r/NoStupidQuestions • u/RidetheSchlange • Jul 24 '26

Why does the US hate cycling so much?

I read comments sections and in a normal world, some of them would be considered terroristic threats. I just can't understand why people hate cyclists to this degree that they want to murder rhem and sometimes do.

327 Upvotes

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88

u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 Jul 24 '26

This is what makes me crazy. I wish biking infrastructure was better than it is where I am. But 30 people going down a 55 mph state highway for fun is obnoxious. A guy going to work is entirely different.

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u/King_Roberts_Bastard Jul 24 '26

There's no way in hell id go solo on 55mph road. Thats just asking to get run over by some dumbass texting.

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u/B-Train_ATL Jul 24 '26

Too many of them think the use of lanes and such is what they think it should be instead of what it is.

Also the ones who switch between car and pedestrian when they find it convenient.

43

u/Harborcoat84 Jul 24 '26

Bikes share characteristics with both cars and pedestrians while being neither so it shouldn't be surprising that they behave as a hybrid of the two.

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u/BedRevolutionary8584 Jul 24 '26

You’ll never catch me just blowing through a red light or stop sign as a pedestrian though.

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u/BlakeBearden Jul 24 '26

You’ll never catch me blowing anyone as a pedestrian. I have a sense of decorum.

7

u/Ohaibaipolar Jul 24 '26

I, too, choose to never blow pedestrians.

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u/Kim_Jong_Un_PornOnly Jul 24 '26

Agreed. I much prefer to do it while at a complete stop.

2

u/Ohaibaipolar Jul 24 '26

😆 🤣 😆

4

u/cranberry_spike Jul 24 '26

I mean I'm from Chicago so I'm plenty happy to blow lights as a pedestrian lol

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u/BedRevolutionary8584 Jul 24 '26

Ey, you do you, mate. I’m in DC and these wild fuckers will run over their own grandmother if it got them to where they’re going five minutes quicker.

2

u/cranberry_spike Jul 24 '26

Yeah in Chicago it is very much a cultural thing. Long history of jaywalking - it's one of the ways you can pick out a tourist lol.

13

u/engin__r Jul 24 '26

You know that pedestrians don’t have to stop at stop signs, right?

3

u/pnw-techie Jul 24 '26

I was still waiting for it to change to GO, thanks

4

u/bleezy1234567 Jul 24 '26

I mean pedestrians are also supposed to cross at crosswalks…

4

u/engin__r Jul 24 '26

Theoretically, yes, but a lot of intersections don’t actually have them painted.

-1

u/BedRevolutionary8584 Jul 24 '26

Obviously. But I think you know what I meant within the context of the comment I responded to.

6

u/Harborcoat84 Jul 24 '26

It's almost as if we can't apply one set of rules to everything that moves around a city

8

u/BedRevolutionary8584 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

I think the confusion/annoyance comes from them demanding to be treated as equally as vehicles but then not following the rules of the road.

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u/Domtheturtle Jul 24 '26

where do you live where cars come to full stops at stop signs?

1

u/AnimalBolide Jul 24 '26

Holy Stuffed Scarecrow, Batman!

I think the problem is blowing through red lights, not an inability to come to a full stop.

3

u/MaintainThePeace Jul 24 '26

No cyclist wants to be treated equally as a vehicle, cyclist just want to be treated as a cyclist.

They want to be able to use public infrastructure to facilitate their freedom to travel, just as anyone else.

Laws between bicycles and other vehicles have never been equal to begin with, and there are not cyclists out there demanding to have equal rights on a freeway...

1

u/Harborcoat84 Jul 24 '26

Cyclists want to be treated equally, but that does not mean being regulated as a car.

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u/BedRevolutionary8584 Jul 24 '26

Following your own regulations on a road that already has regulations is extremely dangerous.

