Road Rage on Mandeville Canyon...

[Gus Duc]

So every holiday there's a HUGE bicycle ride that goes from the MB SBUX to the top of Mandiville Canyon & back.  It usually attracts about 250- 300 cyclists & for the most part is more like a reunion than a training ride. 

This past Fri. as the riders were coming down Mandiville a local resdent & DOCTOR   decided to pass 2 cyclists & then brake-check them.  Both hit the car & my buddy Ron took the worst of it.90 stitches to close the cuts & re-attach his nose after he flew thru the rear window.  Doctor refused to help & was even trying to leave the scene but the other rider with the broken collarbone sat on his hood until the cops came.

Hopefully he'll do some serious jail time & loose his medical license.......... he has a history on run-ins with cyclists on that road which he lives on.  Arrainment is set for Aug. 1st & his bail was a lowly $30K.

Her's a linkhttp://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bike9-2008jul09,0,6023414.story

[joekarati]

THROW THE BOOK AT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[derby]

i read that this morning...

this is what stood out to me:


"People here are very, very angry at bicyclists and their disregard for the laws of the road," Rosen said...

i really wish they would've asked her what she meant by this.

[sbrguy]

i read that this morning...

this is what stood out to me:


"People here are very, very angry at bicyclists and their disregard for the laws of the road," Rosen said...

i really wish they would've asked her what she meant by this.

if you notice there are tons of comments on this incident basically both sides can be summed up

cyclists- the car drivers are being reckless trying to kill a person and that is not good
car drivers- the cyclists deserve what they got bc he wasn't riding single file and cyclist disregard traffic laws so they should be taught a lesson and its good that they finally got hit by a car and almost died.

its amazing how immature "adults" are at times. basical you have a lot of people saying the cyclist should have been hit bc they weren't riding single file, bad words were said, and also because cyclists are being dangerous so they should get what is coming to them and also cyclist on road slow me down in a car so I should be allowed to run them off the road.

duh.. since when does "saying bad words" or "not riding single file" or "just being rude" justify RUNNING A 4000LB CAR into someone thus trying to KILL THEM?..

if that is the case then the next time someone is noisy in a restuarant i guess "its my right" to hit you over the head with a baseball bat till you are in a coma so that you are quiet, bc its the courteous thing to do..  see how stupid and immature that sounds?

that's because that is exactly what people are justifying when they say "well that cyclist deserved it".. wtf?  people are so stupid.  i only hope that people like this get lung cancer and die a slow and painful death so that they can learn how petty they are being by trying to kill someone because they "had to slow down" while driving home but instead want to "teach someone a lesson" by hitting them with a CAR.

for full disclosure i only wish lung cancer on people that i feel deserve no mercy at all, its probably one of the worst/painful and disheartening types of cancer you can see a loved one die from, i've seen a couple loved ones go this way and its absolutely terrible and saddening. 

that being said if you try to KILL OR SERIOUSLY INJURE someone because "they said bad words to you or called your mother a bad name" or "they didn't ride single file" or "hey they are being too slow on my way home" then I believe you deserve the worst type of death there is.

my rant is over, sorry about that.

[sqweak]

*Technically*, he didn't run a 4k lb car into the bikes...they ran into him after he brake checked them.

Levity aside, it's a sad story and commentary on human decency.  There are some serious problems between the cycling community and everyone else it seems.  I'm annoyed and aggravated by the pelotons that act like they own the road, but I wouldn't wish them harm like this.  I know we have a few roadie enthusiasts amongst us, and one of my work buds is pretty avid, so I know they're not all bad.   Gus, I hope your friends heal up ok.

[madmatt]

I think the Doc was threatened by all the spandex.

seriously though, inappropriate.

[derby]

*Technically*, he didn't run a 4k lb car into the bikes...they ran into him after he brake checked them.

Levity aside, it's a sad story and commentary on human decency.  There are some serious problems between the cycling community and everyone else it seems.  I'm annoyed and aggravated by the pelotons that act like they own the road, but I wouldn't wish them harm like this.  I know we have a few roadie enthusiasts amongst us, and one of my work buds is pretty avid, so I know they're not all bad.   Gus, I hope your friends heal up ok.

where do you draw the line between exercising your right to ride your bicycle on city streets and "acting like you own the road"?

