My Beef This Week: Cyclists
When I started this somewhat-weekly verbal barrage on all things traffic, I said I would stick to things that seemed to the most annoying things on the road in my mind. Old people during rush hour and school buses neglect for any other vehicle on the road are things that I feel are direct sources of traffic that can be changed to reduce their drag on the flow of traffic.
My latest beef, however, is not as much a traffic causer as much as it just plain hurts my head to deal with. Cyclists think they own the road. They use the rules that apply to autos, as well as those of pedestrians, and take whatever benefits them at the moment.
These Lance Armstrong wannabes will ride in a lane of traffic and nearly take it up completely. After taking up a lane like they are a car, only some will stop at a stoplight like a car would.
While were talking about cyclists, what is the deal with the spandex? OK, I understand if your on the 5th leg of the Tour de France and cutting down on wind resistance will help you get that extra edge, but who are these people I see riding around town with their gut hanging out, wrapped in spandex?
Here’s a news flash: IF YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT WEARING SPANDEX WILL NOT BENEFIT YOUR ATTEMPTS TO LOSE SAID WEIGHT. It won’t help in getting any girls either.
I mean think about the logic here: Middle age yuppie with money to spend and a gut to lose decides he wants to bike to lose weight. That’s great. More power to him. But then it all goes wrong when he sees Lance Armstrong highlight and thinks that wearing the stretchy stuff will help him lose weight. By wearing a garment that cuts down on wind resistance, you are actually cheating yourself out of a better workout. If you were really committed, you’d wear clothes act created MORE wind resistance, resulting in a harder workout.
I mountain bike, but that doesn’t mean I don’t go on roads. When I have to travel along roads, I go on the sidewalk as much as possible, minimizing my exposure to the open road. I also don’t wear spandex. I wear just normal shorts and a t-shirt most of the time. Also consider that I am traveling on the road and sidewalks on knobby mountain biking tires. My tires create more resistance than speed bike tires would.
It is possible that when I adorn my plain old shorts and t-shirt, hop on my mountain bike, and ride to the nearest state park (which is about a mile from my house) that I am getting a better workout on my ride TO my workout than some old slob, wearing his best Floyd Landis costume, complete with fingerless gloves, and "Macho Man Randy Savage" shades.
Some people just need to own a mirror... and learn the rules of the road.
Tags: Traffic Bikers Cyclists Spandex Lance Armstrong
