Well in the May 03 issue of Roadracing World, John Hopkins was in Spain driving around in a car using the E brake to skid the car to scare oncoming drivers. He even did that to a bicyclist scaring him enough to nearly ride off the road. Then he wrote in his column on how "funny" that was nearly seeing him crash. What a f*ck nut.
Don't you know that when you are young and famous and makes lots of money, you can do stuff like that and get away with it? ;) I wish I was just riding with him when he was doing it ;D
Just goes to show, You cant buy class. I think hes a little worm, It would be cool to see the cyclist kick his scrany a$$ ;D
Trey, a 4000 car vs a 200lb rider and bicycle isnt remotely funny. I had some hillbilly redneck in a mullet mobile try to ditch me when I was on a training ride back when I raced bicycles. Luckily there was a sheriff car coming up from behind him and saw the whole thing.
Agreed, Rob. There's too much of that going on already. That was NOT a good thing for Johnny to do, not funny at ALL.
OK, i dont wast to start anything here, but i got ask.
I got a mountin bike last winter (for exercise this year) .
I was always taught to ride on the side walk, and if there wasnt one, ride into oposing traffic and give way to cars. (4000 lbs vs 200lbs who do u think is going to win said my mom)
My opinion is roads are for cars, Side walks are for bikes.
Now i argue this with some friends that ride bikes alot more than me and argue the oposite.
What do u guys do ?
If theres a bikes lane then bike have that lane, but on the street do you think a bike has the right of way ??
Understand i ride a mountain bike on the street a little bit too.
Just wondering about opinions here ?
These are the rules in Texas and I figure similar in other states.
Bikes are vehicles and most comply with all traffic laws.
NO sidewalks
Must stop for traffic control devices
Must signal for turns
Cannot have two vehicles occuping the same lane.
Steviebee,
Eric's got it right on the cycling rules. One important thing he left out is that you always ride WITH traffic. You need to ride your bicycle just as you would any other vehicle that occupies the road. That means following all the traffic laws and signs/signals. Also, sidewalks are for walking, not biking. Bike paths are an option if you have one in your area, but stay off the sidewalks. Keep in mind that bike paths may not be optimal when your training begins to advance and you start to develop some speed in your workouts. The combination of walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, pets, etc. all with varying levels of attention, often make it difficult to ride on the paths.
In addition, when riding on the road, a good rule of thumb is to give yourself 1-2 feet to the left of the white line. Concentrate on building your bike handling skills and maintaining your line and you shouldn't be a danger to yourself or other drivers while you're on the road. If you can do this, and not appear erratic, drivers will usually give you enough room. Granted, there's always going to be some jerk who doesn't have the time or the sense to give a rider some room, but don't get spooked by it. It's like being on the track...if you maintain you're line and keep your head, you'll usually be fine. One other thing to consider, if you're going to ride your mtb on the road, consider ditching the knobbie tires in favor of some road biased tires.
wow... this thread is really givin "us kids" a bad name. for the record, i have NEVER done any of that crap, and surely never will. and i know that nate wont (RIGHT nate? ;) *makes leash yanking motion* lol)...
you know, it' stupid for him to have done that, but what's even more stupid is the fact that he wrote about it in a nationally (if not world-wide) distributed publication. bragging to your friends is one thing, but trying to brag to the whole world about something as appalling as this....not cool. that was an especially ballsy move for someone still new to GP. Not too great for PR if you as me....
-jennifer
Eric and Mark are correct. Roger is in the bike manufacturing business and has regular contact with all levels of competitors and athletes in the sport (including world athletes). We also live on top of a major multi-use trail in our area.
Cars: drive as normal giving only the room needed to pass. I see folks driving in the oncoming lane to accomodate bicycles that are riding just 18" from the edge of the road. Gee...how stupid, cause a head-on collision instead. Learn to control your vehicle. (most often done by women {I hate to say it} with kids in the car and they don't seem to have a handle on that huge SUV they use as a daily driver OR by people on cell phones)
Bikes: ride within a reasonable distance off the edge of the raod. I see FAMILIES that will spread across the entire lane, dad on the outside! Ride single file, not side by side, even if there are only two of you.
