Advocacy & Safety - coworker complains about cyclists....:(

Well, I got wonderfully pissed off at one of my coworkers at lunch today!

Myself and 2 others went to lunch today, well on the way back we're riding down this 4 lane road in the right hand lane. The road: medium traffic, semi-residential area, speed limit 40. I see a cyclist up ahead and by now i'm thinking I would have already been looking to see if the other lane was clear to go ahead and get over... well the guy driving stays in the lane runs up behind the cyclist and slows... then starts raising hell at the guy for being in the road; knowing I'm a cyclist, then changes lanes when clear and zooms around, all the while still enraged that some guy was just riding his bike...

After my HR goes down and the feeling of beating this guy down subsides; I attempt the usual advocacy topics...; he was on a legal vehicle, was no bike lane, so on and so forth... the guy just could not see any point for anyone to be riding a bike holding everyone up... His rebuttal; why should the majority suffer for the minority to benefit (traffic backing up for a guy to ride his bike), also he didn't feel the taxpayers should pay for bike lanes either... (not many around here use them so cyclists don't bear as much of the cost as motorists for the lanes).. the guy is pretty politically aware, opinionated, and generally just a know it all... anyway he just couldn't level with me. At the least I explained, what is the big deal... someone holds you up a little here and there every once in a while... big deal.. most people are rational, compassionate, and patient enough to not let little things like this piss them all off.

Anyway, i'm still pissed :)
Views, opinions, other rants....

Some people are hopeless.
You could make the same point about semi trucks, mail delivery vehicles, etc

....most people are rational, compassionate, and patient enough to not let little things like this piss them all off.

Anyway, i'm still pissed :)
Views, opinions, other rants....

A rather consistent conclusion to your message I opine.;)

A couple things come to mind. If this guy only used twice as much space as the cyclist to get to where he's going, he wouldn't even be blocked. Why does he think he should be entitled to so much more space?

Even if we presume the space is his God given right, if one guy shouldn't be holding everyone up, I'd ask what he does when people want to turn left across a busy lane of traffic, insist on waiting for a parking space on a busy street (and then need to back into it), proceed so slowly when the light turns green that only 3 cars get through before the light is red for another minute and a half.

By far, the slowest part of my commute is in town and it ain't the bikes that are holding me up. If the other commuters took only double the amount of space I take on the road, everyone would get to where they're going much faster.

As far as subsidizing cycling goes, hopefully he can agree that active people such as the hard core cyclists who put in 200+ miles a week shouldn't have to pay the same health insurance premiums as the inactive slugs who could have avoided 90% of their health problems simply by leading a healthier lifestyle.

Paved roads are due to cyclists. They came before cars.

History.

Let the air out of his car tires.... it's the only way they will learn. ;)

A rather consistent conclusion to your message I opine.;)

huh? I'm pissed that he got so irate at the guy cycling... "most people are rational, compassionate, and patient enough to not let little things like this (the guy riding) piss them all off."

Send him a link to this thread. I, for one, would be interested in talking to him about it.

You should swing an axe at his head, then complain to him that it's his fault he got hit because his head was in the way and he should've ducked if he didn't want to get hit.

; why should the majority suffer for the minority to benefit (traffic backing up for a guy to ride his bike),
Views, opinions, other rants....

He is right.
I worked at a temp agency for a while in many different areas around here.
When I pulled up on the bike and conversation ensued it was only a matter
of time before someone asked me " are you one of those ones who holds everybody up ?"
The public wants us out of the way. A lot of cyclists dont want to
get out of the way. Regardless of what your opinion is on VC this
is the reality we face. If you get in a cars way eventually you
are going to suffer unpleasantries for it. Thats just the way it is.
Most VC'ers dont have the ability to seperate utopia from reality. This
forum would probably only be 1/5th the posts it is if no one got in other
peoples way and posted about what they got in return.
Regular militants....please dont waste more bandwidth calling me a name
or telling me how much I dont know.....I hate cars as much as anybody
I am only offering my opinion on the reality of how the majority of the public
see us.