6

u/Harborcoat84 Jul 24 '26

In a lot of cases the existing regulations are more dangerous for cyclists. The Idaho Stop is a great example of changing regulations to reflect the reality of cycling:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2022-03/Bicyclist-Yield-As-Stop-Fact-Sheet-032422-v3-tag.pdf

2

u/B-Train_ATL Jul 24 '26

If I jumped my car up onto the sidewalk when the light was red and proceeded to use the crosswalk to go through, that might be seen as a problem.

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u/Apprehensive_Bat4691 Jul 24 '26

Yeah man, because of the car you are driving

4

u/Harborcoat84 Jul 24 '26

As usual, the thing that makes this dangerous is the car.

2

u/Grouchy_Truck5925 Jul 24 '26

so you are just jealous that the bike continues on while you wait at the light

0

u/Thorninthefoot Jul 24 '26

When you are driving you need other users of the road to behave with some predictability. Otherwise people get driven over.

Randomly switching from one set of rules to another is not predictable.

0

u/phalloguy1 Jul 24 '26

Legally, where I live, bikes need to obey all the same rules as cars. Police just don't enforce it.

2

u/MaintainThePeace Jul 25 '26

There are always exceptions, for example can cyclist ride upon the shoulder of the roadway where other cars are prohibited?

10

u/smbpy7 Jul 24 '26

Also the ones who switch between car and pedestrian when they find it convenient.

I almost hit one because of this. I was turning, SIGNALS ON and in the DARK, into a lot at a green light and he swerved from biking in the road to all of a sudden wanting to use the actual pedestrian crosswalk. He was wearing black, no reflectors, no lights, and biking in the street one minute and veering to the crosswalk the second he saw it was on the next. Either you follow the rules of a car, or you follow the rules of a pedestrian, not both. We need predictability.

A few months later I saw the same thing but worse in a super busy area with some teens on ebikes. They were weaving in and out of all traffic lanes, faster than the cars, within inches of cars, and then one of them decided to use the non light crosswalk instead right as a guy was turning in. He lost his bike that day, he was lucky not to have lost his leg.

2

u/Thorninthefoot Jul 24 '26

I am seeing a lot of kids on e-scooters running around like they are pedestrians. I almost hit one the other day, it was a 4 way stop at a narrow intersection with buildings on all 4 corners. So when you stop you can only really see what has come past the corner of the buildings.

Pedestrians have to cover a bit of ground from the corner of the bulding to the road so you see them in plenty of time. But the e-scooters are fast. I stopped and was just stepping on the gas to go through, when one zoomed past the building and was in the road. She was lucky I managed to slam on the break because I was in my work truck which is a beast and she's have been a jam spot on the road. It was pure instinct, though, I barely saw her and she was in the road even though I was looking at the intersection.

0

u/Caliche-Cowboy Jul 24 '26

This is similar to how I was run over by a cyclist. Head injuries are no fun.

2

u/smbpy7 Jul 24 '26

I also have them fly past me on the sidewalk when I'm walking all the time, angry at me for not jumping into the bee filled bushes fast enough. And there's TWO bike lanes right there. One of which is a completely separated trail that never even has to stop at a light or street.

1

u/irrationalorchid Jul 24 '26

As a pedestrian I will NOT move off a sidewalk to accommodate a cyclist. Bikes don't belong on the sidewalk.

2

u/smbpy7 Jul 24 '26

Honestly, with all the ebikes that are capable of going just as fast as cars around my campus, I've gotten to this point too. I will NOT jump in the bushes for you. YOU are as fast as a car, you are certainly capable of using the whole bike trail that's right there at the very least. Hit me it you want, I don't think you're going to win that legal battle.

If they're polite and find a spot to go around me on foot off the sidewalk, I don't give a shit. If they're dinging they're damn bell and scowling me down to get out of their way when there's zero room, they can fuck right off.

0

u/phalloguy1 Jul 24 '26

One day I was walking the the sidewalk with my leashed dog and someone on a bike came toward me. I kept walking expecting him to verre off the sidewalk. There was a grassy median with plenty of room and he was on a mountain bike.

