Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - I feel like a ******...

So, I've just picked up a bottle of Patron to give to my uncle for xmas, and also taking my new Under the Weather bag on her maiden voyage, when I nearly get run down in the parking lot of the nearby blockbuster.

The lady was looking at something in the rearview mirror (possibly herself), and started veering towards a curb and me. I was going slowly enough and yelled loud enough to not get hit and alert her that she was off course. I did not do so politely however. I yelled "what the Fu*k!?!?" and as I passed her window, looked straight at her and gave her a good ol' texan "FU*K YOU!!!!!" Here is where I noticed the toddler in the back seat. Man I felt bad. </rant>

Any advice on how to not loose my temper? I can't seem to not react like that?

The bag is freaking awesome by the way. Highly recommended!

tapping/banging a car is a great way to get someone's attention, especially if they are about to slowly run you down

It's not really a big deal. The kid's ears aren't tarnished or anything.

teach em not to mess with cyclists while they're young. its the only way to learn.

some girl in a BMW was yapping on a phone (illegal in chicago btw) and rolls into the intersection almost running me over. even after missing me by 2 inches, she still didn't see me. i'm now towards her rear on the driver's side, i coast backwards up to her driver's side window and slammed my open hand as hard as i could on her window. man i was so pissed, i didn't realize how hard i hit the window. the stupid girl literally jumped in her seat in horror, i swear she must have pissed in her pants. it was well worth it just to see the look on her face. honestly i dont' mind people driving while talking on the phone, but if you're in heavy traffic, or ESPECIALLY in the middle of an intersection, that REALLY pisses me off.

i'm a big fan of that.
if there's kids in the car it's even better. just yuppie-scum tadpoles, teach 'em a lesson while you can before mommy and daddy get them a bmw and send them out into the world.

teach em not to mess with cyclists while they're young. its the only way to learn.
LOL I like that....... after you've made an @ss of yourself enough times you get calmer..... at least I did.

yuppie-scum tadpoles

stealing this.

yeah f em, you guys are right.

mommy just made an attempt on this cyclists life.

normally i try to just ask the driver why they were doing what they were doing. i think its better to leave a driver feeling foolish and guilty than foolish and angry.

I think what you did was fine. Your life was potentially at stake. **** her and her baby.

air horn honk at em

Man I felt bad. </rant>



Odd. I only feel bad when I've done something wrong.

normally i try to just ask the driver why they were doing what they were doing. i think its better to leave a driver feeling foolish and guilty than foolish and angry.

This is true, at least in places where people aren't actively psycho.

From what I've seen, most people, if given the ability to 'save face', will appreciate it. Give them a soft place to land, they'll chill out, and feel like they can apologize and not get killed for it. Give them a fight, and they'll never back down no matter what.

It's basic human nature and negotiation theory.

nah, youre all good. somethin almost identical happened to me except the kid was like 6 and i spat instead of cursing. lucky for her the window was half up. man, that still angers me.

One time I was riding back from a night class and some nasty old oldsmobile cut me off so I slapped the trunk and it made a terrible death "THWAAP!" they slammed on the brakes and looked like they **** their pants. They atleast slowed down after that.

I have scared countless drivers by slapping or hitting their cars. its almost payback when I scare them down that for them scaring me when they almost hit me.

After you passed her, the lady probably went on a 10 min cussing rant about bikes and bikers in general, so I wouldn't worry about the kid hearing a couple words from you. :D

i wish people didn't have to ability to yell. most people that yell have nothing good to say.

Kids love swear words.

This is true, at least in places where people aren't actively psycho.

From what I've seen, most people, if given the ability to 'save face', will appreciate it. Give them a soft place to land, they'll chill out, and feel like they can apologize and not get killed for it. Give them a fight, and they'll never back down no matter what.

It's basic human nature and negotiation theory.


