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Review: Paramount Room
Riding to work Wednesday morning this Chicagoist staffer and avid cyclist was doored ever-so-slightly by a trucker. While tending to the minor scrapes incurred from the sudden braking and subsequent tumble, the trucker proceeded to yell at us about how we shouldn't be on the street. Until we grabbed the bike lock and took a couple of swings at him. An accident happening while cycling (for us) is rare and we ride on the streets all the time. Still, it's is a hell of a lot safer than being on the lakeshore path, which often takes on a chaotic anarchy with all the joggers, cyclists, rollerbladers, beachgoers and tourists afoot.
Chicago Magazine's Jeff Ruby listed a dozen such cases in this month's issue ranging from a Lance Armstrong wannabe calling out "on your left" when he was passing joggers on their right side to three women who were intentionally clotheslined by passing rollerbladers and cyclists for hogging the lane while showing each other baby pictures on their iPhones.
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"Until we grabbed the bike lock and took a couple of swings at him."
Because he yelled at you? That's a joke, right?
Curious: Do you obey traffic laws while biking? I would assume you are responsible.
That said, I admire the bravery of city bikers, especially those with little or no health insurance. It's freaking nuts out there.
No, that's not a joke.
He got out of the truck, screaming what MY fucking problem was and that I should have been killed. The response wasn't my finest moment; I probably should have dusted myself off and kept bikinginstead. Or taken out a turn signal with the lock.
I do obey the rules of the road and ride with a helmet. As flowing traffic, cyclists have an obligation to do so. I wasn't always that way; in my days living on the North Side I was as antagonistic a biker as they come. Plus it wouldn't look good for a dues-paying member of the Active Transportation Alliance to run a red light then get run over (my response to the trucker notwithstanding).
That dooring was an exception, not the rule. More often than not a serious accident occurs when one or both parties isn't respecting the others right to use the street and/or paying attention to surroundings.
Gotta love city living.
Understandable reaction, but as you know, there is always someone bigger and meaner than you are. Holds true for all situations.
Don't blame you Chuck,
Hard to keep your cool when somebody's thoughtlessness nearly kills you and then they scream at you rather than ask if you're ok. All the while it being their careless fault.
Agree, but guess who would have been charged with a serious crime, based on what Chuck said? Gotta be careful all around.
Well of course,
I'm just saying I sympathize with his anger and wouldn't hold it against him, because I've been there too. I hit a car because of a driver's utter carelessness, but unlike Chuck's, my driver had enough character to realize he fucked up, and immediately apologized and expressed his concern (in spanish anway). Can't imagine how mad I'd have been if immediately started saying cursing me and saying I should be killed...
Have also hit a car and had the people laugh about it and speed off before I could even react.
"I'm just saying I sympathize with his anger and wouldn't hold it against him, because I've been there too."
I certainly sympathize, too--try being a pedestrian in this city (meaning I walk miles each day on average) and dealing with assholes in bikes and cars--but, in light of our big Guardian Angels discussion, it confuses me that you would not "hold it against" him for taking his anger out without any apparent need for immediate self-defense. Not trying to start a flame war, only voicing an honest observation.
Being an adult means controlling one's anger, no matter how justified, right?
Not sure what you're playing at, you yourself said "understandable reaction". As for the GA's, there's big difference between being unwillingly put into a confrontation and seeking them out nightly.
Understandable does mean right. One understands a person's angry response, and even sympathizes with it, even if one does not agree that one should offer that response.
Not playing at anything at all. Really.
"...unwillingly put into a confrontation and seeking them out nightly."
One might say not simply going about your business, especially if one is not faced with an immediate need to defend oneself, essentially is seeking out confrontation, especially if one uses what a court might consider a dangerous weapon. Just saying. People are arrested and charged and sometimes convicted for a lot less, even in Cook County.
One understands a person's angry response, and even sympathizes with it, even if one does not agree that one should offer that response.
Which is what I said. Hmmm...
Don't feel like nibblin' the flamebait today Matilda. Have a good weekend!
No, I don't mean to start a flamewar. Seriously.
Here's the thing about blogs, Navin, something both of us should remember: Tone is all but impossible to get. Tone influences meaning, especially when two people are quibbling around the edges of an issue and tend to agree more often than not.
Anyway, have a good weekend, too. Watch out for those doors.
The whole dooring thing is going to take educating the non-bike riding public.
Seriously...the last thing I think about when I'm opening my door is looking for a biker.
But when one comes WHOOSSHING past my door two seconds before I'm going to open it, it scares the life out of me.