He is right.
I worked at a temp agency for a while in many different areas around here.
When I pulled up on the bike and conversation ensued it was only a matter
of time before someone asked me " are you one of those ones who holds everybody up ?"
The public wants us out of the way. A lot of cyclists dont want to
get out of the way. Regardless of what your opinion is on VC this
is the reality we face. If you get in a cars way eventually you
are going to suffer unpleasantries for it. Thats just the way it is.
Most VC'ers dont have the ability to seperate utopia from reality. This
forum would probably only be 1/5th the posts it is if no one got in other
peoples way and posted about what they got in return.
Regular militants....please dont waste more bandwidth calling me a name
or telling me how much I dont know.....I hate cars as much as anybody
I am only offering my opinion on the reality of how the majority of the public
see us.


And yet, motorists will wait hours bumper to bumper behind one another... Go figure.

^^^^ There is no figuring , Gene.
The same thing I say when I see sheepmobliles lined up
at a McDonalds drive thru....Cars idling...sitting there
wrapped around the building. Couldnt even get out of the
car.
Also, why do all these inbeciles who act like its a life or death matter
to get to the next stop lite and are angered by cyclists always have enuff time
to stop and tell them about it or assault them in some other manner but not enuff
time to hit the brake for 2 seconds or make a lane change ??
In an temperature moderated, remote control society those who dare to think
and move lose.

^^^^ There is no figuring , Gene.
The same thing I say when I see sheepmobliles lined up
at a McDonalds drive thru....Cars idling...sitting there
wrapped around the building. Couldnt even get out of the
car.
Also, why do all these inbeciles who act like its a life or death matter
to get to the next stop lite and are angered by cyclists always have enuff time
to stop and tell them about it or assault them in some other manner but not enuff
time to hit the brake for 2 seconds or make a lane change ??


Exactly... so why blame cyclists, as you seem to do, in several of your posts. They are hardly "the problem."

Blaming cyclists for traffic delays is like blaming your neighbor for the clothes you wear. Makes no sense at all.

I attempt the usual advocacy topics...; he was on a legal vehicle, was no bike lane, so on and so forth... the guy just could not see any point for anyone to be riding a bike holding everyone up... His rebuttal; why should the majority suffer for the minority to benefit (traffic backing up for a guy to ride his bike), also he didn't feel the taxpayers should pay for bike lanes either... (not many around here use them so cyclists don't bear as much of the cost as motorists for the lanes)


1. The gentleman in question as already proven himself to be an ass by the way he drove. Sadly, my experience with this kind of person is that you just wasted valuable oxygen talking to him. I give you credit for trying, but trying to change the opinion of anyone about anything they have strong feelings over is a waste of time. Usually, it takes something akin to a religious conversion to do so. (just try and convince a helmet wearer to not use one, or a nonhelmet wearer to use one and you will get my point :o )

2. One of the amazing features of a liberal democracy that this gentleman seems to have missed somewhere in grammar school is the notion that there is room for people who are different and who do different things to co-exsist. I find his whole rationale to be laughable and an utter farce. One, he has proven in no way that he suffered. If he is talking about slowing, then all he had to do is what you suggested and be proactive and shift lane position early and then there would be no big deal. If he is talking about sharing the road with another road user who is slower, I wonder what he does when he encounters a truck, farm machine, slower car, a cop doing the speed limit... does he moan about how he is suffering I wonder? And lastly, everytime someone plays the "tax payer" card, I laugh my ass off. You see, tax payer rights are a wonderful thing, but guess what.... every CITIZEN of a liberal democracy has rights, not just the ones that make enough money to qualify as "taxpayers". Neo-cons make me puke. (uhoh! here come the flames! hehe) And guess what? odds are that biker is a taxpayer who does not like to share the road with loud, polluting, heavy vehicles that can and do kill thousands a year in crashes and tens of thousands a year due to pollution, and destroy the pavement etc etc etc.

His rebuttal; why should the majority suffer for the minority to benefit (traffic backing up for a guy to ride his bike)....

For the exact same reason the light turns red for only one waiting car to cross... it's called "traffic," and we are all part of the game.

