that I had to deal with this a dozen times within two days. And as I mentioned above - I don't drive that much, I walk or take transit, so I'm not driven to write a blog about bad drivers because I don't come into contact with them as often as you do. If I did - I'd blog about it. It looks like that's your cause - I look forward to that Remi Stevens blog entry! :)
This is not petty at all Jeremy! You are right to RANT. If cops can give parking tickets then they should be freaking giving tickets to people BREAKING the law. at least a parked car can't run over people with their kids or pets.
A freaking Vespa! You should have written down the license plate and called the police. That person is a complete douchebag!
The sidewalk is called a sideWALK for a reason. It's to walk on.
You RANT away! More people should.
Let's RANT now about how shitty the TTC is!! Grrrrr
Thanks for the support, Spinster. I think I was just so taken aback by the sight of the Vespa that I didn't think about getting the license.
Oh the TTC. I almost started a blog a few years back just about my stories traveling on it... maybe one day...
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