was I wrong?

Were there any cars that were coming, or even close to the light, or was it just you waiting at it?

Because in my opinion it has nothing to do with giving cyclists a bad name, especially if no one was there to see it but you, especially since some lights work off of the sensor pads and cyclists are not enough weight to trigger it.  If he was blatantly putting himself and others at risk that is whole different topic.

For myself, you would come across as being out of line if you said that in a similar situation to me, and while I wouldn't be rude about it, if you started riding with me I'd drop you like a sack of potato's ...... Perhaps a "We should be following the rules of the road, so be careful out there" would have been a more appropriate response if you really felt like you had to voice your opinion.  I stop at all lights and if I encountered the same thing I probably would have just shook my head and forgot about it.  You aren't going to change the way the guy rides, it is his choice.

FWIW - this was not a situation where there were no cars anywhere and no way to trip the light. I have myself treated a red light as a stop sign in situations such as that.

This was at an intersection of two busy roads - it was early on Sunday so there were only about a half dozen cars waiting at the light.

It seems that it is the people on cruiser bikes or mountain bikes with headphones that I see slipping red lights.

I do go through redlights if I am the only one and can't trip the sensor.

Typically, the people on cruisers and mountain bikes are the ones that don't understand the rules of the road and don't recognize that their bike is a vehicle. They're the same people you see on the sidewalks and on the wrong side of the road. (Whenever I see someone riding on the wrong side of the road, I make sure to tell them.)

Two weeks ago, I went for a ride with a friend of mine who has a hybrid and has been dying to ride with me. We came up to a light where we were turning left. She had been behind me as we approached the light. I moved towards the left of the lane to stop at the light, and the next thing I know, she's on the other side of the road. She had just crossed to the wrong side of the road since it was clear for a moment, so that she could turn left on the "wrong" side to avoid having to cross the street in the intersection. Then once she got around the corner, she rode on the wrong side until the traffic was cleared, then she crossed back over the the right side. I gave her a little lesson in riding rules once I caught up to her (I was sitting at the light and then had to wait for the oncoming traffic to pass before I could turn left).

I think you were right to stop at the light but more often than not, trying to get another cyclist to "Obey The Law" is probably a lost cause.

We are all invisible even under the best of circumstances and breaking the traffic laws just makes a precarious situation all that much worse. "It is not the Car that you See that is gonna get you"

Sore subject with me as I currently have 3 team mates who are on the DL after being hit by cars. (And they were all obeying the traffic laws) On of them is off the bike for 12 months and will be sitting out Kona this year

That is a great line! Do all cops use that one? The couple of times I've been stopped (in my car) I knew enough not to pi$$ off the man in the uniform with the gun and the authority to put handcuffs on me. So I have generally not tried to pull the "Why aren't you chasing bad guys" garbage.

 I agree with Rick's suggestion of approaching it here. It is unfortunate that we aren't going to change the way that most people ride, but we do need to be a self-policing community. I have thought about this a lot recently as my wife has recently entered the cycling world, and I don't like the idea of some angry motorist running her off the road for someone else's actions. Maybe make a quick friendly reminder and then just let it go from there because that's all we can really do.

Personally I commend you!

I was nearly run over by a biker while on my run this weekend who decided that stop signs did not apply to him, nor did he have to pay attention to those around him.

  Oh and BTW it was not like I was on the curb and went ahead and went expecting him to stop...when I entered the intersection he was 50-60 feet from the stop sign...I did not totally expect him to stop but I did expect him to realize that he was approaching and intersection and notice those around him...I mean I was wearing bright green not something that is difficult to see.  I had entered the intersection first and was nearly across the street but directly in his path as he reached the intersection.  Luckily it was early enough in my run that I still had the energy to sprint out of his way or it could have been nasty. 

We all need to be careful and follow the "rules"  when we are riding.  I too have rolled through a stop sign (but I do usually slow down), I have gone through a red light (rarely) when there is no one around, but the issue is realizing that you are responsible for your actions and need to be aware and respect those around you whether it be a car or a pedestrian.