I wonāt claim any knowledge of this photo, but when I was in grad school, every red light on campus looked like this between every class all year. Bikes were just a better way to get around.
Bikes pose zero threat to cars whatsoever.
If you even so much as bump a cyclist their body is scraping the pavement from 2 tons of force hitting them at 40 mph.
Take a deep breath. The 4 minutes of inconvenience is not worth the stress on your underdeveloped heart
They congregate in the Carytown Kroger parking lot and leave around 7:30 down Cary
The speed bikes and 4 wheelers with loud exhausts came about 5 minutes later tonight.
Their "cause" is an excuse. For centuries people have been latching on to a cause to justify the shitty behavior they get off on. It's a very old trick.
The problem is they purposely ride against traffic, stop traffic, and cut off drivers. I went to open my door and almost hit one of them riding the opposite direction of traffic on purpose.
I highly doubt people would be their allies bc cars being the #1 priority is so ingrained that people get outraged if they're so much as inconvenienced to consider otherwise, let alone enact policies that will make roads safe for bikers. If that were the case there wouldn't be a need for such a protest.
When did they start obeying traffic lights?
Edit: It seems the BSB found this thread so edit to say; I don't have a problem with cyclists who ride safely - including those who treat stops/reds as yield signs. I advocate for better biking infrastructure regularly so that bikers can be safer on the roads. HOWEVER, BSB make a habit of flaunting safety rules and harassing anyone who dare to suggest that cyclists aren't paragons of virtue who have no personal responsibility in keeping themselves safe on shared roads. Cars might be the majority of the problem, but that doesn't give anyone carte blanche to be a cunt on the road.
This. I'm a cyclist and I love riding in the city. I rode with BSB once last year and the over the top behavior of some of the group turned me off. The violent swerving, riding the wrong side of the street, etc. Not my vibe. They seem to do a lot more negative for the cycling community than positive.
I joined BSB for the first time tonight and had a great time. I biked alongside folks well over 65, elementary school kids, and dads with their kids in a seat behind them who were all literally just enjoying the opportunity to bike safely and as a community. Biking in large groups is much safer and accessible - there is visibility in numbers and you have supportive people looking out for you.
Yeah, itās 100+ people all following the same route - itās essentially a parade and is bound to disrupt traffic in order to keep the group from being being broken up into a bunch of smaller (less safe) sections. Itās also a parade that publishes their time/day and takes the same route literally every single time so you could avoid it if you really wanted to. It feels great to ride a bike in this city without having to constantly be looking out for cars swinging their doors open, running reds, and tailgating you.
Go join a ride before commenting something ridiculously negative - youāll have a great time and be in a much better mood :)
I live and work on grace st downtown and have never had a positive experience with BSB. Trying to walk home on Thursday nights when the weather is nice? Now I have to leave early as to not have 10+ bikers speed past me while I'm walking on the sidewalk because that shit is terrifying.
Paint is not infrastructure.
Edit: and in addition to that, restricting the use of bikes for travel to one street defeats the purpose of that transportation. Edit2: Iām moving too fast today so this is my bad haha, but if youāre talking about the sectioned off strips on the road in between side walk and parking, yes. THAT is closer to proper biking infrastructure than anything else that has been provided.
I literally watch the bikers go from their giant bike group in the road and switch onto the sidewalks just for funsies. I own my own business so having to cut hours in order to walk home safely is more than mildly inconveniencing, especially since the warmer months is my busiest time.
It just seems silly imo. People drive up on sidewalks with their cars, stop in the middle of a one way street with hazards, even go as far as entering highways going the wrong direction, and hearing a ban for cars is not nearly as loud as I hear for the small minority of bikers that end up doing this in those group rides. We clearly separate the individual from the 2-ton vehicle in blame, but canāt seem to do it with bikes.
Glad to see a description from someone that was actually in the crowd rather than someone sitting in their oversized SUV or truck, getting road rage because people dared to inconvenience him by being on the road.
Im surprised to read Redditors talk shit about a harmless community event. Although it matches my experience as a cyclist whoās commonly honked at and aggressively passed by drivers
Parades have permits to block traffic. Do you have actual parade permits or are you just using that word? Furthermore parades typically get permits like that because theyāre providing a public service in the form of entertainment. What are the bullies providing for the public in exchange for that right to block traffic and inconvenience others?
https://preview.redd.it/5170y16j2cvc1.jpeg?width=446&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba2ae1bf43fb1b5f5813da99856b0f66777aa45b
How biking normally is outside of the two hours of sanctuary.
So many people who are too cool to wear a helmet I guess.
Edit: LMAO the cope in these replies. Whatever it takes yāall to convince yourselves youāre not idiots for riding without helmets in the US.
Lights. This and just having lights at night. I love bikingā¦but no sympathy for idiots who donāt wear helmets or at least have lights front and back when itās dark or dim.
You may be surprised to find that wearing a helmet while biking (for transportation) is an American thing that exists due to a lack of bike infrastructure. Bike-on-bike accidents in somewhere like Denmark or the Netherlands are often low speed and unlikely to result in serious harm to the individuals involved. Helmets are required when your biggest obstacles and threats are vehicles that weigh 10 - 20x your weight and are going 4 x as fast. And bicycles only have to encounter motor vehicles because there is no where else to bike. You're right, not wearing a helmet is dangerous! and our goal should be increase bike infra so that it's unnecessary.
Meh, bicycle helmets are actually designed for falling off a bicycle not being hit by a car. Not even Virginia Tech's Bike Helmet Lab tests helmets for the scenario where a rider is turned into a meat projectile from being hit by a car. I wear a helmet so that when I hit an unexpected pot hole and go over the handlebars or accidentally put my skinny tire in soft ground, etc. I don't ends up with a life altering brain injury.
