Cyclists, drivers clash on use of scenic Pungo roads

For all those that would like to see injury or death come to anyone for such a reason as they ride a bike (even if they aren't riding the way you think they should), you may want to see a psychiatrist or consider accepting Jesus as your personal savior. Your attitude and lack of respect for human life are pretty maniacal. We shall call you the car NAZIS. Then again, maybe I'll look into your way of thinking; "Look at that mother of 3 going 5 mph over the speed limit, I hope she crashes into a tree and dies or becomes paralized." Nah, that isn't how I want to be known.

I love to see the anti-bike folks point out, "they run lights" or "they don't stop at signs." I drive a car and I ride a bike and let me say that ABSOLUTELY nobody is obeying the law. Yeah right, tell me you go the speed limit or stop everytime the light turns yellow; I'll call you a liar to your face. Let me say that I'm also enjoying the ad-hominem attacks: "brain dead," "stupid," etc. I guess if you drive a 3500+ lb vehicle and you don't get your way, everyone else is an idiot. I can't wait until gas is $6 or $8 a gallon and you whine even harder.

I've read just about all the comments here. As a cyclist & a motorist, in general, drivers piss me off! When I'm in my car I see a lot more IDIOTS than when I'm on my bike. When I ride in Pungo I can generally count on one hand the number of cars that pass me. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!?! People FLY around me when I ride AND when I DRIVE MY CAR!!! No matter what road I'm on.

I understand the frustration on both sides, BUT.....if you can't wait a minute of two for me to safely get from point "A" to point "B".....IN MY CAR.....then you should take a laxative and CHILL OUT!!! I DO have a right, by law, to ride on the same roads I drive on. Just think.....we mostly ride in Pungo where there's not a lot of cars. What if we went down General Booth Blvd or Virginia Beach Blvd?! Like I said....I DO have that right if I so choose. Think about it for a minute......

Some excerpts from previous posts:

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Narrow country roads with blind curves

They are barely acceptable and challenging even for autos.

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If you enter a blind corner unable to avoid an obstacle, then you are at fault if you hit someone. Or do you say young children crossing with a parent or teacher is at fault when you plough into them, killing seven???

Or a semi broke down and you plough into it, killing yourself.

It's stupid to speed into blind corners. If you can't see around the corner, SLOW DOWN. Maybe the speed limit should be lowered.

The auto-centricity of our society will end - too bad it can't all happen in our lifetimes - mass transit will replace all those cars, but there will be more bikes than ever!

We cyclists are not trying to say we are perfect. I and my teammates have yelled plenty times at fellow riders who are unsafe. We do need to be single file as often as we can. Drivers need to realize that if we are not single file it is often because the guy in front is tired and they are falling back to take their place at the end of the line. If we are approaching a stop sign (like the picture shows) we will fan out so as not to run into the rider ahead of us.
Drivers also need to realize that we ride in the country so we don't have to stop every minute at a light or a stop sign. We are not foreigners; we could be your next door neighbor.

I am a design engineer who works very closely with the City's in Hampton Roads. First of all $80,000 for 2'wide mile long paved road is grossly over estimated. Excluding excavation I would estimate it at $30,000, maybe add another 10grand for excavating. Cycling is growing exponentionally each year, so you better get used to us, we are taking over! Pungo is the safest place to ride for serious cyclists. I can't account for those out on a leisurely ride. There are a few bad cyclists out there giving us a bad wrap though for sure. I wiz past them on my bike almost every saturday and sunday morning.

With bikes on the road. They are out there doing something they enjoy and so what if it takes you a few extra minutes to get some where. What I hate is those on the bikes who really could care less about the rules - they ride the wrong way down the street and have no regard for the traffic lights. I understand the bike may be the only way they have to get to work, but you know you are on the road like every one else....pay attention when you ride and respect those on the road... not only 4 wheels but 2 wheels as well.....

I wish to address some of the responses. 1) I am a cyclist and a motorist. It appears that this concept is foreign to residents of Hampton Roads. Let me explain. I not only ride my bicycle, I drive a vehicle. In addition, I paid taxes not only on my vehicle; but, my bicycle, when I bought them both. Not only that, I am a homeowner and I am pretty sure the city of Virginia Beach enjoys the real estate taxes they collect.

2) Cyclists need to be more courteous. Single file guys. It is not that difficult.

3) This could be a win-win if we all worked together. The roads in Pungo are narrow. They would be narrow if cyclists were not out there. Why not use this as an opportunity to work to widen them together?

William says "In fact, if there is an auto accident involving a bicyclist, it is presumed that the driver of the auto is at fault initially."

That's absurd. That's like saying a guys crashes into the side of another car because he ran a green light.

Most of the roads in Virginia Beach are very unsafe, and often drivers are preoccupied with use of the cell phone. The Pungo area has very few cars, and therefore it a very safe place to bike, in comparison with the rest of the city.
I believe we can have bike lanes on as many roads as possible. This summer I went on a week-long bike ride in Alaska. All of the major roads have bike lanes. In addition, drivers treat cyclists with utmost respect -something that does not happen around here. In fact, if there is an auto accident involving a bicyclist, it is presumed that the driver of the auto is at fault initially. That is not true here.

