Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - I love gridlock.

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.




Pages : [1] 2 3

View Full Version : I love gridlock.


dumpstervegan
03-08-04, 09:46 AM
Sliding Eastward up the Fullerton Bridge through the early-morning gridlock thoughts of the upcoming day float through my clear head. I breathe in and out, rocking Tank back and forth in a controlled climb as the dashed white lane divider disappears behind me.

The morning is crisp and sunny and perfect.

Somewhere in my head I hear honking and suddenly I realize the honking is not in my head but right beside me. Behind a drivers-side window I see a figure violently gesturing at me. I check my position and I have not ventured into his lane, and am honestly a good two feet from any car around me. The figure pulls the steering-wheel to the left and the oil slick black BMW swerves over the white dotted line forcing me into the left lane and challenging my place on the road with two tons of steel and plastic to my twenty pounds of it.

Swerving back into his lane the driver revs his engine and speeds up the hill, cresting it before stopping about thirty feet ahead of me at the stoplight of Fullerton Plaza.

My mind is racing. Should I stop and talk to him? Pound on his window screaming and foaming and red, hot from the ride and fully energized by the vitamin and nutrient cocktail I had downed not ten minutes earlier? I begin my smooth descent toward his car, his 2,000 pound near death machine growling in the gridlock. He is powerless to move through the mass of metal before and behind him and it strikes me.

I am approaching his car and my gloved right hand rises high. Sweeps down. Impacts. I feel the sting of the mirror's plastic shell and smooth face on my padded palm. The shell cracks. Looses itself from the body of the car. Plastic and glass go skittering across the blacktop.

I power down the remainder of the hill at full 54/16 sprint as a powerless honking and fury rises behind me, sitting still in gridlock. Through the red light and under the low steel Metra bridge. A quick turn onto Clybourne and down side streets and I am swallowed by the city.

I love gridlock.


SD Fixed
03-08-04, 10:00 AM
Violence is not the answer.

But it sure is theraputic.

:D

I did some yelling today. They put up the bike lane signs, so now, the drivers should be in the "know". So, as I was forced to ride in the gutter, or in the traffic lane, I did some yelling.

I got a few suprised looks, no comments.

Though I looked in one open window as I yelled, and noticed two stars on the collar. So, I added a "sir" and quickly made my way to the gate.

DV, you push a hell of a gear there.

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 10:03 AM
I'm sure that the next time that driver sees a rider, your incredible display of maturity will be payed forward.


SD Fixed
03-08-04, 10:04 AM
I'm sure that the next time that driver sees a rider, your incredible display of maturity will be payed forward.

It's all about escallation. I think that if you weave into a cyclist ON PURPOSE, you kind of buy a response.

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 10:10 AM
OK, I see that. And now it's been escalated once more. Think that driver's gonna let it go, given that they've already shown that they're an asshat? I doubt it.

And we wonder why some drivers really have it out for us.

edk
03-08-04, 10:15 AM
It's all about escallation. I think that if you weave into a cyclist ON PURPOSE, you kind of buy a response.

That's inane.

Your response and dumpstervegan action. Thanks for making the cycling world a little worse today.

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 10:20 AM
Hey WK, my reply wasn't to your story (figure you know that, but it should be public knowledge). Looks like you added that after I said something about maturity. Shouting matches are one thing. Breaking someone's stuff is another.

dumpstervegan
03-08-04, 10:27 AM
I'm always more than happy to bring justice to the injust. Like Judge Dredd only a little more ripped.

If some guy wants to fuuck with me for riding my bicycle he deserves whatever he gets. I'm always a very considerate rider and don't do anything that could endanger myself or people around me (I was driving through 15mph Fullerton rush-hour traffic, hardly dangerous by any stretch of the imagination) and when I'm put in danger for no reason I'm going to retaliate.

