Thou Shalt Have No False Dogs Before Me

Nick,

I have seen these bicyclists riding; they are a great annoyance and try to strike fear into people in cars, not just the trivial protest that you write about. While you touch on some of the more antagonistic ones they are really more of the norm and not the obscure. They wear hoods and masks, not just the “clown noses”. I would assume they were wearing their disguise to hide their faces to appear even more intimidating or to be free from identification in their criminal endeavors.

While I have seen them on two occasions I have not been a target of theirs. But my friend was not so lucky. When they pulled one of their stunts of blocking an intersection she was afraid since she had her 3 year old son in the back seat. When she tried to leave by making a right hand turn the group attacked her by pounding on her car. She was frantic, thinking she was about to be carjacked or whatever was the group’s will. They yelled at her an accused her of trying to run them over, much like the tactic that you wrote about that they accused that officer of doing. I would guess that is their plan, to be antagonistic and then when confronted or find someone unwilling to watch their demonstration they attack or fight back claiming that they were the ones in fear. Anyhow my friend was able to keep her doors locked but she said one of the bicyclists (again wearing a hood) tried to open her passenger door. She keep honking her horn and finally was able to get out of there. She was a mess crying and her son was too. Later she discovered a large dent on her fender, which cost her almost $600 to repair. She filed a police report but they told her that without being able to identify someone then it would be hard to catch anyone for the crime, so she out the $600 and in the name of what?

You seem to attack the officer’s report because you find the word “terrorist” to be too strong for us here in Santa Barbara.

Webster dictionary defines Terrorist as the “systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion”

Wikipedia defines terrorist as “a term used to describe violence or other harmful acts committed (or threatened) against civilians by groups or persons for political or ideological goals”

I would think that that term terrorist fits what these people do to a tee and I thank that officer and his partner for protecting us. This Critical Mass group is nothing but an extreme group of bullies!!! Your article attacking that officer is way off base.

-- When Hunter observed a couple of Critical Mass stragglers run a red light, he drove after them. Pulling up alongside, he turned on his lights and sirens and yelled, “Stop, police.”

The police action would be a lot more credible if they would "Stop! Police!" all the cars who frequently drive into intersections on State when it's not clear on the other side. The light turns red, and they end up stuck in the intersection, making pedestrians and cross traffic negotiate around them.

Given the targeted enforcement, I suspect the police were looking for 'something' to arrest. I personally would prefer that they concentrate on preventing assault (cyclists hitting cars or cars hitting cyclists).

"The idea was to educate drivers how it feels to be a second-class citizen of the road. "

I would bump it down one more notch in the mobile hierarchy and place bicyclists as third-class since in S.B. S.U.V.'s and big pickup trucks seem to be considered more important than cars. I commute six days per week and I see that as a rule the bigger the vehicle, the more aggressive and self-absorbed the driver.

Once again, this is yet another article that brings to light how a once laid back area is becoming more aggressive day by day and the underlying causes are not being addressed.

Road rage (whether by vehicles or bicycles) gangs, and overall crime are all connected--a sort of social Gaia Principle.

Bicyclists don't buy gasoline and thus, pay zero in road use taxes, yet they want all the perks of using the roads...and more.

Special lanes, special rights, special dispensation from having to obey signals, stop signs, and the law stating the pedestrian has the right-of-way; bikers get off the hook on all this and more.

These folks don't have to identify themselves with license plates, and enjoy complete anonymity in which to perpetrate their aggressive and dangerous actions against pedestrians and drivers/motorcyclists.

I remember several years ago when the trucking firm I used to drive for had to stop deliveries to an area bookstore because of the aggressive biker problem. We could not get delivery vehicles in and out without considerable risk to our drivers. Bikes would pour off the sidewalk right into the driver's path, flip the driver off, and kick at the truck if it dared to budge an inch. Often the driver was forced to sit for 15 minutes while bikes blew through the stop signs and engaged in aggressive behavior.

So we stopped delivery. They want to run the show? They want to be healthy and hike and bike everywhere? Then they can go hike and bike into town for their papers and magazines.

We all know this stuff, and yet we continue wringing our hands and begging these people to allow us to use the roads we pay for and the crosswalks pedestrians need in order to get across those roads.

Enough begging. Slap a plate on those bikes and make these bikers as instantly identifiable as cars and motorcycles are. Force them to stop at lights and stop signs, and to wait for pedestrians to cross the road. Enough special dispensation for this protected class of terrorists.

Critical Mass should be stopped, period. I don't know why this is even a topic of discussion. Everyone on a bike who is pulling that nonsense of circling and blocking traffic should be rounded up and hauled off, pure and simple. They are so devoted to their cause of making anyone not like them miserable? Great; then they can pay for it with an arrest and a big fat fine.

Everyone should bike? How about the disabled and elderly? My 80 year old wheelchair-using mom should hop on a bike instead of dare to ride in a car to her doctor? I don't THINK so.

I'm about done with these militants and their agenda. They want to ride bikes, fine, then get a license plate and pay $10.00 a year for your annual tags, get on the road, OBEY THE LAWS...and....SHUT UP.

