General Cycling Discussion - Stupid things II

What's the stupidest thing a driver has ever yelled at you while you were out riding? I have to admit my "stupidest" was caused by actions rather than words. Early one morning about three years ago at Burleigh, some guy driving past in a car was waving one of those blow-up dolls out the window and yelling out something totally incoherent. If I hadn't been laughing so hard I might have replied with something along the lines of "Can I have here phone number?"

:D

Yesterday, I was jogging the last two miles home from work with my backpack on, same direction as the traffic. A car came from behind and rolled past me in my neighborhood, stopping about 50 feet ahead.

I thought it might be a neighbor offering me a ride. They waited for me to catch up. As I got to the open passenger window, I got ready to smile and say, "No thanks, I want to exercise."

Before I could say a word, two young men inside began to exclaim to each other, "AAAAHHH! Oh, God! Nooo!" :cry: :cry:
It's as if I had grossed them out or something.

They must have thought I was female from behind, but when I got close...

:D :roflmao: :beer: :crash:

Get a Harley!!!

At 5'8", 145 lbs., I am definitely not Harley-Davidson material.

"You look like a f*(! ing ambulance bro." When riding to work at midnight on a Friday with 2 red LEDs on scan at the back , well at least they saw me.:D

I had this redneck tell me to get the F*** off the road an I should be in school at this time of the day.I was 34 years old 5' 11 and 190lbs. with a full beard.(trimmed) I just wonder how much he had to smoke or drink that day.

What's the difference between a Harley and a vacuum? The location of the dirt bag.

I had a guy ask me who pays. He was chain smoking like Dennis Leary and kept asking me who pays. I wish I would of thought up something snappy like, "How much of this road is paid for by federal funding?".

"Get the F*&^ on the sidewalk!!" when I was riding in the bikelane.

While on a country ride I passed a dirty, shoeless, redneck walking in the ditch and smoking a cigarrette. As I passed he mumbled "Gawddam cyclists are going to take over the world"

As I am struggling up a short but very steep hill a SUV filled with teenagers stops and one yells out: "go home bicyle scum!"

I was speechless.

"Get out of the bike lane"

I kid you not.

Originally posted by gonesh9
"Get the F*&^ on the sidewalk!!" when I was riding in the bikelane.

I get that everyday.

The most stupid thing is when drivers or passengers lean out of their cars and yell while doing 80km/h and expect us to hear what they're saying.

That's some funny stuff people come up with, when they are in the bad mood, angry, drunk, high, ect... I have yet to experience the joy of yelling drivers myself! So far I’ve only had a few hundred of middle fingers. Do they count as stupid?:D

get off the road!!!

Eat Sh$t and die by a guy in a suit driving a nice late model Honda after I reminded him he was supposed to look both ways before he pulled out. The scariest was the woman who started to pull into the lane I was standing in waiting for the light to change since she didn't seem to see me I knocked on her window she started screaming at me so intensely I didn't understand a thing she said. After that I decided that the drivers in DT Seattle were just to stressed out to ride with and I altered my ride which was for the better made my commute longer and added a couple of hills (Yes I am crazy, but you all probably figured that out already :D )

"****ing Road hogs! Get the **** off the road!" he had been driving along behind 3 of us on a 2 lane section of road...plenty of room to go round, and then we moved across the lanes as it split to 4 lanes and he passed us to go onto the motorway and yelled at us. The two guys I was riding with were seasoned riders and they yelled back something like: "**** up and get out of your car you lazy slob!" and he got returned fingers as he disappeared up the on ramp.

Brendon
:beer:

Originally posted by ngateguy
After that I decided that the drivers in DT Seattle were just to stressed out to ride with and I altered my ride which was for the better made my commute longer and added a couple of hills (Yes I am crazy, but you all probably figured that out already :D )

I admit that I don't ride through downtown as much as I used to 10 or so years ago. Back then, I used to commute around with a drafting tube slung across my back like a LAW adorned with radioactive stickers. For some reason, cars always gave me a wide berth when I carried it. Nowadays though I'd probably have a bunch of NBC suited individuals armed with M-16s converging on me while a trio of UH-60s watched overhead.


