As a cyclist and triathlete, I laughed out loud at this strip then sent it to all my cycling buddies - none of whom had a negative reaction. Sometimes you have to laugh at (the perception of) yourself.
I'm getting the t-shirt!
I trust my ability to dodge pedestrians way more than motorists ability to avoid me. Therefore, if there is no bike lane I take the footpath rather than the road. I was in an accident with a bad driver and lost my 3 front teeth.
wow. i'm shocked at the hostility [towards cyclists] this strip generated. i loved it, forwarded it to all my friends and i'm an avid cyclist, just finished the MS150 charity ride and will be going again in october. i ride alone and in groups, both road AND mountain bikers and have found cyclists to be considerate and supportive. i've had strangers offer me innertubes, air, patches, tools when i've had problems. we wear helmets, use lights and obey traffic laws. do i live in fantasy land? yes as a matter of fact i do. i live 15 miles from the disney world florida.
as for drivers?
i've had drivers curse at me, throw things at me, hit me, open passenger doors at me, try to run me off the road. i've also had drivers offer to assist when i've been fiddling with my chain or sitting exhausted on the roadside. as for the ones cursing and swerving at me, the ones sitting in the flatbeds of their pickups: i'm old enough to be your GRANDMOTHER, you kiss your momma with that mouth?
I'm getting here late, so let me first say that I'm a year-round (in Colorado!) bike commuter. Second, yeah, there are a lot of arrogant, clueless cylists. They really tick me off, because they give responsible cyclists like me a bad name. (And age and clothing are are no sure indicators - I've seen jerk cyclists in the 20s and Spandex and in their 60s and flannel.) Third, jerk cyclists annoy you, but jerk drivers kill you. I've been hit by a driver making an illegal left turn and come within a fraction of a second of dying due to a pickup than ran a red light AFTER I was in the intersection. I've also come close to being picked off twice recently by people making left turns into parking lots who went "I didn't see you!" after they got off their cell phones. Then there are the drivers who decide they want to scare me by driving in the bike lane, or who just drift into the bike lane because they aren't paying attention. (A few months ago, a local 9-year-old girl was killed when an SUV drifted into the bike lane while the driver was talking on a cell phone.) As I said, jerk cyclists annoy you, but jerk drivers kill you.
There is no "share the road" mentality in Florida. They purposefully hog the whole freakin road with utter arrogance and disregard. Are they all this way? I have no idea, but there are DOZENS of them around my neck of the woods. I get a kick out of the outfits though. Gotta cut down on that time! Wear a pair of shorts and a tee shirt for goodness sakes. Lance Armstrong you ain't!
I thought this strip was quite funny, but it's a little judgemental saying that ALL cyclists are that way. But it was funny. Yea, bring on the thumbs down!!
