BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

+1

What does "racing gear and hunched over the bars have to do with anything"? You said the offending biker "braked and swerved" around a stopped car who was letting pedestrians cross. According to the other thread it's ok to go around "peds" in the crosswalk. Also how fast is flying? Was the "racer" airborne? Did you have access to a radar gun or a timing device? While I don't condone such behavior I see a certain amount of snobbish thinking here. What if the offender was wearing regular clothes would this post be a dramatic? I'll sit back now and watch the fun begin. Cheers.

I hate to see cyclists riding aggressively around pedestrians, too. Nobody in the other thread was condoning anything like this kind of behavior; just discussing the trade-offs between stopping in the middle of the street for pedestrians at a crosswalk versus slowing and passing behind them (and keeping the safety of the pedestrians in mind). The clothing suggests something about the mindset of this particular cyclist, but I see lots of really crazy cycling done by people without fancy clothing. Especially kids and young people.

I don't have anything against exceeding speed limits, per se. They are arbitrary and set without any basis in real time conditions. Sometimes they are too high for conditions, sometimes they can be broken. I do mourn the abject absence of common sense, everywhere, in all situations, across the entire human race. This sounds to me like a case of that.

What does “racing gear and hunched over the bars have to do with anything”? -- It's an outward manifestation of what I took to be an attitude that it's OK to ride at a high rate of speed through a crowded city park. It's also, simply, what I saw. You said the offending biker “braked and swerved” around a stopped car who was letting pedestrians cross. -- Actually, I don't know for sure that he braked. According to the other thread it’s ok to go around “peds” in the crosswalk. -- Some said it was OK, others didn't, from my reading of the comments to the "crosswalk" post. But regardless, pedestrians in the crosswalk always have the right of way. Also how fast is flying? - I don't know. I used "flying" as shorthand for "really fast". Was the “racer” airborne? - No. Did you have access to a radar gun or a timing device? - No. I just used my best judgment, comparing the biker in question's speed with mine and with other bikes and cars traveling on the road at the same time. While I don’t condone such behavior I see a certain amount of snobbish thinking here. - Yes, I can be a snob at times. What if the offender was wearing regular clothes would this post be a dramatic? -- But it WAS dramatic--not just the circumstances and the biker's speed, but their appearance, too. That's why I posted a comment. But I take your repeated point--the clothing doesn't matter (so no comments on my dowdy office worker biking outfits!) Everything else stands, though, as you seem to acknowledge.

I regularly encounter fast-moving bikes on that stretch. The fastest ones are kitted out in road racer stuff and ride (nice) racing bikes. I've been whooshed by people going significantly faster than I was. Downhill can get pretty fast; I know that I hit +30mph without even trying. Imagine if you're trying. The part I don't get is if they're training or something why are they speeding downhill? Shouldn't they be working up the hill? If you have to get down fast, they're always Allies. Or even Forbes.

Maybe they're trying beat David Galati's 1:20 Strava record.

Can someone let me know when a consensus is reached on how fast I can ride, what clothes I can wear and what parts of my handlebars are appropriate to use? Thanks!

+1. I'll also be stocking up on my race kit. I'll also be sure to work in the climbing too. Strava record here I come. Lighten up people.

Jerks are annoying no matter what vehicle they're in or on. If it is any consolation, riders going that fast tend to be hyper-vigilant and very aware of their surroundings. A crash on pavement at that speed results in horrible road rash in the very least. Getting doored at that peed can be a life altering experience. That's not an excuse, but it is pretty certain he saw the pedestrians and blasted through anyway, confident he wouldn't hit them. It is still startling and rude even if not dangerous.

Wear what you wish and touch what you want (one man's consensus). However, there's a 25-mile per hour speed limit in the park that applies to bikes as well as cars. Biking faster than that increases the chance of injury or worse, for everyone using the park roads. No one but law enforcement can effectively enforce the speed limit; I'm just asking respectfully that everyone try. I'm working hard, in the context of the Parks Conservancy's proposal to narrow Schenley Drive, to calm car traffic in the park. The biking community's position could be undermined in this effort if we don't adhere to the same rules that we're trying to apply to cars.

I think people agree with your sentiment, but it can come across as selectively targeted outrage. Consider that a higher percentage of cars than cyclists speed through Schenley. They also pose a much higher danger. The level of danger isn't even remotely comparable. Right or wrong, it can come across like complaining about discrimination against white people. True, it exists. But is that what the conversation should be about? ;-) Oh no... at least i didn't go godwin on this thread.