That's probably why the trucker got so pissed...sometimes people react like that when they've just had the life scared out of them, you know what I'm saying?
I suppose if you live in a crowded urban area, after a while you might start thinking about checking for bikers before you open your car door..but this is something that is not engrained into the minds of non-bike riding people. I mean, I have a bike...I don't ride it all the time, but when I do it's not like I'm out on open roads...and even I don't ever think about this...until I read about it like today.
So, really...the onus is on the biker to navigate the streets like walking on eggshells when you're going past parked cars...until it gets into the collective public's minds about checking very carefully for bikers before they open their car doors.
Chuck...you have to turn in your "I do obey the rules of the road" card.
You can't say in one sentence that you "grabbed the bike lock and took a couple of swings at him."...and then pat yourself on the back for obeying rules.
That is like saying you don't speed, right after you get a speeding ticket.
Sorry, Chuck...you don't obey the rules.
lol,
Errmm irish-man, it's nothing like that. His confrontation after the fact has nothing to do with the way he was actually riding his bike. The comparison with a speeder is ridiculous, as you well know.
Navin, fair enough...but isn't this just a symbol what we get from every bicyclist?
Cyclists don't follow traffic laws.
Cyclist answers, "neither do cars"....lame.
Now this.
I totally respect your angle, Navin.
But I'm not buying Chuck is this "Beaver Cleaver of the Cycle World", who never breaks any laws...but ALL OF A SUDDEN pulled out a bike lock and proceeded to physically assault someone?
And has the balls to say he "obeys the rules"?
That's a shit sandwich you are trying to sell me, my friend.
Only Chuck knows if he breaks any traffic laws my friend. What traffic law do you think he broke/breaks anyway? What you're saying really just doesn't follow I'm afraid. It's quite possible to be a safe biker and then get angry enough to mix it up with some dude who knocks you off your bike and then gets up in your face about it.
Irish, the experience of having some idiot nearly kill you and then scream at you for it is enough to drive even the most rational person over the edge, especially if you were following the law and doing everything right at the time. Chuck has acknowledged it wasn't the wise move, so it doesn't make sense to try blowing the incident up as a "symbol of what we get from every bicyclist."
Navin...this is easy math buddy. I'm not pulling this out of thin air.
Both parties are the agressor here...Chuck being one of them.
If he wants to lose his temper and physically assualt somone...well, that is his American right.
But don't sell me a shit sandwich and try to say that is every other aspect of his life, he is cool, calm and collective.
Humans don't work like that.
Blue...the minute Chuck included all of the "rules he obeys" after telling us about a guy he physically assaulted...then, yes, he did become a "symbol of what we get from every bicyclist."
Humans do, in fact, work like that.
Either you've never experienced the adrenaline rush that comes from a traumatic physical experience, or you're a natural hot head who assumes the rest of the world reacts as you do. Either way, you're just being silly.
"Humans don't work like that."
Yes, many do.
C'mon Irish,
Substitute any other method of conveyance into that weird web of logic that you're trying to connect there and it doesn't follow either. That goes for cars, pedestrians or whatever.
By your logic:
Pedestrian with the 'walk' light and *full right of way* is bumped by a taxi while they're crossing in the crosswalk. Pedestrian blows their cool and slams a fist down on the hood:
Pedestrian must be a jaywalker the rest of the time.
What I mean by my "Humans Don't Work Like That", is that you don't physically assault someone, and then never do it again the rest of your life.
Humans don't work like that...if you physically assault someone, then chances are you have done it before...and will do it again.
I find it hard to believe you guys know someone who has physically assaulted someone **once**, one time, and it never happened again.
We would not have the problems in our society if people really acted like you guys are describing.
Navin...nope, that is not what I am saying.
In your example, if the person losses it and punches the cab, chances are he has punched other things/people in his life as well.
OK. I see now.
I will simply roll my eyes and move on.
Sorry Irish,
It doesn't wash. I myself have slammed a car's hood when some idiots bumped me with their fender while I was crossing the street. I've never punched any other human except in defending myself otherwise. Seriously the leap of logic isn't really worth giving creedence by responding to. I guess Chuck also cheats at board games too? lol.
Navin...fair enough.
Remember the difference...a cab hitting you is probably an accident on his part. He didn't mean to hit you.
You punching the car is not an accident...you meant to punch his car.
Between the two, I trust the cabbie that accidentally bumped you, compared to your violent actions that were deliberate.
I've caught Chuck cheating on board games. The chump thinks he can use a Triple Word Score twice...I don't think so!
