Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Advocacy & Safety
Reload this Page >

I got flipped off yesterday. Is Starbucks at fault?

Notices
Advocacy & Safety Cyclists should expect and demand safe accommodation on every public road, just as do all other users. Discuss your bicycle advocacy and safety concerns here.

I got flipped off yesterday. Is Starbucks at fault?

Old 03-02-07, 07:36 AM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
MrCjolsen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Davis CA
Posts: 3,959

Bikes: Surly Cross-Check, '85 Giant road bike (unrecogizable fixed-gear conversion

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times in 3 Posts
I got flipped off yesterday. Is Starbucks at fault?

Granted it wasn't major road rage, but it was interesting considering that W. Sac drivers are generally very courteous toward me when I ride through their most industrial and motorized city.

On my commute there's an undercrossing where I generally take the lane. There's a stoplight a short distance from either end so for a car to get behind me, then have to accelerate pretty good. And if they did pass me, they'd just have to stop anyway.

So this car is behind me for about 10 seconds. No big deal. As soon as I can, I move over and let him pass.

He flips me off. I smile and wave.

After that, he turned right and I moved on. I did save a snot rocket just in case he came up behind me, but I never saw him again.

But here is the interesting part. The last two drivers who have been unnecessarily rude to me at this exact point subsequently made right turns at the same spot.

And both incidents have been since a Starbucks has opened just down the street onto which they turned. Before that, no one was ever rude when I took the lane there.

So has the opening of the Starbucks caused more drivers to be impatient at that undercrossing because they are in a hurry to get their coffee and too stupid to budget their time accordingly?

I think if this happens again, I'll go into full sprint mode and get ahead of them in line at Starbucks and take forever ordering.
MrCjolsen is offline  
Old 03-02-07, 07:42 AM
  #2  
genec
 
genec's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: West Coast
Posts: 27,079

Bikes: custom built, sannino, beachbike, giant trance x2

Mentioned: 86 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 13658 Post(s)
Liked 4,531 Times in 3,157 Posts
Getting between anyone and their coffee fix is never a good idea.

I get nearly the same reaction from my wife in the morning before she has coffee.

Bux boosts the caffeine in their brew... so their "users" are especially addicted.
genec is offline  
Old 03-02-07, 07:44 AM
  #3  
"Per Ardua ad Surly"
 
nelson249's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Kitchener, Ontario
Posts: 1,416

Bikes: Bianchi Specialissima, Mongoose Hilltopper ATB, Surly Cross-Check, Norco City Glide

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I dare say you have a point. The problem here is not so much Starbucks as Tim Hortons. Everyone needs their coffee in the morning and never leave themselves time to get to their work on time. People get nasty before their morning double double. The drive throughs also get crammed full of vehicles and the spillover makes the morning commute that much harder. That makes even the people who fixed their coffee before leaving home more surly than usual.
nelson249 is offline  
Old 03-02-07, 07:47 AM
  #4  
ROM 6:23
 
flipped4bikes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Coastal Maine
Posts: 1,713

Bikes: Specialized Tricross Comp, Lemond Tourmalet, Bridgestone MB-5

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by nelson249
I dare say you have a point. The problem here is not so much Starbucks as Tim Hortons. Everyone needs their coffee in the morning and never leave themselves time to get to their work on time. People get nasty before their morning double double. The drive throughs also get crammed full of vehicles and the spillover makes the morning commute that much harder. That makes even the people who fixed their coffee before leaving home more surly than usual.
Beware of Dunkin' Donuts 10 minutes before the hour in the morning!
flipped4bikes is offline  
Old 03-02-07, 07:19 PM
  #5  
Lean, neat and eat meat!!
 
bentstrider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: crApple Valley, CA
Posts: 183

Bikes: Trek 800 Sport and an old Sears beach cruiser

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Reason I prefer working PM shifts as opposed to AM shifts.
I get to observe all the chaos from a safe distance during off-time.
bentstrider is offline  
Old 03-02-07, 07:23 PM
  #6  
Dominatrikes
 
sbhikes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Still in Santa Barbara
Posts: 4,920

Bikes: Catrike Pocket, Lightning Thunderbold recumbent, Trek 3000 MTB.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I don't think it's Starbuck's fault. ARen't there already 3 Starbucks on that block? What's one more?
sbhikes is offline  
Old 03-02-07, 11:36 PM
  #7  
G60
Senior Member
 
G60's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 545
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by nelson249
Tim Hortons.
if we had a timmy hohos here i'd lose grip on rational behavior too!

timbits, poutine and old dutch ketchup chips
G60 is offline  
Old 03-03-07, 09:25 AM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 387
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by G60
if we had a timmy hohos here i'd lose grip on rational behavior too!

timbits, poutine and old dutch ketchup chips
Oddly, we used to have some Timmy's in the Detroit area and the only thing of those three that we got were the Timbits.

... I'd love a Bread bowl stew right now though.... mmm.

Anyway, Starbucks like all big corporate things tends to breed it's own sort of culture with it's customers. Look at Wal-mart and the stereotypes implied. Look at Target and the stereotypes implied. Etc, etc.... The same can be said of resturants and coffee places... so I'm not going to say you're crazy.
TO11MTM is offline  
Old 03-03-07, 09:32 AM
  #9  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
MrCjolsen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Davis CA
Posts: 3,959

Bikes: Surly Cross-Check, '85 Giant road bike (unrecogizable fixed-gear conversion

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times in 3 Posts
I know that I'm probably a major $h!thead when I haven't had any coffee in the morning. But that's why at an early age I learned to use an electric coffee maker with a timer.
MrCjolsen is offline  
Old 03-03-07, 10:03 AM
  #10  
totally louche
 
Bekologist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: A land that time forgot
Posts: 18,023

Bikes: the ever shifting stable loaded with comfortable road bikes and city and winter bikes

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts
I read a book by Theodore Geisel once: The Sneetches

It was about plain bellied sneetches and Star(bucks') Bellyied Sneetches.

The Starbucks bellied sneetches looked down on the sneetches that weren't like them.

classism- one the most offensive discriminations in america. its funny, in a tragic way, how half of all american families make less than 50,000 dollars a year.
Bekologist is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.