[gm2]

when, if you're riding in a group, you're not riding in a single-file line.  which happens all the time.

..certainly not an 'inflict bodily harm to teach a lesson' kind of infraction however.  as if anything ever is.

[Ducatiloo]

That's bs what the Dr did, at the same time, I am seeing a lot of people in my area getting pissed at this group every day.
My home town of Waterloo is the corporate head quarters of Trek.  Every day I see them breaking every traffic law I can list. 
I am not saying what the Dr did is ok, in any way. I'm just saying if this group wants to be treated equally on the road they need to follow the same rules.   Again I do not support what the Dr did.

[gatuso]

Wow, I can't help it but think how car drivers and bicyclists see us motorcyclists when we take over the damn road....... [moto] [moto] which, let's face it, sometimes we do..........let the weekend rides begin  .

Have a safe weekend everybody.

Lates.

[hyphen]

All the cyclists I see are usually courteous enough to be riding along the side of the road in single file.  Never really had an issue with any.  So there must have been something up.  Regardless, the act of brake checking a cyclist is pretty shady.  I mean, it's a car vs a 10lb bike with a guy that's practically naked riding it.

I hope the guys recover well and a resolution is come to.  Maybe the county should invest making bike lanes in some popular cycling routes.  At my company we have about 6 people who have recently started biking to work and I'm sure many others have done the same. 

[darylbowden]

when, if you're riding in a group, you're not riding in a single-file line.  which happens all the time.

..certainly not an 'inflict bodily harm to teach a lesson' kind of infraction however.  as if anything ever is.

+1.

The main purpose of a road is for cars to travel.  I'm all for cyclists going out and getting their exercise and having fun doing these rides, but there 's definitely a good number of them who intentionally break the law and it's pretty damn annoying.

At least when a M/C breaks the law, he's usually speeding, not impeding traffic and pissing everyone off. 

However, the Dr.'s reaction is obviously completely inappropriate and I hope he gets some serious time (which I seriously doubt).

[Gus Duc]

Thanks Nick   Ron's feeling better but he's now the ugliest guy on the team

Christian is a Steadycam operator & unfortunately will be out of work for a few months......

The problem as I see it is the same we face as motorcyclists....... a motorists see's a cyclist run a light, cut them off, or impede traffic & they get angry.  Unfortunately, they see all of us as the same person & end up taking out their anger on the next motorcyclist/cylist they see.........  I too see cyclists & motorcylits DAILY that gives us all a bad name..... I reserve my comments for those that endanger me & for the most part stay off my soap box.

A little courtesey from both sides is all that's really needed...... nobody OWNS the roads.... they are for everybody to SHARE....... until that happens, they'll be many more injured/ killed riders & angry motorists.

These two guys in this particular case are extremely curteous riders & Ron is a professional coach & rides around with his name & info on his jersey & shorts as well as his sponsors so he goes out of his way to maintain a good image in the community.  It does look bad however that he lost his cool & shouted at the driver after the first encounter & near miss...... still doesn't justify the brake check......

Matt....... had you ridden all the way to Pismo with us you's have a completely different outlook on Spandex.....Captain Luca Camel Toe

[derby]

+1.

The main purpose of a road is for cars to travel.  I'm all for cyclists going out and getting their exercise and having fun doing these rides, but there 's definitely a good number of them who intentionally break the law and it's pretty damn annoying.

At least when a M/C breaks the law, he's usually speeding, not impeding traffic and pissing everyone off. 

1) it's illegal to ride bikes on sidewalks

2) bikes have every bit the right to be on "streets" as cars

but they DO have to follow vehicle codes/laws

now, if the conversation is about them running redlights or stopsigns or something, yeah, they're breaking the law... but if they're just going slower than the guy behind 'em in the joyvagen wants to go, that's still legal.

COURTESY would be to move to the far right single file, but there is no law mandating that (other than maybe "obstructing traffic").

[Ducatiloo]

I see the bikes cutting though trafic, runnng stop lights/signs every day and cutting off cars while they do this with their fancy Trek shirts on.  I have zero issue with bike going slow, that is their lot in life.