FWIW, it was a car fool of hoods and it was on purpose and they thought it was funny.
Navin...you are comparing Apples and Oranges.
Chuck's quote was, "Until we grabbed the bike lock and took a couple of swings at him."
He physically attacked another person, and then went on to say all the rules he obeys.
Your quote was, "I myself have slammed a car's hood".
Now, unless "car's hood" is slang for "person"...it is not the same thing.
I once got doored at Madison and Dearborn by a guy stepping out of the left side of a cab stopped in the middle of the street. This was about two weeks after that bicyclist got killed when he was doored on Lasalle near Oak, and the incident was very much on my mind when I pulled myself up. As such, my reaction wasn't far off from Chuck's, though I calmed down pretty quickly and the guy apologized.
I understand how a driver isn't thinking about bicyclists when they step out of a car, though when you're parked along the street I would expect you to at least look for oncoming cars before swinging the door wide open. I'm very conscious of any occupied cars when I ride up streets like Milwaukee, and I can't tell you how many times I've come close to being doored, or how many doors I've seen almost taken out by cars driving ahead of me. We all just need to be more aware of our surroundings.
Of course, saying that's like saying we all need to eat right or spend our money wisely. It's not likely to happen.
I do...I do check for oncoming cars, but it's not the same as looking for bikers.
I'm not saying this to be contrary...whenever the subject comes up I always feel bad because I just don't think to look for bikers. It's not something that you learn in driver's ed, it's not something that anyone teaches you about...it's something you have to learn for yourself.
It's a habit that one has to get into, but if you've been driving for who knows how many years, it's a hard habit to get into when you've just never done it.
Just be glad you didn't hit him with the lock. My friend was rear ended at a stoplight on a motorcycle by some dude on a cellphone - he lost his shit and broke a window with his helmet. Needless to say, it didn't turn out well. It was probably really satisfying though.
Yeah, that bike path can be a death-defying ride, particularly the stretch from Irving Park to Navy Pier, and specifically on the weekends. Roller-bladers swinging their arms from side to side and working their way from one side of the rode to the other; the spandex-wearing Tour de France types trying to set a new Ardmore-to-McCormick Place speed record; walkers who see something on the other side of the road and stroll over to take a look regardless of the traffic; dog walkers who think their Yorkie is just the cutiest widdle thing and allow them to skitter back and forth across the path while tethered to those stupid yo-yo leashes; parents obviously tired of taking care of their three-year-old and are evidently hoping a bike wil take care of their problem by letting the kid wander around; elderly riders who prefer the middle of the path to the far right while creaking along at 0.3 mph. I almost t-boned a guy on a bike last summer when he was riding along in the same direction as I was going and suddenly decided that he wanted to reverse direction and go the other way without signaling or checking to see if anyone was coming.
Seriously, why don't they enforce the whole slower-traffic-stay-to-the-right thing, the way they (used to?) enforce the no-bike riding on the Sheridan Road sidewalk? Walkers: far right. slower riders: right. All others: middle of the lane unless passing.
Rollerbladers: banned altogether.
Don't hate just because you can't stand up on rollerblades. :)
I think the simplest rule(s), as it's been said, for everyone to follow is use common sense, be aware of you're surroundings, and don't be an asshole. I know it won't happen, but I can dream, damnit!
Hey, I can stand up on rollerblade and even move forward a little!
But it's just that arm-swinging, moving from side to side that is troublesome. With all of that motion, they're taking up double their body size and you're forced to judge if they're going to veer slightly to the left or to the right as you get near them to pass. And forget about yelling 'on your left" as earphones seem to be a requirement to rolleblading.
Of course, I'm not accusing you or ingrid of being like this... :)
Yep, whether you like rollerblading or not, that whole lumbering side-to-side motion kind of fucks up *everybody's* program.
I agree, some people have no control over their body movement, so I see your point. When I'm jogging though, I'm more afraid of bikes than rollerbladers, since I know with most of them a slight nudge will send them to the ground. (Though I have never, and would never, do that intetionally)
I really never rollerblade south of Belmont since the path is terrible, too many random rocks/sand pits, and there are too many people to dodge to make it even enjoyable, but going north can be fun and you don't have to worry (as much) about taking a digger.
That's why I prefer to just stay in my neighborhood where I can toddle along on my Fisher Price skates and not have to worry about the insanity on the lake path.
Which is a bummer, because to me, the lake path is probably the best thing about Chicago.