"Wm D Tabor DDS said: driving the 35 limit on New Bridge Rd, I have come around a curve to find a pack of cyclists in front of me and have been forced to veer into the other lane to avoid them. ..oblivious to the fact that had there been a car in the other lane and I had not been able to go around them, they would have been struck and perhaps killed."
Dr Tabor, cyclists do sometimes ride in wide packs to be visible. The S turn on New Bridge is very dangerous & is partially blind. The blind areas mean you can’t see oncoming traffic as you try to pass. If you were to pass in this area & a car happened to enter the turn you would be forced to push the cyclist off the road or have an accident. Is the extra 30 seconds to get out of that curve to pass the bike in a safer area really worth risking an accident or injured cyclist? Hopefully your patients are treated with more patience than the people you share the road with!

and one more thing - $80,000 a mile for an extra two feet? I need to be in the road building business...

Ah, once again a story about rude bikers and rude drivers. Wonder how many problems there would be if people would just be polite?

Bikers - you will follow the rules of the road. You will stop a stop lights and not keep going if they are red. You will ride at the speed limit. You will not ride more than one abreast. You will signal your intentions.

Drivers - you will allow bikers room, you won't cut bikers off, you will signal your intentions.

Police - you will ticket bikers that are riding in packs, below the speed limit and obstructing traffic.

That's all it takes.

I have read many comments concerning the picture and how these cyclists are "blocking" the road. These guys are coming to a stop sign and are withing thear rights to spread out to stop. this serves two purposes one makes it easier for driver to see they are stopping and two keeps driver from pulling up right next to them at the stop.
I am a cyclist and yes there are bike paths I have ruined three sets of wheels on these :bike paths" at about 700 a set. these are also pedestrian paths, cyclist going 30 hits pedestrian not a good mix.

I love riding out in pungo don't often ride in the large groups anymore try to stick to 10-15 riders at most.

the fact is wrong is done on both motorists and cyclists and not all of each group. As a cyclist I pay taxes on three cars, a house and a town home. I generally ride to and from work weather permitting. saving my money do to gas costs. these narrow roads are truly that but the wide roads are NO safer!

Some of the Bike riders out there think they have a right to drive down the middle of a road well below the speed limit and impede traffic. Using their logic, I guess I have a right to go running down the middle of any road I like. I would never do such a thing because I would be inviting serious bodily harm to myself and have found safe places to run with minimal risk to myself. The mentality of these mental midgets really comes out when I travel the back roads of Chesapeake on my way to Northwest River Park when the corn is reaching maturity. The roads have relatively high speed limits, no shoulder, ditches just feet from the edge, often do not have paint down the middle between lanes, and have severly limited visibility. These folks could be riding on some of the scenic bike paths provided all around this regions, yet they choose to risk their lives for some kind of anti-social political statement. I have no sympathy for these folks when I read about them bitng the dust along roads they have no business traveling.

Amy says "you can't claim that these people haven't paid taxes because I'm willing to bet that the majority of these weekend cyclists drive cars etc. during the rest of the week and they too pay gas taxes, car registration fees, personal property tax etc."

The cyclists are asking government to put taxes that motorists have paid to maintain roads for wider than needed roads that cost "$80,000 a mile" (according to Rosemary Wilson) and separate bike trails that benefit their own recreation. If it is going to cost additional funds to accomodate cyclists, then they should be required to pony up additional funds.

Take a drive down Damneck or London Bridge extended and you'll see these geniuses ignoring a perfectly good bike path and riding on the road.

"cyclist don't enjoy making drivers angry, but if need be we will" Kind of sums up the whole thing doesn't it... Do me a favor, don't ever ride in my neighborhood.

While I agree that the rude cyclists out there give it a bad name, you can't claim that these people haven't paid taxes because I'm willing to bet that the majority of these weekend cyclists drive cars etc. during the rest of the week and they too pay gas taxes, car registration fees, personal property tax etc. Therefore they have just as much right to the road as anyone else... that being said... they are stupid if they feel that their rights to the road entitle them to be rude and block traffic. FURTHERMORE.... how on earth is it going to cost an extra $80,000 for an extra 2 feet of road per mile? Isn't that a bit excessive? Lets use common sense people...

If you want motorists to share the road with cyclists, then cyclists have to share the costs with motorists. Nuff said!