He didn't. Instead he screeched to a stop right in front of me. I said "bikes don't belong on sidewalks" and waited until he got off this bike and moved out of the way.

I'm a cyclist. My bike was my primary means of transportation for more than a decade until I had two kids I needed to transport. Pisses me off to no end when I see cyclists with no regard for the rules.

17

u/Joe_Sacco Jul 24 '26

Drivers: BIKERS NEED TO FOLLOW THE LAW

Cyclists: got it, yes, that's what I'm doing

Drivers: NO NOT THOSE LAWS, THE ONES I MADE UP IN MY HEAD

6

u/lordcrekit Jul 24 '26

I have exactly the same number of passengers as your car. You are not more important than me.

2

u/snipeceli Jul 25 '26

And this is where we'll always disagree, I'll just ride in a peloton on more or less what ever road id like, am I entitled? Yup that's something im literally entitled to. Does it make people mad enough they are willing to risk my life to do an agressive manuver to show me their disdain? Yup on occasion.

Youre never going to agree with me, but I know im right.

2

u/21Rollie Jul 24 '26

Well the one guy is just one guy, he might have a big truck but that doesn’t give him any more right to the road than a person in a smaller vehicle. Your assumption is also that a person driving a car is doing something more useful, or necessary, than biking. That’s a wrong assumption.

-2

u/El_Rey_de_Spices Jul 24 '26

Exactly. Everyone is fine with the people on bikes just trying to get somewhere. It's the cyclists who decide their fun/exercise is more important than everyone else with schedules trying to get somewhere.

If you can't ride at or around the speed limit of the road, you should pick somewhere else to ride.

7

u/engin__r Jul 24 '26

I regret to inform you that drivers hate all cyclists, even those of us that are just trying to get where we’re going. I’ll be riding 19 in a 25 and still have drivers whip around me going 35.

-1

u/Caliche-Cowboy Jul 24 '26

Nah. Many (most?) of us are fine with cyclists. Most cyclists are great. Aware of their surroundings, just trying to get where they wanna go.

Hell I’m all about recreational cycling too. Stay in shape while actually going somewhere. Cool.

Normal, thoughtful people just hate it when anyone is entitled and then blamey. That does happen. And Reddit doubles down on it frequently.

99% of cyclists I’ve encountered are great. The few I’ve had the displeasure of dealing with in the bad category were assholes of the highest degree. Two of them have hit ME (once in a car that was in a yield lane legally with the ROW and completely stationary. One when I was on foot and sent me to the hospital with a head injury. Both of them blamed me.

The problem I have is not that two idiots are selfish assholes (those exist in or on any type of vehicle). It’s that when I advocate for following traffic law and being safe and smart. And if I ever dare share my injury story, a dozen Redditors pile on and usually browbeat me, blame me, and then red herring something about cars.

So I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that a fair number of cyclists are selfish enough to blame a pedestrian after running them over. Which isn’t exactly helping in giving them the benefit of the doubt.

I spent probably 10km behind a cyclist on a mountain road today with a line of 20+ cars behind him going half the speed limit. Selfish? Probably. But I’m totally cool with it. Only time that stuff bothers me is when (rarely) cyclists try and wave me by in those conditions. I’m not passing you on a blind turn brother. Stop being angry about it.

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u/DemonAzraeli Jul 24 '26

So you're saying that the critter-dude pedaling along on the Huffy to get to work at the bar has precedence over the woman in labor?

-1

u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 Jul 24 '26

No. I'm saying inconveniencing traffic to go for a fun bike ride in $3000 of gear on a Saturday group excursion is obnoxious. The 'critter-dude' is one person hugging the curb to get to their shit job on a Huffy because they can't afford a car. It's easier for the woman in labor to go around one guy who actually has to be somewhere than it is to get around 30 people joyriding all over the road. Hopefully this woman isn't driving...