WR - Why I hate bicyclists in Portland.

07-12-2008, 04:02 PM

zpr

Original Hippie Killer

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Location: Portland, Or

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Why I hate bicyclists in Portland.

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Cops: Angry bicyclists gang up on wrong guy

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The cultural clash between Portland bicyclists and motorists took a surreal turn Sunday night when a motorist involved in a confrontation with a cyclist turned out to be a longtime advocate for cycling.

Colin Yates, 47, was driving with his wife and two teenagers in his family's green Subaru Legacy when he saw a bicyclist pass him on the left and blow through a stoplight on Southeast 20th Avenue at Belmont Street. Yates continued driving north on 20th Avenue, through another intersection, until he caught up with the bicyclist.

Yates honked his horn, leaned out his window, and chided the bicyclist for making other cyclists look bad. Yates, a self-described bike advocate for more than 30 years, told the bicyclist that he was a responsible bike rider who gets upset when he sees fellow riders disobeying traffic signals.

Traffic continued to flow, and the cyclist and Yates both continued north on Southeast 20th, until they were stopped at a red light at Stark Street.

The bicyclist rode up to the driver's window. Yates described the man to police as "irritated and aggravated." The cyclist was cursing at Yates and yelled at him to get out of the car. "Let's go! You want to go?" the bicyclist shouted, challenging Yates to a fight.

By now, the bicyclist, Steven McAtee, 31, was off his wheels. Yates said McAtee picked up his bike and wielded it like a weapon, smashing it against the Subaru's hood and windshield.

Yates stepped from his car and told McAtee to back off.

McAtee turned on Yates. He lifted his bike above his shoulders and struck Yates with it, Yates said. Yates tried to use his hands to block the blows and then ducked back into his car and attempted to leave. But McAtee got in front of the Subaru and repeatedly struck the vehicle with his bike, Yates said.

Yates stepped from his car again and was struck five to seven more times with McAtee's bicycle, police reports say.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a passer-by knocked McAtee to the ground with one punch.

And, as fast as McAtee hit the ground, nearly a dozen people -- many bicyclists who were riding by and noticed the commotion -- swarmed around Yates, shoving cell phone cameras about a foot from his face and accusing him of roughing up the bicyclist.

To make matters worse, a 9-1-1 call that came in at 10:10 p.m. was relayed to officers as: "Car hit bicycle, and people yelling."

Officers found a confusing scene when they arrived. About 25 to 30 people were gathered, and police described the atmosphere as hostile towards the motorist. Some witnesses were afraid to speak up for Yates.

One witness on a bicycle told police he didn't want to make a statement at the scene because of the "thugs and bad folks" here, according to the police report. He later talked to police by phone and gave an account that backed up Yates' story.

It turns out, police say bicyclist McAtee was both drunk and in the wrong. And he's a city employee. He works for Portland's transportation department as a building plan examiner.

McAtee was charged with third-degree assault, criminal mischief, driving under the influence of intoxicants and disorderly conduct. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Police said Yates, who set out the next day on a move to Colorado, had an imprint of a bike chain on his left forearm and grease stains on his shoulder.

News of Sunday night's confrontation circulated quickly among officers and reached Officer Robert Pickett, the bureau's unofficial liaison between police and Portland's biking community.

"It's almost kind of quintessentially a Portland thing," Pickett said, after reading the police reports.

Pickett, who said he works to bridge the gap between motorists and cyclists, called the alleged assault and subsequent witness reaction unfortunate. "It's too bad there's an 'us vs. them' dynamic," Pickett said.

He asked that witnesses who approach such a scene call police but not rush to get involved.

"We ask them to be a good witness and not jump to conclusions."

So he points out that this guy should obey the law and gets whooped up on with a bike. The fucking shithead bicyclists of Portland immediately assume that he is wrong even though he has an imprint of a bike chain on his arm. Yup, lets be shithead bikers, break the law and assume that anyone on a bike is innocent of any wrong doing even when there is obvious proof that they assaulted someone.
I have to take a 20,000GVW truck into downtown Portland all the time. If I didn't drive down there with one foot on the brake, I would have run over at least 20 bikes by now. These people don't look where they are going, blow every stop light and sign and swerve into traffic constantly. You can't convince them that they are wrong and they seem to think they have just as much right to the roads as a car. I wouldn't even go into downtown Portland if I didn't have to.
I don't think every bicyclist in Portland acts like this. I have seen many that obey the laws and pay attention to traffic. Problem is that just like any other group, the minority are what you notice. The ones causing problems are what stick out in your mind. If all of them did what was right, I wouldn't even notice them.

