While riding in central park today around 2PM, I saw a cyclist on an orange Orbea bike almost kill himself and a pedestrian at the crosswalk by the Shakespeare theater. The woman was speaking on her cell phone, but she had the green light and the cyclist had the red. Instead of slowing down (he must have been going 20-22mph), he screamed and screamed at her, she didn;t hear him, and he passed in front of her by less than 5 inches. Watching the whole thing from behind him, I definitely thought he was going down. After nearly killing, or at least seriously injuring, both himself and her, he then had the audacity to turn around and call her a stupid b-tch.
I was really angry, but I didn;t have the speed or the courage to catch up with him afterwards and tell him in person, but in case you are reading this message board, owner of orange Orbea who was in the park this Sunday afternoon, what you did was dangerous, inconsiderate, stupid and totally unecessary. I'm happy to say I haven;t seen this kind of behavior among any NYCC cyclists I've ridden with, but I think these types of actions, even if they are only done by a small minority of cyclists, definitely contributes to the difficulties cyclists face as we try to get better rights, recognition and treatment from the city and from law-enforcement. -Jimmy
inconsiderate and dangerous cyclist
It is stupid to try and ride fast in the park on a weekend afternoon. If it was 6 am then I would tend to give the Orbea rider the benefit of the doubt.
You would? Even though SHE, the pedestrian, had the right-of-way, the green light?
Please don't ride with me. And please don't ride with a jersey identifying you as NYCC.
"I'm with you Richard. In my opinion, the damage done by reckless riding and rudeness in CP is never justified. I don't care how ""stupid"" a pedestrian is being. Reckless and rude riders threaten the access of all riders in the park."
That incident is appalling, embarrassing.
Wish I'd been there with a lasso and the skill to use it.
Easy there tiger.
I was only stating that riding fast in the park is appropriate early am as opposed to on a busy summer weekend afternoon. Obviously, even early in the morning there is an obligation to yield to peds.
That said, and while the Orbea rider is at fault, I do have higher expectations for the pedestrians in terms of awareness early in the morning then I do at other times.
"I'm with you guys too. I ride by that spot at about 20mph on weekday mornings around 6:00am and have found it quite easy to give pedestrians a wide berth and ride behind them so that they don't feel threatened.
The person on the Orbea has two lessons to learn: 1) his bad behavior reflects on the rest of us because lots of people refer to the behavior of ""bikers"" as a group and 2) Spending so much money on a bike doesn't earn you the legs to ride it fast or the handling skills to ride it well. That, like courtesy, only comes with time and self-reflection."
For clarification purposes - it wasn't me.
I ride an orange Orbea, but I NEVER ride in the Park after 9:15AM on weekends - that's just nuts.
That Shakespere Theatre spot is full of artsy types, even when not on their phones they often have their heads in the clouds... always best to slow down there especially when the light is against you (if only so some slick lawyer won't take advantage of the law breaking to sue you for your expensive bike and everything else).
Then again; doing one's fast loops at 2PM on the weekend would label the offender as the sort that was seeking attention and who would want to go fastest in the most crowded sections. Same person wouldn't want to do his speed when really fast people are out in the early AM.
"""The woman was speaking on her cell phone...""
how come so many of these types of stories start with a sentence like this? i agree that the cyclist was a jerk and totally wrong for what he did. he gives us all a bad name. BUT you gotta be aware of your surroundings! crossing a road in a crowded public space with a cell phone jammed into your ear is just as stupid IMO."
...against the law, no. :)
don
I still do not understand why the cops are not as aggressive with ticketing pedestrians as they are with cyclists? It goes both ways. With rights come responsibilities!
...or you waste your resources. the fast food delivery people (who often ride on the sidewalk...i love tackling those guys when they get close enough), the wild/crazy messengers (and to an extent some recreational/club riders) leave a bad taste in peoples' mouthes so the police are doing what they have to do to impose some control...they're ticketing cyclists who break the law.
i've been ticketed three times. once for running a red light on 5av almost 10 years ago (i deserved that one). once for tossing a water bottle at a black police car barreling wrecklessly around a turn going the wrong way in central park on a weekend day (i told the judge if it happened again, i may throw more than just a water bottle at the car...he giggled but didn't argue with me). once for not being single-line along 9w (heading north just out of fort lee - the police officer failed to show up with his notes so the case was dismissed).
in each case, the cops were doing the right thing.
don
if cyclists want to speed, why not get out of the park and go to 9W!
It's not open season on cell phone users. Or ipod users. Or the deaf or inattentive. She had the light.
