From: His Highness the TibetanMonkey, Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock on
On Aug 8, 11:42 pm, d...(a)manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein) wrote:
> In <8cfa013c-a348-4fe8-892d-9d845b991...(a)w30g2000yqw.googlegroups.com>,
>
> His Highness TibetanMonkey wrote: (I edit here for space)
> >On Aug 8, 12:37 pm, "Mike Painter" <md.pain...(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >> His Highness TibetanMonkey wrote:
> >The same thing just happened to me while driving. The cyclist gave me
> >a scare, but he must have seen me. WHY DON'T THEY BAN CYCLING ON
> >SIDEWALKS?
>
> >What kind of respect do PEDESTRIANS get that don't deserve protection
> >from cyclists?
>
> How about laws that prohibit cycling on sidewalks?
>
> Such as 1 PA law that says that bikes are restricted to bike lanes where
> bike lanes are available?
>
> And a 2nd PA law that prohibits cycling on sidewalks in "business
> districts"?
>
> How about at least 1 Philadelphia against persons older than 12 years
> of age cycling on sidewalks?

All those laws are senseless and chaotic. There's one district around
here that prohibits riding on sidewalk, but only because the residents
are wealthy. The law also tells you to walk bike across bridges, even
when sidewalks can't accommodate you and the bike.

>
> I like how I occaisionally see *police officers* cycling in non-
> emergency manner on sidewalks where it is illegal to do so.

Banana Republic.
>
> So, I sometimes ride on sidewalks. And when I do so, I yield to
> pedestrians.

Bad boy. ;)

I don't blame those who do so in order to survive, but don't respect
those who don't demand more respect on the roads.

>
> Every bike that I ride has a horn and a siren, thanks to my willingness
> to use a loud falsetto voice. However, when I am cycling on a sidewalk, I
> like to merely request pedestrians to get out of my way. I think that I
> have a high rate of doing that well!

I bet your speed is next to the usual walking pace, which renders the
bicycle nearly useless.

>
> And failing that, I do "My Usual" - making my bike a road vehicle
> recognized by PA's "vehicle code"!
>
> However, "making nice" goes a long way! And when on a road where
> vehicle code enforcement is lacking, "Do unto others as you would have
> them do unto you"!
>
> That may explain why truckers in Mexico respect those traveling along
> Mexican roads by riding a mule (or a donkey?).

Really? That makes Mexico highly civilized. Afghanistan too! I think
they respect people WALKING A HERD in the middle of Kabul, judging by
a video I saw.

>
> >Just like in the Animal Kingdom we have a FOOD CHAIN at work.
>
> >But nobody has demonstrated to me that drivers are slowed down by
> >cyclists taking the lane. The drivers must avoid the cyclist and move
> >away from him, the more the better. WHY AREN'T DRIVERS HONEST AND TELL
> >US THEY WANT US OUT OF THEIR WAY,
>
> I have had some motor vehicle drivers spew such "honest vitriol" against
> cyclists...

They know they can get away with it and they harass cyclists trying to
chase them away onto the sidewalks.

>
> >AND PASS THE PROBLEM TO THE POWERLESS PEDESTRIANS?
>
> In Philadelphia, pedestrians are close to opposite of powerless. It
> appears to me that Philadelphia's "legal culture" favors a jaywalker
> having an obvious red light over road users that have a green light.
>
> For that matter, many Philadelphians flout PA law by dropping litter
> when a sidewalk-deployed trash can is deployed 6-10 meters ahead of
> such "Philadelphian litterbugs".
>
> I sometimes cycle on sidewalks in Philadelphia, though I usually cycle
> in the street where "vehicles" belong. When I cycle on sidewalks, I ride
> slowly enough to be able to yield to 100% of pedestrians. And I don't
> "bully my way through".
>
> - Don Klipstein (d...(a)misty.com)

In Miami proper (except downtown) and suburbs pedestrians are
"endangered species," hardly seen going around. I think that's the
culture of the sprawl and the car, present in most cities in the
South. Los Angeles is like that too. Miami Beach is the exception a
little bit, but pedestrians seem to be "fair game" according to some
recent close calls.
From: His Highness the TibetanMonkey, Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock on
On Aug 8, 9:21 pm, Shawn Hirn <s...(a)comcast.net> wrote:
> In article
> <3140c0b1-e525-469f-8254-8185b931a...(a)w30g2000yqw.googlegroups.com>,
> "His Highness the TibetanMonkey, Creator of the Movement of
>
>
>
> Tantra-Hammock" <comandante.ban...(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Aug 5, 7:59 am, Kenneth O'Brien <kob22...(a)mac.com> wrote:
>
> > > > I do not care about training cyclists looking for fun, performance or
> > > > whatever on a bike. They don't care about others either. That's a
> > > > hobby. The revolution is for the SUB (Sport Utility Bike)
>
> > > OK. But the commuting share isn't at whatever it is because 1 minus that
> > > number fraction of the public wouldn't DARE ride their bike on the road.
> > > There is a million and one things that add up to commute share.
>
> > > Ken
>
> > Go around, and the reasons you will most likely find are:
>
> > 1- It's too dangerous: FEAR (it may be a perception, but it's strong
> > enough to send most cyclists onto the sidewalks, thus rendering
> > cycling ineffective except for immigrant workers who can't afford a
> > car)
>
> Two summers ago, I was assaulted in broad daylight while riding my bike
> across the Ben Franklin bridge that spans the Delaware River between
> Philadelphia and Camden. This is the only bridge sits between my
> apartment and my job unless I go way out of my way to ride my bike
> across a small bridge about 10 miles north of where I live. In addition,
> on the side of the Ben Franklin closest to where I live, there is no
> safe access from the route I have to take to its pedestrian pathway. The
> only way for me to get to the pedestrian area is to take a much longer
> route through a neighborhood that is one of the most dangerous in the
> United States or to ride on a major highway during rush hour, which is
> probably illegal and definitely unsafe. These are the two big deterrents
> for why I never ride my bike to work any more. I heard recently that one
> of some of President Obama's stimulus money will be used to extend a
> bike and jogging path that runs right by my apartment in NJ into
> Philadelphia without having to travel through dangerous areas to ride a
> bike or walk/run across the bridge. If that project comes to fruition
> and I am still living in this area, I will definitely ride my bike to
> work on days when the weather is nice.