Now perhaps the driver will think twice about swerving at cyclists. Or maybe he'll run a cyclist over. I dunno, but what I do know is that he tried to hit me today and that's unacceptable. I feel that by backing down from situations like that cyclists only show the agressor that his actions are acceptable.

I know there are two schools of thought on this topic and I suppose that it can be argued both ways, but what it boils down to is what the individual feels is right in the situation. I did what I feel was right, and when you experience something similar you should feel free to go up to his window, knock politely, and talk it out with him.

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 10:29 AM
That's inane.

Your response and dumpstervegan action. Thanks for making the cycling world a little worse today.

DBP. Not that you warrent it, but I'll do a little explanation.

I've been run into the curb 3 times now by people cruising the bike line waiting to get on base.

One day, I drove into to work, and noticed that you can't see the bike lane in traffic, and there is no sign there either.

So, I took it upon my self, to notify the city, and have the signs fixed.

This is all documented in the Advocy forum here, if you look.

The signs have been fixed. I yell, because if I talk, I can't be heard. Car windows and all.

I also plan to hand out flyers as well, with quoted MVC.

Now, if this doesn't fit your ideal of how to approach the problem, I'd love to see the solution.

As for DV and his method: the guy was swerving into him. What action was due? I think his action was ok. I'm not sure I would have taken it. But I think it was a due response for the situation.

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 10:31 AM
Hey WK, my reply wasn't to your story (figure you know that, but it should be public knowledge). Looks like you added that after I said something about maturity. Shouting matches are one thing. Breaking someone's stuff is another.
Breaking someone's stuff is another. However, given the situation, I think there is a certain level of justification. Again, not sure if I'd do it, but, perhaps.

I've knocked on windows of people pulling into the bike lanes who because radio's were too loud/defness/lost to the world/blindness didn't notice me.

This gets me safe, and them out of the bike lane. Do you dissaprove?

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 10:37 AM
I disapprove because I've seen drivers retaliate to a cyclist's retaliation. A cyclist will never win vs. a car. I'm not advocating letting anyone do anything unchecked, but violence breeds violence, and the rest of us are left out there with drivers that are more angry towards riders than they were before someone broke part of their car off. I understand the response, but I know full well that, more often than not, you won't have to deal with that driver the next time.

It's gotta stop somewhere. You certainly can't let people bully you, but I think justifying reactions as proportionate is just going to end up getting someone run over by an 'escalated' driver.

lucklust
03-08-04, 11:13 AM
I've used violence a few times as a cyclist, but only when I felt it was truly justified. I've taken off ~5 side mirrors, and thrown a headlight into a driver's head. The side mirrors were all the same situation. A driver either pulled out in front of me, or right-turned into me, and I hit them, then they failed to stop and acknowledge what they did. If I had broken my neck, they never would have known, they all just drove off. For all but one of them, I even rolled up and knocked on their window, but they each refused to even look over at me, leading me to believe that they KNEW they did it, but just hoped that by driving off, I would go away.
The headlight was a special circumstance. It was a middle-aged guy in a Porsche 914 Convertible who got the Cateye special. I was coming off of Mt. Tamalpais, doing about 35 in a medium length straight about to enter a hairpin left, when this guy whizzes up next to me, then misjudges the left turn, slides into the shoulder, and hits me hard enough to send the Peugeot and me completely airborne and into the adjacent ditch. You can guess how that made me feel. The little twit didn't even stop. I get back on the bike and start flying down the hill. My knees, elbows, and chin were bleeding, but I was on a mission. Luckily, this part of Tam was very twisty, and I'm much faster than a car through it. As I'm gaining on my new best friend, I see the deep scratches and medium size dent I left in the passenger-side door. There is no way he could not have known that he hit me... hard.
As I'm passing him on the left (I know, not real safe), I decide that I'm not even going to yell at him. I do the only thing my rattled brain can come up with. I pull off my headlight, and hit him square in the temple. My buddy slams the brake, swerves off into the pullout, and I never saw him again.
I don't advocate violence, but hugs and love won't teach the few unremorseful drivers to admit that they've done something wrong.

