These crazy signs have suddenly sprung up all over the place in our neighborhood, on straight stretches of road.
What ever do they mean?
Caution while doing this?…
Circus Act Crossing?….
Or some random cognitive load to get the observer to slow down?
We always called that a "Superman air" on the halfpipe out behind the house. Totally rad.
As`an AVID (ex) distance cyclist my first glance is at the crummy/soft/narrow shoulder,and the 2" drop onto it…
As you come up the hill,and a car is behind you you tend to "chicken out" (because of the obscuring hill, and the chance of a car coming TOWARDS you as well…) and go onto the shoulder…that sand is a killer for sliding out on.
Pretty clear sign actually !!
Translation and/or /possible example of car/cyclist egocentricity;
The signs are erected FOR the cyclists,not the motorists…
(maybe..?)
most roads have bike lanes..??
Where is this..??
I have ridden 600 miles at a stretch…on the ROAD…a paved shoulder is a LUXURY on most highways…except Interstates…(where bikes are not allowed )…
When you have a narrow two lane road,a bad shoulder,and a bike and two cars on the same spot…
Well (one of) the drivers better slow down and avoid that situation,not be drunk,not weave…etc,etc.
Maybe honk (which is lame and scares the hell out of us..)
On THAT road…99% of cyclists,seeing (and HEARING,behind them,that situation coming,will bail onto the shoulder…
I could go on and on…
Its the WORST part of cycling on highways…
Obviously I did not talk to my Analyst enough about it…
It is obviously a sign neither for the car drivers nor the cyclists, but for the bicycles themselves ("buck off your rider!" ?)
It sorta looks like a dude on top of a surfboard on the bike.
"Or some random cognitive load to get the observer to slow down?"
On Quito Road between Saratoga and Los Gatos, half way between Highway 9 and Pollard Rd there is a tight turn where the speed limit posted says 22MPH, which we always thought was one of those random cognitive things to get your attention.
it’s always wise to use caution when cyclists are about, considering how often (99%?) they run stop signs and sometimes red lights. I always wonder why they bother wearing helmets when at the same time they break at least two laws namely a) no headphones allowed while driving and b) running stop signs.
Stopping your bike at a stop sign (or red light) when no other traffic is around is a sure sign that you are either;
A) being watched by a cop,
or;
B) care what "militant righteous pedestrians and car people " think…
B is the state of ultimate spiritual death…you can run me over at the sign when I get to that point.
(!!)
Newton’s laws of motion,or any brief actual experience as an urban cyclist will bear my thoughts on this out.
But this is a bit like discussing religion,politics etc.
Having said that ALL people who ride bicycles on sidewalks are beneath my contempt for thoughtlessness.
Let’s see now… is Dave the only one who thinks the sign makes sense? =)
And if so, how do we differentiate it from this one, down the road a bit:
I thought it was clearly saying something about vaporizing front wheels…
No CAUTION here….. Maybe it’s offering the wood beams for front wheel mounts….
P.S. Mountain biking seems SO much safer in California. Road biking makes sense to me in France. Here it is a death wish. I have yet to meet a regular rider who has not met some gnarly fate.
dave halliday I’m not talking about "when no other traffic is around" I am talking about when there is traffic around. Especially when there is traffic around. I see these traffic violations every single day, every single time I am driving. If you are at an intersection and a cyclist approaches, you can pretty much bet that if by law they are supposed to stop, they will not stop, usually not even slow down. (Many car drivers are just as bad, but it’s the cyclists who are just determined to ignore the stop signs.). This is in San Diego area, but it is pretty much a nationwide phenom.
stosh26: it looked so familiar to me, as well as the tangle above… but the loss of feet is truly mystifying. Shaving a few grams with a direct Shimano tibia clip perhaps?
The discussion just reminded me of an interesting 5-year study.
Do you remember the 2003 NEJM survey of activities that correlate with dementia in the aged? The mainstream press picked it up broadly with headlines that chess and bridge can prevent Alzheimer’s. Confusing correlation and causation, it made people happy. As far as I could see, nobody commented on the few activities in the study that increased the incidence of Alzheimer’s. One activity stood out beyond all the rest – bicycling!
