I'm smarter than you are!

This past Saturday I rode with SDBC's "A" group as usual.  I rode up to the start from home, which I enjoy unless there is a headwind the whole way, which only happens about 97% of the time.

Intersections with traffic lights always present a problem for large groups of cyclists: When a light turns red just as a group enters an intersection, is it safer for those in the back of the group to plow through or screech to a halt?  Generally, if the group is together, everyone just continues through, even as the light turns red well before the entire group is across the danger zone.

Some people think that is the safest thing to do.  I don't.  The safest thing to do is for everyone to stop as soon as any light turns yellow, and for everyone to ride at a speed that makes it possible to do so in the first place.  But that is not going to happen on any "A" ride, anywhere.

I do think there is one situation in which it is not unreasonably unsafe to roll through: When the group is closely packed together, the cross street has few lanes and a low speed limit, and it is a simple, normal intersection with good visibility.

That was not the case as we approached Del Mar Heights Road on El Camino Real.  That is a HUGE intersection: 9 lanes by 9 lanes with concrete medians and two left turn lanes each way -- even a few right turn lanes!  And while the speed limit is probably 45, everybody speeds.  I think it would be pretty hard to design a more dangerous intersection.

The group was quite spread out and thinly dispersed as we approached the intersection, with large gaps between riders, especially near the back, where I was.  Way up front, the lead riders had just entered the intersection as the light turned yellow, then red.  Riders continued streaming through for several seconds, long enough for me and a girl riding next to me to look around, briefly assess the danger of the situation, weigh that against the value we place on our own lives, and hit the brakes.

"ROLL IT!  GO!" several people behind us yelled as a few daredevils stood up and sprinted into traffic.  My spine tingled as I watched them try to bridge a gap across 9 lanes as cross traffic began moving.  Soon the thirty or so of us remaining at the red light stopped completely, unclipped, and watched the lead group shoot away.  "Fuck that -- I have a wife," I said to nobody in particular.

The next several miles were exhilarating, as we tried to chase down the lead group.  I contributed as much as I could, and it felt like we would probably catch up to them at the rest point.  But we got stopped at another red light and waited to make a left onto El Apajo from San Dieguito Road.

Contrast the two intersections:
Intersection #1: 9 lanes each way, 2 L turn lanes each way, major thoroughfares known for speeding:
Intersection #2: "T" intersection, 1-2 lanes depending on direction, 1 L turn lane, low traffic.



As we stood waiting to turn at Intersection #2, a few riders got impatient and slowly rolled through the red left turn arrow.  There were no cars in sight.  The group -- including me -- followed.  A moment later, someone I didn't recognize rolled past me and said, "I guess that red light didn't bother you?"

Uh-oh.  I pedaled up to him and asked: "Was that a dig at me for stopping at that red light?"
"Yeah, it was!"
"That was an incredibly dangerous intersection and the group was all over the place."
"I almost crashed into the back of you!"
"Well, maybe you should have been paying attention."
[He issues a tirade of random insults, accusing me of riding with the wrong group, not pulling enough, not knowing how to ride, etc.  I listen attentively.]
"Gee, you seem like a pretty smart guy!" I offer.
"I'm smarter than you!!!"
"Really?"
"Yeah I'm smarter than you!"

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard while on a bicycle.  "Gosh!  How can I argue with that?" I asked.

He probably felt like a total idiot.  In any case, he probably had a lot of time to reflect on the whole incident after we dropped him.

Of course, as always, two minutes later I came up with the perfect retort: "Yeah, well, my dad can pee farther than your dad!"

Oh the things I should have said.