Ask him an even more important question... why should all those resources be used (including about 128+ square feet of road) for just one person to drive to work?

He is right.
I worked at a temp agency for a while in many different areas around here.
When I pulled up on the bike and conversation ensued it was only a matter
of time before someone asked me " are you one of those ones who holds everybody up ?"
The public wants us out of the way. A lot of cyclists dont want to
get out of the way. Regardless of what your opinion is on VC this
is the reality we face. If you get in a cars way eventually you
are going to suffer unpleasantries for it. Thats just the way it is.
Most VC'ers dont have the ability to seperate utopia from reality. This
forum would probably only be 1/5th the posts it is if no one got in other
peoples way and posted about what they got in return.
Regular militants....please dont waste more bandwidth calling me a name
or telling me how much I dont know.....I hate cars as much as anybody
I am only offering my opinion on the reality of how the majority of the public
see us.

What if it was horse and buggy, or a mail truck... do they deserve to get the same pissed off treatment...

What it boils down to is that people are jerks without any sense of patience or understanding, and shouldn't be given the PRIVLEDGE to drive if they don't agree to all of the traffic laws, rules, stipulations (ie.. cyclists being legal forms of transportation given all rights as motorists)

His rebuttal; why should the majority suffer for the minority to benefit

I guess we should also eliminate all handicapped parking spaces. After all, why should the majority have to suffer (walk further) for the benefit of the minority?

Some people are just jerks. They aren't going to change their opinions, or actions regardless of the facts. Don't waste anymore energy on this jag-off. He's a write-off. :)

OP, your rebuttal could have been short and sweet...
If you were paying attention and/or had better driving skills, you could have switched lanes earlier and not been held up at all.

I've been asked by coworkers if I am one of the bikers that hold up traffic. I generally respond.. "When I have to to insure my safety, but not anymore than I would if I were driving a car."

Ask him if he has kids (or nieces or nephews, etc), if his kids (or relatives) have bikes and how would he like it if some idiot did that to his kids while they were riding their bikes on the street.

OP, your rebuttal could have been short and sweet...
If you were paying attention and/or had better driving skills, you could have switched lanes earlier and not been held up at all.




LOL I thought it!! Too bad I have to work with this jerk off! Pretty funny though; most everyone at work thinks this guy is a wierdo and annoying.

Oh yeah, all the while he's raising hell about the cyclist; he's puffing on a cigarette! I was laughing at the humor in it all :)

Exactly... so why blame cyclists, as you seem to do, in several of your posts. They are hardly "the problem."

Blaming cyclists for traffic delays is like blaming your neighbor for the clothes you wear. Makes no sense at all.


This is exactly why I refuse to acknowledge VC and letting its militants
'advocate' for me.
The crux of anything I post is that if you get in a cars way-choose not to yield
you're are going to hear about it eventually. If you make a concious effort to ride this
way, how can you be surprised or upset when the inevietable happens ??
Look at the number of post right now that prove me correct.
But, for some reason, you ME's (militant extremests) just cant get it.
Im not blaming anybody for anything. Read. Comprehend. Respond accordingly.
You are responding to something that has nothing to do with what I wrote as you
and a few others do to most of my posts.

OP, your rebuttal could have been short and sweet...
If you were paying attention and/or had better driving skills, you could have switched lanes earlier and not been held up at all.

This is an excellent observation. I find that of the drivers I hold up on multilane roads, the ones who get held up the longest are those who for whatever reasons don't plan ahead when they see a cyclist in the narrow lane ahead.

I know that motorists can see me well, as when I am center positioned in a lane, some motorists will merge into adjacent lanes ~100yrds before me. Most will merge 100' before me.

But there are some who don't even begin planning a merge until they are 5' off my wheel and already slowed to my speed, making a smooth merge even more difficult.
I think these later fall into two categories:
1. Inattentive, incapable of planning or thinking ahead
2. Aggressive, want to intimidate cyclist first to see if they can be made to get out of way

I don't feel sympathy for these.