The stupidest thing a motorist ever said to me occurred after I knocked on the passenger window of a BMW "minivan" at a stoplight in Redmond after she nearly curbed me by fully intruding into the bike lane a half mile prior. After informing her that she nearly killed me, she simply shrugged and said, "I'm sorry... I was trying to get my kids to stop fighting... you know you shouldn't ride your bike in the street... it's too dangerous."

I've never been yelled at, not even a finger. Well, I got some fingers, a few thumbs up while going up hill on tour. The car occupant had bikes on the roof rack.

The only negative things was being honked twice, and in one occasion, the driver had a point. I was riding in the street instead of the bike path.

Originally posted by Erick L
I was riding in the street instead of the bike path.

This is a problem?

:confused:

The U.S. seems incredibly bike unfriendly....?

Never had anything abusive from anyone, whether I'm on the road, bikepath or footpath.

The bike path is next to the street, just above the curb. I should have been on it. It was at night too. It was an angry Honda Civic driver, followed by another one, so it explain things a little but I'd say he had a point, at least half a point.

Originally posted by belfast-biker
The U.S. seems incredibly bike unfriendly....?

Never had anything abusive from anyone, whether I'm on the road, bikepath or footpath.

Paul
Judging from your pitcher I wouldn't dare be abusive to you either :D

Seriously, here in Geneva we don't get that sort of sh*t. There are some really good cycle lanes and some glorified car parks but in 20 years commuting/trying to get rid of the beer belly, I have never been abused. Dirty looks have been exchanged on occasion but zthat's soon forgotten.

Originally posted by Harry
Paul
Judging from your pitcher I wouldn't dare be abusive to you either :D




Hmm.....I think you're onto something.... other people uglify their bike to avoid attention... I uglify myself! :p

Originally posted by Erick L
The bike path is next to the street, just above the curb. I should have been on it. It was at night too. It was an angry Honda Civic driver, followed by another one, so it explain things a little but I'd say he had a point, at least half a point.

Erick, as a bike commuter day or night if I have the option I will ride the road. I am usually traveling faster than you should on a trail and the trail has no real control on it. They have etiquette suggestions and a speed limit but that is it. You should never think that you are not allowed in the road trail next to it or not. Do ride in the bike lane if they provide one. But otherwise its your road too.

Originally posted by belfast-biker
Hmm.....I think you're onto something.... other people uglify their bike to avoid attention... I uglify myself! :p

yep to a point I do that uglify the bike then uglify myself which in my case is a very difficult task :lol:
on weekdays I look like a middle aged half crazed bike messenger on weekends I change to a half crazed roadie.

I know what you mean ngateguy. There are streches of my commute where I take the road instead of the bike path because the path is not practical but in this case, I think I would have been better on the path.

I know it's often more dangerous to ride on the bike path/lane, usually because of pedestrians or careless week-end cyclists who think the bike path is some sort of a fairy park (I don't what that means but anyway...) but I try to use it and sometimes point out to to "them" that it's a "bike road" and just like on a "car road", vehicules are going fast and you don't cross it without looking and you stay on your side of the yellow lane.

At collegiate nationals this year in berkeley, a local who was held up for the race: "Go back to San Francisco you stupid ******s" he yelled this at people watching the race from the side of the road.....

Originally posted by Erick L
I know what you mean ngateguy. There are streches of my commute where I take the road instead of the bike path because the path is not practical but in this case, I think I would have been better on the path.

I'll leave that decision up to you, since you know the area and the circumstances and I don't. However, I will point out that motorist's views on their own are not sufficient justification for not using the road. They're probably the same people who will be walking on the path when/if they find somewhere to park and will whinge that bicycles belong on the road!

By all means use the path if it's the best option for you, but the mere fact that it's there does not provide any additional justification for motorist abuse of you decide the road is a better option.


Originally posted by Erick L
but I try to use it and sometimes point out to to "them" that it's a "bike road" and just like on a "car road", vehicules are going fast and you don't cross it without looking and you stay on your side of the yellow lane.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as "bike roads" and "car roads". At least, not until such time as I get some say in which of the two my taxes are used to construct/maintain.

