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Riding bike on highway (Drunk people love that)

J

johntheman

Bluelighter
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
58
So I don't have a car, I live in a suburb of New Orleans, LA (Covington). I went to the police station and found out the only way to get to the shopping center I need to get to is to ride the highway. On the highway there is no shoulder and a long bridge with no sidewalk. I was told by a police officer I am legally allowed to ride my bicycle to and from the shopping center to my house in the middle of the street, since the government decides to use tax payers dollars to house drug users instead of building sidewalks. So off I went to Winn Dixie to cash my check and make a western union payment, after about 2 honks, the 3rd person drove up about a foot next to me and said "get off the fucking road asshole (or something like that) and I smiled and flipped him the bird and said I am legally right, he kept riding next to me and i told him to pull over if he had something to say at the next shopping center, so he did. Some old people saved my ass from getting kicked (I am no means unfit, but not the fighting type). Anyone else have this problem? I intend to keep riding my bike to where I need to go and if i have to ride the street I will, it's the city's problem not mine. People are NOT nice down here no matter what you hear about the south. BTW there are no side streets to get to where i need to go, only the highway. On my way back I also had some altercations with a few drivers. In total it was only about a mile and a half there and back.
 
Maybe sorry, i thought it could belong in politics since taxpayers dollars are used to house drug users instead of actual useful things. Just read the chinese story about the 2 year old being hit and run, i was on the road for 20 minutes and its definately not just a problem in china, it can happen anywhere.
 
Riding bikes on the highway is legal. But if there aren't any shoulders, it's not that sane.

Riding bikes on the sidewalks isn't that sane either. Nor is bike salmoning (biking against the traffic).

Also, remember, always flip drop bars up. That way, you look like a DWI cyclist.
 
johntheman said:
So I don't have a car, I live in a suburb of New Orleans, LA (Covington). I went to the police station and found out the only way to get to the shopping center I need to get to is to ride the highway. On the highway there is no shoulder and a long bridge with no sidewalk. I was told by a police officer I am legally allowed to ride my bicycle to and from the shopping center to my house in the middle of the street, since the government decides to use tax payers dollars to house drug users instead of building sidewalks. So off I went to Winn Dixie to cash my check and make a western union payment, after about 2 honks, the 3rd person drove up about a foot next to me and said "get off the fucking road asshole (or something like that) and I smiled and flipped him the bird and said I am legally right, he kept riding next to me and i told him to pull over if he had something to say at the next shopping center, so he did. Some old people saved my ass from getting kicked (I am no means unfit, but not the fighting type). Anyone else have this problem? I intend to keep riding my bike to where I need to go and if i have to ride the street I will, it's the city's problem not mine. People are NOT nice down here no matter what you hear about the south. BTW there are no side streets to get to where i need to go, only the highway. On my way back I also had some altercations with a few drivers. In total it was only about a mile and a half there and back.
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Dearest Northshore Brethren,

I am well accquainted with Covington, as that shit hole had running water, a wal-mart and some payphones in those horrendous days post Katrina. What you are describing is absolutely ridiculous. You live in Covington, so close to The St. Tammany Trace, which will take you safely though Abita Springs, all the way to Mandeville to a safe Winn Dixie to make some groceries. Although there are downsides (no lights, so basically off limits at night), it is absolutely fucking gorgeous, peaceful, and full of LA Monroe sorority sluts jogging. A bluelighter's paradise. You go past some creepy as graveyards (including Maneville proper where my dad is buried) and a couple of swamps and a couple of outdoor venues where Mindless Self Indulgence played. Take my advice and check out Tammany trace and then either get the fuck out of Covington or kill yourself. Even move to Mandeville. You can squat in my father's shit box of a house on Orleans avenue. Tell them I said it was okay, keep out the prostitutes and guys who can't live anywhere else because they have 'carnal knowledge of a juvenile' or whatever other bullshit napoleonic codes force on people.

get back to me and let me know how it goes.

-Kenickie

p.s my boyfriend and i just helped your ass so don't you dare say southerners aren't friendly. what's your story? are you some northern louisiana boy trapped down south on probation after getting too friendly with some girl? third, fourth, fifth DUI?
 
yo man, covington is a fucking shit hole. You should move to nola proper, or like a couple other posters said, take the Trace. It is worth it to ride a little farther to be safe getting there and back...

that said, the south is pretty brutal as far as cycling is concerned.... I got absolutely fucked up in a head-on collision with a jeep - the drivers there don't really give a shit about pedestrians...
 
