Road Cyclists

2010-08-09T16:09:00.001-07:00

A friendly message to Drivers about Cyclists on the road:

1. 3 feet is the space you need to give a cyclist, probably just like the 3 feet you give other cars - no matter where the cyclist may be on the road. That's law, not made up. It's a law for a good reason. I can reach out and touch your car at 3 feet... we dont need you any closer than that. You and your car don't need to be any closer than that. The Standard lane width in California is 12'... that's 12' of space for a 6' vehicle. Please, give a bit more space :)

2. It's safer for everyone if Cyclists ride AWAY from the road debris, such as sharp, tire puncturing rocks, glass, HUGE potholes, and Car Doors opening without warning. If I rode any closer than 3 feet from parked cars I'd be an unsafe idiot. This doesn't mean I need to stay to the right of a white line either - Traffic Officials all over the country recommend riding to the LEFT of white lines. This will prevent Drivers of thinking they can squeeze past you, and ultimately give you WAY more room. "Buzzing" a cyclist with your car, or doing a close drive by to scare them can easily be considered Assault with a Deadly Weapon... Vehicular Manslaughter can easily land you 15 years in Prison.

3. Please don't insist on speeding up to pass a cyclists then slam on your brakes to make the turn right in front of them, which does nothing but cause the cyclist to slam on his breaks, veer into traffic lanes, or crash - just give the rider an extra 3 or 4 seconds. Think of it as a nice gesture :)

4. At a stoplight - the best thing to do is ask the cyclist if they want to race.

5. Please note that Cyclists dont make or design the roads, so please help them mind their own businesses and ride safely when they're riding on such roads. None of us ever ever think, "Give me space because I'm better than you." It's more like, "Oh God, please don't let some idiot who's not paying attention hit me or run me over and kill me for some text message or a couple drinks... - Amen"

6. Here's a few different perspectives on Cyclists:
A) The cyclist is riding for health and therapy, not to piss you off while you drive.
B) The average car weighs around 4,000lbs. A good road bike weighs under 20lbs. Drivers will win every time. Absolutely no need to prove that.
C) Safety is the cyclists #1 concern when riding in traffic.

7. A little addition, with 6.C) stated; A cyclist will ride where he/she feels is the safest part of the road to ride on. This isn't any concern of the driver other than to 'offer' enough space for the rider to safely ride and avoid dangerous obstacles.

8. A teeny sharp rock the size of a PEA could cause a flat. Flats usually take 20 minutes to repair. MAYBE, riding far enough away from all the debri piles is safer for not only the riders, but the drivers as well. Swerving in and out of traffic lanes avoiding road debris makes drivers a bit ancy, I know that. We all know that (unless you have a cyclist that doesn't drive of course). So - We ride in straight lines, away from all the road debris, which may put us to the left of the white line. This is NOT a traffic violation, it's not only legal, but like I stated earlier - recommended.

I've been riding to work from Valencia, CA to Burbank CA as many workdays that I can manage. I'm going to start riding with a little HD camera harnessed to my chest to capture anything and everything on film from now on (including license plates).

This is hard evidence, and will stand up in court.

*HONK IF YOU SEE ME*

Story Boards

2009-03-04T15:46:00.001-08:00

...more Animation.

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Animation

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some color...

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2008-12-02T21:25:00.001-08:00