Stop at red lights and stop signs. Wait for pedestrians. Don't kick on people's cars or spit on pedestrians. Don't throw a half-full water bottle at my father's windshield as he sits trapped at a red light in his little economy car. Grow up.

Enough begging and making nice with these people. They are aggressive, and they are dangerous to themselves and everyone around them.

Oh my gosh, a friend of a friend of Stephan W was scared!!

Well, welcome to my world. I'm scared every time I sit on a bicycle, and a friend of a friend of mine was KILLED by a terrorist motorist. That trumps your claim, sorry.

Bill Clausen, you are a just a two penny fascist, and deserve no answer. You obviously enjoy living in a police state, but be careful: next time they might be coming for you.

Sorry Bill, the comment was directed to "Holly", I misread the attribution.

@Holly-- The existing half cent county sales tax pays for transportation infrastructure throughout the county. Cyclists help pay for local roads just as much as motorists, and cause a fraction of the wear and tear (or air pollution, or noise pollution, or global warming, or congestion....). Fuel taxes go to state highways and interstates, which only the brave and/or foolish cyclists use.

so back off.

The reality is that we all need to acknowledge the diversity... there are dangerous and mindless operators of both bikes and cars, and there are excellent, law abiding and courteous operators of both as well. but as Paul66 points out, it's cyclists alone that get maimed and killed by aggressive/negligent motorists on a regular basis.

and thats a hell of a lot more "terrifying" than anything the worst critical mass participant has ever done.

Holly, you keep saying that cyclists don't pay for any road use, and frankly I'm tired of it. (Search her comments to see her other anti-cycling diatribes). I pay more taxes than most people, and I use a lot less of the road that most people. The reason they don't put license plates on bikes is that it's not worth it. If the government could suck out more money, you'd better believe they would. It would cost more to administer than it would be worth. But if you think your license fees and gas taxes are paying for the roads, then you are sadly mistaken.

I haven't done ANY of the things you keep ranting about, least of all throw a water bottle at anyone's car. But I'd sure like to hear the other side of the story on that one. I don't know any cyclist who would consider throwing a water bottle unless someone had just endangered their life.

I'm another human being, and the only thing that scares me on my bike are those rare drivers who think my life is of no value just because I'm on a bike.

Lastly, "SHUT UP"? You've heard of the 1st Amendment, right? I'm not going to shut up, and I don't expect you to either. I just hope that you will educate yourself before you continue with this "cyclists don't pay their way" fallacy.

While a bicyclist or pedestrian is most vulnurable in a collision with a motorist, I would like to add that the fear bike riders have expressed in this blog is also felt by those of us who dare to buck the trend of driving huge pickups and S.U.V's and instead drive sedans.

Now I realize everyone has the right to choose the manner of transportation they want, and by no means do my generalizations apply to everyone, I have to say that the issue raised by cyclists also applies the the hierarchy of vehicles on the road.

As I pointed out, the worst drivers I see generally drive big vehicles, and when I'm driving down the road doing my best to observe the speed limit, which means not speeding and at the same time trying to keep it at the maximum speed limit so as not to offend the person behind me who is almost always frantic and in a hurry, it can get pretty scary when there is someone breathing down my back having a meltdown because someone dares to obey the law. Add to that the fact that more and more of these people are driving behemouths (sp?) big enough to have their own zip code and it can be quite unnerving.

So what's my point?...my point is that the motorized vehicle/bicycle polemic is a microcosm of the greater problem, which is the fact that more and more people have lost that ability to live as a COMMUNITY, and simply have chosen the "me first" attitude, and aggressive driving habits from all transportation demographics is an increasing problem.

Bicyclist in Santa Barbara seem intent on intimidating motorist. I don't understand it. They insist on pushing cars around as if they are surrounded by a metal cage unaware that "it's cyclists alone that get maimed and killed" quite often by their own "aggressive/negligent" behavior. I, too, believe that bicycle riders need to be licensed but I also believe that riders should pass a bicycle safety test before receiving that license - just like motorist. Ignorance of the law would be eliminated. And, one more requirement, before being allowed on the streets: they should be required to carry insurance to cover any damage in the event they cause an accident. If they continue on their current path of disrespect for laws and motorist, they'll need it.

Something that all the anti-cyclists on here seem to be forgetting is that the vast majority of cycilsts also drive cars. By and large, cyclists know what it's like to drive a car. It's the car drivers who by and large don't know what it's like to ride with traffic.

"insist on pushing cars around" - I am an assertive cyclist. Not aggressive, but assertive. If the road is too narrow to share, I will take the lane. That makes me more visible, more predictable, and prevents cars from squeezing me off the road. I don't apologize for causing you a moment's inconvenience. My safety trumps your convenience. When I get a chance, I will happily move over for you. Look at it this way, if I were a slow moving car, it would be a lot harder to get past me.

If you drift into the bike lane, I will shout to get you to move over. Your lane is plenty big. There's lots of room. Your moment of distraction could be my life, so please, pay attention to your lane position.

