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I could not believe my eyes!

Bicyclists engaged in some kind of meet on the narrow, curving, overcrowded section of Highway 87 between Payson and Pine!

On a warm Spring weekend that--predictably--pulled a large portion of the Valley our way!

Someone is out of his mind!

Had it not been for the thoughtful, caring actions of the drivers I saw, something that amazed me by the way, there would have been dead cyclists all over the road.

There was no room for them, and every time two cars had to pass it was, "Don't look! He's going to get hit!"

So whose lame brained idea put them there?

Ten years ago, or better still twenty years ago, okay.

But today?

Madness! Sheer madness!

And you just wait. When some cyclist gets ground beneath the wheels of a vehicle, it will be the some poor driver who gets the blame.

When did the law change? When were bicycles exempted from obeying the rules of the road? Including obstruction of traffic laws?

Tom,
If this is the first time you have seen this, you really don't get out much.
Groups of cyclist are on 87 all the time. You go around a curve and there they are. They take the cut off by Saguaro lake and that is really bad.
I think bicycles should ride facing traffic, not in the same direction. They scare heck out of me and they seem to think they own the road. They don't even have to buy license for bikes and yet all the towns make special bike lanes for them and sometimes you see bike lanes on highways.

when they were still logging up here a logging truck got and bicycles and ran over him he was pulled under the trailer of the truck when he went by, you can not stop them. to bad

Marylou,
Was Cindy walking or riding a bike when the mirror on a truck hit her?
It has been so long ago I've forgotton.

Pat,

I've seen it before, but there comes a time when something has to stop. There simply is not room for a car and a bike in the same lane on 87 between Pine and Payson.

It's time ADOT outlawed meets on that stretch of road. Individual bikers are something different. It's not too hard to accomodate them. But several bikes in a row create a dangerous situation, making it almost impossible to avoid an accident.

And I say that as someone who rode a bike for years, as you can see if you wait a while and read one of my forthcoming columns.

Bikes, by the way, should NOT ride facing the traffic. They are vehicles, charged with following all the rules of the road. If they faced traffic that would just make things worse.

Bike lanes are fine, but they create a false sense of safety. A semi going by a biker can shove him away with its bow wave, and then suck him under the wheels as he rebounds back.

I lost an nice 8th grade girl in Mesa with exactly that kind kind of accident. It was horrible! the poor kid was actually carried up and over a tire.

i think she was walking long time ago