This morning on my way to work in downtown Park Ridge, a suburb of Chicago - in the middle of the block there's a busy ped crossing with signs that say cars have to stop for peds. As I'm approaching the crossing, I notice a ped on my right about to cross. I hit the brakes and slow down quickly while looking at her, she knows I'm slowing for her, and she proceeds to cross. A smile comes to her face and she says "oh, a polite biker" to which I reply "thanks!". It made my day.
Two weeks ago it was a different story. A lady in her BMW SUV was driving like an idiot* at a school drop off zone and there were lots of kids aroudn, so I slapped her right rear quarter panel to get her attention. A dozen flies could have flown in her mouth it looked like as I rode past her.
*she passed by me fairly close a half block before only to have slam on her brakes to stop, then as she crossed the intersection she was aggressively jockeying for every inch, only to have to stop and sit there while cars ahead of her dropped kids off
chephy
05-04-06, 11:10 PM
I had a similar interaction with a ped today. I was crossing a largish street, and after I basically got to thee other side there was a pedestrian crossing the small street I was riding on. He had the right of way, so I stopped, but he stopped too. I said to him with a smile: "Go ahead!" and he replied "Oh, you go ahead! You're so sweet!" :) That last phrase made me chuckle. :)
LittleBigMan
05-05-06, 07:30 AM
I was heading home through a nearby neighborhood when I came upon a large group of teenagers stretched across the street from one end to the other, pretty much blocking any traffic from passing, including me. I might have been able to squeeze through a gap, since they had their backs to me, but I rolled up slowly and began to ring my bell politely.
One guy with his cap on sideways, very baggy pants and swaggering, looked behind at me and jumped up startled when he heard the bell. I wanted to giggle, but I know how it feels to be startled by a stealth-bike.
:D
I guess most people are so car-oriented that a bell means nothing anymore, except on the path.
Bockman
05-05-06, 07:54 AM
"Hey man, I have a question about your ballcap. Every store I go to all the ballcaps have the visor coming out the front of the hat. How can I get one like yours, where the visor is coming off the side?"
I laugh every time I ask some sideways-wearing tool that question.
LittleBigMan
05-05-06, 08:33 AM
Seems like anymore, I scare the bejeebers out of folk when I pass on my bike. Don't care what I try to do to warn them.
:)
DataJunkie
05-05-06, 09:14 AM
Same here. I need to stop the obsession with lubing my chain.
I've started a fake cough or a whistle from a far distance. Later followed with "morning, evening, excuse me, afternoon, on your left, etc" <-- only one or two of those. saying all would be quite amusing :p
On your left seems to do almost no good.
On topic:
I stopped for a lady pushing her stroller crossing a street at a 4 way stop. This street is directly south of a popular park for roadies. No one ever stops at these 4 way stops (including me). I sure as hell was not going to be impolite to a new mother. Got a nice thank you from her.
adgrant
05-05-06, 10:51 AM
I notice a ped on my right about to cross. I hit the brakes and slow down quickly while looking at her, she knows I'm slowing for her, and she proceeds to cross. A smile comes to her face and she says "oh, a polite biker" to which I reply "thanks!". It made my day.
Does no one else find it sad that the women in question is unused to bikers being polite. Unfortunately, my experiances as a ped in NYC match hers, even cab drivers are more polite to peds (and they don't set the bar too high).
EnigManiac
05-05-06, 11:50 AM
Your stories remind me of one day last summer while on my way to work in the bike lane along a busy road, I came to a stop next to a bus-stop at a red-light. A cyclist behind me slowed slightly and, after a quick glance to see if he could make it, dashed through the light, knowing that cars usually turn left or right and rarely proceed straight through to the right hand side with even fewer cars ever emerging on the right hand street. Still, it was dangerous as that was one of the few times a vehicle was proceeding slowly through from the right and I called out to the cyclist to be careful as he forced the driver to brake suddenly, reminding the kamikaze that the red-light was for him as well. The three people waiting at the bus stop unanimously reacted with 'thank-you!,' 'who does that guy think he is, he can ignore every traffic light he sees,' etc. I didn't mean to sound self-righteous to the cyclist, but clearly, by the way he was riding, he didn't give a damn about my comment or anything else, so I didn't feel guilty about it. It was amusing and nice to be recognized as a responsible rider, but what struck me as even funnier was when I came right up behind the impatient guy two lights later at a very busy intersection after he had blown through a second light. So, after endangering himself at two intersections and maybe giving a motorist or two an undeserved start (while making all cyclists look bad), he had made no gains than if he had actually stopped and enjoyed the brief rest.