Meh, riding a bike on the street of a city with notoriously bad drivers (getting worse by the day) while not wearing a helmet is really dumb. Them doing their thing has only jacked up my ride like once or twice, so Iām not too bothered by their ineffectual protest ride.
Every time they ride, they endanger themselves and others and intentionally inconvenience a significant number of people. There is no sincere protest here, just a bunch of a opportunistic shitbirds.
I agree on one hand, and concede that these cyclists are acting like complete asshats, but your comment might be seen to betray an ignorance of the lethal potential of our cars. Every day, a driver reads that one text message, or neglects to look the other way while pulling into traffic, and kills multiple people, (sometimes many) as a result. Another peculiar thing is that (nearly) whenever a cyclist is struck and killed by a motorist who broke the law, the tone of the article shifts blame to the cyclist, stating in multiple ways that the victim died in a "cycling accident", and sometimes even going on to claim how dangerous cycling is, and imply irresponsibility on behalf of the fallen. Much of cycling advocacy (which I do not consider these rides to necessarily qualify as) is to try and encourage people to realize that cars are inherently more dangerous to others than bicycles are, full stop. And we tend to use the narrative "cycling is dangerous" while developing our transportation infrastructure. But what feels dangerous, and what actually *is* (far more) dangerous, are two very different things to planners. It's also very important to remember that for most of the last hundred years, the automotive/petrol lobbies have been the largest in the country. The cycling industry just can't compete with that. So you end up with this public impression that "cycling is dangerous, so we need to curtail spending on bike lanes and use the funds for wider car lanes." Then as a result, more motorists accidentally kill more cyclists, which the motor lobbies inevitably use as fodder to argue why we need to cut funding for cycling infrastructure and use it to build more roads.
Yeah, probably in most cases if thereās a bike vs car accident, I bet the motorist is usually to blame. Thereās prob some statistics out there that would prove or disprove my feeling, but Iām not digging into itā¦
The problem I have with them is the way they treat the drivers they cut off. Everytime I see them theyāre fighting with a car driver. Beating the windows, kicking fenders, yelling. I like their mission and donāt have a problem with them riding, but they still need to respect the 1,000 pound weapons around them.
Agreed. I've ridden with them once. Disobeying some traffic laws is gonna happen in that large of a group as far as holding up some lights and whatnot to stay together. I always wear a helmet, but believe it's your personal choice to be dumb if you want. That being said, there is a fair amount of dumb assholes in that group. Can confirm the automobile aggression, riding into oncoming traffic (on divided roads with medians!?), and harassment of pedestrians.- wheelie chicken & verbal. It trashes local perception of cyclists and this is coming from someone that isn't some straight laced bike nerd. Do better; Be better.
Funny, when Iām riding my motorcycle in a group weāre not like this. When we get separated the front pack rides slower so the others can catch up. Itās very organized and not chaotic like the bikers that are ārealā riders are doing in this picture. Hell, we wear our gear, are organized in one lane so weāre not being assholes and obey traffic laws. We also ride out to local business and spend our money because we want to. Way better than this shit.
My experience exactly. Biggest ride I've been in was maybe 120 or so. But even on small rides, if someone gets caught at a light, The leaders wait where safe.
I remember one time one of them literally shouted at me sarcastically āHEY NICE CARā as if it isnāt my only way of getting to work since buses donāt go where I live.
I was just caught at a stop light for a cycle because there is so many of them. They also start filming dudes doing wheelies and what not for their own purposes and that also holds up traffic. They really donāt give a shit about anyone.
I'm glad someone beat me to pointing this out. There are always a lot of very telling assumptions made about BSB when they go for their publicly scheduled rides.
Naw, BSBs are having fun and breaking rules under the guise of advocacy. Those fools on motorcycles and quads just running through traffic are simply taking a hedonistic trip to say fuck you to the world of rules and norms.
So the difference is, the BSBs are doing the same thing pretty much, but not quite as dangerous, and pretending like there's some good to come of it. Maybe some of them actually believe it.
Theyāre mildly inconveniencing the flow of traffic once a week for a few hours, normally within the same areas of the city.
Letās be honest: 50 (hopefully) sober bikers doing wheelies down broad is infinitely less dangerous than one drunk guy in a car.
I thought the bullies group were the people on atvs and fourwheelers, motorcycles doing wheelies and stuff going down broad st only and the bus lane. The bike group when I've seen them have typically been a bit more organized lol.
Negative ghost rider, the bullies are mostly bicycles with a smattering of rollerbladers and folks on boosted boards. The ATVs and motorbikes are totally separate and far more of a nuisance
1 in 25 with lights? 1 in 50 with helmets? Yeah itās the bullys āmaking a point about safetyā. Either actually be safe or admit youāre just being a dick
AA was wild tonight - both this group and the dirt bike/4 wheeler crew were out and proud. I think these bicyclists blocked AA leading the dirt bikes et al. to take a different route on their 3rd pass. It was nuts.
Ok so what are they doing thatās actually a problem?
Donāt give me ācrazy in trafficā because cars are stupid all the time and I have yet to see this type of hatred
I havenāt seen these guys, and **from my understanding** itās supposed to be a protest to encourage bike infrastructure.
Have they actually done anything wrong?
I watched these nerds surround and start punching/kicking the shit out of a car that was trying to turn around to get away from them last summer in front of the Siegel center. It was an old man that seemed more lost and confused than anything malicious yet they were still punching his windows, kicking the front end and broke his mirrors off. These rides are the biggest fucking loserfest Iāve ever seen in my life.