I mean, you can get good food and good theatre and entertainment almost anywhere, but not everywhere has this awesome lake path that stretches for miles upon miles.
I would rather ride up Lasalle at 5 p.m. than ride the lake path north of the Shedd on a pretty day. The bridge on the underside of Lake Shore is enough to make you wish you were stuck in a Honda in a Kennedy traffic jam.
South of the Shedd, though, the crowds vanish and the ride is awesome. Except for a short section around the 31st St. Beach, you can ride flat out without having to worry about anybody stepping in front of you or running anyone down. Anybody who wants a relatively safe and stress-free ride should head down there.
I rollerbladed on the lake path. Once.
I'll never do it again.
People are assholes. That lake path can be terrifying.
I'll say this to the bikers: if you want to go zooming at 50 miles per hour...go find some lonely stretch of country road...don't do it on the lake path when there are tons of people around...that's not what it's for.
And the people just strolling...you CANNOT do this 3 or 4 people wide. That's just rude.
If people were just considerate the lake path (and the world) would just be such a nicer place.
Yeah, ingrid..."if". Unfortunately...
I have a problem with just about anybody on the bike path but me, because, of course, I am considerate and cautious. But really, just two main considerations that people should be mindful of: 1) Try to stay to the right (or as far right as you can go) unless you're passing and 2) watch where're you're going. I know that sounds simple, but apparently it's not.
"if you want to go zooming at 50 miles per hour...go find some lonely stretch of country road"
I agree completely. I don't understand the Armstrongs who get mad because they can't zip past the North Street Beach as if they're on the Tour. If you want to ride like that, either stay south or do it on the street.
Or the Armstrongs who want to ride in a pack, as if there's a big race that none of the rest of us knew about and we're in their way. Do those guys actually race anywhere or is all of that crotch-defining spandex wearing just for show?
For show I'd wager. My boss races (was even pro when he was a young man) and him and his crew just go on long rides out in the burbs or on rural roads. I worked with a dude like you describe, wore the whole flashy biker get-up just to do the kind of simple commute I do in my street clothes, loved to ride with his shirt off too, to show off his (completely covered in hair) chest....*shudders*.
Gotta say...that illustration with the article is pretty hilarious. There's a zebra and a coral snake roaming the path. LOL.
Helen Greenberg of Hyde Park, who was Rollerblading and listening to Nickelback on her headphones,
Sounds about right...goofy boots.
They need to ban those bicycle "cars" (whatever the hell you want to call them) that seat four people and that people can rent to use on the path. They are entirely way too slow and they take up the whole lane.
From the article:
"OFF COURSE
Al and Priscilla Mansell and their kids, Courtney and Jason, all of Mundelein, pedaled one of those massive Flintstone buggies into the lake south of the Oak Street curve. All four survived, though no one aided in their rescue."
I now have to clean coffee blown through my nose off my computer screen. Thanks.
Lakefront path needs wider sidewalks. Or two of them, one in each direction. In the world of self powered wheels, that thing is as close to a highway as we get.
Yeah, I also like how nobody slows down, even to a reasonable speed, in the slow zones around Oak Street. Grrrr!!!
I commute on the path to work but between Memorial Day and Labor Day I get off as soon as I can. There is no group of users that I can point a finger at as being always a problem (besides the four wheeled rental hell bikes). The main problem is people not paying attention regardless of their mode of transport.
The Park District do a pretty shitty job of signage and other methods of organizing traffic flow. Why where there half a dozen spots left torn up for 4 months between north and ohio? It also doesn't help that the Park District uses F350s to move 2 rakes from one place to another along the path and does trash pickup during the day with a huge dump truck. I just whent today to look at the new pedestrian/biker underpass at solidarity drive and the long stretch south of the underpass has huge curbs separating the path from the grass. I don't know how many times I have had to run off into the grass to avoid a small child or an errant Frisbee yet in this location to attempt such an evasive maneuver here would result in a big wreck. It is almost like the peole who design the path have never used the path as a biker or walker.
Chuck, if you were doored and then yelled at about it, you should have called the police and gotten the piece of shit ticketed.
Wouldn't be surprised if they would have given Chuck the ticket. I can vaguely remember reading comments on Second City Cop about some bike story where almost all the cops were saying that in a bike/car incident they always ticket the biker regardless, those were the nice things they were saying of course, there was also a lot about murdering cyclists and making bicycles illegal in the city period. Good stuff, sometimes I wonder why I stay in this town...
Bicycling on the lakefront path? Only on select Saturday mornings that are particularly freezing! No blonde ponytails or spandex shorts.