Riding a bike anywhere in VB is somewhat of a danger. Cell-phone yappers, french-fry nippers, and brain-dead cigrette puffers all are distracted to the point where compliant road-cyclists are often overlooked or never seen at all. Planning of roads and byways in the city have only recently been viewed as multi-use facilities. VB is becoming a fitness mecca and the use of our roadways by single or multiple cyclists will only increase as biking is much easier on older joints and bones than running or jogging. Distant riding cannot be adequately performed in the 'burbs as every corner is a stop or a dodge of an oncoming vehicle. The apparent code of conduct on the road is 'might is right', regardless of applicable laws. Cyclists, by virtue of their living in this city, have every right to be on any public roadway in this city, regardless. Folks down in the County will just have to get over the fact that all of their roadways are accessible to all of us bi-peds looking for a spin on their bi-cycles. Nuff said!

As a both a motorist and a cyclist, I believe that there is a solution that can benefit both groups. All new, rebuilt and widened roads should have paved shoulders that are at least 2 feet wide. This will give the cyclists a safe place to ride while not impedeing traffic flow. Obviously the initial investment would be higher but, as the state of Pennsylvania discovered, paving the shoulders significantly extends the useful life of the roadway and lowers overall long-term costs. Bottom line for the motorists, better roads at a lower cost.
Oh, and by the way, if there were more safe places to ride a bicycle, we might be on the way to solve another problem - reducing the number of obscenely overweight, morbidly obese people waddling their way around the state of Virginia.

I myself am one of the riders who was on that ride pictured and we were coming to a stop sign there for got out of line to stop safely cyclist don't enjoy making drivers angry, but if need be we will and who ever thinks out max speed is 20 mph needs to go talk to a real road cyclist. We ride in pungo because it's the safest place to ride. Just because we call it the safest place doesn't mean it's really all that safe just safer than booth blvd, and virginia beach blvd, etc. we enjoy riding and if a rider gets out of line it never goes unpunished ask any rider who has lead a ride and I would bet money that they have yelled at a rider for riding unsafely.

Share the road please.

As a resident of Pungo for over 25 years, I dislike the bicylists that are on Princess Anne Road. I dont understand as bicyclists, you feel this is safe. The traffic in Pungo has picked up. It is increasingly hard to pass cars, let alone, bicyclists. Im scared as the driver! I cant get around you. Not because you are hogging the road, you stay pretty close to the line on the side, but because I cant get around you because the traffic going against me is thick. Princess Anne Road is like a highway. You may pay for this road, jus tlike me, but face it, the road is becoming more and more congested. Think of the number of people that are traveling to and from Knotts Island, and many different areas of Pungo. If you like the ride so much, why dont you bicycle more on the back roads, rather than Princess Anne Road. Its so unsafe for you to do this! What happens is there are about 3 bicyclists that you have to get around, your doing 55 mph, because thats the speed limit, you come to a stop and the traffic just keeps piling up behind you, you cant get around because of the oncoming traffic. Id be curious to know how many cyclists have ended up in the ditch. Please cycle off o

Three cyclists across blocks the lane. A quick search of various state DMV and cycling sites reveals a common thread--keep in one row, keep to the right... If all riders followed this advice, sharing the road would be much easier.

Who appointed Barbara Henley Goddess of all that is right and rural?
For crying out loud, she can't even let a horse riding facility pass through a council meeting without questioning every correct move the facility planned. Hey Barbara, how many times do you need to ask the same question over and over for senility's sake? How many times do you have to remind th applicant that his proposal is not the city's responsibility? I counted 8 times! Give it up lady, you are not effective, you waste time with the stupidest questions, and you need to go away! Grow strawberries, and retire, Virginia Beach will be nothing until it is paved from the so called Green Line down to the NC line!

these bike people endanger the public each time they go out because they are on 2 lane roads that are barely cow paths.... I have had packs.... PACKS!... of them spread across the travel lane to impede my progress. Then when you endanger yourself to pass them, facing oncoming traffic, they hurl epithets and obscene gestures. If I brush you boo hoo, take your chances like me.

The problem is all over Hampton Roads. I've yet to find the logic behind wanting to keep in shape by riding a bike, yet risking your health by riding a 20mph tops bicycle inches away from cars that are moving 55mph. I see it all the time on Nansemond Pky/ Bennetts Pasture Rd/ Shoulders Hill Rd and Rt 17. All but Rt 17 are two lane roads with speed limits from 45 to 55mph and no shoulder. Why on earth would someone pick those roads to ride a little bicycle? Wouldn't it be wiser to ride on a 25mph road? If these lunatics want special roads for bikes, why not put a few thousand dollars tax on each "road bike" to fund the extra width of the road? It's only a matter of time before one of the spandex brainless gets injured or killed. Personally I would feel no sympathy for them as they should make better decisions on where to ride.

Road rage on the comments board? Don't be haters--share the road.

Hit-and-run driver sought after fatally striking bicyclist in Norfolk

NORFOLK

A bicyclist was killed early this morning after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in the Berkley section of the city, police said.

Chris Amos, a police spokesman, said 911 callers reported that a cyclist had been struck about 12:45 a.m. along Berkley Avenue Extended.

The victim, an adult male, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. His body was being sent to the State Medical Examiner's office for an examination to determine the cause of his death and to confirm his identity.