We have an Uber eats delivery guy that bounces back and forth between the mono wheel and one wheel. He always seems like he’s having fun. He’ll be swerving up any bank for a sick carve or jump off stuff but mostly he does jack ass stuff on the sidewalk, while weaving through pedestrians. He’ll get you your food/beer fast though. I have mixed feelings.
There’s a regular at our market who rolls up on a onewheel while dragging a wheeled Coleman cooler. He always wears overalls and a hard hat, and when it’s harvest season, gives me extra honey.
IIRC the origin of my current screenname is the story of one time when a guy on a one wheel asked me if the vape store was still around the corner, because I “looked like I vaped!”
This tracks
I wanna try one of those onewheel things, but not enough to drop a bong on one and then maybe never ride it.
Was cruising around on my normal route yesterday on a weekend through a lightly trafficked commercial area with a divided four lane road with really wide lanes. Rightmost lane has some metal access panels that go well into the lane, so I ride in the middle of the lane where it’s smooth.
So, I’m in the right lane cruising along at 20mph no less, the speed limit, I think is like 25 or so. There’s no other traffic anywhere and some dude rolls by in the left lane, honks at me, and yells for me to get off the road before driving away.
I turned myself inside out trying to catch the guy, but to no avail. I carried that anger around for a while yesterday.
took the family out for a little ride in the truck to eat things, coming back on the freeway in a 2 lane spot with concrete barrier on the left and guardrail on the right, narrow shoulder on the right only. I’m in the right lane doing about 55 which is the speed limit, a moto rider on a fast looking bike passes me on the left doing probably 70+. up ahead a ways I see them go right up the ass of the next person in the left lane, then shoot thru a narrow gap between that person and the RV or box truck in the right lane. lane splitting is illegal in oregon but this was more like a narrow space between big vehicles
less than 5 mins later there’s a slowdown, I see a crossover on its roof in the right lane and several cars stopped. there are multiple people already providing aid and with our child in the car we decide not to stop also. as we pass there are four or five people attending to the moto rider laying on the asphalt, with the bike beyond. not far away an older couple is sitting with their backs against the guardrail looking super shaken. I think there was at least one maybe two other cars involved in the crash, and based on what I previously observed I’m fairly certain this jackass rider caused it and hurt some people
I had to spend 3-odd hours in the car with the wife yesterday to go to a maternity photoshoot out in the Hill Country. It was bittersweet because I used to love riding my motorcycle around out there and being able to just sit in the passenger seat brought some of those memories back, but I just couldn’t shake how dangerous it is too. All the curvy roads filled with tailgating pickups and Audis…
It sounds like the rider in the wreck above was the catalyst, but I’ve become convinced that the current state of driving just isn’t compatible with motorcycles anymore. I always felt safer on a motorcycle when I could be going just a little bit faster than traffic (not 20+ over obviously). Here in Texas staying ahead of traffic would be doing 20 over tho, and motorcycles just don’t give you enough margin of error to run around like that all the time.
Sorry probably not all really relevant to your story but I was having that “why do I have motorcycles again?” thought a lot yesterday and wrecking for some jackassed reason is a big reason why I ask!
this is definitely valid, this situation was probably exacerbated by a left lane hog (which is frustratingly common in Oregon and Washington) vs a hothead rider. by contrast driving in Southern California it feels like the freeways have much more space and motos are more visible and watched for by drivers
the world bollard association would like a word.
that is a delineator- it does precisely fuck all to stop a car- it merely tries to help guide a driver with a brain. so unfortunately it does not help that many.
We shouldn’t be building infrastructure targeted at mythical creatures lol
Also, there’s a corner I ride through frequently that has a bike lane to protect against drivers who’ve cut the turn too tight. All the plastic bollards were immediately mowed down of course. Then last week I noticed that some hero had made a bunch of diy cement cones that looked like they were cast in orange plastic soccer cones and put them where the bollards had been. The cement cones weren’t marked with any high vis, just a bunch of 11” tall grey cement cones. They weren’t big enough to stop a car but they were certainly big enough to seriously fuck up any vehicle that overcooked that turn.
Imagine the events that ended in an angry person casting cement cones in their basement and setting a fucking trap for shitty drivers!
Some guy almost hit me doing a u-turn through a red light recently. I was so shook that I ended up plowing my bike into a flex post on the other side of the intersection. I was pleased not to have any damage to me or the bike but it was a real “lol these don’t do shit” moment
Dunno I would consider just buying some 24" cones at the depot of homes and fill them with concrete.
Splitting lanes on the freeway makes this obvious. Nearly everyone is staring at their phone. Laws have done nothing. People are less attentive than ever.
Likewise. Last crash I had, I was at the front of a platoon of cars, and got beyond them a bit from a traffic signal. Oncoming traffic saw my one headlight among the group, but clearly didn’t fathom the distance and the executed a super quick left turn to beat the platoon of cars behind me and took me out in the process, or rather, I barely missed him, but my evasive maneuver landed me on the pavement.
So, maybe sometimes, not so much.
i have noticed motorcyclists in ohio dont lanesplit like in ca. they drive just like people in cars. i mentioned this to my co-worker and his explanation was that its too dangerous. crazy.
lane splitting is illegal in most states isn’t it?
Yeah if I remember correctly it is explicitly illegal in like 48-49 states and more “not illegal” in California
I tend to like bikes with wide bars so I’m not sure I would enjoy it much even in CA
Well I don’t know, but in the bay area they pretty much do what they like. And nobody else follows any traffic laws in Ohio anyway
Welp the one wheelers are clearing out of town, but in two weeks we’re having a week long Harley type music/bbq festival. At least I won’t run across those guys on the single track, I hope.
My Uncle, while describing a time in his life he call’s his “Jeremiah Johnson” days claims to have seen a man show up at the bottom of bright angle trail in the grand canyon on a harley. He also claims the rangers made him push it back out. Im doubtful, but I love the idea of this actually happening.
Almost got hit twice tonight on the way home. One buy a guy turning and of course looking about 100 degrees from where his car was pointed when he hit the gas. One by an old who for some reason decided it was perfectly normal to drive on the wrong side of the road in this really stupid slip-lane thing. These are things I don’t share with my wife to avoid stressing her out.