p.s. I fully expect admonition for my churlish, unpolished behavior.

pitboss
03-08-04, 11:18 AM
Yeah-
We all know how gridlocked the streets Allentown NJ (http://www.allentownnj.com/allentown/page1.htm) and Window Rock AZ (http://www.city-data.com/city/Window-Rock-Arizona.html) can be. In a larger population center (think of a city that has 2,896,016 residents as of 2000 vs. 3059 of Window Rock in 2000), smacking hoods and mirrors is commonplace. Do I care if you consent to DV's actions? NO, you are not here. I do recommend going to a city with over 1000000 residents and riding through mornig rush hour for more than 2 weeks and see how quickly your friendly waves turn into a defensive manuever/warning. At times, it does get a bit extreme, but if it is me or a mirror, it'll be the mirror. No question

dumpstervegan
03-08-04, 11:22 AM
My feeling is that he could have easily broken every bone in my body, indeed he made a half-hearted attempt at doing just that. Losing his mirror is a small tax in light of the scale of his incursion. It seems very easy to swerve in a car and may seem like posturing and "taking control of the road" from their end but from my end swerving at me was a life-threatening action.

If someone were to attack me and then ran off I would, were I given the chance, exact full vengance on them. Maybe chasing down my attacker and taking something from them will make them hate people like me in the future but it will also teach respect and that you and your ilk are not to be taken so lightly.

I suppose this just boils down to a difference of opinion on how to deal with confrontation. Not that your way is wrong by any means, nor is my way wrong. Just different. If he had honked and that was all I would have let it slide with yelling and cursing (as I normally do) but swerving at me is definitely stepping the situation up a bit.

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 11:23 AM
Yeah-
We all know how gridlocked the streets Allentown NJ (http://www.allentownnj.com/allentown/page1.htm) and Window Rock AZ (http://www.city-data.com/city/Window-Rock-Arizona.html) can be. In a larger population center (think of a city that has 2,896,016 residents as of 2000 vs. 3059 of Window Rock in 2000), smacking hoods and mirrors is commonplace. Do I care if you consent to DV's actions? NO, you are not here. I do recommend going to a city with over 1000000 residents and riding through mornig rush hour for more than 2 weeks and see how quickly your friendly waves turn into a defensive manuever/warning. At times, it does get a bit extreme, but if it is me or a mirror, it'll be the mirror. No question

No why, WHY would you go and confuse an arguement with facts?

(waiting for what reasonable explanation is gonna come from the others now)

Man, the base I work on has more people than that.. More come through the gates in the morning than that.

edk
03-08-04, 11:26 AM
I know there are two schools of thought on this topic and I suppose that it can be argued both ways, but what it boils down to is what the individual feels is right in the situation. I did what I feel was right, and when you experience something similar you should feel free to go up to his window, knock politely, and talk it out with him.

There are not two schools of thought. Breaking someones property like that is illegal.

If everyone did what they felt was right for any given situation as you suggest then you just justified that motorists actions.

Plenty of people have been mistreated by a driver in the city. Myself included (want the whole sad story PM me or dig it up here). Don't come nosing around me looking for praise or a pat on the back. What you did was wrong, stupid, immmature, and illegal.

All that driver owes you is an apology - you owe him a fixed piece of car.

Its not about being a sheep and backing down, its about being smart and mature. If I saw that situation I would think "what an A@@hole" -- about the motorist AND the cyclist. Now If I saw the same situation but the cyclist did not break a piece of the car off I would think "What an A@@hole"........ about the driver.... only.

You got angry, hit the guys car. fine move on. but to strut around PROUD of it.... gimme a break.

Brillig
03-08-04, 11:30 AM
So you were to his left, sharing a lane with him? I'm having trouble picturing the events.

edk
03-08-04, 11:30 AM
No why, WHY would you go and confuse an arguement with facts?