Al

This is exactly why I refuse to acknowledge VC and letting its militants
'advocate' for me.
The crux of anything I post is that if you get in a cars way-choose not to yield
you're are going to hear about it eventually. If you make a concious effort to ride this
way, how can you be surprised or upset when the inevietable happens ??
Look at the number of post right now that prove me correct.
But, for some reason, you ME's (militant extremests) just cant get it.
Im not blaming anybody for anything. Read. Comprehend. Respond accordingly.
You are responding to something that has nothing to do with what I wrote as you
and a few others do to most of my posts.
Lem,

I think you have completely missed what vc is. It is nothing to do with being militant or asserting more than one needs to be safe. No vc I know will intentionally delay, slow or 'take a lane' in front of faster vehicles when there is a safe and practical alternative. Vc is about the give and take sharing of the road with motorists and about communication and respect.

You may have vc confused with CM, where there the purpose for some (but not all) participants is to militantly take over more of the road than needed and to become the dominant traffic for a stretch of road or intersection as a way of asserting rights.

Al

Wow, I don't know how I would have reacted if I was riding in a car with a guy like that. I think I would have been quite mad and probably incomprehensible stuff would have been said.

I understand what you are saying, Lem. You are right. If you ride in the roads you're going to get this kind of treatment. I think that is what most of us say. It's just that a lot of people would rather you not make the choices you make when you wake up in the morning, get on your bike and decide how to deal with it. That's why they like to get all down on you. They want to believe they are right, whether or not they are.

Personally, I do not find that many people who express such things to me. But I know that a portion out there definitely believes all those things, especially:
- why should tax-paying, work-going me have to suffer for play-boy johnny in his tights who obviously is having fun on my dime?

Well, why should I see the end of the polar bears because people want to drive over-size gas guzzlers 3 miles to the drive-up window? Why should penguins have to die in crevasses as their world melts all so you can get to soccer practice faster? Why should people's sons and daughters have to die in wars so you can live in suburbia 30 miles from your work place? Why should my tax money go for all that excess asphalt, all those stupid wars, and all those oil and auto industry subsidies? Why should I pay $6K a year for decent health insurance just because you want to live a life that's guaranteed to end in diabetes or heart disease?

Oh yeah, all the while he's raising hell about the cyclist; he's puffing on a cigarette! I was laughing at the humor in it all :)

Heh, I would have been blasting him for smoking in my airspace! You should have offered to barf on his lap!

I have always felt as though it should be a requirement of attaining a drivers license, to have to ride a bicycle in traffic for 90 days. People would be soo much better drivers! I have seen and avoided so much on the road by riding a bike; learned how to read other drivers actions and tell what they're going to do before they do it, and feel more connected to traffic in general.

I ride about 300 training miles a week and have been riding motorcycles for about 5 years and see ALOT of stupid stuff people do in cars!!

Well, I got wonderfully pissed off at one of my coworkers at lunch today!

Views, opinions, other rants....


You work at a job that you were only pissed at ONE co-worker by lunch ??
Can you send me an application !? :p

You work at a job that you were only pissed at ONE co-worker by lunch ??
Can you send me an application !? :p


haha Yeah. It takes alot to bother me, and I don't really have to deal with too many people!

Paved roads are due to cyclists. They came before cars.

History.

The Romans had bicycles?

When your anger cools down, just consider yourself one of the lucky guys, compassionite,concerned and more importantly, HEALTHY

The Romans had bicycles?

Don't recall the Romans having paved roads either... more like crushed rock.

I used to have some cards that I would occasionally use by leaving on someone's windshield. They said:

People like you have no business driving a car. You are rude, inconsiderate, and will eventually hurt someone (else). People like you should walk or take the bus.

Message delivered

His rebuttal; why should the majority suffer for the minority to benefit (traffic backing up for a guy to ride his bike), also he didn't feel the taxpayers should pay for bike lanes either...

So many selfish morons like this...worse yet, I'm related to several of them...

