The problem is all the rapha weekend warriors blocking roads. I’m a cyclist and a car enthusiast and so I straddle the line between both groups. Obviously cyclists are the underdog here but they aren’t all angels.
These aren't commuters as it is ~40 minutes by car to the mothership and they're most often found on the nice days during the weekend wearing spandex, sometimes even with numbers on their back.
Independent of who's "right", when I bike, I don't do that, and can't say I've ever had anyone in a car angry at me.
I think these folks are the ones giving bikers a bad name by being antagonistic to prove a point.
I've also seen bikers upset when a kid is going slowly in a bike lane? So I think many of the spandex-clad dudes have some control issues.
The chances of you getting into a wreck for pulling over getting hit in a Tow Truck is in no way equivalent to a cyclist doing the same thing. You have visibility and weight.
As a non-cyclist, ya it can be a pain in the ass, but the cyclist has the legal right to the whole lane.
At least in California the law is:
"Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway
at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic
moving in the same direction at that time shall
ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb".
"A new bicycle lane change law was approved in 2022 and took effect on January 1, 2023, across all of California. Motorists approaching or overtaking a cyclist on the road must now switch lanes if another lane is available."
https://maisonlaw.com/safety-laws/bicycle-lane-change/
Also to note:
"In certain circumstances, cyclists may “take the lane” and use an entire lane, just as a car would. Riders may claim a full lane if they are passing, readying for a left turn, steering clear of an obstacle, or if they feel the lane is too narrow to share with a car"
Once a law leaves latitude for how someone was "feeling", it effectively legalizes the practice in almost every scenario.
Thats cool! It's also not hard for motorists to wait literal seconds to safely pass a cyclists. Cyclists shouldn't need to pull over all the time to accommodate motorists need to speed down the road. You aren't entitled to go 10 mph over the speed limit. It's a limit, not a minimum.
>I've also seen bikers upset when a kid is going slowly in a bike lane? So I think many of the spandex-clad dudes have some control issues.
Wow! You did? Crazy! It's almost like a group of people with a shared hobby aren't a monolith and will display different opinions and behaviors!
The speed limit is 80km/h, but through the windy bit, you can only average 60km/h.
Let's assume the rest of the time you average 80km/h.
Say the windy bit is 2km, and the rest of the journey is 38km.
This trip would normally take you 30 minutes and 30 seconds:
((38/80)+(2/60))*60 = 30.5
((38/80)+(2/10))*60 = 40.5
Now compare that to a typical peak hour traffic delay.
Why are people willing to endanger the lives of cyclists for what is a very mild, occassional traffic delay?