clueless roadies at cooks corners today

That's my wife's opinion as well. She'd run me over if it saved her 2 minutes. I worry about her sometimes....

I've ridden with this same group along this same route a few times, and for me personally, it's too large of a group. The ride up is less than ideal to say the least. Too many mis-matches of bike lanes and non. I have the tendency to stay more to the left for a bail out if needed (never needed it) so I'm usually the one out on the outside taking the lane. I try to stay to at least 3 (at most) wide and no more, blend in with the line when being overtaken by a vehicle.

This large of a group needs to take the lane just for self preservation. The ripple effect of trying to ride 1-2 wide with that many people is a recipe for a major wreck involving a lot of people when a car tries to pass. The wind buffeting from passing cars alone is enough to cause a major headache.

 

I always felt that a cyclist in your way for a minute or two will hopefully be the worst thing that happens to you that day.
people here posting up the law! Spare me!! Let me know the last time you came to a complete and absolute stop at a stop sign! Every time? Every day since you learned how to drive? How about rolling right turn on a red. Did you stop completely? Really? Every single time?
Were you texting? Were you on the phone? Did you have a couple drinks? None of that EVER?? Aren't you perfect. Then I am sorry I rolled through the stop sign on my bike. I'm sorry I got in the lane for 2 minutes to avoid trash and sewer grates.
By the way, I roll through stop signs in my car and three times on Saturday I crossed a massive double yellow to get in to and out of the car pool lane!
I'm a road rider and a mountain biker. I love both.
As a professional driver I've had roadies irritate me also.
I take deep breath and wait till it's safe to pass.
Get over it already! If you did this sport, you'd do the exact same thing. Where are they supposed to train??
200 riders single file!! The visual is pretty funny!
Some cyclists slowed you down? They took a whole lane and weaved back and forth? To and fro? PuhLeeze!!
Like I said, hopefully that will be the worst thing you experience all day! I mountain bike! I road ride! I drive fast! I roll stop signs in my car and on my bike!
Steppie, I love you! Your'e a class act redneck!! :beer:
Rachel, your post cracked me up.

 

It's easy to say what others should and should not do.

Should they stay in the bike lane? From an outsider who doesn't know the circumstances of the road, save his own annoyance of being inconvenienced, yes.

However, there were very articulate explanations of what occurs during road rides and a very clear allowance of bikes in the roadway. I beg you to try and understand these and be a responsible, cautious driver when passing cyclists, especially in large groups.

Having the privilege of driving a vehicle that can take the life of another being is a huge responsibility. It's easy to threaten others by saying something like "they'll end up on a grill somewhere" then go about your way refuting your own responsibility to yield to cyclists.

But, the bottom line really is that it's just a group of people out on their bikes, enjoying a ride.

Maybe we should all use those few moments of inconvenience to take a deep breath and appreciate what we have, the day lying ahead, and all the opportunities before us.

If a freekin psycho cyclist causes an accident, then at least you will know that you did all you could to save their life by acting as a responsible driver.

 

thank you (did i say that?).

what they were doing was enough to piss off a fellow cyclist (a mtber and roadie). i'm sure it was more than enough to piss off "unenlightened" motorists who will take it out on the next poor schmuck in lycra they see...

if they're too big of a group to stay out of the entire lane--they're too big. welcome to the reality of southern california.

i love the bike lanes i ride in o.c. getting hit by cars sucks (i've only been grazed).

:fat tires:

 

Hard enough preaching to the choir on this one, but most drivers haven't been on a bike since 5th grade. So they don't get it.

I've got a neighbor who goes to church in Silverado Canyon. She usually seems like a pleasant enough person.. but get her stuck behind the Como (Que?) Street group, and she gets downright homicidal. And she's on her way to church.

The motorcycle parking at Cook's Corner is a serious hazard. They force road and mountain bike riders into the traffic lane at the most dangerous intersection in the Canyon. But its totally worth it because those bikes are so shiny and pretty, and we wouldn't want them to have to park in complete obscurity in the upper lot. Would we.

As for Americans and road bikes, I always figured the best way to keep from getting hit would be to dress up as a pro ball player. Any sport. Drivers'd be falling all over themselves to give you enough room, and probably want your autograph.

 

Take the lane if no bicycle lane. They honk, oh well. Legal is legal.

 

So how do i join their ride? Sounds like a fun ride. davidB, you in?

 

Better bring your "A" game. Even Old Man Como is a real hard ride. Here's some info on it: (Wikipedia)

Como Street is a bicycle-riding group which starts in Tustin, California on Sunday mornings. The ride is composed of competitive cyclists and sometimes more that 100 riders take part. This ride is not recommended for recreational riders. The pace is fast and close quarter riding can be dangerous.
[edit] Importance

The ride is famous among cyclists and many elite level cyclists have participated, including Floyd Landis, who is reported to have compared the Como street ride to a climb during the Tour De France. This is according to Orange County local rider Richard 'TC' Valentine.
There are two groups, which start at 7:45AM and 8:00AM. The 7:45AM group is also called "Old Man Como" and started because the 8:00AM group is made up mostly of younger and more fit riders.
The 7:45AM group rides approximately 32 miles. Most of the ride is in Santiago Canyon.
The 8:00AM group rides is longer and encompasses approximately 40 miles. The ride add's to its length by passing through the town of Rancho Santa Marguarita, O'Neill and Live Oak Canyon and continuing on through Santiago Canyon. This routes adds one minor and one significant climb to the shorter "Old Man route" - including a climb called "The Wall" at the top of Live Oak Canyon.
The ride is called Como Street because it used to start on a street in Irvine, California near Culver Bl and Warner Street. Due to residential development, the ride was moved to the Tustin Market Place in the early 1990s.
The start location is at the Tustin Market Place at Jamboree Road and Camino Real in the parking lot Northeast of that intersection, near the Red Robin restaurant.