Not that I don't wholeheartedly endorse nonviolent conflict resolution methods, but I find that if I give "them" a fight, they often do back down. Aggression may be a fairly common response, but very few of the people who resort to it are willing to stick with it - they use it *because* it deterrs response. After countless honks, screams, "get the **** off the road"s and death threats, i finally gave in, and learned first hand that when most people, even when staring you in the face threatening your life, would not "step out of their *%$&@!ing car and say it to your face" if there were a gun to their head, especially if you've just chased down their car over a few km on a bike. Childish bullying will only be encouraged by conceding to it. By pulling aside, speeding up, running away or getting on the sidewalk we only prove that aggressive threatening behavior works. If you can prove otherwise with a smile on your face (nothing's more pathetic than somebody choosing to lean on their horn for 2 blocks rather than change lanes), then so much the better. But one way or the other, don't reward bad behavior.

It would have been just as effective to have something like "Hey" and then as you passed by her window yelled or even just said, watch where your going. The profanity did not prove a point or anything. The only thing it would accomplish is inspiring her to intentionally hit the next cyclist she sees.

Having said this, what really ticks me off is when a driver yells at me for just being on the road. I was riding my tandem (with 5 year old daughter). I was in the right lane of a 2 lane road (2 lanes each way) stopped at a red light. No traffic in the left lane. Some large white truck comes next to me and the driver starts yelling. "Get the **** out of the road you dumb ass." Before I had a chance to make any sort of a come-back the light turned green, but it seemed the passenger took a look and my daughter and then said something to the driver and it looked like he had an embarressed look on his face. Why can't he just let me be on the road. I know its so terrible to have fun, exercise, use less gas, and use the roads that I pay for just as much as he does.

also, it's important to keep in mind that everyone's emotions run high this time of year. i drove to the king of prussia mall today in my car (because i didn't feel like getting run down on my bike / having to carry christmas presents back through the rain), and i saw this firsthand. almost got hit three or four times on my ten minute drive.

while this lady might have almost killed you tonight, odds are she's just in a hurry and while that's as valid of an excuse as downloading a ringtone is, it might explain what happened.

I'm all for the slap on the car. It sure makes an impact... Only, the ******** nitwits might not even know why you're angry at them. Half the time I save my own ass and they never notice how close they were to flattening me.
The presence of the toddler doesn't change anything imho. If you think it's ok to yell at her, then do so regardless of her company. At least she may be a bit more ashamed.

Not that I don't wholeheartedly endorse nonviolent conflict resolution methods, but I find that if I give "them" a fight, they often do back down. Aggression may be a fairly common response, but very few of the people who resort to it are willing to stick with it - they use it *because* it deterrs response.
Actually, you're right, so let me amend what I said.

Being chill with the space cadets and people making honest mistakes gets a better response.

Aggressive ****tards require either deft smart-assery backed up by iron-clad confidence, or an equal amount of aggressiveness back.

Does anyone have experience with air horns? They seem like a good idea.

also, +1 on stand your ground.

normally i try to just ask the driver why they were doing what they were doing. i think its better to leave a driver feeling foolish and guilty than foolish and angry.
Yeah, I'm a fan of the condescending look.

Actually, you're right, so let me amend what I said.

Being chill with the space cadets and people making honest mistakes gets a better response.

Aggressive ****tards require either deft smart-assery backed up by iron-clad confidence, or an equal amount of aggressiveness back.

+1

I find you can actually sometimes tell these people apart by the vehicle they're driving. For instance, next time you have a run in with a Range Rover - and to a lesser extent the Land Rover Discovery - notice the level of aggression. Make them feel like an idiot and you've won. I actually had a battle all summer with a commuter in one here in Toronto. It all started when he actually almost smoked another cyclist and I calmly called him on it. He turned and yelled to me on a crowded street, "what a f*#$in' loser!". From then on anytime he'd see me on the road he'd pull up beside me and say, "hey loser". So I started leaving him in the traffic making comments about his shiny wheels and how ugly they were just sitting still like that all day in the sweltering summer traffic. I believe there was also a lot of whooping and arm flailing as I rode hands free between traffic jammed cars. :D

Since then I've found the theory to be generally true. I find that if you are present in the moment you can make a good call and have an effective exchange. I think that's what's important is having an "effective" exchange. They have to leave changed. For everyone's sake.