Bicycling on the north side in general? Only after 8 pm, and I'll take Wrigleyville over Wicker Park every time.
Lakefront path bike rage formula:
(original speed - final speed) * sq. ft. of spandex = level of biker rage
Ingy shame on you!
As bikers and walkers are equal intended users of the road, I say cars have the onus to "look both ways" for other intended users as they are the only 3 ton metal projectiles on our shared roads. Additionally driving is not a right, but a privilege.
No...I respectfully disagree here fine sir. The onus in a situation like this, would have to be on the person who is going to wind up as road kill. George Carlin put it better than I.
Also, like I stated earlier...this is something that the public just needs to be educated about. It would save a lot of anguish, but until that 'shift' happens, it's going to have to be on the person who is on the bike.
its tough out there - dooring is the most dreaded car encounter for me. then getting yelled at by the ignorant schmuck who did it? very unwelcome.
cops most likely useless in such a situation. I hung around and waited 45 minutes with a cyclist who was a victim of a roadrage incident - dude in a black Lexus sports car chased him for blocks, breaking numerous traffic laws, and finally getting him and taco-ing his rear tire in the entry to the drive through to my bank.
Then there was another 2 vehicle crash nearby at the intersection of Chicago and Ogden. I spoke to the responding officer there after they were done processing that incident and pointed out the guy with his crunched bike 500ft away and they would not respond, or go get a statement, or anything, said they had to wait to be dispatched.
I do not know if cops ever responded and took the Lexus's plate number and wrote up a report. Chuck probably felt he did not have an hour or more to wait around and hang-out and make small talk with his perpetrator so he did what came naturally.
From my experience, if some contractor from the suburbs opens their door into you, if you happen to fly OVER the door into traffic and then lay there hysterically crying for several minutes, said contractor tends to feel really bad, apologize profusely, and call an ambulance for you.
If this happens on your birthday, the contractor will then stealthily hand you a wad of hush money "to fix your bike with."
This happened to me two years ago. My left hip still pops and I haven't biked through that intersection since.
I moved here 11 years ago from DC. In DC I rode the Potomac trail in Virginia frequently, from the Key Bridge which connects Arlington and DC to Mount Vernon. I think it's 30 miles or so round trip.
When I moved here I was blown away at how reckless, careless and selfish just about every food group is on the Lakefront trail. Crazy Lances. Dumbass marathon trainers running four abreast, the afore-mentioned dog-walkers and toddler-ignorers. The stupidass teenagers who strut in packs of eight. It's insane. I still ride the path but I try to do it in the mornings.
I attribute the craziness to the general lawlessness in Chicago, combined with (a) the clueless suburban and tourist factor (something you don't have to deal with along the Virginia side of the Potomac) and (b) the arrogant self-involved character of a lot of people who live and play in the vicinity of the path between Irving Park Rd and Navy Pier. I miss the Potomac trail dearly.
Chuck, in DC I was almost run down once by a car with Diplomat plates. He looked right at me and turned in front of me anyway. On pure impulsive rage, I'd pulled out the Krypto and smashed a big dent into his trunk before I even knew what I was doing. A cop in his car parked nearby saw the whole thing and just smirked. Almost getting killed makes just about anyone temporarily irrational.
I'm a bike rider, no car & this is a bit OT, but...
Thursday night, walking 6600 block of Clark St. in Rogers Park, two bikes on the west sidewalk come flying by me without a sound.
They were of course two Chicago bike cops going back to the station.
The third cop was riding in the street where he belonged!
Nice way to set an example, jerks!
What, does the fact that the district commander is leaving for a high paying DC job think you can break the law?
This one time, this good Samaritan shepherded an old blind woman in front of me on the lake path. I hit her cane and crashed my poor delicate racing bike, scraping my hands and bruising my ass.
I was going maybe 15 mph, relatively slow. At least I was wearing a helmet.
Had me sputtering for days.
Cars give way to Bikes give way to pedestrians.
Bikes don't have to stop at stop signs and bikes that pointlessly follow every rule of the road are actually more dangerous than a cyclist who knows when to 'act like a pedestrian'.
Personal pet peeve: noobie city cyclists who get in the left turn lane [even worse when in a 3 way intersection!]
Just an observation but it now seems to only take about 3 posts until someone bring up a semi pointless argument they just hijacked from another post where they did the same thing.
noobie city cyclists who get in the left turn
Funny, I always considered the 'box turn' more of a n00b move. Each intersection has it's nuances though, some turns work better than other's depending on the intersection.