This is exactly why I refuse to acknowledge VC and letting its militants
'advocate' for me.
The crux of anything I post is that if you get in a cars way-choose not to yield
you're are going to hear about it eventually. If you make a concious effort to ride this
way, how can you be surprised or upset when the inevietable happens ??
Look at the number of post right now that prove me correct.
But, for some reason, you ME's (militant extremests) just cant get it.
Im not blaming anybody for anything. Read. Comprehend. Respond accordingly.
You are responding to something that has nothing to do with what I wrote as you
and a few others do to most of my posts.

So you ride about doing an "after you Alphonse" routine everywhere you go?

Look, I don't ride to get in anyone's face, but there are times and places where to go from point A to point C, I will have to go through point B... if and when I am at point B, a motorist happens to come along, that motorist going to have to wait the 2 seconds it takes for me to finish crossing point B. However, some motorists do not have that patience.

This is exactly the same as someone crossing the street... they have every legal right to do so... yet some motorists will drive right up (even to crossing schoolkids) and honk as if they own the road. That is not right and there is NO WAY I will condone it.

If you believe this is some sort of "ME behaviour" then I take it you never stand in any lines... waiting your turn, anywhere... Which I doubt.

Try a dose of courtesy... it's rather uncommon today.

Point out that the cyclist was riding in the safest manner possible for both autos and the cyclist: predictable movements, in the right lane, visible, not on the sidewalk (which you can explain is unsafe for all the reasons stated in other threads), not retaliating when the driver was rude, etc. In the big picture, in the possible nightmare scenarios of car vs. cyclist interactions, this was one of the best situations the driver could have hoped for, so tell this jackass to chill out.

