8:9:18 Bicycling in the Path of Self-Righteousness

Picture this. You're driving at night on a reasonably busy cross-town street. Two lanes, no parking either side. SE 60th in Portland at night demands driver attention, as it rises and dips, crossing residential neighborhoods on the western edge of Mt. Tabor Park.

dvd trailer

Ahead of me I see the unexpected--possibly unthinkable: a single red blinking light, bobbing up and down, about two blocks distant. I draw closer and see it is a bicyclist.

Despite my headlights, the bicyclist remains stubbornly in the middle of the lane. My quick take is fanatic.

It's okay for a bicyclist in Oregon to use the full lane under certain circumstances, none of which were in play here. Per Oregon Revised Statutes, ORS 814.430, a bicyclist is required to ride as close to the right and allow cars to pass, unless the road conditions are dangerous [gravel, potholes, and the like].

Moreover, a bicyclist riding in the middle of a traffic lane is "impeding traffic" if cars must slow below the posted speed limit and cannot safely pass. Even on the down slopes, the bicyclist was slugging along at 17 mph, holding up four cars or more ready for 30 mph.

As for passing, a bicyclist in the center of the lane meant my move into the oncoming lane was Russian roulette. Anybody could turn right from a side street. Head-on collision guaranteed.

I was stymied. I flipped on my high-beams [for my own safe driving, he, he].

At the first intersection with a signal, the light was red. The bicyclist did several backpedal "bunny hops" to slow--he was riding a fixed-gear bike. With his tattooed calves and a de rigueur messenger bag [red blinkie attached], the picture was nearly complete.

Of course, the bicyclist waited out the red light by going into the showoff nonsense of a pedal-stand balancing act. He turned his handlebars to and fro. I saw no brake on either rear or front wheel, nor a forward light [both violations of ORS 815.280].

Many blocks later, at East Burnside, a major east-west thoroughfare, the fellow behind me in a pickup truck had had enough. He shot right into a parking lot--as we waited on the signal--then screeched across Burnside against the red.

I, and others, followed the bicyclist for perhaps three more blocks, before I turned left on NE Glisan.

I've commuted on a bicycle [including a fixie] year round, day and night, and I know any bike fanatic's need to be right only goes so far..

Image credits: expatclaptrap.com:arseholes of england


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