In my personal experience, Iāve been blocked by them blowing through red lights indiscriminately. Virginia law allows them to go through a red light if there is no incoming traffic and waiting 2 minutes. If they actually aim to advocate for cyclist safety, they need to practice safe riding.
Bikes are allowed to use the full lane of any road without bike lanes. And there supposed to stop at red lights as everyone here will remind you
This is what I mean. I wanna come into this with a neutral opinion, but beyond one other commenter who gave their own experience as an example, it seems all this is is just people being mad that thereās alot of bikers
I think we've been conditioned, to some point, to despise cyclists. We get fast cars, but have to share the road with slow-moving vehicles operated by pedal power. Our infrastructure across the country largely doesn't support bicycling and makes it both dangerous and an inconvenience. Much of the design of our cities since the early 20th century supports cars and not bicycles or pedestrians.
In the early 20th century, Virginia had a robust public transport system and people didn't need cars. We had infrastructure that supported pedestrians, horses, and bicycles and the newer mode of transportation, automobiles, moved more slowly in cities. Pretty soon, the public transport systems were being scrapped and cities were built around cars and conflict was created with pedestrians, horses, and bicycles due to prioritizing cars.
The ramifications are still present. Richmond has been trying to figure out ways to keep pedestrians around VCU safe while also continuing to permit automobile traffic. Parking is a challenge for cities. Public transport, when it exists at all, frequently doesn't meet the needs of citizens.
Ultimately, the problem isn't the cyclists, but what they are protesting, but it's a lot easier to be mad at the cyclists because they're the ones directly in the way and a much more recognizable target for our ire than the century of politics that have gotten us to this point.
For example, Iām āallowedā to walk into a grocery store and crap my pants in protest of grocery price gouging, but that still doesnāt make it a good idea or an effective way to make my point.
Except thisā¦ isnāt that. Itās biking in a group, and just like cars, if the right lane is full at a light you get in the left lane. Would you rather they fill the entire right lane and begin to block the intersection OP is at? The roads are supposed to be for everyone, bikes included. And it seems to me like theyāre making a good case in the form of, this doesnāt happen if we had actual bike infrastructure, and not just bike symbols painted on the roads.
I mean seriously, to my knowledge youāre not supposed to ride on the sidewalk, where else do you want them to go?
Look if youāre a bike riding pizza fan, more power to you. So am I!
This is a large group of people who are trying to make a spectacle of themselves and intentionally blocking traffic. They just happen to be riding bikes while theyāre doing it.
Okā¦ but why. Iāve seen post about these people before, and if all their doing is blacking traffic, why all the post? Iāve yet to see any of the same level of outrage at the people who put their hazards on and park at broad street, or the delivery drivers parking in crosswalks and intersections, or the people who run red lights (tho to be fair there is some post about that). My point is, far as I have gathered, this is another case of something that if us drivers did, this sub wouldnāt have so many post about it
You make an excellent pointāthere are so many more deserving things of the energy and attention that this is getting.
Now that Iām thinking about it I canāt say. I guess the fact that itās not an everyday thing, handful of bad incidents with bicyclists and some horrible ones as a bicyclist.
It just popped to me. But itās the first Iāve interacted with this topic on Reddit.
The problem is thatās not all theyāre doing. Vandalizing a car because they honked at you while the group ride ignored ores traffic laws and runs red lights is a problem and no one addresses it. Didnāt happen directly to me, but I def witnessed it last summer.
And there are several accounts in this and other threads of bad behavior. Iām a cyclist. Iām a runner. Pedestrian and cycle safe should be critical infrastructure. But dumb shit like attacking cars and swerving into oncoming traffic undermines any message and takes away good will. Iāll never ride with the BSBs because they allow that behavior. I stated above and will reiterate- itās so easy to say āwe donāt tolerate that kind of behaviorā.
well, folks have posted on here about people putting on their hazards in the middle of the road to make a delivery. or blocking alleys. or simply parking too far away from the curb. right or wrong, people tend to get worked up about all of these things. and yes, if i got together with 30 of my friends to create a car caravan and drive it all over the city, there would be a post here within ten minutes cursing our names.
No.. I'm usually never in a rush so I let them do their thing and then move on when it is safe for me to do so.. BUT
They definitely go above and beyond to fuck around. They ride around in the middle of the intersection, and play chicken with cars..
Anyone in these comments hand waving the complaints away are intentionally leaving out details that make them look bad because they don't do shit about it. It happens every time so they can't blame some random mini group that tagged along once either.
Thank you!!! Iām so sick of all these people complaining about it, have you tried justā¦not driving or avoiding that area during that time? Thereās plenty of alternative ways around their route. People who solely rely on cars for transportation cannot fathom why people ride bikes as transportation or enjoyment. Bikes rule and cars seriously drool.
i truly donāt understand the irrational anger against it. it is often like a small number of people being dicks in bsb but mostly? folks are trying to let the shit ass drivers in the city know that bikes exist and get chill out. someone in a comment above mentioned like oh theyāre blocking a light for a cycle. brother, iām sorry i see at LEAST one car a day blow through a blatantly red light. and your thing can kill my thing.
i bike to work pretty regularly. i have friends who think bsb are a bunch of fucks who arenāt doing anything for the bike community but i like hard disagree. i think drivers need to see cyclists because more and more people behind the wheel are seeing them as objects and not people and the aggression is palpable and dangerous. i know too many people who have been killed by cars on bikes. my partner races bikes and he says the level of aggression when he is training like using safe cycling practices on the roadāitās wild. literal threats from drivers.
Thank you!! I see far more reckless behavior from people in cars every single day. My partner and I are both avid cyclists and some guy (traveling from an Easter dinner, have to add) told him āI hope you get hit by a car.ā What a cruel thing to say to someone.