Any advice on how to not loose my temper? I can't seem to not react like that?

I don't ususally reply to threads like this, but I've consciously been fighting this impulse for a few years now, since it suddenly occurred to me that screaming at people who cut you off etc is just another act of violence, which of course, begets only violence.

I'm sure many have noticed that any time people do dumb stuff driving, no matter how ridiculous, they'll usually start screaming at you, or at least get aggressive if you try to talk to them (the old, excuse me sir/madam, but you...).

I think the only way is the jesus/zen way - be conscious of what's going on around you and lead by example and let it all flow off you. It's hard to resist sometimes, and two highspeed and totally stupid moves by drivers this year caused me to lose it and chase them screaming, one of whom drove away fast and recklessly down a residential street in my neighborhood (nice move!).

The other was as extremely upset as I'd hoped I'd provoke (by judging his linguistic and cultural heritage by his appearance, natch) by saying something culturally taboo - I was shaking with adrenaline after this driver pulled suddenly between construction dividers to pull a u less than 20 feet in front of me into the long downhill lane of reduced width that was otherwise clear with no stops for a half a kilometer, and the only reason I didn't hit him at somewhere near my top speed was at the last second he heard me screaming hysterically "HEY" and stopped to let me squeeze between his bumper and the 18 inches or so of space remaining. I've never picked a fight in my life, and at the next stop, I dared him to get out of the car, and he dared me to repeat what I said as he reached his shaking hand into his glove compartment. Then clarity came through and I just left, but I kept my eyes peeled for silver late model Hyundais for a few weeks, since I'm extremely visible between my size, my bike and my helmet, and I seriously though that if he saw me again he'd go to clip me.

Nice move - we both left hysterically angry, shaking with rage, freaking out, probably driving badly, and me with yet another thing to add to my mental traffic calculations. What a great move to increase the peace between drivers and cyclists, and taxi drivers and people who look like bike messengers in particular. In my rage/near death brain, violent retaliation was the only possible solution, but it only made everything worse for everyone.

The hardest thing to let go of in these situations is the rage/violence, and it takes real work to do it. In my own experience, it's mostly like what people say about quitting smoking - if you can get your mind off it for a second, it will pass, but if you don't try at all, it will get worse and fill you to blindness, which most people just run with, since that feeling of anger is in a sense you telling yourself you're right. It's also self-defeating since there isn't really a possible positive outcome.

The hardest thing is to realize that this kind of rage is something that you also have to put work into, probably the same amount of work it takes to resist it. For me personally, paying attention to how often I wanted to freak out/scream/lecture etc when I was personally in a rough space was enlightening, as it was essentially directly proportional.

And note I'm not suggesting being passive, letting people "get away" with stuff, but you'll get a lot more done by working even harder to take your lane, ride consistently in a straight line, signalling, checking your speed, being visible, and otherwise fighting back by increasing love instead of anger.

Ha, I just said increasing love.:love:

Usually I stop, get off the bike, walk to their hood, drop pants and duece on the car

"That learn 'em to bust my tomater"

A friend of mine found an air horn at Canadian tire. As luck would have it, the thing fits perfectly in a water-bottle-holder on his bike, and refills with a high-pressure pump (which it comes with, and worked much better than his hand pump) via a shrader valve on the bottom. When fully pressurized it put out 120 decibels, the pain threashhold of the human ear.

Absolutely nothing in all six universes beats the look on the face of some hothead driver when a guy on a bike honks back.

i wish people didn't have to ability to yell. most people that yell have nothing good to say.

that would do horrible things to the state of punk rock.

that would do horrible things to the state of punk rock.

most, not all.

A friend of mine found an air horn at Canadian tire. As luck would have it, the thing fits perfectly in a water-bottle-holder on his bike, and refills with a high-pressure pump (which it comes with, and worked much better than his hand pump) via a shrader valve on the bottom. When fully pressurized it put out 120 decibels, the pain threashhold of the human ear.