License? Insurance? These issues have been raised over and over. Quite simply, it would be an administrative nightmare. Pass a test? You mean the one myself and pretty much all other cyclists passed to get our drivers licenses? That one?

I have two things to add and if you want to dismiss the first one fine, but please do not dismiss the second point.

First: Travel through Isla Vista and observe the behavior of cyclists.

Second point: When I am driving I always assume a bicyclist might fall down in front of me so I always give them plenty of room. On this same note if I see a cyclist in the opposite lane I always swerve (ironically) into the bike lane in my side (Of course providing there are no bike in THAT lane) because I want to make enough room for the driver in the opposite lane to get out of the way of the bicyclist they are passing and of course I want them to have enough room to swerve into my lane should the bicyclist have an accident in front of them.

See how they behave when they don't get their way?

I rest my case.

The aggressive bikers made it for me.

Thanks guys:-)

I suppose if we require licenses to ride bikes, then that also applies to 8 year olds riding to school? It wouldn't matter anyway, since parents won't let their kids ride bikes to school anymore because the roads are too dangerous.

It's ridiculous to think the Critical Mass riders are terrorists, but these particular ones must be idiots if they think that aggravating drivers is going to somehow make things safer or better for cyclists. It just confirms the bad image of cycllists that a lot of people had already.

I have been in Critical Mass rides with a few hundred riders, and with that many bikers, you don't need to do anything to make your point except ride lawfully down the street. That's the point of the term "critical mass". It's why cycling is a lot safer in Isla Vista or Davis or Boulder or Holland or anywhere that has enough people riding bikes that the drivers don't have any choice but to watch out for them. I don't know how we can get to that point here, but it sure would be nice.

Yep, bicycles are a good thing, environment-wise, and there are many law-abiding bicyclists who understand what it means to SHARE the road. But:
1. Bicyclists pay no road use taxes;
2. Many of them routinely ignore stop signs, stoplights, crosswalks, pedestrians;
3. Even where they have bike lanes, many do not use them;
4.And those of the Critical Mass ilk are oh, so self-righteous and seem to believe that violating traffic laws does not apply to them (the fact there may be 10 or 100 bicyclists does not excuse running stop signs).

Bet we could solve the local budget problem by fining every observed traffic violation, whether car or bike!

Bicyclists DO pay road user taxes - it's the Measure D sales tax on all goods that pays for most of the road maintenance in this county (and expires 2 years from now).

It seems to me that almost every previous poster here has taken the Critical Mass riders as the normal representation of bicyclists, which is just foolish. However, I would agree that many--call them "non-militant"--riders do break the traffic laws often, and certainly should be called on it (at least, as much as the standard road-user).

And, while I believe that any vehicle (auto) motorist should GENERALLY yield right-of-way to a bicyclist, if a biker runs a red light or stop sign, and in the consequence is that they get squashed--welcome, to Darwinism.

Lastly, just to address billclausen's point about IV bikers: Bill, you should realize that the major operating factor there is you are dealing with college-aged "kids", and they think the place is more like Isla Vatican, with a different set of rules. [Your second point illustrates the good practice of AWARENESS, which is an alien concept, to all too many of us.]

I ride a bike. I know how to ride a straight line. Should I waver my bike will not kill anybody
I have a driver's license.
I have completed performance driving school.
I pay taxes.
I have a GREAT SB based attorney.

Holly do you feel lucky?

Cyclists are vehicle operators. We must abide by the rules of the road. It is within every American's rights to protest. It is within the Police department's dictum to enforce the peace. Should a protest disrupt the peace or constitute a danger to the public the PD is duty bound to react. Being humans they are apt to over react at times. We all do when pushed into a corner.

So what is the question?

I have seen people hit on bikes. Not pretty. Yes I have seen bikes annoy the heck out of traffic. Not pretty or smart as cars win the battle and everyone in the community loses the war.

While I disagree with using my bike as a means of protest. Every day that I ride it I know that I lessen my personal eco footprint and am doing my part to make the community cleaner and less congested.

Again, what is the question?

If one likes driving a big ole SUV or pickup at speed and swerving at things, maybe consider a move back to the urban location you emigrated from. The 405 encourages that behaviour I hear.

The unique thing about SB is that we are a community. Cycling has been an apparent part of that community for a very long time. Judges do it. Members of the PD do it. Attorneys do it. Our kids do it.

Thanks Paull66 for proving my point on why these people are so dangerous, you apparently are one also.

I was one of those riders. i saw it all go down. i got a ticket for supposedly running a red light. i ride a bike everyday. i'm not a violent person. i am NOT a terrorist. no one threatened the police. we had tasers pulled on us. we had multiple cop cars racing to the scene. i saw homeless people get hauled off. people. why is it ok for authorities to use such egregious terms and actions? what outlandish exaggerations. now i face fines. for riding a bike. what a crime eh? If anyone was in my shoes on that night of feb 29th, they would be shocked. as i still am

newsflash running a red light is a crime... what is your point?