Guys like this are what gives diesel a bad name

[Jstpssng]

I find bicyclists downright scary, especially kids; because you never know what they are going to do. I've had several near misses when they suddenly changed lanes w/o looking, or were blocking both lanes with traffic coming from both directions.

Yet there is no excuse for what that kid in Texas was doing.

 

[Torvy]

Guys, I get that if you don't ride a bicycle for exercise, you might think of them as a nuisance when they are in the road. But let's please not blame the victims here. Riding in a pack is safer for the bicyclists and the drivers. Just have to wait to pass safely, not that big a deal.

Piloon, 250 lbs or less of bicycle/rider does not damage the road in any way, and you know that.

Riding in a pack is both illegal and far more dangerous. We are not blaming these victims, the kid driving was out of line. Just pointing out that bike riders, apparently like you, do not know or follow the law but get indignant when cars use the road they pay for...it is not only about the damage. I say this as someone who has been driving a car for 42 years and road biking for 39.

 

[deezler]

Riding in a pack is both illegal and far more dangerous. We are not blaming these victims, the kid driving was out of line. Just pointing out that bike riders, apparently like you, do not know or follow the law but get indignant when cars use the road they pay for...it is not only about the damage. I say this as someone who has been driving a car for 42 years and road biking for 39.

Ok sure, i do not claim expertise in bicycle/road law, although it does probably vary by state. All the serious road bikers i know say it is safer to block the lane when there is no shoulder, because otherwise most cars try to squeeze by you, and often clip you or your handle bars with their mirrors.

By the way just about every single bicyclist you drive by also has a car, and thus also pays taxes for the roads. Since riding a bike is way less damaging to the roads, air quality and environment overall, perhaps the laws should even be amended to further encourage this activity.

 

[Spindifferent]

Riding in a pack is both illegal and far more dangerous. We are not blaming these victims, the kid driving was out of line. Just pointing out that bike riders, apparently like you, do not know or follow the law but get indignant when cars use the road they pay for...it is not only about the damage. I say this as someone who has been driving a car for 42 years and road biking for 39.

Texas Bicycle Laws - 8 Things to Know - BikeTexas Advancing Bicycle Access, Safety, and Education

Texas Bicycle Laws. These "rules of the road" are based on Texas Transportation Code statutes. Find the complete bicycle code at the bottom of this page. Laws are designed to improve the safety of everyone who uses the roadways. Don't become a statistic!

www.biketexas.org

 

[Torvy]

Ok sure, i do not claim expertise in bicycle/road law, although it does probably vary by state. All the serious road bikers i know say it is safer to block the lane when there is no shoulder, because otherwise most cars try to squeeze by you, and often clip you or your handle bars with their mirrors.

By the way just about every single bicyclist you drive by also has a car, and thus also pays taxes for the roads. Since riding a bike is way less damaging to the roads, air quality and environment overall, perhaps the laws should even be amended to further encourage this activity.

Dude, they don't know anything. They should be riding single file. Just because a pack of people say something does not make it true. Blocking with a pack of people almost guarantees that more than one person will get hit. The problem is that most of these wannabe athletes are going way too far under the speed limit to safely ride on the road. All it takes is someone going the speed limit around a blind curve and there is no way for the driver to avoid hitting the pack. If they are single file, or legal, it is easy to avoid hitting any of them.

 

[Torvy]

Texas Bicycle Laws - 8 Things to Know - BikeTexas Advancing Bicycle Access, Safety, and Education

Texas Bicycle Laws. These "rules of the road" are based on Texas Transportation Code statutes. Find the complete bicycle code at the bottom of this page. Laws are designed to improve the safety of everyone who uses the roadways. Don't become a statistic!

www.biketexas.org

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Root Cause]

In the small towns where I have lived, the roads were simply not developed for cars and bicycles. Sharing the road is like having elementary kids play industrial league softball. #somebodysgonnagithurt even when no one is trying.

I would love to just claim some of it and start driving my SXS on the road. It goes faster, is safer than a bike, has brake and taillights too.

BTW, I own a car and pay taxes for the road as well.

 

[deezler]

Dude, they don't know anything. They should be riding single file. Just because a pack of people say something does not make it true. Blocking with a pack of people almost guarantees that more than one person will get hit. The problem is that most of these wannabe athletes are going way too far under the speed limit to safely ride on the road. All it takes is someone going the speed limit around a blind curve and there is no way for the driver to avoid hitting the pack. If they are single file, or legal, it is easy to avoid hitting any of them.

Well frankly as a motorist who lost my fitness to pound away miles on a road bike years ago, i do mostly agree with you. Here in Michigan, we have few blind curves or big hills. Just rolling or flat land, but, a lot of rural roads with no real shoulders.

 

[Jstpssng]

Dude, they don't know anything. They should be riding single file. Just because a pack of people say something does not make it true. Blocking with a pack of people almost guarantees that more than one person will get hit. The problem is that most of these wannabe athletes are going way too far under the speed limit to safely ride on the road. All it takes is someone going the speed limit around a blind curve and there is no way for the driver to avoid hitting the pack. If they are single file, or legal, it is easy to avoid hitting any of them.

You are required to maintain control of your vehicle at all times. If you come around a blind corner and hit somebody, whether they are legally riding, walking, driving a car or using a tractor then you were going too fast.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Riding in a pack is both illegal and far more dangerous.

You got a cite for where riding in a pack is illegal?

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Riding in a pack is both illegal and far more dangerous. We are not blaming these victims, the kid driving was out of line. Just pointing out that bike riders, apparently like you, do not know or follow the law but get indignant when cars use the road they pay for...it is not only about the damage. I say this as someone who has been driving a car for 42 years and road biking for 39.