(waiting for what reasonable explanation is gonna come from the others now)

Man, the base I work on has more people than that.. More come through the gates in the morning than that.

I guess that means its OK to act like that in a large population center, but in sleepy little Allentown we have to act differently?

No reasonable explanation is needed, I think anyone can see that what happened there is not isolated to big cities and not living in one does not preclude me or anyone from holding an opinion of the situation.

How does where I live pertain in any way to this arguament or the situation?

mcutt
03-08-04, 11:37 AM
I guess that means its OK to act like that in a large population center, but in sleepy little Allentown we have to act differently?

No reasonable explanation is needed, I think anyone can see that what happened there is not isolated to big cities and not living in one does not preclude me or anyone from holding an opinion of the situation.

How does where I live pertain in any way to this arguament or the situation?

please commute one morning in new york city and get back to us on this topic, thanks!

mc

Krud
03-08-04, 11:42 AM
Life vs. Property

I recently had a run in with a very angry man and his piece of **** automobile. Homeboy was in a rush to make a light, so was I...He came into my lane to go around a turning car and almost pinned me a against a parked van. So, I gave his window a couple of quick jabs as to alert him that I was there...no damage done to the car/window...just a wake up call. This enraged the driver to the point where he came up behind me in the middle of the intesection (Houston & Ave. A NYC) as if to hit me...all the while screaming his head off (in front of his wife and 2 kids, if ever somebody looked like a wifebeater it was this dude).

I couldnt believe it...he was pissed....once i crossed the intersection he tried to hit me agian, I dont think he would have actually hit me, but what if he did...he is ****ing around with a TON of metal and one human's life. So I pulled to the side and stoped the bike, he came up right behind me screaming, that "nobody can touch his car" (I think it was a Honda...late 90's) I informed him that he almost hit me...then he asked if wanted to get hit, threating to really hit me with his fists. I told him to share the road.

you wanna get hit?
share the road!
you wanna get hit?
share the road!
you wanna get hit?
yes!, I want to get hit...this is how you are acting in front of your family?...yes hit me!

then an unmarked cop car came up and told him to get back in his car and for me to get outta of there...

Point being...people are INSANE. Violence may or may not be the answer, but there are some DUMB****S out on the road. And if you see a Blue Honda with NY plates GHR 183...give his window a nice jab for me.

Schiek
03-08-04, 11:43 AM
I don't advocate acting maliciously or doing things out of spite. But after you've been nudged, tapped, swideswiped and doored a couple times, you quickly realize that all is not rosy in the big city....and DC isn't half as crazy as Chicago...so yes, demographics are key, here, and sometimes pounding on a window, or a hood is the only way to let some a-hole know that if he keeps fading into your line, he's going to kill you. For whatever reason waving and a cheery disposition don't seem to do the trick.

dumpstervegan
03-08-04, 11:45 AM
There are not two schools of thought. Breaking someones property like that is illegal.
Smashing someones mirror is destruction of property. Swerving your car at someone is attempted manslaughter.


If everyone did what they felt was right for any given situation as you suggest then you just justified that motorists actions.
Well I suppose his actions were justified then... And so were mine.


Plenty of people have been mistreated by a driver in the city. Myself included (want the whole sad story PM me or dig it up here). Don't come nosing around me looking for praise or a pat on the back. What you did was wrong, stupid, immmature, and illegal.
I'm not looking for praise and I will always be the first to say that I'm immature and stupid.


All that driver owes you is an apology - you owe him a fixed piece of car.
That he doesn't owe me and that he won't get - our score is settled.


Its not about being a sheep and backing down, its about being smart and mature. If I saw that situation I would think "what an A@@hole" -- about the motorist AND the cyclist. Now If I saw the same situation but the cyclist did not break a piece of the car off I would think "What an A@@hole"........ about the driver.... only.
I'm sure I look like an assshole as does the driver.


