Commuting - After two weeks of commuting . . .

The health benefits are enormous and my physical strength has been steadily improving. I sleep better and feel better during the day.

But . . .

What is with all of the anti-cyclist sentiment? I get honked at or yelled at daily. I don't get it. It's usually on a mile stretch of my route where this occurs. It's a 2-way street with one lane for each direction. There is no shoulder, but the road is wide enough for people to pass me safely. There are even signs "share the road" bicycle signs on this stretch. It's the last bit of road I have to traverse before getting to the university.

The type to honk/yell seems to be frat boys riding in jeeps/trucks/SUV's. So why do they hate us so much?

The type to honk/yell seems to be frat boys riding in jeeps/trucks/SUV's. So why do they hate us so much?

The MGD and Milwaukee's Beast has addled their brains to the point that they can no longer ride a bicycle. It's jealousy.

At least that's my take on it. I lived in a house at the end of 'frat row' in Cincinnati and dealt with a lot of the same: Guys in loud cars yelling at me or buzzing too close, others throwing their football or frisbee at me as I rode past. :mad:

I found that using fertilizer to turf-burn an opposing fraternity's letters in their front lawn was effective in getting them to pay attention to something other than me. ;)

Funny, isn't it?

In a way, bike commuting is a little peaceful and healthy form of rebellion against our car culture. I think the hostility comes from two sources. First: people have grown unfortunately impatient...the 2 seconds that you might have delayed them until it was safe to pass was obviously just that big of a deal. Second: they cannot articulate their own latent feelings of being trapped in that culture, and thus the frustration spills onto you whenever you escape. Again, they cannot articulate that, either.

This all too common behavior is far from acceptable but remember to pick your battles......ie, resist the urge to get too confrontational with a cager. They've got a few thousand pounds on you and lots more horsepower than you at their disposal.......of course one could easily read into WHY they need to mouth off at some one on a bike while behind the wheel of a car, but hey, the world is full of lame wusses.

Glad to see another commuter born - keep it up and ride safe!

They're not yelling at you out of anger. Rather, they're cheering you on and encouraging you to keep biking and saving them gas money (occasionally using reverse psychology).

Think of it that way and give them a grateful smile and wave! Heehee!

99% of the people in cars and/or trucks that I have problems with are males between the ages of 15 and about 25. Too much testosterone, not enough brain, I think. :)

The people I get the most crap from are soccer moms on their cell phones. When I do my rec rides, I ride passed a high school. I get more looks from the guys than the girls. I guess we have a large homosexual population at that high school. I'm tempted to wave and shout "yoo hoo!"

...I hate the revved engine on the pickup trucks as they scream past...

...I hate the revved engine on the pickup trucks as they scream past...

I hate that too. What is the deal with that? Seriously?

OP, you answered your own question really.

The type to honk/yell seems to be frat boys riding in jeeps/trucks/SUV's.
These are also the same kind of people who are using their parents money to go to a 4 year party because they aren't allowed to do such things at home.
I remember having it out with some of these folks myself way back when I was going to school. Maybe you should search the internet for psychological studies done on the type of people who join frats in college, it's quite interesting what they have to say.
Don't sweat it though. In four years, when they have their backelors in communications or some other worthless subject, then you can get your revenge on them every time you go to Burger King and they have to take your order.

Unfortunately for me, riding a bicycle does not actually help me be truly " car free " because I still have to deal with the cagers on a daily basis.

sucks.

The way you ride has a great deal to do with how much crap you get from cars. How you ride can determine how cars deal w/ you. If you stay to the right, they'll try to pass you w/o leaving their lane. If you take the whole lane, they'll have to change lanes to pass you and should give you more room. As for the revving engine, what do you expect when you stomp the gas to pass someone? The tranny downshifts, the engine revs jump up and make that revving sound and shoot ahead of you. It's normal. As for the college boys in SUVs, they think they own the world. They'd give you crap whether you had a bike or not. Ignore the haters and keep on riding.

...I hate the revved engine on the pickup trucks as they scream past...

In my experience, that is usually not due to them trying to taunt you or anything. Pickups tend to have more shift-y transmissions, so when you try to accellerate, they'll tend to downshift faster and the engine will rev. This is especially true of diesels with a narrower power band.

As for getting yelled at, well, in the US, everyone must conform and be exactly like everyone else. It's your patriotic duty to hate all those who are in any way different. If you don't, then the terrorists have already won. Did you miss that day at school?

That's right. By not driving, you're not conforming, and thus we're not showing a unified front. Shame on you. Not only that, but by not driving you're cutting down on your oil consumption, thus undermining a primary (unstated) objective of the War. So in the end by doing this subversive behavior you're not supporting our troops...which means you're a "cut and runner".

Why do you hate our troops?

So get out there and drive an H2 and start supporting our troops in the most consumptive way possible. Remember, it is the first hybrid automobile (powered by gasoline and the blood of patriots). So be a real man and get off that bike and into an SUV, the size of which will actually determine your manliness quotient.