Also, guys who are serious will not only train individually, but in groups as well. They practice drafting and other race strategies. These guys are like us, they are looking to train safe and not cause problems on the road. It's the occasional rider who causes most problems by not knowing what the traffic rules are.
Safety first. wear reflective materials, have lights if you ride at night, and call out to foot traffic, or other slower moving occupants (rollerbladers or other bikes) to which side you will be passing. "on your left" when coming up on their back should cause them to move to your right so you can pass.
Funny how common sense and courtesy by everyone can go a long way
Spyderchick,
Just curious, but what mfg does he work for? I know that both trek and waterford are in your area.
Waterford Precision Cycles. They make not only Waterfords and Gunnars, but also Salsa and Standards. they used to build for Rivendell, but they are now manufactured overseas. They also do repairs on all bikes and repaints.
I thought so...was that rhiannon that i saw in a waterford brochure?
It was. ;D Wasn't that cheesy? ;)
The pic wasn't too bad. Kind of weird though to be thumbing through a bike catalog and see someone from the track. Did a double-take when I saw it. Gotta admit that waterford makes a great bike. Sure wish the economy would pick up so I could afford one, or maybe i should stop spending so much money on motorcycles :(
hay hay hay >:( easy on tha cheezy. i leave tha forum for 5 min to work, and mah mum attacks tha cheez pics. so hmpmark, when did u see tha waterford brochure? and yah, tha hopkins thang was pretty rude. ::) other peoples kids.
rhiannon :-*
Can't remember for certain when i saw the brochure, but i think it was either last summer or the year before. One of those things where i get the "new bike" urge and need to hang out at the bike shops way too much. I never thought it was possible, but it turns out that motorcycle racing is one of the few sports that actually makes cycling look cheap :(
Actually, if ya think about it, it's pretty cool...first a photo op in a waterford brochure, then a pic in roadracing world...what's next?? :)
I had a job interview at Trek in Waterford last year for a custom painter. First they said I had enough experience, then they said they wanted someone with more after the interview. >:( Well, its not liek I would ever buy a Trek anyways. SPECIALIZED bikes are #1. ;D It would look funny seeing my truck at Trek with a Specialized ROckhopper on top wouldnt it? Next project it to get my old Miyata 312comp racer back road worthy.
QuoteI had a job interview at Trek in Waterford last year for a custom painter.
Trek is in Waterloo, WI, not to be confused with Waterford in Waterford ,WI. Not to be confused with Watertown, WI...I love it in Wisconsin. Lotsa of water... ;) :D ;D
oh jeez....well, now that we've knocked out tha waterford brochure, and rrworld. i need to move on to bigger and better thangs, like playboy :-X ha ha, let's just keep tha rrworld thang going for a few issues and put some plugs in cyclenews, and then on to motogp on television :o i feel tha need for some live exposure...racing on a byke that is, get those minds outta tha gutter ;) remember, mumsie is always watchin :P and as for bicycles...i say if yor gonna pay any more than 50 washingtons for 2 wheels, it better have a freakin motor. screw that pedalin stuff! peace out do' - rhiannon :-*
I thought you were headed to Deal's Gap?
i'm leaving for diels gap on friday and coming back next wednesday...than i leave for MAM on thursday. work? what's that. i guess i haven't worked in over 2 months, why start now? tee hee hee. :D
Hey, I live in Waterford.
One day I was workin in the yard. I heard a squid bike comin up the street (4 cyl with race pipe). Sure enough it was a squid, Rhiannon :) with no helmet on :(
Squid girl's been ratted out!!! LOL. Good job Brian. ;) ;D (You know her mama taught her to always ride w/ safety gear)
I think Hopkins is a dumba$$ for pulling that crap and then printing it too...Idiot. However, it reminds me of something funny I did once...was driving with an ex-girlfriend of mine and we saw a couple bikers on the path up ahead. The road is a good 25' ditch away from the path, so not dangerous. We sped up and then shut off the car and coasted up on them, and right when we got beside them, she let out a huge screech (like the steretypical amusement park scream) and one of the bikers jumped and rode right into the ditch! It was basically a grass hill with no water or anything like that, probably about 5 feet deep at the most with an easy downgrade to it. Regardless, the dude rode down the hill and fell over...I though I was gonna literally pass out we laughed so hard. By the way, I think I was 16 or so...lol. Now in my old age I get pissed at kids for that stuff. ;D
How is what you did any different than what Hopkins did??? ???