You got angry, hit the guys car. fine move on. but to strut around PROUD of it.... gimme a break.
I am sharing my experience and looking for responses. I am enjoying this conversation and the different opinions expressed in it. I'm not mad and don't have any ill will toward any of you for your opinions though you may call me stupid and immature.

pitboss
03-08-04, 11:46 AM
please commute one morning in new york city and get back to us on this topic, thanks!

mc
indeed...well put mcutt

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 12:07 PM
How does where I live pertain in any way to this arguament or the situation?

It's a big city thing, you wouldn't understand I guess.

Example, when I was a kid, we went to Elkton South Dakota. I was laughed at when I locked the family car doors. Just a foreign stupid idea to lock doors, as who in their right mind would steal?

EDK, you'd just have to see it to understand, honestly. I'm sure you'd get it then.

Mayonnaise
03-08-04, 12:20 PM
I take great exception to the way dumpstervegan handled himself on Fullerton this morning (a route I've ridden many times myself), I'm ashamed and think he let down the entire cycling communtiy in Chicago, and the rest of the world for that matter. Did it make you feel better to raise your hand, impact, and scatter plastic all over the blacktop? No, it didn't, and I'll tell you why. Because at that instant all you did was break a piece of plastic on his precious BMW instead of smashing his skull and sending blood and bone framgents onto the pavement the way you should have, the way the city has taught you, the way he wanted to do to you. Right now he's over at Knauz getting the mirror replaced and bragging about how f'd up you are and how your bike is a twisted mess. For your penance listen to Stooges "Raw Power" and the first Clash record twice each then get back on that bike and go get a piece of that plastic and carry it with you always.

Schiek
03-08-04, 12:24 PM
I take great exception to the way dumpstervegan handled himself on Fullerton this morning (a route I've ridden many times myself), I'm ashamed and think he let down the entire cycling communtiy in Chicago, and the rest of the world for that matter. Did it make you feel better to raise your hand, impact, and scatter plastic all over the blacktop? No, it didn't, and I'll tell you why. Because at that instant all you did was break a piece of plastic on his precious BMW instead of smashing his skull and sending blood and bone framgents onto the pavement the way you should have, the way the city has taught you. Right now he's over at Knauz getting the mirror replaced and bragging about how f'd up you are and how your bike is a twisted mess. For your penance listen to Stooges "Raw Power" and the first Clash record twice each then get back on that bike and go get a piece of that plastic and carry it with you always.

I believe that's a wrap, folks. Thanks for coming.

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 12:33 PM
Thump! Thump! Thump!

I'm dizzy with laughter at this point!!!

edk
03-08-04, 12:37 PM
It's a big city thing, you wouldn't understand I guess.

Example, when I was a kid, we went to Elkton South Dakota. I was laughed at when I locked the family car doors. Just a foreign stupid idea to lock doors, as who in their right mind would steal?

EDK, you'd just have to see it to understand, honestly. I'm sure you'd get it then.

Oh please, I went to school in Phila. I lived in a "big city". I love how becuase of where I live now, I have no idea how this kind of thing can happen or a basis for comparison. I get it alright, and I just don't agree with it. not just acedemically, practicaly.

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 12:38 PM
I get it alright, and I just don't agree with it. not just acedemically, practicaly.
Ok, so you get it, and you don't agree. Well, then that crosses you off the list. You understand, and don't approve. I still say if you were there, or here, you'd act differently.

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 01:10 PM
Yeah-
We all know how gridlocked the streets Allentown NJ (http://www.allentownnj.com/allentown/page1.htm) and Window Rock AZ (http://www.city-data.com/city/Window-Rock-Arizona.html) can be. In a larger population center (think of a city that has 2,896,016 residents as of 2000 vs. 3059 of Window Rock in 2000), smacking hoods and mirrors is commonplace. Do I care if you consent to DV's actions? NO, you are not here. I do recommend going to a city with over 1000000 residents and riding through mornig rush hour for more than 2 weeks and see how quickly your friendly waves turn into a defensive manuever/warning. At times, it does get a bit extreme, but if it is me or a mirror, it'll be the mirror. No question

