Bicyclists - question for Long Distance Riders

not Motorcycles ! LOL (of which I R 1).

over in the next county, a group of bicyclists are notoriously known
for riding in packs of 75 to over a 100 bikes on their long distance rides.
That particular road is very hilly with lots of curves and no passing zones.
these guys ride 4 wide and stretch over a 1/4 to 1/2 a mile long.
Really obnoxious as to hogging the road and not allowing vehicles to pass.
well, for some reason, these fools have moved to MY county on MY road which
is 17 miles from one town to the next. Same scenario - curvy narrow road
with lots of hills and no passing zones. 4 wide and over a 1/4 to 1/2 a mile long bike train.
These are professional riders with real pretty bike shirts and sissy pants.
I have noticed that several are wearing GoPro cams on their helmets. So that is a good
thing should there be any kind of altercation or wreck. Tempers are really hot about these bikes.
My HOA has contacted all the city and county officials about these guys and their
riding right at 5 to 6pm weekdays right when everyone is getting off work from Disney and the
Orlando area and the roads are quite crowded. No official wants to approach them as the
Florida State Law permits bicyclists on any road, regardless if there is a bike lane or not.
It is only a matter of time before some road rage idiot takes out about 20 of them
with his truck.

so my question is - what is the mentality of this type of riding behavior ????????
and I am talking about EVERY DAY during the week !!! not just a Saturday or Sunday.

https://floridabicycle.org/for-club-cyclists/






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Here's my take. I'm a rider and when I'm on my bike I hate the cars. I'm also a motorist and when I'm driving I hate the bikers. What you've described is pretty obnoxious and is only one reason why bikers are so hated by motorists. There are lots of others like blowing through stop signs, etc. First off, these guys aren't necessarily pros. Anyone can spend the dough on the shorts and jerseys. I wear the biking clothes because the shorts prevent *** pain, pure and simple. The jersey has built in pockets for my phone, ID and map. I'm by no means a pro. Thing is with these guys is that they are exercising their "right" to be on the roads. This right is being abused just like it is when farmers take up the whole road when moving a combine from one acreage to another, or contractors take up as much room on a street as they want, or taxi or delivery drivers park wherever they feel like. It's all rude behavior. The bikers in some cases ride in herds like they do because it's a club outing much like motorcycle clubs do - the difference of course the cycles aren't going 15mph but keeping to the speed limit. The bikers are looking for a relatively quiet and safe road. They like the curves and hills and the scenery. Thing is that their being on the road makes it unsafe for themselves and motorists. I think it's a bad attitude at work that has a "screw you" mentality. When I bike I obey the rules of the road because I want to give bikers a good name. These guys are out there in some way to be in your face with their "right" to be there. It brings up the notion of being dead right...

If I were you I would see if there is a club involved and if so try to reason with them. Ride two abreast. Try not to ride during rush hour. Explain to them that by being courteous themselves they will earn the respect of those they share the road with. They want it both ways and the public at large resents that.

As an insight, I live in a city that is consistently rated first or second in the nation for bikers. Bike paths everywhere. I like the bike paths in that they give a safe place for bikers to be out. There are problems though because it is a mixed use issue with bikers, skaters, runners, walkers, strollers and wheelchairs all vying for the same space. As a former runner I dreaded approaching someone walking their dog having seen too many incidences of the runner being tripped by a too long dog leash. Recently I made the mistake of taking a bike trail at 3:00 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I was approaching a skater from behind, looked to my left to see if it was safe to pass, looked back to see the skater had stopped. Suddenly I'm in the hospital, got a bill to pay and am doubtful if my finger will ever function properly again. People think they're on a safe path and they stop being careful and start to do stupid or careless things. I ride on the street now when I'm in town and I obey the traffic laws.

In the end it's about attitude. Seems like if we all were less concerned about exercising our rights and more concerned about trying to make room for everyone we'd all be better off.

Is this a good time to bring up PWC's?

LOL - PWCs are also on my "could do without" list.

but, they are usually only one or two that buzz me then they are gone at 60mph.
unless - it is a small lake and they are limited to the acreage they can cover in 30 minutes.

Back to the cyclists - there is NO WAY I would ride a bicycle on a narrow road where the
speed limit is 55mph. Much less in a pack that backs up traffic for a mile or more.
I do however enjoy our offroad bike trails of the old railroads.

I guess I am not looking forward to tomorrow afternoon's bike train.
and no, there is no other route for me to take. and they ride from 5 to 6:30pm
so I am not going to sit on my thumbs every day to wait from them to pass.

just a rant !! LOL

....

There looks like there is as much money in that PWC as there would be in a 17' bay fishing boat. I really have to ask, WHY? Why would you choose to fish on a PWC? If you want to really have a challenge then how about a kayak? That's all the rage around here these days. Kayak fishing for tuna, shark etc. But a PWC isn't nearly cool enough to say, "I caught that fish on a PWC, aren't I bad to the bone"... no, you are not bad to the bone at all.

Anyway, a lifetime ago I used to eat, breathe and sleep bicycles. I was one of those "one less car" jerks. I worked at a high end store and while I mostly raced mountain bikes, I rode on the street for transportation and training. But I would never, ever block traffic and ride 4 wide on a traveled street. Not even 2 wide if there was regular traffic. If I did I would expect to get run over.