Thanks for the replies, in truth, southerners are friendly to other southerners, but there is just as much prejudice here, if not more for obvious reasons as anywhere else. Seems to be an american thing. I would take the trace but that's 17.2 miles round trip, and I live right before where hwy 21 hits downtown Covington. The point isn't that I should use the other Winn Dixie, it's that I can't use any of the resources in Covington past the hospital on Hwy 21 without being yelled at by drunks and children, because there is no damn sidewalk. This is a public safety issue. Kenickie, the older folks are nice around here, but the children think they own the road, have more rights than a bicyclist, when my vehicle has just as much right on the road as they do if there is no shoulder or sidewalk. A young (seemingly drunk) punk pulled up right next to me, keep in mind I'm in the middle of the road hauling ass, and starts talking shit, while endangering me with his car. I told him I got the A-OK from the police station, so he kept riding my side and I'm getting anxious so I tell him to fuck off, or pull over. He pulls over at the shopping center I was aiming to get to anyway, and was ready to fight me for riding my bike in HIS lane. Some older folks pulled up right behind us and threatened 911 to the drunk so he drove off. This is my 1st expedition riding the highway on my legal vehicle. This is fucked up, I live by myself I have no one to take me. I wasn't bitching until I started getting harassed by punks.
 
What about the "move out of covington" advice? ;)

As for "southerners are mean". Ya, they totally are mean, to cyclists, in general. So much of the modern, urban and suburban south is car-centric— built for cars, and cars alone, pedestrians and cyclists be damned, that it feels like an intrusion and an invasion to have to share your road. And I mean really, lets be honest, bikes shouldn't be the preferred mode of transportation on a road where people can go over 55mph. The NOLA area keeps shrinking though, and covington doesn't have a grocery store. That fact astounds me. Blame here you live, I guess. :\ I'd still take the trace. Consider yourself lucky. If I bikes that distance here, i'd be crossing several highways, and there's be non stop hills to climb.

Why is it off limits at night?
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Louisana is pretty much infested with vampires and swamp monsters.
 
johntheman said:
when my vehicle has just as much right on the road as they do if there is no shoulder or sidewalk.
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Actually, your vehicle has as much right on the road if there is a sidewalk, at least under the Uniform Vehicle Code.

Considering how many drivers are ignorant of the laws in regards to bicycles and pedestrians, something is seriously wrong with our driver licensing.
 
Do you ride for fun or for transportation? Sounds like transportation. I'm a veteran cyclist who rides for fun. No longer will I ride on urban streets. It's not just the hostility factor. Today's gigantic SUVs have limited outward visibility and their drivers can't judge where their corners are. Plus, those same drivers are distracted as never before by cell phones, PDAs, and nav systems. Even a driver with no beef against cyclists can kill you.

Your shopping route sounds far too dangerous to travel on a bike. Taking up the middle of the lane increases your risk: a distracted driver will run right over you, and the road ragers will try to force you over. (Never give a driver the finger or issue a challenge. That driver could be drunk or nuts, and being in a car has the wherewithal to fuck you up. Instead, smile and wave. It drives them nuts!)

Consider getting a motorcycle or, though I hate them, a moped. On a shoulderless road you either keep up with the traffic or put your life at risk. If a bicycle is your only viable vehicle, learn to like it! That 17-mile scenic round trip you mention sounds like a great training ride. After a few trips, believe me, that distance will seem like nothing. And did I mention that an aerobic sport like cycling is the perfect thing to do before getting high? It relaxes your body and thus makes a good body stone even better.
 
Thanks Johnny. I was actually told by officers to ride the middle so they don't try to pass me, which could be more dangerous since there is no median. Didn't seem to stop this guy though, I love the smile and wave idea! I'm not going down that highway again though, I might try the trace, maybe a bicycle day experiment? Anyone tried this?
 
this is the trace for those who dont know:

trace4.jpg


trace1.jpg


trace2.jpg
 
While it may be technically legal to ride in the middle of the street on the HWY (ie, with 55 mph+ traffic), it's unsafe, unexpected to drivers, and kind of a dick move. However, on busy city streets, taking the lane proves safer and more predictable to drivers than either weaving in and out of the margins or riding in an area where an opening car door could easily strike you.

ebola
 
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