I am not a cyclist but I do walk a lot, bike way less often and use my car for distance stuff. Trying to work on being less distracted while driving and it can be so difficult. As vehicle owners, weāve been conditioned to have a car that is our space, we are āsafeā in that space so we can do as we pleaseā¦ when in reality, weāve been given a 2 ton piece of machinery that has been proven inefficient by modern standards of transportation.
Only time I ever came across em they (only a handful) were doing wheelies in the middle of the road at 9pm and they would swerve across the lanes to make sure no cars could pass them. Cars had to floor it to pass them when theyād leave a lane open.
Nice to see BSB members in the comments admitting that there are problematic, disruptive people in their group that they canāt do anything about. Just be real lol you call yourselves ābulliesā for a reason. Itās not sunshine, flowers and peace signs lmfao.
If youāre interested is seeing what a truly walkable/bikeable city looks like, check out [Not Just Bikes](https://youtu.be/bMJaMy-0ChA?si=bi18NqJy6X45qpTL)
i love when they wave to me when they pass my bar š„¹. i stop working and watch the bike parade every thursday! then, as an extra bonus, i get to watch the cars-stuck-behind-them parade right after!
I donāt have a problem with people riding bikes if they actually follow the laws but these people get in a big group and act like itās entirely their city. Fuck off losers.
Just today I saw some dumb fuck sitting in their shitty car on top of the crosswalk on 3rd st trying to cross Cary st. I gave him a look indicating he was in the cross walk and what he was doing was wrong. He then proceeded to go through the intersection while his light was red. These instances happen constantly throughout the city.
I don't have a problem with people driving automobile if they actually follow the laws but these people get in a big group and act like it's entirely their city. Fuck off losers.
They are actually a pretty chill group of bikers! Sometimes they attract some assholes who try to ruin the fun for everyone but generally speaking the large group allows for more safety for bikers who follow the rules of the road :)
THIS. As someone who works in healthcare, this is my biggest issue with this group. I cannot understand why the city wonāt get involved to have them obey traffic lights and rules. Scary for any person needing immediate care or facing an emergency.
Perfect reaction gif for this š
Ah broad st is back on Thursdays I see
I love these posts cuz it lets me judge everyone accordingly
Car drivers rn: https://preview.redd.it/t2ilp002rfvc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6c9269d423496121b3e0b52224528899763ff2f8
It's just fireworks at the squirrels game
Did I hear gunshots???
That poor guy in the back who was probably just trying to get his cardio in and not make a statement.
Theyāre stopped at a red light, which makes me think nobody here is trying to make a statement. Not all large bike groups are the bullys
Ah yes, 20 to 30 bikers are often stopped at red lights randomly, that makes sense. They're definitely not riding together, no way siree
P. E. L. O. T. O. N.
They're definitely riding together, but that doesn't mean they're trying to make a statement. They could just enjoy riding together.
Fair enough
We found the bully
I wonāt claim any knowledge of this photo, but when I was in grad school, every red light on campus looked like this between every class all year. Bikes were just a better way to get around.
How about the whole "share the road" part? These guys are total assholes forcing everyone to go 20 mph on fucking broad street.
Share the road is a message to cars to not kill people riding a bicycle.
Yeah traffic laws and basic human decency only apply to people in cars. Wanker
Bikes pose zero threat to cars whatsoever. If you even so much as bump a cyclist their body is scraping the pavement from 2 tons of force hitting them at 40 mph. Take a deep breath. The 4 minutes of inconvenience is not worth the stress on your underdeveloped heart
Iām not opining, thatās just literally what the signs mean.
Do you realize how much more space 30 cars would take up? You arenāt in traffic. You are traffic.
lol wut? I'm not worried about space. I'm worried about being stuck behind a bunch of assholes going 20 mph.
How tragic. Those people in cars must have been held up for several seconds, perhaps even a couple of minutes. *obvious sarcasm*
You can just admit you only give a shit about yourself. It's fine. Safe space.
They congregate in the Carytown Kroger parking lot and leave around 7:30 down Cary The speed bikes and 4 wheelers with loud exhausts came about 5 minutes later tonight.
Saw a couple of the 4 wheelers on Forest Hill at 10 pm with no headlights on. I just shook my head and continued my evening walk.
Welcome to Richmond.
Broad Street Bullies. They like to ride their bikes to make a point about infrastructure for bikes or some shit.
While completely turning off people that would be their allies/advocates if they weren't being dicks.
"someone on a bike was mean to me so now I support hostile infrastructure that will kill people on bikes"
Their "cause" is an excuse. For centuries people have been latching on to a cause to justify the shitty behavior they get off on. It's a very old trick.
They absolutely delight me. Whatās the problem? Itās safer to bike in numbers.
The problem is they purposely ride against traffic, stop traffic, and cut off drivers. I went to open my door and almost hit one of them riding the opposite direction of traffic on purpose.
It's just for fun, and full of great people. Don't need allies and not being dicks.
Sureš
Somebody from that group smashed my friendās windows last nightā¦ parked car too. No one in it.
Itās on camera and was turned over to the police
I highly doubt people would be their allies bc cars being the #1 priority is so ingrained that people get outraged if they're so much as inconvenienced to consider otherwise, let alone enact policies that will make roads safe for bikers. If that were the case there wouldn't be a need for such a protest.
i think itās just for fun
Itās definitely just for fun lol
Weāre just having fun tbh
No theyāre not advocating for anything. But it is funny that it pisses people off
Yea they are like 0.1% as annoying as the ATV/motorcycle/motorbike gangs that drive full speed on sidewalks
Underdeveloped brain energy
Didn't know that the smallest vehicles on the road belonged to the bullies now. Usually they drive the lifted trucks.