Oh wait, you were 16 and Hopkins was what, 18?
Hopkins printed it in a mag and you posted it to a public forum?
Who's the idiot??
You chalk your behavior up to adolescent foolishness, but rip Hopkins a new one because he did the same thing??
I don't get it?
Let me see if I've got this right...as long as the cyclist had a nice, safe place to crash it was funny??
In that case, your crash into the woods must have been hilarious with all those nice, soft bushes to break your fall
I'll never understand why someone gets a kick out of messing with an unprotected cyclist on a 20 lb bike doing 15-25 mph while driving in a 2000lb+ steel cage that's doing 50-70 mph
Not trying to be a jerk, but that moron driver that thinks it's hysterical to spook a cyclist, might be the same guy that wouldn't give a sh!t if you smeared youself on the pavement on your motorcycle. It would be great if we could all respect each other on the road. Just a thought.
I was going about 20 mph, was nowhere near the cyclist, and sure as heck didn't do anything with the vehicle to endanger the cyclist. Stupid as it might have been, at least I didn't write it in a national publication...lol. Also, I would have kicked my 16 year old a$$ if that cyclist were me now. Like I said, we often get mad at youngsters for doing the same crap we did as kids, that's all. And yes, the trees were kinda peaceful when I came to an abrupt stop and it was all quiet in the helmet for a few seconds. ;D
QuoteAlso, I would have kicked my 16 year old a$$ if that cyclist were me now.
:) :) :) :)
Didn't mean to sound like a militant cyclist...I've just been clipped or run off the road a few too many times to find it even remotely amusing. Lots of cyclists get seriously injured or killed by people just "messing" with them for fun.
No problem, the car was at least 15 yards plus away from the cyclist. There is like a little grass valley that serves as a buffer along the side of the road. Wasn't nice, but sure was funny at the time. Also, knew who the guy was...always complaining about our music and stuff to the cops, even during the daytime. Doesn't make it okay, just funnier. ;D
QuoteTrek is in Waterloo, WI, not to be confused with Waterford in Waterford ,WI. Not to be confused with Watertown, WI...I love it in Wisconsin. Lotsa of water... ;) :D ;D
DOH!!! I get them mixed up alot.:D:D Watertown. Waterloo, waterford. Too many.:D:D
MIghty Duc, arounf 1984 or 85, a local cyclist died after falling at 5mph. He landed in grass.
Okay, okay...sorry for what I did 12 years ago. :'(
By the way, did you know that people drown in the bathtub too?
QuoteOkay, okay...sorry for what I did 12 years ago. :'(
Never apologize! Being punkrock means never having to say you're sorry and I know you're punkrock!
;D
I raced bikes for 10 years. I was amazed that Hopkins wrote that. A couple things come to mind. What did Suzuki think, whats going to happen if this kid meets Lance Armstrong somewhere, and Bayliss trains everyday on a road bike. He is just a young kid and I'm sure him figure out that wasn't the smartest thing to put in print.
Bryan, you know now you were a dumbass and since you went into the trees and over the hill I figure karma got you back. Kinda Funny now, since your OK.
It's actually really funny. ;D I thought I was gonna get busted up bad both times...lol. I closed my eyes when I started flipping over the hill thinking, this is gonna hurt. You can imagine my pleasant surprise when I came to a soft landing about 10 feet sooner than I thought I would...lol. I got it all back together last night and heat cycled the motor and put a few miles on it around the neighborhood with the diesel oil in it again, then changed back to the synthetic. I think I'll go out for a really slow session at Moroso first time out just to make sure the rings are good to go on the new piston, but I guess I'm ready. I'm gonna go back over it three more times to make sure I didn't miss anything though. See ya over there on Sunday!