John Hopkins GP Kid colum in May's RRW.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

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.

[TreyBone]

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

[motard11]

 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  

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

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.

[Nate R]

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.

[Steviebee]

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 ?

[Eric Kelcher]

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.

[hmpmark]

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.

[Pit_Girl]

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

[spyderchick]

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  

[hmpmark]

Spyderchick,

Just curious, but what mfg does he work for?  I know that both trek and waterford are in your area.

[spyderchick]

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.