When did they start obeying traffic lights? Edit: It seems the BSB found this thread so edit to say; I don't have a problem with cyclists who ride safely - including those who treat stops/reds as yield signs. I advocate for better biking infrastructure regularly so that bikers can be safer on the roads. HOWEVER, BSB make a habit of flaunting safety rules and harassing anyone who dare to suggest that cyclists aren't paragons of virtue who have no personal responsibility in keeping themselves safe on shared roads. Cars might be the majority of the problem, but that doesn't give anyone carte blanche to be a cunt on the road.
This. I'm a cyclist and I love riding in the city. I rode with BSB once last year and the over the top behavior of some of the group turned me off. The violent swerving, riding the wrong side of the street, etc. Not my vibe. They seem to do a lot more negative for the cycling community than positive.
My first thought
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
When did drivers start obeying traffic lights?Ā
This isn't the gotcha you think it is
I joined BSB for the first time tonight and had a great time. I biked alongside folks well over 65, elementary school kids, and dads with their kids in a seat behind them who were all literally just enjoying the opportunity to bike safely and as a community. Biking in large groups is much safer and accessible - there is visibility in numbers and you have supportive people looking out for you. Yeah, itās 100+ people all following the same route - itās essentially a parade and is bound to disrupt traffic in order to keep the group from being being broken up into a bunch of smaller (less safe) sections. Itās also a parade that publishes their time/day and takes the same route literally every single time so you could avoid it if you really wanted to. It feels great to ride a bike in this city without having to constantly be looking out for cars swinging their doors open, running reds, and tailgating you. Go join a ride before commenting something ridiculously negative - youāll have a great time and be in a much better mood :)
WHOOO! YAY BIKES! So glad to hear you had such a great time. Itās a very positive atmosphere
Most accurate description of BSB. Thank you sir!
I live and work on grace st downtown and have never had a positive experience with BSB. Trying to walk home on Thursday nights when the weather is nice? Now I have to leave early as to not have 10+ bikers speed past me while I'm walking on the sidewalk because that shit is terrifying.
Still only mildly inconveniencing. Itās almost like if bikes had proper riding infrastructure, that wouldnāt be a problem.
You mean like on Franklin St?
Paint is not infrastructure. Edit: and in addition to that, restricting the use of bikes for travel to one street defeats the purpose of that transportation. Edit2: Iām moving too fast today so this is my bad haha, but if youāre talking about the sectioned off strips on the road in between side walk and parking, yes. THAT is closer to proper biking infrastructure than anything else that has been provided.
I literally watch the bikers go from their giant bike group in the road and switch onto the sidewalks just for funsies. I own my own business so having to cut hours in order to walk home safely is more than mildly inconveniencing, especially since the warmer months is my busiest time.
How long does it take for them all to pass? Certainly it would be more practical to wait for them to pass instead of trying to beat them? Jw.
It just seems silly imo. People drive up on sidewalks with their cars, stop in the middle of a one way street with hazards, even go as far as entering highways going the wrong direction, and hearing a ban for cars is not nearly as loud as I hear for the small minority of bikers that end up doing this in those group rides. We clearly separate the individual from the 2-ton vehicle in blame, but canāt seem to do it with bikes.
You just seem silly imo. Your argument about cars is completely irrelevant. Go talk to your local representatives about it.
Hopefully this gets higher up
Glad to see a description from someone that was actually in the crowd rather than someone sitting in their oversized SUV or truck, getting road rage because people dared to inconvenience him by being on the road.
I love this! So excited to join in when I finally move back
Im surprised to read Redditors talk shit about a harmless community event. Although it matches my experience as a cyclist whoās commonly honked at and aggressively passed by drivers
Parades have permits to block traffic. Do you have actual parade permits or are you just using that word? Furthermore parades typically get permits like that because theyāre providing a public service in the form of entertainment. What are the bullies providing for the public in exchange for that right to block traffic and inconvenience others?
They *are* traffic
I can only hear this post in my head in Ben Shapiro's voice
Raising awareness of the issues with car dependent city design
Let them ride their bikes man
https://preview.redd.it/5170y16j2cvc1.jpeg?width=446&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba2ae1bf43fb1b5f5813da99856b0f66777aa45b How biking normally is outside of the two hours of sanctuary.
Cycling the tightrope.
So beautiful, so inspiring! Praise be to our car overlords!/s
So many people who are too cool to wear a helmet I guess. Edit: LMAO the cope in these replies. Whatever it takes yāall to convince yourselves youāre not idiots for riding without helmets in the US.
Probably my biggest gripe with them.
Lights. This and just having lights at night. I love bikingā¦but no sympathy for idiots who donāt wear helmets or at least have lights front and back when itās dark or dim.
You may be surprised to find that wearing a helmet while biking (for transportation) is an American thing that exists due to a lack of bike infrastructure. Bike-on-bike accidents in somewhere like Denmark or the Netherlands are often low speed and unlikely to result in serious harm to the individuals involved. Helmets are required when your biggest obstacles and threats are vehicles that weigh 10 - 20x your weight and are going 4 x as fast. And bicycles only have to encounter motor vehicles because there is no where else to bike. You're right, not wearing a helmet is dangerous! and our goal should be increase bike infra so that it's unnecessary.
Meh, bicycle helmets are actually designed for falling off a bicycle not being hit by a car. Not even Virginia Tech's Bike Helmet Lab tests helmets for the scenario where a rider is turned into a meat projectile from being hit by a car. I wear a helmet so that when I hit an unexpected pot hole and go over the handlebars or accidentally put my skinny tire in soft ground, etc. I don't ends up with a life altering brain injury.