Originally posted by Andross Mazor
At collegiate nationals this year in berkeley, a local who was held up for the race: "Go back to San Francisco you stupid ******s" he yelled this at people watching the race from the side of the road.....

Allister wrote this:

http://members.optushome.com.au/clanmclaren/real_men_ride_bikes.htm

An interesting perspective on who are the "real men" and who are the "******s". :D

This did not involve yelling or fingers but. Wed. right before closing a guy calls and wants to come by and "buy" a bike. I say OK, he shows up right after closing, with the whole family. They stay for 30 min. and do not buy any thing. Oh yes, my wife has come in to town to ride with me, so she has been waiting this whole time. I swap duds and off we go. We roll up to the mall exit, right hand lane, the guy that was in the store is in the left lane. As we pull out, he pulls out then turns right and cuts us off.
Once, coming back into the shop after a ride a guyin a Honda pulled out as we were turning in and almost hit the guy I was riding with. He just threw up his hand, no finger. The guy in the car started flipping him off and screaming at my friend. Then he pulled out and got caught by the light. I lost my temper a bit, rolled up to him and in as many words told him to get out of his car and I would brake his finger off and find a more suitable location for it. For some reason he declined by rolling up his window and locking the doors. I guess lycra is intimidating up close.

around here I get people swearing at me on average of once or twice a week, when riding 4-5 days a week, occasional finger, mostly yelling stuff.

and no I'm not provoking it in any way by riding crazy or in the wrong place.

not sure if that is above or below average

Chris, my point is not to separate car roads and bike roads, that's why I've put them in " ". It's to make people understand that vehicules (bikes) are going fast on the trail and it's just as dangerous as the standard roads (which I called car roads here). Of course, it's not the BF users who need to understand that, they already know. :)

In most US municipalities there are rules for riding bicycles. Here in MN the law clearly states bicyclists have a right to the road, and can ride on the road, staying "as far right, as safe vehicle handling will allow."

Not many drivers read the vehicle/road codes and laws. They are only interested in getting the little plastic card that, they think, gives the right to rule the road.

As far as stupid things said to me while cycling, and there have been a few, this one came from a motorcycle cop sitting at the side of the road with his radar gun. He'd clocked me and as I rode by, coming from a dead stop at a light(something I don't always do, except when there're cops around) he announced his reading to me 12 miles. Boy what a stupid thing to say.

The last one came a couple weeks ago, for the life of me I have no clue what it was about, just a few teenage (I assume teenage) boys out for a cruise, pass me and yell out "Nice a55!" It had me thinking of a snappy come back for the rest of the ride, and then had me thinking about what would provoke someone to say that. I even checked to make sure my shorts weren't see through(God forbid, I'd be showing my a55 off to the world).

Originally posted by naisme
The last one came a couple weeks ago, for the life of me I have no clue what it was about, just a few teenage (I assume teenage) boys out for a cruise, pass me and yell out "Nice a55!" It had me thinking of a snappy come back for the rest of the ride, [/COLOR]

You could have just blown them a kiss. :D

It's kinda fun taking the p!ss out of homophobes.

According to the law a bicycle is classified has a vehicle
were a vehicle that cannot compete with heavy traffic
I never enjoy riding a bicycle in lots of traffic,thats why
a lot of times I especially get up early in mornings to have my 2hr. ride then I'm done for the day,before the mad rush starts.You people who got your own bike paths are fortunate...that would elimanate a lot of swearing

Interesting. I admit I don't ride on the road much, but I've never been been abused. I guess Portland is one of the better cities in the nation for bicycle friendliness (although the way people drive around here is frightening).
I'm always careful to take responsibility for my safety. I never assume that drivers are going to respect the bike lane when turning until I've made eye contact and I don't ride the car lane unless there is no bike lane and I don't think I will be obstructing traffic. Plus, I always give a friendly wave when someone shows respect by giving me a wide berth or yielding to me.
Unfortunately, bikes aren't common enough in the US to earn the same respect as in other places. Plus, driving schools hardly discuss the rights of cyclists and how to respond around them, so people are left with bad assumptions.