Chat
01-22-2016, 07:08 PM
Oh man... that is hilarious! It reminds me of an incident I had during my carriage company days when we had one of those Ride the Rockies things where thousands of cyclists come pouring over our narrow mountain roads and inundate our little mountain towns. It's good for business but not good for anyone who has to use the road. Like you said, they DO take up the entire highway, riding several abreast even around corners. I almost had a heart attack as I was trailering my horses into town because I came around a blind curve and almost plastered three of them spread out across the road. There are absolutely NO shoulders on most of those roads, so it's difficult enough to avoid just one bike. I hit my brakes as hard as I dared and hoped not to run over anyone. Even if it was their own stupid fault, I'd feel terrible plowing over anybody with my rig. Legally they do have the right-of-way, but there's such a thing as common sense! I hit the horn harder than the brakes and they just gave me an annoyed look as if it were my fault. Sorry guys, but a 3/4 ton truck hauling a stock trailer with two horses isn't going to stop on a dime even if you do have the "legal" right-of-way. If you wanna tell the coroner about your rights, go ahead!
So later that day as I was conducting a tour, we came to a stop sign where we had to cross the main highway. Usually this is not a big deal since it's not a busy highway, but on Ride the Rockies day it was a nightmare. Sure, I had the stop sign, and sure they had the right-of-way, but it was wheel-to-wheel bikes and I needed a break. My horses were getting antsy after waiting for ages, and when I finally saw a small hole in the pack we made a jump for it. Boy did I get some dirty looks! No one crashed into me, but some bikes actually had to slow down! The horror of it! It's a stark contrast to the similar incidents I had with classic car tours and the Colorado 500 dirt bike tour. Both of those groups were courteous enough to cede the right-of-way and let me cross so I wouldn't have to wait for their entire parade to pass by. Dirt bikers and ATV riders often get a bad rap, but I've had almost nothing but positive experiences with both groups, especially when I have horses or goats. I wish I could say the same for cyclists (and motor home drivers for that matter)!
So later that day as I was conducting a tour, we came to a stop sign where we had to cross the main highway. Usually this is not a big deal since it's not a busy highway, but on Ride the Rockies day it was a nightmare. Sure, I had the stop sign, and sure they had the right-of-way, but it was wheel-to-wheel bikes and I needed a break. My horses were getting antsy after waiting for ages, and when I finally saw a small hole in the pack we made a jump for it. Boy did I get some dirty looks! No one crashed into me, but some bikes actually had to slow down! The horror of it! It's a stark contrast to the similar incidents I had with classic car tours and the Colorado 500 dirt bike tour. Both of those groups were courteous enough to cede the right-of-way and let me cross so I wouldn't have to wait for their entire parade to pass by. Dirt bikers and ATV riders often get a bad rap, but I've had almost nothing but positive experiences with both groups, especially when I have horses or goats. I wish I could say the same for cyclists (and motor home drivers for that matter)!