That is not right and there is NO WAY I will condone it.
~~~~~~
So you ride about doing an "after you Alphonse" routine everywhere you go?


No 'After you' at all...in fact, on my morning commute I go 12.1 miles and
dont stop once.
You prove two points precisely. You enjoy mixing it up with cars and you
still have absolutely no clue as to what you are responding to in my posts.
I guess I there are no words of mine you can understand. There is no point
in continuing this ponderous tete 'd 'tete any longer. You simply cannot
understand what I am writing.


If you believe this is some sort of "ME behaviour" then I take it you never stand in any lines... waiting your turn, anywhere... Which I doubt.

Try a dose of courtesy... it's rather uncommon today.

Wait a minute :eek: maybe you do !!

This is my whole point. I am the most courteous rider you will ever (not) meet.
I will glady yield ROW....On stuff there is "there is NO WAY I will condone it",
I do, because I just dont care.....I am happy riding on the right and have never
felt its is dangerous .....shoulders are my friend.....etc, etc... The reason vehicular
assaults are such a big thing to me is because I so rarely get them. You will
never, ever see a post on this board by me whining that a car bleeped me or yelled
at me because I stay out of their way. This is my advocating. Everybody except you
'real' cyclists agree with it.

Gotta use your better judgement in traffic. There's no excuse for blocking a busy road indefinitely. OTOH, sometimes you do have to block a busy road for a minute or two. There are no clear rules - you just have to work with the situation as you go. The key to a civil society is always being considerate of how the other guy feels. Everything you do, you have to think of its impact on others first.

No 'After you' at all...in fact, on my morning commute I go 12.1 miles and
dont stop once.
You prove two points precisely. You enjoy mixing it up with cars and you
still have absolutely no clue as to what you are responding to in my posts.
I guess I there are no words of mine you can understand. There is no point
in continuing this ponderous tete 'd 'tete any longer. You simply cannot
understand what I am writing.



Wait a minute :eek: maybe you do !!

This is my whole point. I am the most courteous rider you will ever (not) meet.
I will glady yield ROW....On stuff there is "there is NO WAY I will condone it",
I do, because I just dont care.....I am happy riding on the right and have never
felt its is dangerous .....shoulders are my friend.....etc, etc... The reason vehicular
assaults are such a big thing to me is because I so rarely get them. You will
never, ever see a post on this board by me whining that a car bleeped me or yelled
at me because I stay out of their way. This is my advocating. Everybody except you
'real' cyclists agree with it.


Come ride a mile in my saddle and show me the shoulders on my urban commute... then we can talk. Where no shoulders, bike lanes or paths exist, and the ONLY road through has more than one same direction lane... there is NO reason for a motorist to get all flustered if I am anywhere in the other lane... they only need change lanes... thus no delay. If there is only one lane and not enough room to share... what do you do. I suppose these roads don't exist where you live.

I cross a bridge just like this... no shoulders, no sidewalks, no alternatives. 2 narrow lanes each way.... what whould you do?

BTW what about that motorist honking at kids crossing in the crosswalk... what is the motorist's justification? You conveniently avoided that situation.

Nice how you argue up to the point of conflict, and then scurry away. Afraid to face reality?

Point out that the cyclist was riding in the safest manner possible for both autos and the cyclist: predictable movements, in the right lane, visible, not on the sidewalk (which you can explain is unsafe for all the reasons stated in other threads), not retaliating when the driver was rude, etc. In the big picture, in the possible nightmare scenarios of car vs. cyclist interactions, this was one of the best situations the driver could have hoped for, so tell this jackass to chill out.

It's no use. To the kind of people he described the only acceptable solution is for people who don't do what they like to die and quit polluting "their" world. These people will never see reason - they only care about their own convenience and self-importance.

The reason vehicular
assaults are such a big thing to me is because I so rarely get them. You will
never, ever see a post on this board by me whining that a car bleeped me or yelled
at me because I stay out of their way. This is my advocating. Everybody except you
'real' cyclists agree with it.
They are rare for most cyclists. Those that get them most ride in places where one has to 'be in the way' (such as in lanes too narrow to share). Once again, a vc will ride 'in the way' as default, and move 'out of the way' when a faster vehicle approaches and it is safe and practical to do so. This, if done right, shouldn't annoy motorists any more than staying 'out of the way' as a general practice.

Somehow you have come to think that if a vc is riding in middle of a wide lane or a narrow lane with clear shoulder and there is no nearby intersection and a faster vehicle approaches from rear, that we would continue to ride in center of lane to miltantly assert our rights. Well, that idea is wrong: Most vc will in this situation move to the right when the faster vehicle is within a few seconds of passing. (Most of the time we don't need to move much right as that faster approaching vehicle will start merging around us early, in this case I still move right and share making the gap between us wide.)

Al

BTW what about that motorist honking at kids crossing in the crosswalk... what is the motorist's justification? You conveniently avoided that situation.


People aren't required to respond to every subject-changing strawman you put before them.

People aren't required to respond to every subject-changing strawman you put before them.

Not really a strawman... still involves "delaying motorists." The next question was going to involve left turns and how they get made. One either has to merge and turn left (with a possible delay to any motorist that comes up behind) or make a two point left turn. Either way involves delaying motorists... be it in the lane, or in the crosswalk. If these delays are acceptable, then why is not a temporary delay in a traffic lane, when needed?

So far the only response has been "ride my way..." "My way" has never been explained.