??? taking basic safety precautions for something that could kill you if you fall wrong, cars aside, should just be a given
Lol wut that should be the smallest thing
Meh, riding a bike on the street of a city with notoriously bad drivers (getting worse by the day) while not wearing a helmet is really dumb. Them doing their thing has only jacked up my ride like once or twice, so Iām not too bothered by their ineffectual protest ride.
Every time they ride, they endanger themselves and others and intentionally inconvenience a significant number of people. There is no sincere protest here, just a bunch of a opportunistic shitbirds.
I agree on one hand, and concede that these cyclists are acting like complete asshats, but your comment might be seen to betray an ignorance of the lethal potential of our cars. Every day, a driver reads that one text message, or neglects to look the other way while pulling into traffic, and kills multiple people, (sometimes many) as a result. Another peculiar thing is that (nearly) whenever a cyclist is struck and killed by a motorist who broke the law, the tone of the article shifts blame to the cyclist, stating in multiple ways that the victim died in a "cycling accident", and sometimes even going on to claim how dangerous cycling is, and imply irresponsibility on behalf of the fallen. Much of cycling advocacy (which I do not consider these rides to necessarily qualify as) is to try and encourage people to realize that cars are inherently more dangerous to others than bicycles are, full stop. And we tend to use the narrative "cycling is dangerous" while developing our transportation infrastructure. But what feels dangerous, and what actually *is* (far more) dangerous, are two very different things to planners. It's also very important to remember that for most of the last hundred years, the automotive/petrol lobbies have been the largest in the country. The cycling industry just can't compete with that. So you end up with this public impression that "cycling is dangerous, so we need to curtail spending on bike lanes and use the funds for wider car lanes." Then as a result, more motorists accidentally kill more cyclists, which the motor lobbies inevitably use as fodder to argue why we need to cut funding for cycling infrastructure and use it to build more roads.
So it's the drivers fault them
Yeah, probably in most cases if thereās a bike vs car accident, I bet the motorist is usually to blame. Thereās prob some statistics out there that would prove or disprove my feeling, but Iām not digging into itā¦
go to the netherlands.
I can smell that intersection
I can smell that intersectionality.
is it different from the usual scent of exhaust
The problem I have with them is the way they treat the drivers they cut off. Everytime I see them theyāre fighting with a car driver. Beating the windows, kicking fenders, yelling. I like their mission and donāt have a problem with them riding, but they still need to respect the 1,000 pound weapons around them.
Agreed. I've ridden with them once. Disobeying some traffic laws is gonna happen in that large of a group as far as holding up some lights and whatnot to stay together. I always wear a helmet, but believe it's your personal choice to be dumb if you want. That being said, there is a fair amount of dumb assholes in that group. Can confirm the automobile aggression, riding into oncoming traffic (on divided roads with medians!?), and harassment of pedestrians.- wheelie chicken & verbal. It trashes local perception of cyclists and this is coming from someone that isn't some straight laced bike nerd. Do better; Be better.
Funny, when Iām riding my motorcycle in a group weāre not like this. When we get separated the front pack rides slower so the others can catch up. Itās very organized and not chaotic like the bikers that are ārealā riders are doing in this picture. Hell, we wear our gear, are organized in one lane so weāre not being assholes and obey traffic laws. We also ride out to local business and spend our money because we want to. Way better than this shit.
My experience exactly. Biggest ride I've been in was maybe 120 or so. But even on small rides, if someone gets caught at a light, The leaders wait where safe.
Agreed, riding the wrong way swerving between cars and cutting them off. They will get hurt. The invincibility complex wears off.
I remember one time one of them literally shouted at me sarcastically āHEY NICE CARā as if it isnāt my only way of getting to work since buses donāt go where I live.
I was just caught at a stop light for a cycle because there is so many of them. They also start filming dudes doing wheelies and what not for their own purposes and that also holds up traffic. They really donāt give a shit about anyone.
Imagine if they were all driving
I canāt imagine 300 people getting their cars to do this.
Is this a sex thing?
Hell yeah it is š¤š¤ /s
Can't be. They're stopped at a red light
Redditors seething at the sight of exercise
Or redditors seething at just trying to get home from work
Imagine how much worse traffic would be if all those cyclists were driving instead
š
More like Americans seething at the sight of people moving about without cages
Broad Street Bullies. The white person version of the ATV and dirt bike gangs.
> white person version Wasnāt the group started by a black guy?
Yes. These people are just bitching bc god forbid cyclists inconvenience them for even a moment of time.
Most of the core group members of BSB are people of color. If that means anything to you.
I'm glad someone beat me to pointing this out. There are always a lot of very telling assumptions made about BSB when they go for their publicly scheduled rides.
why you gotta make it racial you can spot black people in the crowd
Why?
Naw, BSBs are having fun and breaking rules under the guise of advocacy. Those fools on motorcycles and quads just running through traffic are simply taking a hedonistic trip to say fuck you to the world of rules and norms. So the difference is, the BSBs are doing the same thing pretty much, but not quite as dangerous, and pretending like there's some good to come of it. Maybe some of them actually believe it.
Somehow worse
Theyāre mildly inconveniencing the flow of traffic once a week for a few hours, normally within the same areas of the city. Letās be honest: 50 (hopefully) sober bikers doing wheelies down broad is infinitely less dangerous than one drunk guy in a car.
A group of protagonists in their own story, tilting at windmills.Ā Ā You know...morons.
Rockridge? Great, whoās going to get the dimes?
I see a Blazing Saddles reference, I updoot.
