I loathe them. And they're everywhere. I don't think a day goes by where I don't see or directly encounter at least one of them. One of who? One of the fembike(r)s.And I hate to say it, but it really IS the women who are the worst. Just yesterday at a heavily trafficated crossing near my place, I saw one of them. She ran a red light on her bike of death(tm), leaving her boyfriend behind who yelled "You know it IS actually red", obviously referring to the traffic signal in their direction, and not her ass (although baboon would be a fitting label for her). And for what? Just to gain 10 seconds? I don't get it.
A few weeks back, I almost had to jump aside with my bagged groceries, to avoid a fembike who was :
1. going in the wrong direction
2. fast
3. on the sidewalk
4. where I (and others) were already battling for the 1.5 meters wide space, littered with ice cream menues and other stupid billboards.
- and the worst part was that she had the fuckin´ nerve to give ME a look that suggested that I was a moron for being directly responsible for her having to slow down, on the sidewalk, where SHE was driving.
I hope her ugly 500$ flimsy summerdress, gets caught up in the chain...
Some of the violations fembikes believe are legal, despite the traffic laws saying the direct opposite include :
- driving in the wrong side of the road
-- or of the bikepath
- driving on the sidewalk
- turning right at a red light
- crossing a red light
- biking on the pedestrian crossing
- biking in areas clearly designated as pedestrians only
- chatting with a fellow fembiker on the bikepath
-- or on the road
- biking and talking on the mobile
-- or writing an sms
... I loathe them!
I agree with your frustration and with your list of bicycling-related traffic violations that everybody in Copenhagen must surely notice / be a victim of on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with your notion that "it really is the women who are the worst". I bicycle on a daily basis and in my view men and women alike are equally good at doing these things. You really cannot say anything intelligent about the representation of the genders before knowing exactly how many women bicycle compared to men for example and adjust their representation in the traffic violation category accordingly.
In summary, I agree with you that Copenhagen has problems with the behaviour of our cyclists but I don't see the need to confuse the discussion about proper bicycling with mudslinging between the genders - especially when based on such a flimsy and unscientific basis.
Happy blogging!
http://progressivecanvas.org
Hi Kristoffer,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your participation in the debate.
Just to clear something up : I donæt live in Copenhagen, but in Frederiksbjerg, Aarhus.
Of course my views are purely based on my own experiences, and it might just be that there's more bad female bikers in my area, than there are bad male bikers.
I see them occasionally, admitted, but I see the female ones daily - and often more than once.
I surely don't mean any mudslinging between the genders, but I just needed to let some steam out.
I'm sure some recent statistics say that men and women are equally bad bikers on a national scale, but on the (very) local scale (namely Fredeiksbjerg) the women dominate the statistic... at least based on my observations.
Thanks for your response and sorry for my "Copenhagen-centric" perspective. Of course the problems are similar in all the countries larger cities.
ReplyDeleteIt may be that you experience more bad female bicyclists in beautiful Frederiksbjerg, but let me suggest this:
On one of your morning bicycle trips try counting how many bicyclists you encounter and maintain seperate counts for men and women. I'm willing to bet a draught microbrew beer that you'll encounter substantially more female bicyclists than their male counterparts.
So my point is - if there are more female bicyclists in general, then it only makes sense that among the bad bicyclists there is a higher number of women.
Let me know the result of your counting if you manage to do it. I'll be happy to buy you a beer should you prove me wrong (you just have to come by Copenhagen to pick it up!)
You have yourself a deal, Kristoffer ;)
ReplyDeleteI'll start counting next time it's really nice weather.
- hopefully I won't turn into a rotten biker myself in the process of keeping track of everything else but my own doings...
Well, Kristoffer - it seems you owe me a tasty beer.
ReplyDeleteI was counting this morning, and there was 23-20 in favour of the men.
But for what it's worth : the only real bad bicycle traffic violation I saw, was courtesy of a man, who slalomed in between me and a few others waiting for green, and then he ran the red light. And he gained 5 seconds tops. So stupid...