Here’s the table. Frequent cycling doubled the hazard ratio for dementia!
So, pause for a moment to think about what that means. Hard to argue that cycling causes dementia. But consider the sample — people over 75 years old. If they are frequent cyclists, they probably did not pick it up in old age. More likely, they have done it for many years…. and survived. The dead folk aren’t in the survey. So it’s likely they suffered a head trauma somewhere along the way. Well, that’s my hypothesis. If they included boxing in the survey, I bet more journalists would have commented on the risky activities. =)
Second most risky activity – climbing stairs. Doh!
almost fully recovered from a bicycle accident. i performed a similar stunt. caught a bunch of air before getting up close and personal with a hood of a ’04 civic. always wear a helmet when riding!
Well, there is that pro freeride guy who jumped over the road as the TdF peloton was riding by underneath. But, obviously, that was France. So I really have no idea–maybe it’s a clever bandit sign by the local bike shop.
At my advanced age I cannot imagine riding on a road without a shoulder. Some things are better left to the young.
we asked the mayor if they were legal according to caltrans and he replied with something to the effect of "its our damn roads and theyre staying". no one Ive talked to can figure out what they mean either. I think someone needs to suggest a standard signage that is appropriate since at least their intentions are in the right place.
on the other hand I did hear the "bikes may use full lane" signs are being replaced with "share the road" signs, which unfortunately have a completely different meaning to the self entitled motorist.
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I would recommend calling the State to see if being a "sign designer" in California now qualifies you for the use of medical marijuana! That might explain things best!
The reason more cyclists have Alzheimer’s is they are healthier,live longer,and CAN get it…!!!
I (also) no longer ride on roads with unpaved shoulders…
MY interpretation of this sign is;
"Shoulder slopes into a ditch…you will be pitched forward over the handlebars when you hit the fence"
Gotta hand it to the state of California…
500$ a sign maybe..??
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Hi, I’m an admin for a group called 500×500, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
I like it!
Please consider adding it to PhotoVotr and see what others are saying!
And vote for your favorites at http://www.photovotr.com – The flickr photo ranking and voting site!
Thanks!
Ha! Reminds me a a sign that Deception Pass Bridge (in Washington State, USA) used to have. It depicted a pedestrian being smacked in the head with a truck mirror. The State stopped replacing the sign after it was stolen numerous times.
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Signs,Signs Everywhere A Sign, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
Too funny!
Steve
Like your review of the 2003 NEJM study. It’s a problem many of us in medicine have. What’s "in" today is "out" tomorrow. Most of the studies are poorly constructed and don’t reach statistical significance. They support the adage, "believe none of what you read and only half of what you see".
Having been in the horizontal position, but with the bike having disappeared in the process, I could have drawn any of those signs from memory, including the missing wheel/RR track warning.
Much more effective in modifying behavior would be the next scene: Biker on a gurney in the emergency room with the Dr. leaning over, talking about your upcoming elbow surgery.
Steve – everyone you know has bit it. How about you? The closest I remember is you tearing off a side trail and nearly hitting some horses that we spooked… over in the east bay long ago…
Steve: I too am one of those who’s met with a gnarly fate…luckily I was wearing a helmet. Just two broken ribs, a broken front tooth and both forearms and shoulders scraped, many years ago.
I don’t know why it would be safer in France….but haven’t experienced this fate in France yet! 🙂
The first photo you posted warns of a bumpy road, I suppose. The second one, where it’s placed, hope bikers get the message that there’s something dire in store for them(us)…
There’s one other sign that’s cropped up all over the place to go with the horizontal and angular cyclist signs:
…we were wondering if it means that bikes have to allow cars to pass?
Great table on dementia from NEJM! Now I wonder if your analysis of the data applies to mountain biking or road biking! The risk of getting hit by a car is lower on mountain bikes, but the risk of rolling over the handle bars or injuring wrists or elbows or shoulders…?
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Colour Makes Me Happy, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called BICYCLE & CREATIVITY, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
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