Also I find it quite amusing that "we should get outta the way of the motorist," when in reality, the effort on the part of the motorist is so minor... flick of the wrist and a push of the gas pedal. It's not as if the motorist is doing any actual work...

Also I find it quite amusing that "we should get outta the way of the motorist," when in reality, the effort on the part of the motorist is so minor... flick of the wrist and a push of the gas pedal. It's not as if the motorist is doing any actual work...

That's a vast oversimplification, and a very inconsiderate way of thinking.

This is an excellent observation. I find that of the drivers I hold up on multilane roads, the ones who get held up the longest are those who for whatever reasons don't plan ahead when they see a cyclist in the narrow lane ahead.

I know that motorists can see me well, as when I am center positioned in a lane, some motorists will merge into adjacent lanes ~100yrds before me. Most will merge 100' before me.

But there are some who don't even begin planning a merge until they are 5' off my wheel and already slowed to my speed, making a smooth merge even more difficult.
I think these later fall into two categories:
1. Inattentive, incapable of planning or thinking ahead
2. Aggressive, want to intimidate cyclist first to see if they can be made to get out of way

I don't feel sympathy for these.

Al

Aren't they also the same drivers who speed past you after reading the lane closed ahead sign and wait at the cones to see if anyone is foolish enough to let them in?

Paved roads are due to cyclists. They came before cars.

History.

The Romans used them first. Sic a Legion on him.

Americans, especially white Americans (yes, I know it's a risky comment in these PC times) have a very strong sense of entitlement, especially when it comes to their motor vehicles. People are absolutely convinced that they are entitled to their cars, cheap gas for them, a place "near the door" to park said car, and road space, with nothing, not a cyclist, pedestrian, slower moving car, nothing, getting in their way. Just ask, and you'll be told that they have a constitutional right to drive their cars anywhere they want. No really, they believe it.

It's tempting to take people such as your co-worker up on an argument, but such a thing is futile. For example, you could ask "What gives you the right to pollute the air I have to breath?", but he sounds like the type who would probably foam at the mouth.

Personally, I have not had a "I pay my taxes!" argument for a few years. Maybe this will be the year.

Fancy that. I also pay taxes. I know I do, I see the deductions on my check stub every week.

Really want to make this guy's head explode? Just tell him, in your most casual voice, that the bicycle has been here for more than 100 years, well before the first Model T clanked its way off an assembly line. The bicycle will still be here, long after the last car has been crushed, shredded, and hauled off to Japan, where they'll turn it into cheap consumer electronics.

Then stand back, as exploding heads tend to be quite messy.

Ok, my rants over.

That's a vast oversimplification, and a very inconsiderate way of thinking.

Really, how so.... that motorist is sitting in a cushioned chair, possibly air conditioned, and has to make very little physical effort to actually change lanes... is their time any more valuable than mine? What is so "considerate" about them spewing their polluting smoke into my air.

Meanwhile, as a cyclist, I am causing less wear and tear on the road, not polluting and only asking for the same consideration that we give car pooling autos.... a bit of room on the road.

As far as oversimplification.... not hardly, I do drive on occasion.... I know the amount of effort it takes to change lanes. A driver, planning ahead (which few do) can change lanes with hardly any effort at all.

Sorry, I feel no sympathy for motorists that cannot accept cyclists on "their" roads.

They are rare for most cyclists. Those that get them most ride in places where one has to 'be in the way' (such as in lanes too narrow to share). Once again, a vc will ride 'in the way' as default, and move 'out of the way' when a faster vehicle approaches and it is safe and practical to do so. This, if done right, shouldn't annoy motorists any more than staying 'out of the way' as a general practice.

Somehow you have come to think that if a vc is riding in middle of a wide lane or a narrow lane with clear shoulder and there is no nearby intersection and a faster vehicle approaches from rear, that we would continue to ride in center of lane to miltantly assert our rights. Well, that idea is wrong: Most vc will in this situation move to the right when the faster vehicle is within a few seconds of passing. (Most of the time we don't need to move much right as that faster approaching vehicle will start merging around us early, in this case I still move right and share making the gap between us wide.)

Al

I use the word 'assault' to mean any unprovoked act of aggression upon a cyclist.
It can be the unecassary long horn beep to an actual physical confrontation.
I appreciate your ABC's of VC and realize I am getting frustrated at trying to make
a point that just cant seem to be made no matter what.

Gotta use your better judgement in traffic. There's no excuse for blocking a busy road indefinitely. OTOH, sometimes you do have to block a busy road for a minute or two. There are no clear rules - you just have to work with the situation as you go. The key to a civil society is always being considerate of how the other guy feels. Everything you do, you have to think of its impact on others first.

Nothing wrong with that... but it works both ways. I can try to keep out of the way when and where possible, but on the other hand, that civility must also extend to me when I do have to be "in the way."

You should have just told him "Suck it up, princess." As was one of my friend's favourite responses to needless whining. Sometimes you get stuck behind a bus or a tractor on the road. Millions of other times during your years alive you're free to drive at the speed you want. Complaining about those few instances where you have to drive slowly but for a few moments is probably a bigger waste of time than the time wasted behind the slow moving vehicle was (maybe I should rewrite that?).
I would have steered to conversation in the direction of why so many people like to complain and how there's a complete lack of stoicism in society today. :D