....

jethro said:

That's all the rage around here these days. Kayak fishing for tuna, shark etc.

Click to expand...

Off-topic ... but that's illegal ... not that people don't do it anyway :? .

I know, I called the NMFS and was unable to get the license needed for a 'kayak' to legally catch littoral species. I had a trip planned to ferry 4 yaks aboard my tuna boat offshore when I was 'stopped' ... juris prudence

DaleH said:

jethro said:

That's all the rage around here these days. Kayak fishing for tuna, shark etc.

Click to expand...

Off-topic ... but that's illegal ... not that people don't do it anyway :? .

I know, I called the NMFS and was unable to get the license needed for a 'kayak' to legally catch littoral species. I had a trip planned to ferry 4 yaks aboard my tuna boat offshore when I was 'stopped' ... juris prudence

Click to expand...

Oh, I had no idea. I don't fish the salt at all, but I see videos on YouTube and whatnot. I didn't know there were regulations on the vessel used at all. Would you be able to legally tuna fish with a PWC?

Barefoot Johnny, sounds like Brain is definitely a dedicated fisherman. I'm not saying he isn't, all I am questioning is why anyone would make a conscious effort to fish from a PWC when there are other options. Seems it would be much more enjoyable/comfortable on a skiff but there must be some appeal because Brains PWC is not the first I have seen with a thousand dollar+ custom cooler/rocket launcher rack. Just trying to figure out what that appeal is.

Jethro,
If you have to ask these questions - - - you will never understand.
and neither do I .... there is no way I would scoot out 50 miles or more
in the open ocean to fish on something that is the size of my bed.
But as I stated a couple of times, this man has SEVERAL boats !!
kayaks, canoes, bay boats, ocean runners, etc.
On any one day, he can use any number of boats that he chooses.
Apparently you did not read his full biography.
A sportsman hunter has more than one gun
An angler has more than one fishing rod
A boating enthusiast has more than one boat

neither do I understand why people jump out of perfectly good airplanes
neither do I understand why people climb Mt. Everest
neither do I understand why people jump off the New River Gorge bridge for a 5 second para-glide
neither do I understand why people ride around in a big circle for 500 miles at 200mph
neither do I understand why people go miles and miles into a dark cave
neither do I understand why people own 10 foot boats
neither do I understand why people drive a new Lexus when a perfectly fine 20 year old Jeep will do.

After spending 21 years in the US Navy and literally plowing the Seven Seas,
I will never understand why people would risk their boat and perhaps their very lives
fishing in small boats so far from shore.
There are two 14 year old brothers still lost at sea due to the fact they chose to go into the open
ocean when Florida is plagued with afternoon storms that can, and did, capsize their small boat
in the blink of an eye. Many prayers are with the family and these two young men.

You are young, we are old. Approaching our 70s.
this conversation is OVER when it comes to jet ski Brian.

have a great day
Johnny

back to my original post. (bicyclists)

yesterday, on the way home, the police had about 75 bicycles
on a side road . . . herded up like sheep. You could tell the officer
was talking and they were listening. Just by the way there were gathered up.
I am quite sure it was a two way conversation about rights to use the road, etc.

I have no idea what was said or if any compromise was reached
about the problems. Will just have to wait to see how this afternoon goes.

final note on the cyclists then this thread is closed.

Today, the bikes were out in force again . . . .
but - this time, they were 4 wide and 4 deep - 16 riders to a pack.
there were 4 packs about 100 yards apart - plenty of room
to safely pass them, one pack at a time.

so I hope the compromise holds - for everyones safety.

thanks for listening to my rant LOL I'm done now

Hadn't followed this thread until today.
I'm not a cyclist, but I have no problem sharing the road with cyclists, as long as they use it responsibly. It's when the "whining" cyclists start to get "in my face", so to speak, and end up demanding cycle/nature trails, full rights to the entire width of the lane, etc. Yes, I see far too many of them blasting stop signs and lights, riding on sidewalks, riding against traffic, etc.
Those trails are being paid for by 100% of the taxpayers, but are being utilized by perhaps 5% of the public, and that just ain't right. I wonder how the cyclist's would feel if me and my friends demanded a taxpayer-funded drag strip that was available for use at anytime, without costing us a penny in fees.

If I'm not mistaken, Iowa law says cyclists are required to follow all normal traffic rules, but all too often I don't see this being the case, and it seems the law is not being applied. I would have no problem for children under the age of fourteen being allowed on the sidewalk, but over that, one can get a learner's permit for a driver's license. Seems to me that riding your bicycle in traffic on the street would be a good training tool for that learner's permit.

I would be willing to bet that Florida motor vehicle code has something in it about not hindering the normal flow of traffic. Perhaps that's what the gist of the conversation was about that Barefoot Johnny witnessed.

I still think that cyclists should have to pay a yearly $1 license plate fee for each cycle. That would be used to offset the cost of all those trails, and relieve the rest of us of the financial burden.

I guess you all can tell that the subject is a thorn in my foot.

Roger