I was on La Jolla Village Drive (the same road HH uses in his commute) which is marked at 45 and 50 MPH. Traffic was moving at 35MPH and much less. I was driving. (I'm swimming in the ocean this afternoon... ) I was in the right lane... (of 3 lanes) a cyclist is right in front of me, her backpack perched on her back... she is no doubt headed for UCSD. There are no bike lanes. Just in front of her are a short bunch of parked cars. I know she is going to have to move left for the parked cars.
Now behind me is a huge black Escalade... right on my tail. A place he moved into without signaling just seconds before, and no doubt he is going to try to "push" me. I mean he is right on my bumper.
Now traffic is heavy... no one is going anywhere fast.
I slow down so the cyclist can move from the far right to get around the parked cars... I know she is moving left to get around the parked cars. She is right in front of me.
Mr Escalade hits the horn... hard... revs it and moves left, then right... just as the cyclist in front of me is moving left. The horn stops her. She is right at the left rear fender of the first parked car and not moving. (panic look on her face)
Escalade moves ahead about 6 car lengths into the stopped traffic. He is going nowhere. He is not even turning right; he just passed the onramp (which is where I am heading) and is sitting still in traffic. He just had to get to the point where he wasn't moving. :rolleyes:
As I pass him getting onto the onramp... we have words. He: "You're not supposed to slow down for them... " Me: "learn the laws ahole!"
He could not even give her or anyone else a second of room... and he is stuck in traffic himself... he has nowhere to go. And he could not hesitate for a couple of seconds.
What a jerk! :eek:
I doubt she will bike that route again... such jerks! I donno... I just wanted to pull that idiot out of his vehicle...
leob1
07-16-07, 10:51 AM
YOU should learn the law, the "I have enough money to buy and drive a $50,000 gas guzzler, so get the F out of my way!" law.
He drive just like they do on the right coast. I hope he gets 'jock itch'.
Was the girl cute?
genec
07-16-07, 10:57 AM
Was the girl cute?
Donno... helmet and huge backpack... I was looking at all the traffic and making judgements on what was happening. Cute had not begun to factor in.
AlmostTrick
07-16-07, 11:10 AM
Mr Escalade hits the horn... hard... revs it and moves left, then right... just as the cyclist in front of me is moving left. The horn stops her. She is right at the left rear fender of the first parked car and not moving. (panic look on her face)
What became of her? Was she able to continue her ride in front of you?
genec
07-16-07, 11:14 AM
What became of her? Was she able to continue her ride in front of you?
No she pulled back and stayed there behind the parked cars even after I signaled for her to go forward.
I am pretty sure she had "soiled herself" in light of Mr Escalade.
I doubt she will ride that route again... that is the kind of issue that turns cyclists into motorists.
donnamb
07-16-07, 11:29 AM
You're a good guy, Gene. :)
genec
07-16-07, 11:39 AM
You're a good guy, Gene. :)
Uh thanks... but it is not about me... it is about bad drivers and what they do to us all...
AlmostTrick
07-16-07, 11:41 AM
I doubt she will ride that route again... that is the kind of issue that turns cyclists into motorists.
It's a vicious circle. Motorists harass cyclists for being in the way, cyclists then do what ever they can to stay out of the way, including riding on sidewalks, crappy shoulders, or not riding at all. The status quo is reinforced as motorists see this behavior and consider it normal.
It just ain't right I tell ya.
AEO
07-16-07, 12:26 PM
Had another guy do that to me on my dreaded bridge that's under construction.
Lady passes me with her suburban gracefully, no problem, not annoyed. Then this pickup proceeds to honk at me, pass me dangerously close and only to cut and stop right in front of me because traffic was backed up there. I was about to pull my kryptonite on his mirror for this maneuver, but figured not to since his passenger, child maybe? looked scared ****less, lol. And yes, I beat him to the next 4 traffic light controlled intersections because he kept getting stuck in traffic.
Bekologist
07-16-07, 01:11 PM
Was it HH in the Escalade?
I had a JAM throw perfectly good cherries out of the window at me about an hour ago. We had words after that. He pulled off up ahead, had a little 'edumacation' session about the rules of the road that did no good whatsover.
genec
07-16-07, 01:38 PM
Was it HH in the Escalade?
I had a JAM throw perfectly good cherries out of the window at me about an hour ago. We had words after that. He pulled off up ahead, had a little 'edumacation' session about the rules of the road that did no good whatsover.
Nope HH was nowhere to be seen. I know him and he was not in the Escalade.
