The trouble with (a few) bicyclists....

If you are thinking this is going to be a tirade about bicyclists, you thought right.... I am sick and tired of all these cyclists not obeying traffic laws and doing whatever the heck they can. Allow me to explain.

My commute to work is 12.5 miles, and it takes about an hour from our apartment in Bellevue, WA. I work in Seattle, and I witnessed all of the following incidents, during this morning's commute:

One, I was at 2nd and Pike, in Seattle, waiting for the light to turn green, when a cyclist, pulled up alongside me. I thought he would wait for the light, just as I was. No, of course not. After waiting for a couple of seconds, and not even putting his foot down, he took off across the intersection, jumping the red. WHAT is with these idiot cyclists who insist on not stopping at red lights? A Car coming down Pike slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting this cyclist.

Two, I saw a girl riding without a helmet. Like it or not, that is the law, and she was flouting it.

Three, I was sailing through on 1st Ave near the Seattle Space Needle, when a cyclist turned right in front of me, while completely ignoring a stop sign. I didn't have one in my direction of travel, and didn't have to stop, but he made me just slam on the brakes. I could have really hurt him, but without so much as a mumbled apology, he went his merry way.

Four, Just before I got to work, I was almost hit by a cyclist cycling on the sidewalk. You would think, I have experienced it all. No, there was more to come. I saw one girl cycling on the opposite direction of traffic, on the sidewalk. It was almost as though she has the words "kill me" tattooed on her forehead. Very smart.

I should probably also mention here that I have also been hit headlong by a drunk cyclist riding without any lights, in the middle of the night. Surely, all these people have some brains and are interested in self-preservation, you would think, right? Doesn't look like it. From riding without a helmet to barrelling down the road on the wrong side of traffic, some bicyclists do it all. And in doing so, they give all bicyclists a VERY bad name. Bicycle couriers flout all of the above rules and more, and I have not seen a single Seattle cop pull them off and give them a ticket. Couriers seem to get away with it all.

If you have come here thinking I am going to bash bicycling, or the rights of people to bicycle on the road, you thought wrong. Because, I am a cyclist myself. And, I was on a bicycle when I witnessed (endured?) all of the above incidents.

I was and am appalled at how poorly bicyclists act and flout rules. They think that following the rules is for wimps, and do act like they are exempt from that little "obligation". I think these people give cyclists a bad name, and as much as I hate to admit it, there are more cyclists breaking the rules than followinng them. Yes, you heard right. I said it. If we all followed rules, and were courteous, we would face less angst from car drivers.

Seattle drivers seem to be very accomodating of cyclists, and I have had very few incidents where I have had to take evasive action, but it seems like drivers have to do more to avoid hitting us. A few of my non-bicyclist friends have commented about this on more than one occassion.

If we demand equal rights and expect to be treated with respect on the road, we should atleast be visible, follow the rules and ride predicatably. Ride like you are a car, and cars will respect you. Act like jerks, and you will get lunatics yelling in our ears. Please bicycle responsibly. The lives of some bicyclists are riding on your actions.