When smart guys get dumb

You're rolling up to a stop light, where four cars are already waiting at the intersection. Three of them have the right-turn blinkers on. Do you:

1. Get in line and wait for the cars to get going, as if you were also in a car.
2. Position yourself on the left-hand side of the lane so you can go while the cars are turning.
3. Move up on the right between the curb and the cars (which are turning right), skip through the intersection, create confusion and piss everybody off.

If you chose Option 3, you must have been on the ride last night. What's more, I have very little sympathy (temporarily, at least) if you now complain about how drivers don't "respect your place on the road."

Because that, guys, was pretty dumb. And dangerous.

With 20 guys in the bunch, settling in behind the cars was the obvious — and legally correct — choice. We've done it a thousand times. Instead, cutting through on the right created a jumble of bikes and cars that could have ended badly. And it doesn't really matter who started it. The point is, somebody did it and a LOT of people followed. We all know better.

Eric posted this yesterday. Read it. If you've ever wondered why guys like this exist, think of the situation I just described. While I wouldn't go to his lengths to show my distaste for cyclists (he really does flip off every rider he sees), I can certainly see why he'd be anti-bike after witnessing something like that intersection scene last night.

If change is to occur, we all need to do better. Riding around cars and through stoplights — I had to stop one of the guys from my group, which was caught behind, from jumping the red — isn't the best calling card for cycling in Omaha. We need to ride smarter, both in a group and alone.

Be safe out there.