2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06: The Ol' Hit and Run

My guess is they did it on purpose. Most cyclists are incredibly conscientious (they are after all pretty vulnerable) but I have heard some cyclists key cars that are touching the bike line.

I hate people.

I hope they did a Stacy from Wayne's World style flip.

Yay for the swivel mirrors! Otherwise, the mirror would be hanging from the wires right now.

I agree, I think they just expressed their hate for you for driving that.

A sign of the times.

By the way, what is the countdown to the 2012 Apocalypse?

Um....you guys are redonk! So you know for a fact that a biker did this? So you know for a fact that a hipster on a fixie did this? Not saying it's not possible, but to just assume it's a bikers fault is stupid. Maybe a bus clipped it? Maybe another car clipped it (some drivers do hang out in the bike lane!)

Maybe I'm just being defensive and taking it personally since I'm an avid biker (I commute a lot on a fixie guess that makes me a hipster huh?) and I have a friend in critical condtion after a hit an run by an intoxicated driver (took 3 days to find the driver) and I've been hit by a car while biking (in a left turn lane, turning left into a parking lot, sideswiped by a driver trying to get into the parking lot before me). So when I hear drivers wishing pain on bikers, I get a bit upset.

Ed doesn't know that a biker did this, it's true. But this being Santa Monica and all, Ed's fixie theory is not without merit.

And, personally, I hope you do take it personally. It might save your life. Bicycles are great, but fixies are a dumb urban bicycle choice. Brake-less, gear-less bikes belong on tracks, period. What would we say about a car that can't stop in a reasonable distance? About a car that can't coast or shift gears? Why should we view bicycles any differently?

Gearless? How would the bike move forward, I've got one!

On a serious note, not everyone who rides a fixie rides brakeless. I ride with a front brake, as do most of my friends who ride fixed. To say they belong on tracks is a bit misguided. They are great for working on cadence and other aspects of biking.

Any post that encourages violence against bikers, even in the most remote sense, needs to get squashed. It does nothing but encourage a "us vs. them" mentality both for bikers and drivers alike.

I will respect cyclists' rights when they start respecting traffic laws. When's the last time you see a cyclist stopping at the red light?

@e90_m3
I saw one this morning: me. I rode my bike to work and stopped at every single red light. It's a matter of survival here to get in line with the cars at every red light. If I cut to the front and run the red light, eventually, someone will make a right turn and hit me.

Been riding to work off and on for 5 years now, been hit twice. As a cyclist, I can tell you 2 things:
1. if a cyclist hit this, they did it intentionally and probably fell. If I hit a car mirror while riding, you can bet it will pull me to the side immediately. A cyclist would have just hit the mirror and not left a scratch (unless they hit it with their foot as the cycled by...which would be impressive on a fixie, and fairly hard to only leave a scratch and not shatter the mirror.)
If their handlebar hit it hard enough to leave a scratch that deep, they would have been pulled suddenly to the right and probably hit the car. A cyclists hand/gloves usually doesn't have anything hard enough on them to leave a big gouge on the paint.

2. I think that this was done by a lawn care trailer. They habitually sideswipe cars with the trailers and leave damage like this all the time on my street.

@e90_m3 about as often as I see people on cell phone run stop signs and nearly cream me me while I cycle...

As an avid endurance biker I appreciate that cyclist should be called out if and when they disobey laws, but like it or not we have to coexist and arrogant or inattentive motorist can not only spoil a cyclist's day - they can kill.

My dad has his mirror broken off completely a week after he got his new Mercedes E320 CDI diesel. A car or truck definitely took it off. I find it much more likely that this type of thing is done by some oblivious driver than someone on a bike who is constantly in fear of their life while peddling through the streets. I've seen people side-swipe cars and just keep going, completely unaware that they've made contact with another vehicle. I was once re-ended (only tapped) by a guy who didn't even know he was rolling forward because he was too busy messing with his radio.

Re: Old Volvo
Me too. I saw cyclists stopping at red lights EXACTLY twice, having worked in Midtown Manhattan for the past 10 years. That is so rare and memorable I actually remember these events.
Say I come across 5 cyclists on an average work day, I would have seen 5 x 5 days x 52 weeks x 10 years = 13000 cyclists.
We are looking at a red light non-compliance rate of 99.98%! (12998/13000)
I fear for my life when I cross the streets in Manhattan. Even the kamikaze cabbies (usually) stop at the red lights.
Did I mention cyclists also ride against the direction of traffic, AND on sidewalks (both are illegal in NYS)?

My guess would be a biker was jammed between a bus or UPS truck on what appears to be Ocean Park Blvd. However, a note should've been left regardless.