I hope it doesn't become another fancy MIXED PATH that creates danger
to all. Their capacity to waste money in stupid design is
incredible. ;)

I have a CAUSEWAY nearby where I was attacked. It's actually traveled
by few cyclists despite its beauty overlooking the bay. That day --
with no traffic-- the police waved me to get the off the road across
the bridge; later a guy in an SUV blasted the horn at me --outside the
bridge-- I guess for taking the lane; and finally another guy blew the
horn and I gave him the finger...

I was riding to the right, coming home tired and disheartened, but I
forgot to read the sign that said 'WALK BICYCLE ACROSS BRIDGE' (some 3
blocks) for which there's a VERY NARROW sidewalk and the guy was
playing vigilante. It didn't come to blows (I had no chance with that
beast) but he spit in my face and left.

I have a saying though, "MY STRUGGLE IS NOT AGAINST THE PUPPET, BUT
AGAINST THE PUPPETEER," and the police department of that area and the
whole predatory driving system in America is responsible. The truth
shall be said, PEOPLE BUY SUV'S TO BE AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN.

From: His Highness the TibetanMonkey, Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock on
This is how "moderated bicycle groups" (aka censored) solve the
problem we have with cycling...

http://groups.google.com/group/bicycledriving/browse_thread/thread/e69ad85d4dd57eec/0679f7cdf7c070d0?hl=en&

The same for "Bike Forums" and the Florida Bicycle Association
(offending God worshipers in a Religious/Political forum and offending
the Republican respectively).

The American Taliban work by self-censorship so the bubble (democracy)
doesn't pop.

From: Hachiroku ハチロク on
On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:24:27 -0700, N8N wrote:

> On Aug 8, 2:13 pm, Hachiroku ハチロク <Tru...(a)e86.GTS> wrote:
>> On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 10:49:21 -0700, His Highness the TibetanMonkey,
>> Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> > A couple of days ago, my good but unintelligent neighbor got mad when
>> > I told him of my campaign to TAKE THE LANE.
>>
>> Not a problem. If you TAKE THE LANE like one lame-brain did on a blind
>> corner, there will be one less bicyclist on the road as well.
>
> As someone who was run off the road once because some numbnuts decided
> to pass a cyclist on a blind corner, I am going to have to disagree
> with your position. Had that cyclist taken the lane, perhaps the
> idiot driver wouldn't have tried to pass him where it was unsafe to do
> so. (then again, I might have been in a head-on instead of just
> getting some scrapes from the shrubbery on the pass. side of my
> car...)
>
> nate


LOL! Not laughing at your misfortune, but I am NOT in the habit of running
down bicyclists! I have a couple myself, but haven't been out this year
(too damn hot!)

Perhaps it was because she was in the middle of the road that I WAS able
to stop, where if she had been on the side I may not have seen her as
soon. However, if she had been to the side I would not have had to slam on
the brakes to avoid her. The road was not that narrow and I could have
negotiated around both of them no problem if they had been single file on
the side (as the law warrants under the conditions)


From: His Highness the TibetanMonkey, Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock on
On Aug 8, 5:30 pm, Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B <Tru...(a)e86.GTS> wrote:
> On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:36:04 -0700, His Highness the TibetanMonkey,
> Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Aug 8, 11:53 am, edspyhill01 <edspyhil...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Aug 8, 2:48 pm, Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B <Tru...(a)e86.GTS> wrote:
>
> >> > On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 11:31:04 -0700, His Highness the TibetanMonkey,
> >> > Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock wrote:
>
> >> > > On Aug 8, 11:13 am, Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B <Tru...(a)e86.GTS> wrote:
> >> > >> On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 10:49:21 -0700, His Highness the TibetanMonkey,
> >> > >> Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock wrote:
>
> >> > >> > A couple of days ago, my good but unintelligent neighbor got mad when
> >> > >> > I told him of my campaign to TAKE THE LANE.
>
> >> > >> Not a problem. If you TAKE THE LANE like one lame-brain did on a blind
> >> > >> corner, there will be one less bicyclist on the road as well.
>
> >> > > Wrong. When you take the lane you are more visible around blind
> >> > > curves.
>
> >> > This girl wasn't. Good thing I have good brakes. Judging from the size of
> >> > the brown stain I bet she won't be "asserting her rights" again
>
> >> > Is poop easily removed from Spandex?
>
> >> Good one!
>
> > He's in the Most Wanted list for killing cyclists in 5 states.
>
> I have never killed a cyclist.
>
> Made a few think about "Taking back the road", however.

Jaywalking and reckless cyclists are a problem, but shouldn't be
addressed by terrorizing all pedestrians and cyclists.

You sure you are not in the Most Wanted?