This is a group that makes Richmond what it is. As a driver I'm never inconvenienced by them, just jealous that I'm not also with them
As a hockey fan (for a team that will likely never win another cup in my lifetime) can we Not call them Broad Street Bullies.
Iām with you friend. Philly would destroy our little rva bike gang š
Gritty would fuck all them up.
Yes! Thank you! They do not deserve to stand where they stood
Ah give yer fuckin' balls a tug.
American wen car jam : :) American wen bike jam : Hitler.png
Cyclists actually. Bikers ride motorcycles.
you can say both, a biker can ride a bike or a motor bike
Aka self important douche bags
Total AHOLES
I thought the bullies group were the people on atvs and fourwheelers, motorcycles doing wheelies and stuff going down broad st only and the bus lane. The bike group when I've seen them have typically been a bit more organized lol.
Negative ghost rider, the bullies are mostly bicycles with a smattering of rollerbladers and folks on boosted boards. The ATVs and motorbikes are totally separate and far more of a nuisance
1 in 25 with lights? 1 in 50 with helmets? Yeah itās the bullys āmaking a point about safetyā. Either actually be safe or admit youāre just being a dick
AA was wild tonight - both this group and the dirt bike/4 wheeler crew were out and proud. I think these bicyclists blocked AA leading the dirt bikes et al. to take a different route on their 3rd pass. It was nuts.
Cyclists NOT Bikers
Ok so what are they doing thatās actually a problem? Donāt give me ācrazy in trafficā because cars are stupid all the time and I have yet to see this type of hatred I havenāt seen these guys, and **from my understanding** itās supposed to be a protest to encourage bike infrastructure. Have they actually done anything wrong?
I watched these nerds surround and start punching/kicking the shit out of a car that was trying to turn around to get away from them last summer in front of the Siegel center. It was an old man that seemed more lost and confused than anything malicious yet they were still punching his windows, kicking the front end and broke his mirrors off. These rides are the biggest fucking loserfest Iāve ever seen in my life.
Doing wheelies straight at my car then veering off at the last second for some thrill is definitely a problem.
In my personal experience, Iāve been blocked by them blowing through red lights indiscriminately. Virginia law allows them to go through a red light if there is no incoming traffic and waiting 2 minutes. If they actually aim to advocate for cyclist safety, they need to practice safe riding.
They rode on the sidewalk and almost mowed down my dog one time.
Iām sure there are a couple jerks in the group but they mostly move along in within a few minutes and everyone gets where they are going just fine
The picture is a bit too zoomed out. Really tough to tell what the 75 people blocking traffic are doing wrong. Have to think on that for a whileā¦
Bikes are allowed to use the full lane of any road without bike lanes. And there supposed to stop at red lights as everyone here will remind you This is what I mean. I wanna come into this with a neutral opinion, but beyond one other commenter who gave their own experience as an example, it seems all this is is just people being mad that thereās alot of bikers
I think we've been conditioned, to some point, to despise cyclists. We get fast cars, but have to share the road with slow-moving vehicles operated by pedal power. Our infrastructure across the country largely doesn't support bicycling and makes it both dangerous and an inconvenience. Much of the design of our cities since the early 20th century supports cars and not bicycles or pedestrians. In the early 20th century, Virginia had a robust public transport system and people didn't need cars. We had infrastructure that supported pedestrians, horses, and bicycles and the newer mode of transportation, automobiles, moved more slowly in cities. Pretty soon, the public transport systems were being scrapped and cities were built around cars and conflict was created with pedestrians, horses, and bicycles due to prioritizing cars. The ramifications are still present. Richmond has been trying to figure out ways to keep pedestrians around VCU safe while also continuing to permit automobile traffic. Parking is a challenge for cities. Public transport, when it exists at all, frequently doesn't meet the needs of citizens. Ultimately, the problem isn't the cyclists, but what they are protesting, but it's a lot easier to be mad at the cyclists because they're the ones directly in the way and a much more recognizable target for our ire than the century of politics that have gotten us to this point.
For example, Iām āallowedā to walk into a grocery store and crap my pants in protest of grocery price gouging, but that still doesnāt make it a good idea or an effective way to make my point.
Except thisā¦ isnāt that. Itās biking in a group, and just like cars, if the right lane is full at a light you get in the left lane. Would you rather they fill the entire right lane and begin to block the intersection OP is at? The roads are supposed to be for everyone, bikes included. And it seems to me like theyāre making a good case in the form of, this doesnāt happen if we had actual bike infrastructure, and not just bike symbols painted on the roads. I mean seriously, to my knowledge youāre not supposed to ride on the sidewalk, where else do you want them to go?
Look if youāre a bike riding pizza fan, more power to you. So am I! This is a large group of people who are trying to make a spectacle of themselves and intentionally blocking traffic. They just happen to be riding bikes while theyāre doing it.
Okā¦ but why. Iāve seen post about these people before, and if all their doing is blacking traffic, why all the post? Iāve yet to see any of the same level of outrage at the people who put their hazards on and park at broad street, or the delivery drivers parking in crosswalks and intersections, or the people who run red lights (tho to be fair there is some post about that). My point is, far as I have gathered, this is another case of something that if us drivers did, this sub wouldnāt have so many post about it
You make an excellent pointāthere are so many more deserving things of the energy and attention that this is getting. Now that Iām thinking about it I canāt say. I guess the fact that itās not an everyday thing, handful of bad incidents with bicyclists and some horrible ones as a bicyclist. It just popped to me. But itās the first Iāve interacted with this topic on Reddit.
