wrong-way sidewalk rider gets comeuppance

I got off the train today on my way home, carried my bike down
the steps, and started riding, with a guy on a low-end mountain
bike close behind me. As I stopped at the first stop sign and
prepared to turn left, the other guy swerved across the traffic
lane and hopped onto the narrow sidewalk going the wrong way. At
this point I was paying attention to my left hand turn, not to
him, but as I completed the turn I heard a loud metal *clang!* I
looked across the street and there was wrong-way bike guy, having
clearly run his pedals and his foot or knee straight into a metal
pole. I paused and asked him whether he was okay. He had to
wince with pain for a few seconds before he was finally able to
say that he was fine. I enjoyed finally seeing someone get what
he deserved (in a way that didn't involve permanent injury or
death).
--
Ben Pfaff
email:
web: http://benpfaff.org

Ben Pfaff wrote:
I got off the train today on my way home, carried my bike down
the steps, and started riding, with a guy on a low-end mountain
bike close behind me. As I stopped at the first stop sign and
prepared to turn left, the other guy swerved across the traffic
lane and hopped onto the narrow sidewalk going the wrong way. At
this point I was paying attention to my left hand turn, not to
him, but as I completed the turn I heard a loud metal *clang!* I
looked across the street and there was wrong-way bike guy, having
clearly run his pedals and his foot or knee straight into a metal
pole. I paused and asked him whether he was okay. He had to
wince with pain for a few seconds before he was finally able to
say that he was fine. I enjoyed finally seeing someone get what
he deserved (in a way that didn't involve permanent injury or
death).

Riding frequently on campus, I often inform people that it is just as
illegal to ride on sidewalks and the wrong way on the street as it is to
speed or ride without a seatbelt in a car (in GA, at least). Every
single one has been slack-jawed surprised (well, one Asian grad student
with little knowledge of English was worried that I was going to arrest
him, but we'll through that case out). And almost equally universally,
they did not understand why.

This would have been a great chance to explain the rules and why they
are set up in such a way.

\\paul
--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the words to numbers
if you want to reply to me:.

Ben Pfaff wrote:

I enjoyed finally seeing someone get what
he deserved (in a way that didn't involve permanent injury or
death).

Jesus, what a self-righteous douche.

Ben Pfaff wrote:
I got off the train today on my way home, carried my bike down
the steps, and started riding, with a guy on a low-end mountain
bike close behind me. As I stopped at the first stop sign and
prepared to turn left, the other guy swerved across the traffic
lane and hopped onto the narrow sidewalk going the wrong way. At
this point I was paying attention to my left hand turn, not to
him, but as I completed the turn I heard a loud metal *clang!* I
looked across the street and there was wrong-way bike guy, having
clearly run his pedals and his foot or knee straight into a metal
pole. I paused and asked him whether he was okay. He had to
wince with pain for a few seconds before he was finally able to
say that he was fine. I enjoyed finally seeing someone get what
he deserved (in a way that didn't involve permanent injury or
death).

Though it bugs me to see people riding illegally, I don't go out of my
way to inform someone that what they're doing is wrong. I've never
found a polite way to correct somebody without sounding like a jerk.

I also don't take pleasure in seeing people get hurt on a bike, whether
they're in the wrong or not. When I see someone riding illegally, I
assume that he/she simply doesn't know the rule. While ignorance of the
law is not an "excuse", I'm more willing to cut somebody some slack and
be lenient in my judgment. After all, I rode a bike before I knew all
the bike laws and I know a lot of others do, too.

wrote:
Ben Pfaff wrote:

I enjoyed finally seeing someone get what
he deserved (in a way that didn't involve permanent injury or
death).

Jesus, what a self-righteous douche.


All most all your posts are critical. You're kind of a jerk.

Paul Hobson wrote:
Ben Pfaff wrote:

I got off the train today on my way home, carried my bike down
the steps, and started riding, with a guy on a low-end mountain
bike close behind me. As I stopped at the first stop sign and
prepared to turn left, the other guy swerved across the traffic
lane and hopped onto the narrow sidewalk going the wrong way. At
this point I was paying attention to my left hand turn, not to
him, but as I completed the turn I heard a loud metal *clang!* I
looked across the street and there was wrong-way bike guy, having
clearly run his pedals and his foot or knee straight into a metal
pole. I paused and asked him whether he was okay. He had to
wince with pain for a few seconds before he was finally able to
say that he was fine. I enjoyed finally seeing someone get what
he deserved (in a way that didn't involve permanent injury or
death).


Riding frequently on campus, I often inform people that it is just as
illegal to ride on sidewalks and the wrong way on the street as it is to
speed or ride without a seatbelt in a car (in GA, at least). Every
single one has been slack-jawed surprised (well, one Asian grad student
with little knowledge of English was worried that I was going to arrest
him, but we'll through that case out). And almost equally universally,
they did not understand why.

This would have been a great chance to explain the rules and why they
are set up in such a way.

\\paul

I agree it's good to see someone get their just desserts, as long as it
doesn't involve serious injury. I'm always having to get out of the way
of those morons, and they just ignore it when I yell at them. I'm sick
of them playing chicken- but i know one day they'll get in trouble. I
see a lot of them without helmets too- hey, it's their f*cking skull.

Rich wrote:

All most all your posts are critical. You're kind of a jerk.

Which is kind of weird, since in his book Robert preaches that we
should all just relax, take it easy, live and let live and not get
uptight about the jerks around us.

But yeah, it's slightly lame to get happy about a dude running into a
pole, IMHO.

RFM

writes:

Ben Pfaff wrote:

I enjoyed finally seeing someone get what
he deserved (in a way that didn't involve permanent injury or
death).

Jesus, what a self-righteous douche.

I understand how it could seem that way. But I get tired of
seeing idiots on bikes doing stupid things that make the rest of
us look bad. If a few of them hurt themselves in small ways,
maybe it'll encourage them to learn how to ride their bikes
properly.

I probably should have added that this street's lanes are plenty
wide enough for a bike and a car to occupy safely. Some of the
street's length is marked with a bike line, some of it is not,
but it is all plenty safe for biking.
--
"In the PARTIES partition there is a small section called the BEER.
Prior to turning control over to the PARTIES partition,
the BIOS must measure the BEER area into PCR[5]."
--TCPA PC Specific Implementation Specification

In article ,
Ben Pfaff writes:

But I get tired of
seeing idiots on bikes doing stupid things that make the rest of
us look bad.

But they don't. If they make anybody look bad,
it's only themselves. Same goes for idiots in
cars doing stupid things. If all drivers were
rated by their actions, nobody would be allowed
to drive.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

(Tom Keats) writes:

In article ,
Ben Pfaff writes:

But I get tired of
seeing idiots on bikes doing stupid things that make the rest of
us look bad.

But they don't. If they make anybody look bad,
it's only themselves.

But they do. Non-cyclists generalize from the actions of a few,
whether it's correct to do so or not.
--
Ben Pfaff
email:
web: http://benpfaff.org