Warning about Glendora PD to Ticket Riders on the Montrose Ride

Interesting notification from our friends at www.socalcycling.com

http://www.socalcycling.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1434

Just spreading the word here on STR too....

PSA: Glendora Police Department to Ticket Riders on Montrose Ride
12/10/09 - We received a call from Corporal Joe Ortiz yesterday, who is in charge of Traffic at the Glendora Police Department. He asked us to spread the word that they will be ticketing riders in Glendora that run the stop signs during the Montrose Ride starting this week. Please pass this message on to your riding friends. As an FYI, the Montrose Ride goes through Glendora on two different sections - Gladstone and shortly after the construction in San Dimas before the right on Amelia where the Fire Station is (map). Please respect the rules of the road on this ride and all rides, so that our group rides can go on for many years to come.

 

Im assuming motor bikes and cars....:-k thanks

 

So before this week they wouldn't ticket them? WTH?

 

I heard a couple off the back got them last week. Dont expect a ride tomorrow due to the rain?

 

They're gonna have to catch me.

 

i called the forrest service and they say the trails and road will both be open. No closures and she said go ahead and ride my bike...woohooo.it's on...

 

Road bikes on the weekly group ride leaving Descanso Gardens at 8:00amish every Saturday. The cops will stop and ticket any roadie who runs a red light or top sign because they are at the end of the Group...

 

I caught a glimpse of this last week. It was a red light going north on Cerritos Ave. towards Citrus College.

It's crazy how many red lights the pack blows through... Not that I'm condoning it but the thing is that the front rolls through when it's green/yellow and the back end usually goes through when it's red, which means the drivers are in perfect visual contact and at a dead stop. It's not as dangerous as when it's just a tiny pack rolling through; not that it makes it any more legal.

 

They should pepperspray them

 

The group also got stopped over Thanksgiving weekend by the Arcadia Police. Fortunately we only got a warning. The Sierra Madre cops have also been camped out at all the four way stops lately waiting to write tickets. I'll be sure to spread the word tomorrow if the rain doesn't keep me away.

Matt

 

Ahh phooey, just climb in the mountains and forget about the stop signs.

 

It's funny though, you really can't pull over the whole group. If you want to ticket riders entering the intersection after the red, go for it. Pulling the front of the pack over for the back of the packs actions won't stand.

I really think the riders ought to obey the stop signs. Can you imagine how long it would take to get through the intersection if every rider came to a full stop? They'd have to take the whole lane at the left turns...

 

Agreed. What is dangerous is half the pack in the back trying to make a sudden stop. You're just looking for a crash and pile-up. However, cops don't know this. It is safer to roll through if you are part of a group that already has momentum. The ticketing has nothing to do with safety. It is exclusively the PD's revenue generating efforts in the holidays season. Cops don't give out tickets for sake of public safety, they give them out to make money. They forget that that same ticket that puts money in their Christmas fund spoils someone elses Christmas.

We should follow the traffic laws not for fear of tickets but for sake of our own safety, but in this case rolling through is, in my opinion, the safer alternative.

 

They should line up single file in front of the 5-0 and each rider stop and put a foot down. See what kind of traffic problems that produces

 

Exactly.

 

If you can't stop individually or as a group then your probably riding recklessly. I don't see any difference between this and a critical mass ride besides the addition of lycra and the lack of the big wheeled bikes. FYI, I ride a road bike.

 

The problem is if you are riding in a peloton that is 200 strong everyone has to follow the front pack. If the light is green when the first riders go through but changes to yellow (or red) by the time the mid pack comes through then there will be guessing amongst the midpack as to whether or not to stop or try to make it through. Some may try to stop while a rider on their wheel, only inches behind them, may not try to stop. Then you'll have a pile-up. The first rule of a peloton is "no sudden movements or changes". All you need is one person to hit the brakes on a yellow and you'll have carnage. Thats why in most group rides the front rider makes the call on a light (stop or roll through) and signals the rest of the peloton.

 

Drafting=tailgating. They give tickets to drivers for tailgating because it's not safe. What I'm hearing is I can't stop safely because I'm not riding safely.

 

You've got a lot to learn.

 

hahaha