@e90_m3

Lol @ "kamikaze cabbies"

I think riding against traffic and on sidewalks is illegal in LA as well. I also think, riding in the street w/o the proper protection is too, but bikers FAIL to do that often! Not to mention following the same traffic laws that apply to cars...

I'm glad I have power-folding mirrors... this is probably the 3rd or 4th broken mirror I've seen on these blogs in recent memory. The Mazdaspeed 3 was the last victim - and its mirror was completely toasted.

I see them stopping at lights in Houston...

What I hate is the fact that they take up a lane when the speed limit is 40mph and they decide its fine to go 15mph.

You learn something new every day, eh? I've never heard of a "fixie" -- who in the hell would want to ride a brakeless one-gear bike? Brakeless?? This sort of thing can't be real.

I'm a runner and not a cyclist (if you're either you know what that means) -- but I doubt the cyclist had a stack of sticky notes and a fancy pen on hand for leaving a polite note ...

This is normal SF vehicle tear and wear anyways, lol.

Xorbe,

What does it mean?

Fixie's are the stupidest creation on the planet. Why would you remove the parts of the bike that allow you to stop pedaling or change gears? What a joke.....

Anyone who rides a fixie is either a choch or a hipster, or both. 95% of cyclists don't obey traffic laws, but they still want to be treated like an equal patron of the road. Honestly, cycling is fine in bike paths/trails, but it should be illegal to ride a bike on a road with a speed limit above 25 or any standard two lane road, or in major cities. Its dangerous, not just for the biker but for the cars who have to swerve around them or who get rear ended following a bike at 10 mph by the guy not paying attention.

If you want to get your exercise find a trail. If you want to be green walk or take the subway/bus/carpool/Prius.

Also, there is almost no chance that was from a car/trailer. He was parked right next to the corner, and people would take that corner wide in a car. Even if they didn't they'd have hit the rest of the car along with the mirror.

Looking at how far its been spun around I'd say it was probably bumped by a guy on a bike (who scratched it in the process) and he got pissed and hit it and knocked it around the rest of the way. It looks like its been spun 270 degrees, no way they hit it hard enough to spin around like that unless they hit it multiple times or twisted it around manually.

Bikers = bane of the roads

Some jackalopes in a Big Ford Combover climbed out of their idiotically unnecessarily big vehicle the other day and put a giant gash in my car's back right door. It rocked the car. And yes I was in it. I had reluctantly parked close to an In N Out while on a roadtrip and the thanks I got for my one time transgression (always park in the boonies, friends)? A dent so big I can see it from 50 feet away (about the size of a quarter but man it seems massive).

The owner of the Ford Combover, complete with 2.6 baby OCers, apologized and then wandered toward the "restaurant".

Sigh... worst dent I've had on a car since an old girlfriend backed my 330i into a pole 6 years ago. :(

@mrb5091 - There's often tension between the two groups, for whatever reasons. The casual bicycle riders are fine. It's the attitude ones with a Speed movie complex and their jello rolls stuffed under colorful spandex pedaling 30 mph like it's Tour de France on a narrow foot trail peppered with old people shuffling and stroller moms jogging.

the last thing anyone wants is a cyclist obeying the street laws. If so, I, as a cyclist, would occupy the lane and you would have to follow me until such time that it is legal to pass. I typically ride btw 18 and 21 mph. Sound fun? If I stop at every light and you're behind me and we accelerate to the 21 mph mark how happy are you going to be be stuck behind my slow ass. I live in DC where EVERY BLOCK has a street light.

Additionally, it is not legal to pass another vehicle when there is a double yellow line on the two lane farm roads that I frequent yet cars do it all the time and I make it easier for them by hugging the right as close as possible.

blueguydotcom, I would assume you got the local law enforcement involved and reported this to your insurance company. Something like that would piss me off enough to want to file a formal police report.

@dadasracecar

Thats exactly why it should be illegal to ride bikes in two lane areas or crowded cities. The safety and convenience of the many shouldn't be crapped on by bikers clogging up roads and flying willy nilly around the roads with no regard to traffic laws.

agree chochmasergen,

I always get a kick out of the "share the road" signs and want to add "that goes both ways" to them.

For the cyclists that are always 'right' just make sure they buy enough granite to fit "I was right" at the bottom.

I bike to work from time to time, saves gas and wear and tear on the cars I own... but I bike through neighborhoods... when I was looking to buy my bike the sales lady was trying to sell me a 1500 dollar used bike. I told her my car, a grand marquis, and the cost of gas for me over a year would come to about the same she got pretty mad.... thqat lady absolutely would have 'accidently' knocked your mirror. I bought a new bike from some reasonable ppl for $400