It's a myth that fuel taxes pay for roads. Fuel taxes pay less than half of the cost of roads, and almost all of that is for divided highways -- where bicycles are almost universally excluded. Local roads -- the kinds cyclists use -- are almost entirely paid for by local taxes, primarily real estate and sales taxes. Which just about everyone pays.

 

[BravoXray]

It's a myth that fuel taxes pay for roads. Fuel taxes pay less than half of the cost of roads, and almost all of that is for divided highways -- where bicycles are almost universally excluded. Local roads -- the kinds cyclists use -- are almost entirely paid for by local taxes, primarily real estate and sales taxes. Which just about everyone pays.

Also local wheel taxes when you buy plates.

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks for the confirmation.

The confirmation that it's legal to ride abreast when training for a race, which they were, an ironman race? That part? The part right there in that link?

Sec. 551.105. Competitive Racing​

(a) In this section, “bicycle” means a non-motorized vehicle propelled by human power.
(b) A sponsoring organization may hold a competitive bicycle race on a public road only with the approval of the appropriate local law enforcement agencies.
(c) The local law enforcement agencies and the sponsoring organization may agree on safety regulations governing the movement of bicycles during a competitive race or during training for a competitive race, including the permission for bicycle operators to ride abreast.

From the news stories:
among a larger group participating in a training ride for the Ironman Texas competition, along Highway 290 near Waller, Texas

 

[HawkinsHollow]

People who purposely program their truck to "roll coal" and then do it on a daily basis are idiots. This kid was just an extra special kind of stupid I guess.

 

[Torvy]

The confirmation that it's legal to ride abreast when training for a race, which they were, an ironman race? That part? The part right there in that link?

Sec. 551.105. Competitive Racing​

From the news stories:
among a larger group participating in a training ride for the Ironman Texas competition, along Highway 290 near Waller, Texas

Read the whole thing. They have to have special permission to ride more than 2 abreast, and then it is on set aside, meaning the cops block it off to traffic...even 2 abreast they cannot impede traffic. Just saying they were training for a race does not give them permission to block roads. Again, I am not talking about this group, but riders in DFW area. Waller is down by Houston.
I have been impeded by them and I have had them behave very rude!y to riders who are not part of their cliques. There are groups that ride during rush hour on arterial roads. No local police are going to give them the OK to do it. Most of this subset of bike riders act like self-important jack wagons on local roads.
The kid driving was not cited, the most likely reason for that was that the bicyclists were not riding correctly on a public road. He could still be arrested, but if he was as clearly at fault as the witness claimed, he would have been arrested at the scene. Hopefully, a full investigation will fill in the details and justice will be served either way....

 

[SgtSluggo]

Read the whole thing. They have to have special permission to ride more than 2 abreast, and then it is on set aside, meaning the cops block it off to traffic...even 2 abreast they cannot impede traffic. Just saying they were training for a race does not give them permission to block roads. Again, I am not talking about this group, but riders in DFW area. Waller is down by Houston.
I have been impeded by them and I have had them behave very rude!y to riders who are not part of their cliques. There are groups that ride during rush hour on arterial roads. No local police are going to give them the OK to do it. Most of this subset of bike riders act like self-important jack wagons on local roads.
The kid driving was not cited, the most likely reason for that was that the bicyclists were not riding correctly on a public road. He could still be arrested, but if he was as clearly at fault as the witness claimed, he would have been arrested at the scene. Hopefully, a full investigation will fill in the details and justice will be served either way....

I am not saying that the bikers in the story or the ones you encounter count, but there is an exception you should be aware of called "taking the lane" which is legal everywhere I know of.

Texas Transportation Code - TRANSP § 551.103 | FindLaw

Texas Transportation Code TRANSP TX TRANSP Section 551.103. Read the code on FindLaw

codes.findlaw.com

One of the allowances for taking the lane is that a car and bike will not fit side by side safely in the lane.

 

[Torvy]

Not really the problem. I ride, too. 2 abreast is really only a good idea when you are taking the lane. Taking the lane is rarely necessary around here. Most, but not all, of the roads I drive in the city are full width with shoulder. I know that most of the problem bikers are doing so out of ignorance. They are following their friends who tell them they can do whatever they want. If people see others doing things incorrectly, they often assume it must be OK. Then, they get indignant because in their heads they are doing something legal.

The Findlaw article clearly spells out my point, unless a roadway is set aside exclusively for bicycles (race training or whatever) they may not ride more than 2 abreast. The ones I come across are bunched up as of they were riding in a race, from the shoulder to the paint...and sometimes over the line.

 

[Hay Dude]

Never have understood the purpose to putting a 5 gallon bucket as your exhaust tip. All the stupid farm kids and wanna be farmers living in the city around here do it. Just straight up annoying.

And yes, I was a kid that had dual exhaust on his pickup truck...but it was just loud, not throwing black smoke everywhere so people couldn't see through an intersection for the entire light change.

My kid is a ”farm kid” and hasn’t done any exhaust mods to any of our trucks. Please don’t stereotype people. It’s really not farmers so much as the latter, the wannabe farmers.
Our roads wind in all different directions. Lots of blind curves. If you get caught behind bikes on a few of the worst ones, you better call ahead and tell them you’ll be late. You could be stuck behind them for 5-10 minutes.

 

[MossRoad]

"the evidence will be presented before a grand jury likely in October or November. They will determine whether to indict the teenager on criminal charges."

 

[the old grind]

A muzzle device on a hunting rifle is often called a compensator. That's what I call a gallon tail-pipe extension, 34" tires that never go off road, cast iron scrotes hanging from the hitch, flags in stake pockets, loud pipes, ... and a guy who rolls coal.