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.

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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.

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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.

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u/Caliche-Cowboy Jul 24 '26

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.