RAGBRAI controversey: Man, this sure was hard to predict, lol

[torbee]

I should add...couple times I've gotten in front of these packs and then SLOWEDDDDD WAYYYY DOWNNN.....and then sped up....and then (you get the point). I broke no laws... just like they have broken no laws riding on the road. I did have one time when after doing this the bikes spread out across the whole road to prevent me from passing them again...which of course was illegal for them to do.

Jerk move? Yes. Designed to annoy them into using a bike trail that was right along the road? Yes.

You are the worst kind of asshole in the world.

 

[FormerlyCyberCy]

I was kicked off RAGBRAI for blood doping. Glad to see an alternative

Too much blood in your alcohol system for RAGBRAI?

 

[timinatoria]

I live by the trail out in the Norwalk/Cumming area. During the summer it can be somewhat dangerous. There are cars going up and down hills, around bends, and then suddenly a pack of 20-30 Lance Armstrongs who are getting ready for Ragbrai or doing whatever it is they're doing. Whether single or in packs, they are out when it is still dark or when it is dawn, not always easy to see. They ride by multiple entraces to the bike trail on their country tour. Then they will stop in intersections and wait for other Lances who are still catching up, and are hesitant to move to let cars through the intersection. It happens all day long, but it is even more dangerous in the early mornings.

It is a mess in the summer and it is dangerous to everyone involved. And now there is a new road that they just built that goes through the area which it starting to look like it will have some traffic. It's a matter of time until one of these bikers ends up splattered all over a road, and guess who the bikers will go to blame?

Those guys are idiots, and the minority.

I wouldn't ride on a highway if you paid me. I drive over 40,000 miles a year and I've lost track of how many times some idiot almost killed me...in a car. Now that we have texing and driving and people watching videos and playing games on their phones while driving it's even worse. I think anyone on a bike on a highway has a death wish.

But to say that bikers are this huge danger to the road when people are drinking/texing/talking/reading and driving by the thousands.....well...I think we have a different definition of who is a danger to the road.

Oh, and if the bikers are riding legally and the driver 'just didn't see them', I'm guessind the driver was distracted or not paying attention.

 

[ghost80]

You are the worst kind of asshole in the world.

That's interesting. That is exactly what the gays in the funny alien helmets usually yell.

 

[SoDakHawk]

County highway speed limits are 55 mph. Often times these county roads run over hilly areas and have little to no shoulders on the side of the road, especially in Western Iowa. Vehicles traveling at 55 mph and bicycles traveling at 20 mph on the same roads is a recipe for disaster, especially when coming over the crest of a hill, etc. Any cyclists who rides on these roads are risking there own lives. They just need to stay off the county roads and stick to the bike trails that have been built specifically for recreational biking purposes.

 

[PerkyForHerky]

Those guys are idiots, and the minority.

I wouldn't ride on a highway if you paid me. I drive over 40,000 miles a year and I've lost track of how many times some idiot almost killed me...in a car. Now that we have texing and driving and people watching videos and playing games on their phones while driving it's even worse. I think anyone on a bike on a highway has a death wish.

But to say that bikers are this huge danger to the road when people are drinking/texing/talking/reading and driving by the thousands.....well...I think we have a different definition of who is a danger to the road.

Oh, and if the bikers are riding legally and the driver 'just didn't see them', I'm guessind the driver was distracted or not paying attention.

This is happening not just in broad daylight but in the morning when it is dark still - so in the summer, we're talking 6-630 AM. On hilly roads, windy roads. You come over a hill which is 35-40 MPH and there's a group of bikers 100 feet ahead. The driver is doing nothing wrong. The farm equipment that also uses the road is much taller and has flashing/visible lights.

I didn't once mention a highway. There are highways around but for the most part they do tend to avoid them from what I've seen. These are 2 lane country roads that get more car traffic than they were designed for. Instead of using the bike trails that they ride by multiple entrances to and are at any point no more that I have seen these people a mile away from, that are perfect for bike riding, Lance is on the country road. Honestly, the highways might be safer. They'd be more visible and drivers would have more of an opportunity to prepare for them.

It's not just one group. There are multiple groups and even individuals at all hours of the day.

 

[timinatoria]

This is happening not just in broad daylight but in the morning when it is dark still - so in the summer, we're talking 6-630 AM. On hilly roads, windy roads. You come over a hill which is 35-40 MPH and there's a group of bikers 100 feet ahead. The driver is doing nothing wrong. The farm equipment that also uses the road is much taller and has flashing/visible lights.

I didn't once mention a highway. There are highways around but for the most part they do tend to avoid them from what I've seen. These are 2 lane country roads that get more car traffic than they were designed for. Instead of using the bike trails that they ride by multiple entrances to and are at any point no more that I have seen these people a mile away from, that are perfect for bike riding, Lance is on the country road. Honestly, the highways might be safer. They'd be more visible and drivers would have more of an opportunity to prepare for them.

It's not just one group. There are multiple groups and even individuals at all hours of the day.

How many people have been killed by these wild packs of bicycles?

 

[stickman80]

You are the worst kind of asshole in the world.

Ghost's old lady called him worse than that when his brother Spook and him did that stunt with her car to a pack of riders in West Des Moines.

 

[rocketclone]

I don't see the big deal about this. If the guy wants to go out on his own and try something, more power to him.

Seems like a pissing match with a lot of small ones involved.

Newspapers are pretty much a thing of the past.