Absolutely nothing in all six universes beats the look on the face of some hothead driver when a guy on a bike honks back.

That volume level would have more adverse effects on the cyclist than the driver, though. If only you could plug your ears before hitting the trigger..

Any advice on how to not loose my temper? I can't seem to not react like that?



Pain pills

Pain pills

duly noted.

Skidded in front of a country bumpkin at a stop sign today. I inadvertently unclipped, and hit my incredibell with my knee, breaking it. :(. Anyway, thread relevance: He called me a hippie ****** and flipped me off, making sure to rev his compact truck's engine at me just so. My response was to yell "Get over yourself!" I guess that's what I get for getting between him and the friend he was following, who was also in a (slightly larger) pickup truck.

Knock three times, and tell me that you love me…

Well, maybe not the ‘love me part’. But knocking is certainly an effective way to get a drivers attention. I figure, if they are close enough for me to knock, then that may be just too close. A sustained knock is best, if possible. Knock, knock, knock, knock, etc… Then, depending upon the manner of the driver (aggressive or startled ‘wtf’) I either holler at the top of me lungs or try to explain what they are doing wrong. If the driver is aggressive, I’m aggressive. If the driver seems truly startled and bewildered, I do my best to educate them.

As another poster wrote, We pay for the maintenance on these roads (through taxes), and under most provincial laws/state laws we have the same rights of use. State your case!

Thankfully, I have not had to yet employ the ‘rap, rap, rapping at my door’ treatment to a driver yet. But, I do have a high ‘buzzing’ tolerant. If they are at least a foot away from my bars, I’m fine with that. Of course, and I hate to perpetuate the stereotype, it does seem more common in large SUV drivers that they don’t recognize the size of vehicle they are driving.

But, to return the original posters quandary…Don’t sweat swearing within ear-shot of an infant or older. They will learn the ‘swear’ words sooner or later. I know I did.

Devan

Childish bullying will only be encouraged by conceding to it. By pulling aside, speeding up, running away or getting on the sidewalk we only prove that aggressive threatening behavior works. If you can prove otherwise with a smile on your face, then so much the better. But one way or the other, don't reward bad behavior.

Very true! Not only is this common sense, but it's also supported by game theory. Sadly, consistent and systematic retaliation does work.


That volume level would have more adverse effects on the cyclist than the driver, though. If only you could plug your ears before hitting the trigger..

Those horns are quite directional, a bit like loudspeakers. Notice how much more silent it is when you stand at the back of a large stage loudspeaker, than in front?

tapping/banging a car is a great way to get someone's attention, especially if they are about to slowly run you down

that's good in theory, until a theoretical cabbie decides to try and jump out of his vehicle and run after you when you're stopped at a light, yet still theoretically have time to catch up to you while you're trying to let your s/o know there might be an irate cabbie after you however there's still theorectically a chance to dodge down a side street while he gets the cabbie trapped in an alleyway (the integrity of said mirror being in some question) and you arrive home half laughing, half wondering if the guy's gonna go after some other poor cyclist... i mean, in thoery.

that being said, i agree with what someone else wrote: "i figure, if they are close enough for me to knock, then that may be just too close"...

So, I've just picked up a bottle of Patron to give to my uncle for xmas, and also taking my new Under the Weather bag on her maiden voyage, when I nearly get run down in the parking lot of the nearby blockbuster.

The lady was looking at something in the rearview mirror (possibly herself), and started veering towards a curb and me. I was going slowly enough and yelled loud enough to not get hit and alert her that she was off course. I did not do so politely however. I yelled "what the Fu*k!?!?" and as I passed her window, looked straight at her and gave her a good ol' texan "FU*K YOU!!!!!" Here is where I noticed the toddler in the back seat. Man I felt bad. </rant>

Any advice on how to not loose my temper? I can't seem to not react like that?

The bag is freaking awesome by the way. Highly recommended!


