Idiot on four wheels and, no brains
 

I was on a two-lane blacktop last night around 7pm just outside of the small town I live in. I was 'taking the lane' when, a car honked at me to get me out of the way I shook my head 'NO' He proceeded to go around me at a high rate of speed. He pulled into the parking lot of the local post and told me I was not 'sharing the road'. Doing that, does not mean riding close to the curb!!!!! I blocked his car with my bike but, he still squeezed through. I chased him for a .25mi where I caught him. He gave me the four-letter serenade. I stupidly didn't take his license plate number.

He even claimed I ran a red light: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=...tab=il&start=0

Go first to the map then click on the street view. Coming from East Diamond Avenue, to Railroad St. is a merge, not a light. If I were to go from East Diamond Avenue to Washington Grove Lane, I would have encountered a traffic light. He also said, I blew through a stop sign.

He started whining about the 'Share the road' rule and how he insisted that it was where a bike would be so close to the curb, it would be on the sidewalk.

But from the street view, if you pan along East Diamond to the intersection of East Diamond Avenue and, Summit Avenue, that is the intersection I where I was hit last year.

I was run off the road by a idiot driver last year, who had the same thinking this guy did..

I sympathize, but it would probably have been better to let him go rather than to give chase. I've done that before. It seems like a good idea at the time, but what does it really accomplish?

Unless you were about to turn left, why didn't you just let him pass? I'm sure if I was the one driving and had to follow you in my car at 16mph for 10 miles I would have been pretty irritated too.

Just pull over for a single second... Would it REALLY have hurt you to stop your training routine for a single second? Thats really all it takes for a car to safely pass you. You can avoid confrontations by having some common sense in situations like these...

Sometimes one must take the lane to be safe. And since the OP didn't give many details about the road and traffic conditions, it's not right to assume that he could just pull over and that would make everything better.

And supposing there was another car behind the car in the OP. Pull over for that one too? And the one behind that? And the one behind that?

I don't see how someone who did the things you admit doing feels justified in referring to drivers as idiots!

Why did you feel it was necessary block his car with your bike and give chase?

You are fortunate he had the restraint to not run you over with his car.

Even if he gets a hefty fine and spends some time in jail, is it worth risking your life?

Seemingly, It may not accomplish squat. But, It lets the driver know, they won't get away with that kind of behavior.

Why even stop for him in the parking lot? Doesn't sound to me like he would be worth my time. I probably would have just kept going, continuing to do what I was doing.

At first, that would seem logical. But, The road where this happened is a 25mph speed zone. I can do 20mph if I wanted to. But, Along that road, it is not advisable. Also, Along that road, there is no shoulder to speak of. So, If I were to go 20mph(of which there is no minimum speed on that road), I would have to hit the breaks hard, just to make a turn.

Thankyou. I edited my original post, to include a link to a Google Map image of the area in question.

In the vein of pulling over, if you go to the Google Map link I included in my editing, you will see that East Diamond Avenue has no shoulder. If you pan along East Diamond Avenue to Russell Avenue and, take a right on Russell Avenue, you will see that, Russell Avenue has a shoulders on both sides.

I don't see how I would be.

Maybe. But he is fortunate, I forgot to get his plate number. Just because he has a vehicle and, I have my bike, I see no reason to back down. Otherwise, They think they can run cyclists off the road, any time they darn well feel like it and, get away with it.

Yes, He was asking for a fight. His four-letter serenade was evident of that.

Have you ever ridden in traffic? Pulling over and waiting until the cars have past is going to take at least twenty years, probably much longer.

Double standard. While you assume drivers are idiots, and accept that, you chastise a biker for having below average intelligence. Half of all people are dumber than average.

My bad...
 

This AM I was riding my morning circuit. After a couple of miles I was almost dusted off the road. It was close enough that I felt the breeze. At first I was ticked then I took stock of where I was riding.

Sure enough, I was hugging the shoulder. I am constantly preaching "take the lane" and there I was, and here came the car.

Just thought I'd share my experience regarding "taking the lane".

Best regards,

Mike

I would have put my ulock through his windshield.

How is what you did not road rage? I don't see the difference. You just didn't use profanity.

Thanks for standing up. Judging from many posts I've seen here on Bikeforums.net most bikers are cowards. And they do not appreciate what those of us on the leading edge are doing for them.

EXACTLY!!! Besides, If they are going to have an accident in their pants, it is not my fault that they didn't stop at plenty of places in the area. If they are having a medical emergency, even more of a reason, not to speed. They could very easily cause an accident, by speeding to the hospital/firehouse and, I would gladly call 911 with my cell phone to get them help ASAP. If they are speeding, just because they think they are better than cyclists, forget it.

Lastly, I was across from Railroad St. (it is in the map of the link in my OP) today, which is the opposite side of railroad tracks that are used for commercial, commuter and, passenger rail traffic. Me and about 50 motorists(on both sides of the tracks) were not able to cross the tracks because of train full of automobiles sat at the crossing for, what seemed like 40mins. and, couldn't use an alternate route since the tracks also went across the alternate route. The point is, just because they are in a motorized vehicle, does not mean they have to floor it. If they can wait for a train, they can wait for a bike.

That is how I got into an accident last year. Since then, I 'take the lane'.

I truly feel blessed to live in a place where I don't generally have the kinds of issues that a lot of you folks have with motorists.
In the last year or so I have only had one instance of someone even remotely being rude or aggressive toward me. One night someone went by and hollered something, I don't even have any idea what they said.

It is my pleasure, goal and, attitude.

Well, I guess I'm one of those who doesn't "appreciate" this sort of thing, because I certainly don't ask for any such thing to be done on my behalf. Whether walking on a sidewalk, or pushing a cart in the grocery store, or riding a bicycle, or driving a car, I try my best to stay out of other people's way and make it as easy as possible for them to pass if they want to go faster than me, because that's the polite thing to do. Guess what? It's very, very rarely that I experience even mildly rude behavior from drivers when I'm riding my bike.

I see a lot written here about concerns for personal safety and personal rights, but very little about courtesy or deference to others or plain old-fashioned good manners. When did parents stop teaching children that it's rude to inconvenience people if it can be avoided?

Don't pretend that "leading edge":rolleyes: attitude speaks for me.