 

Just to be clear, what I posted is not my own view. It's a summary of what I see/hear from other drivers. As an avid cyclist myself who has a number of friends/acquaintances who ride road, with me you're all "preaching to the choir".

 

Love your post. Somehow my little girl manages to get all happy and smile when she sees a pack of cyclists on the road. She screams "bikes! bikes!" and gets all giddy.

Why most adults can't just see some beauty in a multicolored pack of riders hammering into nowhere on a Saturday morning and enjoy the moment is beyond me.

 

I remember being at an intersection a few years ago and I made a point of watching people in their cars as the Simi Ride roared through the intersection. That also has a couple hundred riders. It was so cool to watch a woman driver stopped with her two kids in the car smiling,pointing and clapping as the bunch passed them.
It was kind of exhilerating to watch them pass really.

 

I know there is more bagging on roadies than is deserved...but...

What could a roadie have to complain about with a MTB rider?

In all seriousness, I have yet to see a fully dressed out MTB'r riding all over and outside of the marked street lanes and/or purposely blocking vehicles as if they owned the street. Especially in larger groups.

Not a hater, just saying it's an apple/orange comparison.

 

I've ridden food park a bunch of times and the ride starts out with as many as 150 riders. Luckily there are not too many cars on the road at that time. By the time we hit the coast where a group that large would a problem, the pack is whittled down to about 30 as people get ejected out the back. Riders who go around the left side of cars to get to the front of the group at stop lights are yelled at by several riders in the group, but other than that there's not much you can do.

For the most part it's a cooperative effort, but riders know when a harder section is coming up and their goal of finishing with the pack causes them to try and scoot near the front so they don't get caught out in a gap. I'm not justifying it as I think it's wrong, just explaining.

By the way, I rode Holy Jim this Sunday there were plenty of mtb'rs that didn't know the rules any better than their roadie brethren. As a refresher, the guy going uphill has the right of way! Great day for a ride though.

 

Not really and apple/orange comparison.

You just have to look at them in their perspective riding areas. There are plenty of mountain bikers that don't follow the rules. For example, they don't yield to climbers when doing downhill, they ride illegal trails, etc.

 

It's not that. Mountain bikers howl at roadies and rag on them for the way they dress, the way they act, how they behave in traffic at intersections. At one time or another, most mountain bikers will end up on the road going from a trail head or something.
Let's see if they come to a complete stop! :?:
I passed some mountain bikers one time with some friends and they yelled fags. What a bunch of morons!
If it wasn't for two wheels and road biking and a group in Marin wanting to take their bikes to a different level, maybe this site would be "SoCalRoadRiders.org
Yes, I know they weren't riding repack on road bikes.

 

You mean to tell me you've never seen mtb'ers riding all over the trail? How many posts have been here complaining about discourteous mtb'ers? Is that more like apples to apples?

 

I've been riding up from Cooks to do the luge 2 abreast with a buddy jsut chatting (on mtb's) and about 50 roadies came past and gave us a ton of 5hit for taking up the bike lane!!
I've also seen them going up that hill in a group of about 100 taking up half the car lane - with the speeds that people drive on that road there's going to be an accident.
On a related note after the last South Park how come no one has put a banner at Cooks Corner that says 'Fag Corner' ?!

 

LOL!!! Several of you have missed the point of my post. And the sarcasm.

MTB'rs ride like sh!t all the time. And I call them on it when I see it.

Roadies catch the bulk of the crap they do because they are roadies - ie: ride on the streets, but mostly for riding like sh!t and affecting a lot of other folks in the process.

As for the aholes that like to just haze roadies for no other reason than their sense of style, or lack thereof, they are what they are, aholes.

Comparing the defectiveness of roadies vs MTB IS apples/oranges.

It's like trying to compare a crappy folk guitarist to a crappy metal guitarist.

They both play guitar, but different types and for different reasons - and impact a totally different group of folks.

 

Hey buddy. Roadies are allowed to ride outside bike lanes. Cyclists have a right to take a lane. Even if it slows people down. Often, groups taking the lane makes travel MUCH faster for the flow of traffic. You can pass a wide group much faster than a string of riders.

I notice that you are mentioning "a fully dressed out MTB'r". Does the Lycra creep you out? I've noticed you don't seem to happy with roadies in generally. Do you ride in lycra when you ride your road bike?

Check out a group road ride sometime. They are almost always a ton of fun, and you might understand some of the riding behavior you see.

 

Hey "Buddy", no one said they weren't allowed to ride outside of lanes.

but they only have the right to take a lane if safe to do so.

Cyclists also have the responsibility to follow the law.

Couldn't care less about lycra. Worn it, no big thing. The bit about fully dressed was to distinguish between those who are fully dressed (both road and trail) vs those who are not riding recreationally and are more likely commuting to somewhere or kids.

Used to road bike plenty. Kinda like my love for surfing, love the activity, hate the prevailing mentality.

If roadies (or anyone else for that matter) want to claim their right to being traffic, no problem, as long as they also accept the responsibility of traffic laws.

I understand the behavior, just don't relate to it.

You aren't going to change my mind, nor I yours.

'nuff said.