Just to make sure that you get your facts straight, note this: I lived and rode in Dallas Texas prior to living here. And, to think for a split second that drivers here, because fewer in number, are safer is absolutely ignorant. But, thanks for letting us all know that Window Rock is small. That was tough, I bet.

mcutt
03-08-04, 01:20 PM
Just to make sure that you get your facts straight, note this: I lived and rode in Dallas Texas prior to living here. And, to think for a split second that drivers here, because fewer in number, are safer is absolutely ignorant. But, thanks for letting us all know that Window Rock is small. That was tough, I bet.

the less drivers on the road, the safer for anyone on a bicycle. try and refute that. the drivers may still be a$$holes, but still, LESS a$$holes.

have you ever been pinned between a NYC yellow cab and an MTA bus?

have you escaped being doored, only to near-collide with a chinese food delivery man?

ever see a pothole that could bend your entire rim in half, and risk your life swerving out of the way to protect your bike?

NYC and the other large cities (chicago) are running on a different type of coffee. stress-levels are high, and driver tolerance for bikers is LOW. please try and understand.

dobber
03-08-04, 01:21 PM
I believe that's a wrap, folks. Thanks for coming.

So soon? This one looks like it might have the legs to go the distance.

Pissed Off Singlespeeder Part Deux - Vegan Takes Chicago

dumpstervegan
03-08-04, 01:23 PM
I take great exception to the way dumpstervegan handled himself on Fullerton this morning (a route I've ridden many times myself), I'm ashamed and think he let down the entire cycling communtiy in Chicago, and the rest of the world for that matter. Did it make you feel better to raise your hand, impact, and scatter plastic all over the blacktop? No, it didn't, and I'll tell you why. Because at that instant all you did was break a piece of plastic on his precious BMW instead of smashing his skull and sending blood and bone framgents onto the pavement the way you should have, the way the city has taught you, the way he wanted to do to you. Right now he's over at Knauz getting the mirror replaced and bragging about how f'd up you are and how your bike is a twisted mess. For your penance listen to Stooges "Raw Power" and the first Clash record twice each then get back on that bike and go get a piece of that plastic and carry it with you always.

I'm on it Mayo, I'm on it... :roflmao:

BlastRadius
03-08-04, 01:26 PM
So soon? This one looks like it might have the legs to go the distance.

Pissed Off Singlespeeder Part Deux - Vegan Takes Chicago

:roflmao: I was just thinking the same thing. :D

Schiek
03-08-04, 01:27 PM
So soon? This one looks like it might have the legs to go the distance.

Pissed Off Singlespeeder Part Deux - Vegan Takes Chicago

You are absolutely right. I was hasty in my proclamation. I would delete the post, but don't want to upset the flow.

Oh yeah....small towns suck! Big Cities Rule!

randya
03-08-04, 01:30 PM
OK, so here's a question I gotta ask ImprezaDrvr: based on your user name, you appear to be a 'cars first' kinda guy, so I'm not surprised about the 'cars first' opinions you expressed earlier in this thread....

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 01:34 PM
OK, so here's a question I gotta ask ImprezaDrvr: based on your user name, you appear to be a 'cars first' kinda guy, so I'm not surprised about the 'cars first' opinions you expressed earlier in this thread....
Hmmmm.... I gotta do some research on this.

dobber
03-08-04, 01:35 PM
You are absolutely right. I was hasty in my proclamation. I would delete the post, but don't want to upset the flow.

Oh yeah....small towns suck! Big Cities Rule!


Wait a minute bucko, I live in a small town. You take it back, or I'm, I'm, I'm gonna lube your chain with motor oil...........

dobber
03-08-04, 01:38 PM
OK, so here's a question I gotta ask ImprezaDrvr: based on your user name, you appear to be a 'cars first' kinda guy, so I'm not surprised about the 'cars first' opinions you expressed earlier in this thread....