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07-12-2008, 04:21 PM	#2
facepeeler kickin it hadj style Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: the world's largest cat-litter box Posts: 5,516/4.56 Threads: 255 Friends Network Gold Member	Re: Why I hate bicyclists in Portland. that's like those hippies that were on bicycles harassing motorists, and then when the motorist would retaliate, they would get all bent out of shape, saying they did nothing wrong to the guy. What a bunch of fucksticks.
	___________________________________________ Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
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07-12-2008, 04:46 PM	#3
*Juan.©amaney* Groin Grabbingly Good Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Mexico . . . Penis Size: Python Posts: 17,619/8.10 Threads: 512 Friends Network	Re: Why I hate bicyclists in Portland. bhahahaha what a pussy. he is in a car, the other dude is throwing a bike at him? lets see, bike ~20 lbs, car, ~2 tons..... Here's how it would have gone, had it been me. Bike Dude: You wanna go?! Me: backs truck up revs engine aims truck at dude slams go pedal asseses left over bicyclist opens zipper takes piss on dude leaves Bike Dude: gurgle gurgle
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07-12-2008, 04:55 PM	#4
joerockhead Erica Ownz me! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: 5280' Posts: 8,373/5.67 Threads: 343 Friends Network Gold Member	Re: Why I hate bicyclists in Portland. It is not just in Portland that Idiots are like this clown. Denver has some of these morons too. In the city, they ride on the roads instead of the bike path's. And then they are also riding up the passes in the middle of the lane, double wide, thinking Cars and Motorcyclists should just wait for them. Many of these people are good law abiding citizens, and it is the few jackasses that give them all a bad name.
	___________________________________________ US Navy - Exotic lands, Exotic beers and Exotic diseases! Visit the worlds best website - www.badass67.com - Black Sunshine
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07-12-2008, 04:56 PM	#5
fmb bitch Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SC Posts: 2,435/3.36 Threads: 73 Friends Network	Re: Why I hate bicyclists in Portland. Get 'em, Juan! I'm sure the big tires would leave a great tread design over his chest. Bicyclists do have rights to the road, at least in SC; however, they have to obey all traffic laws just as vehicles do. Around here, bikers are known to get tickets for running through traffic lights, etc. I'm surprised there haven't been lots of car/bike accidents. One day, the car drivers are gonna revolt!

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07-12-2008, 05:17 PM	#6
zpr Original Hippie Killer Champion! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portland, Or Posts: 564/1.58 Threads: 78 Friends Network	Re: Why I hate bicyclists in Portland. I will believe that they have the same right to the road as me when they pay to register their bikes and are licensed to ride on public roads. Until then, they are my fucking roads, my fuel tax and registration fees built those roads, I took the tests to prove that I can safely operate a vehicle on them.

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07-12-2008, 05:24 PM	#7
fmb bitch Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SC Posts: 2,435/3.36 Threads: 73 Friends Network	Re: Why I hate bicyclists in Portland. Here, by state law, they have the same rights to the road as vehicles; currently, we only have about 8 miles of bike lanes. There are plans to expand the bike lane concept, but little money has been devoted to moving bikes to the far right and out of harms way. About a decade ago, I was riding my back down a major thoroughfare and had an old lady in a Cadillac pull out in front of me; I was unable to stop and hit her just in front of the drivers door. My bike landed on her hood and I landed on the sidewalk on the far side of the vehicle. I had some bumps, but nothing significant. The old lady was REALLY pissed when the state trooper cited her for failing to stop for a stop sign and failure to yield the right of way!! Her bi-focaled eyes were burning holes in me! Oh well, at least around here the bike folks understand the "force x mass x velocity" equation and know the biker will not win it!!

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07-12-2008, 05:29 PM	#8
Queso Behold the power of me. Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: In my pants Bacon: Yes please Posts: 5,439/5.11 Threads: 157 Friends Network	Re: Why I hate bicyclists in Portland. I've seen so many cyclist's go straight through the red lights in Portland without so much as slowing down. I'm just waiting for the day when I get to see one of those fuckers get hit. The last one was within two feet of getting smashed, if only he were going a little slower...

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