Bad Driving the Illinois Way

"This explains the increased rate of Car and SUV Violence against cyclist"

And what rate is that? What is your source--police stats, insurance company figures, anecdotes from bikers? How do you define "violence"--actual, documented accidents, or road-rage as well, or even steering into clearly marked bike lanes? Is this "increased rate" more or less reliable than your contention that defense spending makes up some 60% of GNP (or was it GDP)?

Finally, might the apparent growth in the number of bikers in Chicago play any role in this "increased rate"?

I assume you are not merely making up something for dramatic purposes here.

I assume you are not merely making up something for dramatic purposes here.

clearly you underestimate spook's propensity to reincite ye olde car/bicycle/pedestrian flamewar.

i got a 70%. i'm betting i'd get the same if i drove, too. as long as i don't drive like my sister, i figure i'm golden. (you know i love you, sis)

doggo to say that Bicyclist "have just as much a responsibility to ride safely as auto drivers" is to say that the owner of a slingshot has the same responsibility as the owner of a nuclear missile.

It’s so weird that Chicagoist is so anti cyclist. Not just with the commentators, but even with the main editor Margaret Lyons. She covered the Auto Show in great detail but turned a blind eye on the Ghost Bikes( and the Ride of Silence) recently dedicated to the victims of Auto Violence in Chicago.

And speaking of modes of transpiration, Matilda, you might want to play nice! I know you've got your eye on a shiny new red tricycle and you’re gonna need every nickel you can get from your lemon aid stand to buy it.

So, Spook, that was just another made-up stat.

Thought so. That's what I get for taking you seriously. Stupid me.

By the way, the responsibility of bikers and drivers is spelled out in state law. That is a factual truth. You can spin it any way you want, but you are not dealing with the truth. It does not matter what you feel is right.

You, as a bikers-right support, likely don't even realize how much you have lost in the past year or so. Many, many people in the mainstream--myself included, a non driver--are prepared to throw great support behind bikers. We are willing to pester our local and state lawmakers to make it easier for bikers to get around this city and state, and to write letters to the editors, and to even support the allocation of more (and increasingly limited) public funds toward bike trails, racks and similar expenses.

But many of us have been turned out by the attitude among some bikers--perhaps not all, but a very vocal minority at the least-that bikes need not obey all traffic laws, or that bikers are all but martyrs for the environment. And we have been turned off by such stunts as unsanctioned races that encourage participants to break rules, and celebrations as martyrs of those unfortunate people who died after breaking the rules.

Such things have discourage people like me--let me remind you that I own no car and agree that our society is too car-centric--to offer only mild support for bikers. I will spend my time, and money, on other efforts, thank you. When the responsible bikers manage to have a greater voice than the cheerfully reckless bikers, perhaps I will reconsider.

Granted, I am only one person, but you might be amazed how many people are out there in the mainstream who have the same views.

It's sad: As gas prices rise, and our society, for the first time in some 30 years actually begins a serious debate about our car dependency, bikers should expect deep support from the mainstream. But the words and actions of what I call the biking martyr types has made that mainstream support more challenging to win. You martyrs really have managed to shoot yourselves in the feet more than once, and I simply can't believe how stupid some of you have been when it comes to gaining support. Who knows? Maybe you don't really want it. Maybe carrying around a psuedo-anarchist, us vs. them attitude is more important.

That said, thank you to the dedicated, responsible bikers. You help make this city a better place.

matilda's comment reminds me of a few Critical Mass nightmares last year. One was on my street when a neighbor tried to pull out. He gave a friendly toot whereupon one of the bikers positioned himself so that he couldn't move and screamed at him to get out of the fucking car, among other things. Oh and dared him to hit him.

In another incident, I tried to walk across the street and had several CM bikers intentionally 'buzz' me, one of whom slapped me on the back of the head. When I shouted an obscenity in his direction a couple more booed me.

Lovely bunch of people.

"By"

The problem is -kitten- that you act like the "playing fields" are leveled between bikes and cars.

Yea, some bikers are not responsible on the road, but to compare their limited actions to the major actions of irresponsible Car/SUV drivers is at best Ludicrous! And I aint talking about that stupid bling bling rapper either, yall!

Further to align yourself with Gooo Gooo liberals toddler "tilda" looking for her "Ma", is like dimishing/ blaming the entirety of the Civil Rights/Black Power movement for the short comings of Huey P. Newton, feel me?

Now go sap up some warm milk and ponder this, but watch out for ear mites

YoknapatawphaTourismBoard,

Is there a sliiiiiiiight possibility that you're over exaggerating? Do you live on a major street because that’s were Critical Mass rides, so it seems strange that they would do that for a lone car on a small street. Riders do block intersections to prevent drivers from running them down, but not individual cars. And then to say while they blocked you neighbor in, other riders focused on you as opposed to the ride. And of course how agile to be able to slap you on the head and keep on truck’n.

This brings me to my final point.

Oh Brotha Ward Up, Beware! Like that song Path Way to Glory" by Loggins and Messina sang "Beware
oh brother beware don’t you listen to the words
they’re telling you lies Beware", beware of all the Critical Mass Urban legends which has transformed the ride into maundering Russia, Cossacks.

Now with this being said, I am one of the "original heads" that continue to advocate for critical mass local neighborhood rides as a way to continue and build the movement as opposed to the out dated and passé main ride which starts downtown.