Commuting - Yelled at from a car

But it's not what you think.

I got home tonight, and my wife said, "What took you so long?" I was just about to counter with something along the lines of, "You try moving your butt when it's 100 degrees out and you're dripping with sweat," when she said, "We passed you in the car a few miles ago. All the kids were yelling at you. Didn't you see us?"

No, I didn't see them or hear them. I even remember being conscious of how light the traffic was, and how few cars had passed me. Now I'm wondering, are there more people yelling at me that I just don't notice?

When its 100f is easy to slip into auto pilot and not notice stuff like that.

I slipped in to auto pilot last summer and "woke up" as I was crossing North Capitol Street. Funny thing was, I had no idea where I was. A second later I fully came-to, but what a wierd feeling. How long was I pedaling in such a state? Endorphins, or something.

I'll say it again, cars are intentionally designed to make any attempts at communication between humans a hostile act.

I was honked at by someone in a van yesterday, I was thinking maybe it was someone I knew so I looked, but as I did a truck pulled up in the empty lane between the van and me, and I found myself just looking at impersonal hunks of metal glittering in the harsh sun. You could not tell if there were even humans in either vehicle.

Tell your family if they want to interact with you in a human way, to get on their bikes and come out and ride too!

I thinks it's DC. This place is one big sleeping pill.

DC, I agree yesterday's heat and humidity were awful. Whether it is the relaxing nature of biking (once you get the initial kinks out) or if it is a protective mechanism that your body has to forget the heat and humidity, zoning out is real easy to do. Even when I don't zone out I find it very difficult to see into passing cars. Between tinted glass, glare from the sun and just bad angle many times I've missed seeing people who were waving at me.

DC, I agree yesterday's heat and humidity were awful. Whether it is the relaxing nature of biking (once you get the initial kinks out) or if it is a protective mechanism that your body has to forget the heat and humidity, zoning out is real easy to do. Even when I don't zone out I find it very difficult to see into passing cars. Between tinted glass, glare from the sun and just bad angle many times I've missed seeing people who were waving at me.

You should get some polarized sunglasses.

I just vote to ride in the early mornings instead. Thankfully, I don't have to work this month (except my freelance at-home work), and the first week of next month, I've got the kids all by myself while their parents go out of town (gulp). It is definitely humid out here... even in the early mornings. I find myself zoning out, but on the other hand, I've been achieving amazing times for my usual routes. It has to be in part due to not wanting to be out there any longer than I have to, though I think I had a bit of heat stroke today...

Koffee

Haha, when I saw this thread title, I thought it would be a good rant about getting yelled at from a bad driver.. I was all ready to post up my wonderful experiences... ;)

Even when you know it's coming, when someone yells from the car it always sounds like "HAHUAHAJKDHFYFKJSJYABHADKFAAAAAAAAA" as they go by... hehe

I had a great one yesterday commuting home. It was 115 F and I was feeling warmer and more tired than usual since I had just come back from a 10 day break in cooler places.

Anyway I was riding hard down the last 2mi stretch on busy road with narrow lane and hear this talking voice behind me, first ignored it, but it persisted, not threatening sounding, then noticed a robotic sound to it that kinda felt like it was in my head. I then thought it was police in car talking to me to pull over or something, but no police car was behind me. Was I hallucinating? Finally I realized it was two college age kids in a small sports car with a megaphone, with the wind and the non-agressive talking tone I couldn't understand the sentences, but it was kinda like they were doing a comedy sports announcer sequence, commenting on me and my ride. Anyway they passed with great clearance, I got right up next to them side by side at next light and we 'chatted' they thru megaphone in talking tone. They called me 'biker man' and were 100% friendly and quite goofy, thought I was nuts for riding in such heat and wanted to race.

Anyway it was great fun, but the encounter (I didn't race off the line, but after they passed pushed like a race) got me up to ~30mph for the near last 1/2mi and then I totally crapped out for the last 1/4mi of my ride and struggled to even go 15mph thru my quiet neighborhood streets.

Al

cars are intentionally designed to make any attempts at communication between humans a hostile act.As I tell my father every time we're in the car together, "There's no such thing as a nice honk." He's tried for years to honk nicely at me, but it always comes out as a blend of annoying and angry, with a dash of hostile.

You know, I don't like getting yelled at from a car at all. I ride alot on relatively deserted back-country roads and when a couple of guys yell, more like cat-call, from a passing truck (this is Georgia after all) I hate it.

I don't mean to sound like a pill, but I have been stopped several times, thinking the drivers wanted directions, and all they wanted was to make some obscene remark. I don't stop anymore, I don't care if they are lost, but it is kind of nerve wracking, I mean, I am miles from nowhere usually.

I have been meaning to post about this wondering if others have had the same problem, maybe I should have started another thread, but I was wondering what other people would do and should I carry mace?

I got passed by my wife once and she yelled out the window "!Venga! !Venga! !Venga!"

(Yes, she's a keeper.)

Crinolin,

That's nerve-wracking. I've been hesitant to do any solo touring for the same reason. I just don't want to be harassed in the country. I'm not sure what the best thing to do it. The problem with mace is that harassment usually only happens when there's more than one. I'm just not sure it'd be all that effective. If the situation went bad.

Sorry, caloso, what's Venga mean?

I think in general a series of short honks are friendly honks, and one long one is not.

In terms of yelling unintelligable things, I wonder if it sounds the same coming from us? I passed a wrong-way cyclist a few weeks ago and said as we approached each other "You're on the wrong side of the road", and she just smiled at me. (A cute smile, but still...) It's probably just that she was at a loss for words, but I wonder if maybe she just didn't catch it all?

It's Spanish for "C'mon!" Made famous by Liberty Seguros' (formerly ONCE) manager.

Sydney_B: I can't think of any other options besides either quit riding in the country (which would be it for me) or oh-well-I-hope-I-don't-get-in-trouble. I actually did quit riding for a while last year because I was made so nervous about it. I ran into several creeps in a short time period - ridiculous! Ooooh, I don't even like to think about it too much right now, it makes me nervous again . . .