When I go "flying" uphill I hope no one complains. Cheers.

From one of the public meetings about the lane narrowing, they did a traffic study, and the 85th percentile speed downhill for cars on Schenley Drive is 40 mph. Which is 15 mph over the speed limit. While Mr. Gelati's Strava record works out to 18 mph average. He probably exceeded the 25 mph speed limit at some point, but it's not as easy as you'd think to go that fast, with the turns.

"Can someone let me know when a consensus is reached on how fast I can ride," Um, I think the posted speed limit is somewhat the consensus on how fast you can ride. If somebody is speeding in a Porche, that might get mentioned, even though it's possible for people to speed in other cars. Same thing with roadies We can't police our own because everybody has their own opinion and judgement of their abilities and how that relates to how they ride around town (edited to remove a lot of unnecessary snarkyness)

jonawebb could you provide a link to the KOM you describe? I can't actually find one for the descent on Schenley Dr as described in the original post. Galati does own the uphill segment.

Unnecessary? Snarkiness?? My brain won't even register those two words in the same sentence.

@Chris Mayhew, I never used the Strava site before, and thought that if I slid the slider bar all the way over to the "Flat/Downhill" side it would only show me segments that are flat or downhill, but I see that it doesn't. And Mr. Gelati's 18 mph up that hill is much more impressive. I guess people must be really speeding down that hill, as @ChrisZ has seen.

Chris states: "Can someone let me know when a consensus is reached on how fast I can ride, what clothes I can wear and what parts of my handlebars are appropriate to use? Thanks!" The posted speed limit or maybe a little over. Maybe it wouldn't have been that bad if the cyclists didn't pass a car stopped for those wanting to cross the street at a crosswalk. If the cyclists were serious about getting in shape, they would have stopped, because it takes much more effort to stop and get back to speed, than to just fly by everything and in turn tell the pedestrians to stick their crosswalk up theirs. It is what it is. When cyclists do something like this, all cyclists pay for it. People sadly are of a mindset that if ONE person does something ALL people do that. I wish it wasn't like that, but it is what it is. As for this situation, I wasn't there, so I don't know if it happened as stated, but wanted to give an opinion if it did.

The Cycling Community in Pittsburgh is amazing. Period. Full stop. Within that Community are such a wide variety of cyclists. We are each distinct regardless of the bike we ride, clothes we wear, reason for riding, etc. It is this variety that gives us our strength and vitality. It is high time we embrace our differences, respect each other more, and get over the childish sniping. If you choose to ride, or if you have no choice, but to ride, you're good with me. Lycra, skinny jeans, full-kit, helmet, no helmet, Devo helmet, clips, cages, clipless, I don't care. Single speed, vintage, BMX, fat tire, road, mountain, cruiser, tricycle, recumbent, Big Wheel, Green Machine (I loved the Green Machine!!), rock on. You're my brother. I care about you and your safety. But I don't care why or how you ride or what you wear or what you're on. Does that count as a rant? Sorry...

I'm the same, except for the recumbents. I mean, really...

@ALMKLM Does that count as a rant? Bravo!

@ALMKLM: well said. @JonI’m the same, except for the recumbents. I mean, really… Of course...those people are just begging for attention.

AtLeastMyKidsLoveMe wrote "You’re my brother. I care about you and your safety. But I don’t care why or how you ride or what you wear or what you’re on." I have to disagree on this. Assholes are assholes whether in a car or on a bike. I do not care about the safety of an idiot cyclist, just like I don't care about the safety of people who text while driving, and I would never call them my brother. I do care about the safety of innocent people who suffer because of these people and their bad behavior.

"You’re my brother. " *AHEM!* (oh, and +1)

"Assholes are assholes whether in a car or on a bike." Does this include yourself? Are you saying you have never done anything "unsafe" in a car or on a bike in your entire life? Wow!

@eric: yes, I've got to have love for everybody on the bike, even the assholes And, @Red: My Sister!!! Of course! (Many apologies...)

@mtnbiker25, You are really reading a lot into my post. Nothing I wrote implies that I never behave like an asshole or do things that are unsafe. Have a nice day.

@EricF maybe you should go back and reread your post then. Every day is a great day. Cheers!

Is there a way to turn off the reply notification function after I've turned it on?

"Is there a way to turn off the reply notification function after I’ve turned it on?" The 'Unsubscribe" button at the top of the thread.

Holy cow I didn't even know you could do that!