The Myth of Bike Lanes

We’ve talked about bike lanes before in our Myth’s Post. But I want to discuss it in a little greater detail. Simple question, how many times have you seen a cyclist in a bike lane? I am willing to be the answer is far fewer times than you’ve seen a cyclist riding in the main lane next to the bike lane. Cyclists simply don’t use bike lanes. Most cyclists will admit it, even to cagers, they don’t use them. They claim they are unsafe. Yet cyclists are crowding town halls and politician’s offices demanding more of them. Why?

Well to be fair cyclists aren’t the only ones demanding them. Cagers who are sick of getting stuck behind some douchebag on a bike on a 45 MPH highway want more of them as well. I used to be a huge proponent of bike lanes, anything to get these idiots out of my way. A few years ago I fully supported a proposed bike lane on a local street near where I lived. Cyclists were a huge problem and it was a very busy street that connected the residential area where I lived to the nearest major commercial area. However once it was constructed, the cyclists didn’t use it. I’d had my beefs with cyclists in the past, but this blew my mind, so I did al little digging. I signed up for some cycling message boards and this is where I first discovered the truth about cycling. It’s 100% about tying up traffic and creating havoc on the roads.

Amongst themselves cyclists will openly admit they like to request bike lanes and then never use them for the same reasons they like to ride a bike in the first place, it’s all about making the world revolve around them. They have good laughs about it. 

To make matters worse, in some cases a bike lane replaces a lane meant for cars. Not always, but often a regular lane has to go away to make room for the bike lane, or at the very least the existing lanes have to be narrowed. So not only is traffic increased by fewer and smaller lanes, but cyclists avoid the bike lane to further tie up traffic in the lanes meant for cars. It’s diabolical, and not an accident.

Supporting bike lanes may seem like a good idea for everyone involved, but it plays right into this scum’s hands. If it comes up in your area, make sure you do what you have to in order to prevent more bike lanes from popping up. Don’t give these guys the satisfaction of riding by a bike lane and having a good laugh as they make you miss the opening previews for the movie you are on the way to see.