Toddler learns that being self absorbed and mowing down bystanders makes people hate you and shout obscenities. What's the downside?

Any advice on how to not loose my temper? I can't seem to not react like that?


Yes, I can give some advice. First of all when you are riding a bike you have to remember you are going to encounter a ton of motorists. Most of them will be fine, but a few won't. There are many that are jealous of cyclists. A so-called manly type man will be driving his pickup truck and comes upon you. He sees you have nice legs and a nice ass. He looks down at his beer gut and can't even see his pecker. He is enraged at you... yes just the site of you makes him upset and he feels the need to try and bully you with his pickup. When this happens, just remember how he must feel. No matter how much he bullies you, he will still look down and not see his pecker past his beer gut. Okay what about that women that is driving the huge SUV. Yeah, you know the one. She drives her huge SUV and comes upon you riding your bike. Being that she drives that huge SUV her personality is obvious. She wants to grow a set of nuts. You are riding your bike looking great and have true power with those legs pumping. All she has is some SUV that anyone can go out and buy. As soon as she steps out of it she is... well just some little girl that always wanted to be a man. But the world... and she knows this, will just see some fragile little girl that tries to wrap herself in an SUV to show her power. She should get on a bike and feel what real power is all about. Power that is produced by one self. Maybe then she would have some real self confidence.

So the next time you encounter one of these folks. Hold your ground, but no need to battle back. You already won. Just the site of you makes you the winner. They have to go home and live with themselves. I tend to smile a lot when riding and that really pisses the type mentioned above off.

Just enjoy the ride. No need to get upset at those who are already miserable. They just are trying to bring you down to their level. If you get enraged back at them, they will have company where they already are. No need for that.... yes you know the saying, misery loves company.

I want one (http://www.preparedness.com/ecoblasrecai.html)


A friend of mine found an air horn at Canadian tire. As luck would have it, the thing fits perfectly in a water-bottle-holder on his bike, and refills with a high-pressure pump (which it comes with, and worked much better than his hand pump) via a shrader valve on the bottom. When fully pressurized it put out 120 decibels, the pain threashhold of the human ear.

Absolutely nothing in all six universes beats the look on the face of some hothead driver when a guy on a bike honks back.

This is the one you want for your bike (http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Airzound-Bike-Horn/dp/B000ACAMJC)

i was riding home one day when a woman in an suv drove up next to me and started yelling that the bike path was the other direction. i guess she thought that everyone that rides a bike can roll directly up to their houses straight from the bike path or something. i turned to her and screamed as loud as i could some string of profanities. she quickly turned her head and drove past me. i too felt like a ******. i don't wish to repeat that moment, so i've tried to stay more calm when riding. my situation was kinda different since the person wasn't putting me in direct danger....they just didn't want me on the road. i guess i'd rather have someone yell at me than hit me.

I have once heard it said that use of profanity merely displays a lack of vocabulary. I wonder what the f*ck that's supposed to ******** mean?

Don't sweat it...I have children too and your verbal attack was not on the child, but the driver. Sure, there may have been a nicer way to say it, but when you're about to get run over somehow being polite isn't your first concern. Once when riding through an intersection a woman decided to illegally cross the street (she was in the crosswalk, but had the don't walk sign) while pushing a toddler in a stroller. As I recall veering around her, "sh*t!" was waht I said. It wasn't toward her or the child, but rather the situation.

I wonder if anyone who's into slapping the trunk or whatever part of the car as it passes have ever tried this: almost get clipped, slap the car really hard, then fall over behind the car, screaming, as if in pain. This way, when they keep driving, you can grap the licnce plate number, and report them/find out where they live, - or - if they stop, you can thrash about screaming, "My leg!" for a few seconds, then, jump up, and in your best announcer's voice, say, "This is a test. This is only a test. If the event that you actually take someone out in your incompetence, this display would be followed by important news and lawsuits. This has been a test of the Jackhole Cager Monitoring System."

Anyone ever done that? No? Pity.