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Woodshed
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9 comments:
Today's cover pix: First arrival is always the brave little Crocus.
Tuesday already! It looks like this entire week is going to be rain, rain, & more rain here in the swamp. It must be getting close to spring but the calendar says that's still almost a month away. Maybe I'm just hopeful because I'm really TIRED of winter! Oh well! It's just another day and we have to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws at us so have a good'n!
There are Crocus blooming in our borders and I saw an early Daffodil in bloom a few days ago. Spring is on the way.
Very windy this morning, but not too cold and the winds are supposed to die down. Too bad it won't be until after our bike ride.
Carol - I just noticed that I also have a daffy in full bloom.
Have FUN and BE SAFE on the bike ride! I think Portland drivers are getting more HOSTILE... a lot of anger out there!
Seems most everyone hates bike riders and I can't figure out why.
It's one extreme or the other...the drivers either try to run you over or they stop in the middle of a busy street (like E.Burnside) to let you cross. We just shake our heads.
Then there are the STUPID drivers who stop when WE are stopped at a STOP SIGN. Or the ones who wait at an intersection (and it is their stop) but we are 2 BLOCKS AWAY and they just sit there until we pass.
I wonder how fast they think we can pedal?????? Geez, some people just shouldn't get behind the wheel.
end of rant :)
Carol - Didn't sound like a rant to me. It's the way it is! I think some people dislike the fact that bicycles get preferential treatment with bike lanes and improvements only they get to use yet don't have to pay any kind of licensing. Portland pays out millions for bike lanes and every one takes away from vehicle lanes and street maintenance.
Most people who ride bikes (except for students) also drive cars/trucks.
We pay for the roads too. People need more exercise! Bike lanes are needed and don't take up that much space. If they want to bitch, why don't they do it over the deplorable condition of our streets!!! There have been no new bike lanes in quite awhile, but there has been extensions put on existing bike PATHS. Portland has a huge biking community and they all need space to ride. The overweight drivers should get off their butts and start pedaling!
Carol - Just passing on what I've heard several times. The other complaint I hear a lot is that bikers seem to think rules of the road don't apply to them. They ride on the wrong side of the street, run stop signs and lights... and on and on it goes. I realize that bike owners also own cars but the rest of us don't get to choose where our transportation dollars get spent so why should they? I don't have bike lanes out here so I'd prefer to see them keep the potholes filled.... which they can't seem to accomplish with existing dollars. And, bike lanes out here make about as much sense as sidewalks, curbs and gutters!
I admire the people who like to ride but I no longer can. I don't have much patience though for the riders who act like they own the road and just DARE a driver to hit them. Stupid goes both ways on the bike issue and there's a tremendous weight difference. If you want to understand why drivers don't like bikes, take a look at the way MOST riders act in traffic.... not all but enough to cast a big blanket over everyone who rides.
We understand that there are stupid bike riders and that they ignore the rules. We obey them except for stop signs in the quiet neighborhood streets when we can clearly see that no one is coming. If we had to stop at every stop sign on those quiet, no traffic anywhere intersections we'd never get any exercise. Common (or uncommon) sense must come to the forefront in these cases. The rules are cited are for 'Motor Vehicles', but we are not so there should be an exemption for bikes. We always stop at lights, and always at signs whenever we see any traffic near to us. We never ride out in traffic if we can avoid it. We always try to go around any 4-way intersection fiasco's (and they are mostly too funny) - it's one of those situations that you'd have to see to believe sometimes. We have been riding for 30 years this year and try to be considerate of every one else on the road. I admit that some bikers are not at all.
Carol - It's not the way YOU ride. You are not the problem! It's the blanket the bad riders have created that you have to deal with. When you're on a bike, no one can tell whether you're good or bad... or the safe from the stupid! Unfortunately you all get painted with the same broad brush. If they're going to use the common roadways, bikers have to obey the same rules of the road that cars use so everyone is on the same page. I don't care if you're driving a lawn mower... it's one set of rules. If one group isn't following the rules, you get exactly what you now have... polarization and resentment. You're using the same roadway... I repeat... there can only be ONE set of rules. You want to know why motorists dislike the bikes??? Look at the way most of the bikes are being ridden. The riders take chances & dart in and out of traffic... ride on the wrong side of the road... run stop lights and signs etc. I know.... That's not you but do you get the picture??? Because you are on a bike you automatically can't be trusted. You are perceived as just the idiot that is going to do something stupid in front of a car weighing thousands of pounds. Do you know why bikes aren't allowed on freeways? Because it's NOT SAFE!!!!
I'll get off the soapbox now! Good luck with your rides but be careful. There are a lot of drivers who have simply "had it" with bikes.
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