CB HI
07-16-07, 06:34 PM
Why can't I get anyone to throw cherries at me? With the cost of cherries, I would love to have some free ones during my commute.:D
Bekologist
07-16-07, 07:38 PM
take the lane a little more often, maybe someone will throw a pineapple at you.....
LittleBigMan
07-16-07, 08:11 PM
Was the girl cute?
I bet if the stooge in the Escalator saw her in a bar, he would have been on his best behavior.
(Probably would have tried to suck in his gut, a useless exercise.)
Blue Order
07-16-07, 09:13 PM
(Probably would have tried to suck in his gut, a useless exercise.):lol:
The guy next door to me is 72, with a hefty gut, and even he sucks it in for young women.
:lol:
donnamb
07-16-07, 10:20 PM
I bet if the stooge in the Escalator saw her in a bar, he would have been on his best behavior.
(Probably would have tried to suck in his gut, a useless exercise.)
That actually happened to me once. This jerk in a convertible was honking me down when I was ahead of him in a lane. I'm glad the top was down because I got to see his face and knew who he was when he tried to chat me up at the brew pub. Man, was he embarassed. :D
seeker333
07-16-07, 10:36 PM
As I pass him getting onto the onramp... we have words. He: "You're not supposed to slow down for them... " Me: "learn the laws ahole!"
... he has nowhere to go. And he could not hesitate for a couple of seconds.
Good for you Gene.
Mos6502
07-16-07, 10:38 PM
A fun trick to do when an SUV or anybody gets on your tail is to pull on the parking brake lever really quick...
I used to drive a '78 Renault Le Car. :D But not anymore...
Falkon
07-17-07, 06:12 AM
I just stick it in 2nd gear and pop the clutch. watching their front front end dive for the ground is just great.
maddyfish
07-17-07, 06:47 AM
It's a vicious circle. Motorists harass cyclists for being in the way, cyclists then do what ever they can to stay out of the way, including riding on sidewalks, crappy shoulders, or not riding at all. The status quo is reinforced as motorists see this behavior and consider it normal.
Exactly
mike
07-17-07, 07:44 AM
If automobiles are, indeed, a part of a person's identity then Escalade ownership says volumes about the owner. Few cars say, "It's all about MEEEEEE!!" louder than the Escalade.
I DO notice that owners of some types of automobiles are more inconsiderate than others. This is not true in all cases, of course, but in many cases.
maddyfish
07-17-07, 07:49 AM
If automobiles are, indeed, a part of a person's identity then Escalade ownership says volumes about the owner.
I DO notice that owners of some types of automobiles are more inconsiderate than others
Hybrids seem to be out to run over me.
They say "I'm better than you"
Kotts
07-17-07, 09:39 AM
If automobiles are, indeed, a part of a person's identity then Escalade ownership says volumes about the owner. Few cars say, "It's all about MEEEEEE!!" louder than the Escalade.
I DO notice that owners of some types of automobiles are more inconsiderate than others. This is not true in all cases, of course, but in many cases.
I made a recent anthropological discovery, a new species of proto-hominid. I call it Hummerdriver Neandertalesis
nelson249
07-17-07, 09:52 AM
A fun trick to do when an SUV or anybody gets on your tail is to pull on the parking brake lever really quick...
I used to drive a '78 Renault Le Car. :D But not anymore...
Yeah, I am still waiting for an appropriate target to sacrifice my Ford Tempo. :D
mike
07-18-07, 08:02 AM
Hybrids seem to be out to run over me.
They say "I'm better than you"
Oh my gosh. Is that right? Will it never end? I thought that the big power dogs were mothers in vans and stiff necks in SUV's.
Now it's hybrids. If mopeds start to get attitude, then we are in real trouble.
AGGRO
07-18-07, 08:48 AM
You'll get your share + of kooks in LJ. That area of traffic SUCKS.
mconlonx
07-19-07, 01:31 PM
Now it's hybrids. If mopeds start to get attitude, then we are in real trouble.
At least we can outrun the mopeds...
Bklyn
07-19-07, 04:23 PM
The drivers in the big cars remind me of my kids. My young sons, 5 and 8, recently inherited two full sets of hockey gear from a cousin, and they promptly suited up and became indestructible, or so they thought. They were content to bang into each other and tackle without fear of hurting anybody. My 2-year-old daughter, who wasn't wearing any gear, reminded me of a cyclist in traffic. It truly never occurred to the boys that they might crush their sister.
Or...on second thought....