A study was conducted on this...frat boys actually are more closely related to gorillas than humans. The massive amounts of hormones raging through their body, their love of violent sports, and their fear of homosexuality lead them to lash out at you. When they see your sleek, toned body they get jealous because all they can do is add on more bulk. They find themselves attracted to you and their wish to caress you, even if it be in words alone, overwhelms them. That shouting of '******' was more or less an affirmation of their own wish to express their personal feelings for once, possibly cry, and hopefully enjoy one night of intense homosexuality with a sleek-bodied cyclist before returning to a world that teaches them to conform to breeder status. Uhhh...published by Harvard Medical Journal on the Fraternity Animal.

Someone actually stopped to let me turn left on a busy street this morning. It was shocking! I was making great time on the way to school, had just gotten over the huge hill I have to climb and low and behold - a flat tire! I had no patches or anything, but there is a bus route that leads straight to the university on my route and I have a bus pass!

The lesson is: God hates cyclists. If the universe does something good for you, someone lets you turn left, then God must smote thee with a flat tire. When he's not doing that, he's sending cagers to yell and honk at you.

I'll offer the defense that 2 frat-boys at my alma-mater went on a 3-state bicycle tour, and were genuinely nice people every time I had occaision to speak with them. Yes, I know plenty who are a little more ape than man, but depending on the school, frat-boys are people too.

As for animosity, ignorance is bliss. It's the real-world equivalent of internet-trolling. If you don't feed the trolls they wither and die.

Most of those who honk as they go by are punks who are just trying to give you a scare. And boy oh boy does it work. It's not that they hate us it's that they are immature idiots who have no idea. In heavy traffic if you get to catch them at a light. Pull in front of them and then just sit there. Try to hold them up for at least 20 minutes. Make sure you have your bike lock in hand. Take the time to have a drink or a snack. It's a given they will not learn a darn thing from the object lesson but I get a kick out of it. If you live in a state with lax handgun laws feel free to unload your frustrations out on them.

By riding a bike you are challenging the dominant paradigm. It's upsetting.

Get an Airzound horn. The great equalizer. My horn is louder than yours!

sorry - this posted twice - see below

Hi all - I've been lurking here for a year now, but this post brought me out. The honking thing, the cutting me off and then cursing me out thing - I cannot believe how entitled people in cars feel, as if it is their god-given right to not slow down or steer (and I do drive sometimes, btw, but I have a bike-commuting father, so I've always been nice to bikes). But the thing I find most disturbing is what I judge to be actual (not just feigned) ignorance of the law that says that bikes belong in the street! I get the impression that there are people who really don't know that - how can we spread the word?

I hate that too. What is the deal with that? Seriously?

It's them passing you!

I'd rather them rev it by my side than behind me... :)

But the thing I find most disturbing is what I judge to be actual (not just feigned) ignorance of the law that says that bikes belong in the street! I get the impression that there are people who really don't know that - how can we spread the word?

Welcome, lurker! Advocacy and Safety (http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=8) is probably the place to help you with that.

a lot of the engine "revving" from trucks is just regular acceleration, but a lot of it--where i live, at least--is aggressive. people have done that to me while i'm standing on the side of the street (in the shoulder/gravel) or on a sidewalk, standing by my bike. they gun their engine and yell at me. one truck left black marks on the street, peeling out. i've actually had as much aggressive behavior directed at me while i've been standing by my bike as i have while i'm riding it!
anyway, even when the engine revving isn't supposed to be intimidating, it can be scary when it's right next to you. it's one of those sounds you grow up associating with the imminent threat of becoming roadkill.

edited to fix inaccuracy :)

The type to honk/yell seems to be frat boys riding in jeeps/trucks/SUV's. So why do they hate us so much?

You know what they say about guys in big cars...COMPENSATION...and we're not afraid to show it with our tight lycra shorts ;)

face it they're just jealous!

The type to honk/yell seems to be frat boys riding in jeeps/trucks/SUV's. So why do they hate us so much?

Not around here. The type that honk at the middle-aged, upper-class (Mercedes, etc) men.

Escalades don't honk, but they floor it when passing. Almost every single one of them.

I've been heckled quite a few times by people as I've cycled, mainly school kids but not exclusively. Normally I just ignore it as I'm too busy going somewhere to deal with it. Once I was insulted quite loudly near my home and so decided to make a stand. I stopped and confronted the 3 kids. An apology and a retraction was forthcoming. The funny thing is I rode past those same 3 kids for a whole year and they never said anything to me again after that incident.

You will get use to the jerks.

I had one guy yell at me the whole entire light,
I find it down right criminal, I wish police would ticket squeezers.

After two weeks of more commuting I got to take some pictures, never be late, and enjoyed every second of it.

Ride on right on!

I guess I don't mind the overtly agressive pickups as much as the Soccermoms. The redneck in the F-150 seems like he wants to scare you but I doubt he'd want to kill you. It would revoke his parole. But that guy has at least seen you and has both hands on the wheel.

On the other hand, the 105 lb, middle-aged woman in the way too big SUV with the nonfat, half-caff, extra-hot latte with vanilla syrup in one hand, her pink Razr cellphone in the other, and two bratty kids in the back, probably has no idea you're on the road, doesn't really care, and probably wouldn't even feel the bump if she ran you down.