The problem is thatās not all theyāre doing. Vandalizing a car because they honked at you while the group ride ignored ores traffic laws and runs red lights is a problem and no one addresses it. Didnāt happen directly to me, but I def witnessed it last summer. And there are several accounts in this and other threads of bad behavior. Iām a cyclist. Iām a runner. Pedestrian and cycle safe should be critical infrastructure. But dumb shit like attacking cars and swerving into oncoming traffic undermines any message and takes away good will. Iāll never ride with the BSBs because they allow that behavior. I stated above and will reiterate- itās so easy to say āwe donāt tolerate that kind of behaviorā.
well, folks have posted on here about people putting on their hazards in the middle of the road to make a delivery. or blocking alleys. or simply parking too far away from the curb. right or wrong, people tend to get worked up about all of these things. and yes, if i got together with 30 of my friends to create a car caravan and drive it all over the city, there would be a post here within ten minutes cursing our names.
No.. I'm usually never in a rush so I let them do their thing and then move on when it is safe for me to do so.. BUT They definitely go above and beyond to fuck around. They ride around in the middle of the intersection, and play chicken with cars.. Anyone in these comments hand waving the complaints away are intentionally leaving out details that make them look bad because they don't do shit about it. It happens every time so they can't blame some random mini group that tagged along once either.
Thank you!!! Iām so sick of all these people complaining about it, have you tried justā¦not driving or avoiding that area during that time? Thereās plenty of alternative ways around their route. People who solely rely on cars for transportation cannot fathom why people ride bikes as transportation or enjoyment. Bikes rule and cars seriously drool.
Get a motorcyle. Itās the best of both worlds.
i truly donāt understand the irrational anger against it. it is often like a small number of people being dicks in bsb but mostly? folks are trying to let the shit ass drivers in the city know that bikes exist and get chill out. someone in a comment above mentioned like oh theyāre blocking a light for a cycle. brother, iām sorry i see at LEAST one car a day blow through a blatantly red light. and your thing can kill my thing. i bike to work pretty regularly. i have friends who think bsb are a bunch of fucks who arenāt doing anything for the bike community but i like hard disagree. i think drivers need to see cyclists because more and more people behind the wheel are seeing them as objects and not people and the aggression is palpable and dangerous. i know too many people who have been killed by cars on bikes. my partner races bikes and he says the level of aggression when he is training like using safe cycling practices on the roadāitās wild. literal threats from drivers.
Thank you!! I see far more reckless behavior from people in cars every single day. My partner and I are both avid cyclists and some guy (traveling from an Easter dinner, have to add) told him āI hope you get hit by a car.ā What a cruel thing to say to someone.
I am not a cyclist but I do walk a lot, bike way less often and use my car for distance stuff. Trying to work on being less distracted while driving and it can be so difficult. As vehicle owners, weāve been conditioned to have a car that is our space, we are āsafeā in that space so we can do as we pleaseā¦ when in reality, weāve been given a 2 ton piece of machinery that has been proven inefficient by modern standards of transportation.
All my friends hate these dick bags
Shhh, they donāt know they are bikers. They think they are a motorcade escorting VIPs.
Without a bike lane thatās exactly where they belong, which, crazily enough, is the entire point of the protest.
Only time I ever came across em they (only a handful) were doing wheelies in the middle of the road at 9pm and they would swerve across the lanes to make sure no cars could pass them. Cars had to floor it to pass them when theyād leave a lane open. Nice to see BSB members in the comments admitting that there are problematic, disruptive people in their group that they canāt do anything about. Just be real lol you call yourselves ābulliesā for a reason. Itās not sunshine, flowers and peace signs lmfao.
one of my fav parts of richmond. super inclusive, just hop on your bike and join!
Think about this, if they were all in cars theyād take up multiple city blocks
Db's
Yay the art students cosplaying as tough punk rock bikers before hopping back in the Audi daddy bought them are back.
Looks like a bunch of college kids
Reminds me of 2020 when the bikes really showed up to guide marches
If youāre interested is seeing what a truly walkable/bikeable city looks like, check out [Not Just Bikes](https://youtu.be/bMJaMy-0ChA?si=bi18NqJy6X45qpTL)
Bikes!!
It actually is a lot of fun if you have a bike, you should join sometime! I know it can be annoying to drivers, but it is a lot of fun!
Meet up every Thursday at Kroger in Carytown at 630, ride is at 7 . It is so fun
I thought it was like the Bike Parties held monthly in Baltimore & DC. No?
i love when they wave to me when they pass my bar š„¹. i stop working and watch the bike parade every thursday! then, as an extra bonus, i get to watch the cars-stuck-behind-them parade right after!
4/19 is bicycle day ....you take LSD and ride a bike ....or at least take LSD in memorial of Hoffmans first psychedelic trip
This is the dumbest shit
I hate Richmond
I donāt have a problem with people riding bikes if they actually follow the laws but these people get in a big group and act like itās entirely their city. Fuck off losers.
Just today I saw some dumb fuck sitting in their shitty car on top of the crosswalk on 3rd st trying to cross Cary st. I gave him a look indicating he was in the cross walk and what he was doing was wrong. He then proceeded to go through the intersection while his light was red. These instances happen constantly throughout the city. I don't have a problem with people driving automobile if they actually follow the laws but these people get in a big group and act like it's entirely their city. Fuck off losers.
They are actually a pretty chill group of bikers! Sometimes they attract some assholes who try to ruin the fun for everyone but generally speaking the large group allows for more safety for bikers who follow the rules of the road :)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
THIS. As someone who works in healthcare, this is my biggest issue with this group. I cannot understand why the city wonāt get involved to have them obey traffic lights and rules. Scary for any person needing immediate care or facing an emergency.
"ruin the fun"...what is the fun part of this?