wfooshee
O, Woe is me!!
The Thunder Beach rally is this week here in Panama City Beach, and while the rally is 99.99999999435% cruisers, I usually go bike-spotting in the venue parking lots on the Saturday of the rally and spy a few bikes I don't get to see every day. A couple of years ago I even had some gear repaired for not a whole lotta money.
But some of these guys just aren't very good at this, or very smart, or some combination.
I was driving my company truck out to a customer site this morning, and while in the truck witnessed these three near-death events. Normally I go weeks without seeing anything this stupid, but today, three in one trip.
First was a group of 5, might have been 6 riders turned right from 98 onto Thomas Drive, which is a 5-lane 45-mph throughway. 2 lanes each direction, shared center turn lane; you know the kind. They're riding the left-hand lane, I'm about to pass them on the right as they're slowing. About 25 now. The leader signals left, then each bike in turn signals as well. WTF? There's nothing over to the left but the fence around the Navy base! They make a U-turn from the left traffic lane, not the center turn lane, and it still takes them both northbound lanes to get turned around!
Next one is a guy on Back Beach Road (US 98), which is a 55-mph highway. Congested might see it crawling down to 45, usually it's closer to 65 or 70. Single rider, apparently missed a right turn. He moves over into what is the merge lane for traffic from the road he wants to get to, walks his bike back and forth to turn it around against traffic, and turns left against traffic onto the southbound road, using a significant portion of the northbound lane to do so. The red line is his missed approach, the yellow star is his 93-point turn, and the orange is his path away.
Lastly, two bikes sitting at a light on a street across mine. My light turns red, I stop. I'm at the front of the line, with a full and unimpeded view of the action. Bikes make their left turn, but they aren't on an arrow, and oncoming traffic (which exists, and is turning right against their left) has the right of way. Red line is the bike traffic, with the swerve when they saw the car in their mirror. Yellow line is the car's turn. The car politely waited for them to make their illegal turn rather than insisting on the right of way, or it would have been greasy.
So here's hoping nobody mows down any of these helmet-less un-geared riders who are on vacation to do this and therefore not thinking about the real world. And here's reminding myself to watch out for motorcyclists and to resist the temptation to clean up the gene pool.
But some of these guys just aren't very good at this, or very smart, or some combination.
I was driving my company truck out to a customer site this morning, and while in the truck witnessed these three near-death events. Normally I go weeks without seeing anything this stupid, but today, three in one trip.
First was a group of 5, might have been 6 riders turned right from 98 onto Thomas Drive, which is a 5-lane 45-mph throughway. 2 lanes each direction, shared center turn lane; you know the kind. They're riding the left-hand lane, I'm about to pass them on the right as they're slowing. About 25 now. The leader signals left, then each bike in turn signals as well. WTF? There's nothing over to the left but the fence around the Navy base! They make a U-turn from the left traffic lane, not the center turn lane, and it still takes them both northbound lanes to get turned around!
Next one is a guy on Back Beach Road (US 98), which is a 55-mph highway. Congested might see it crawling down to 45, usually it's closer to 65 or 70. Single rider, apparently missed a right turn. He moves over into what is the merge lane for traffic from the road he wants to get to, walks his bike back and forth to turn it around against traffic, and turns left against traffic onto the southbound road, using a significant portion of the northbound lane to do so. The red line is his missed approach, the yellow star is his 93-point turn, and the orange is his path away.
Lastly, two bikes sitting at a light on a street across mine. My light turns red, I stop. I'm at the front of the line, with a full and unimpeded view of the action. Bikes make their left turn, but they aren't on an arrow, and oncoming traffic (which exists, and is turning right against their left) has the right of way. Red line is the bike traffic, with the swerve when they saw the car in their mirror. Yellow line is the car's turn. The car politely waited for them to make their illegal turn rather than insisting on the right of way, or it would have been greasy.
So here's hoping nobody mows down any of these helmet-less un-geared riders who are on vacation to do this and therefore not thinking about the real world. And here's reminding myself to watch out for motorcyclists and to resist the temptation to clean up the gene pool.
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