Wow, that's stretching it. I wash and wax my truck frequently, where does that put me?

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 01:39 PM
OK, so here's a question I gotta ask ImprezaDrvr: based on your user name, you appear to be a 'cars first' kinda guy, so I'm not surprised about the 'cars first' opinions you expressed earlier in this thread....

I talked to Omar at Bob Baker Subaru in El Cajon, nice place, they have a 1 800 number. Anyway, helpfull Omar said it cost 188.95 to replace a passenger side mirror, and that he'd have to order it for me. This is assuming it's a 2002 blue Impreza.

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 01:39 PM
please try and understand.

Take your own advice. I see the point and understand it, but 165 shouldn't assume that people don't live in many diverse places throughout life.

Not like people in Dallas are pleasant drivers. And yes, I've encountered DART busses while avoiding potholes and jaywalkers, all simultaneously and with a few horns and middle fingers. But thanks for asking.

My point is this: I don't believe for a split second that you should not retaliate against a bad or ******* driver. But there's a ripple effect of your actions, just as there is of theirs. And the rest of us share the road with drivers that have been pissed off at cyclists long enough that they don't give a rat's ass about vehicular homicide or manslaughter when they're seeing red and running me over. (165, no it won't happen here, more than likely, but I find myself riding in metropolitan areas throughout the summer, so stuff it). Retaliate, of course. Just don't be so blissfully ignorant as to assume that you're making life easier on anyone else on a bike.

The mentality that so many of you are operating under is the exact mentality that asshat drivers operate under.

And I will forever maintain that I can piss farther than any of you.

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 01:41 PM
Prediction.

This thread will be a train wreck. Many people from outside the FG/SS sections will come in and lay in. Feathers will fly. Opinions will be stated. Some one's gonna call someone a name. Someone's gonna get thier feelings hurt.

None of it will make DV safe. None of it will fix the mirror. None if it will do much of a god dam thing.

But it'll be epic, funny, and goooood reading.

So, let's have at it.

Schiek
03-08-04, 01:42 PM
Wait a minute bucko, I live in a small town. You take it back, or I'm, I'm, I'm gonna lube your chain with motor oil...........

It was not my intent, but if I offended you in any way, then I apologize for doing so.

Boy, that was easy.

Oh yeah, good thing I'm not Irish:

'Bucko' - derogatory term for 'unreliable Irish youth.' :D :D :D :D

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 01:42 PM
I don't believe for a split second that you should not retaliate against a bad or ******* driver.

Sort of against what you posted earlier.

And I will forever maintain that I can piss farther than any of you.

Dude, you haven't been 'round here long, have you?

SD Fixed
03-08-04, 01:43 PM
'Bucko' - derogatory term for 'unreliable Irish
youth.' :D :D :D :D

Here we go again.... :D

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 01:44 PM
OK, so here's a question I gotta ask ImprezaDrvr: based on your user name, you appear to be a 'cars first' kinda guy, so I'm not surprised about the 'cars first' opinions you expressed earlier in this thread....

Wow. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Wait a sec, are you serious?

pitboss
03-08-04, 01:46 PM
acedemically, practicaly.
funny spelling for an academic. That must be the 'big city' Philly public schooling coming out in you.
I back DV 100%. I have done this to protect myself IN A BIKE LANE. Maybe you could come to Chicago and give a class on how to offer friendly tips on not hitting cyclists to all the PISSED OFF, SUV DRIVING, TAXI CAB ROCKETS, etc here and make it better for us. We'd appreciate it.

ImprezaDrvr
03-08-04, 01:48 PM
Sort of against what you posted earlier.


Dude, you haven't been 'round here long, have you?

Not at all against. I haven't been advocating a policy of no response. I stated that very clearly in an earlier post. I'm just saying that breaking **** continues what you aptly termed as an escalation. The problem I have is that a 3000 pound machine with a driver that's been escalated is a significant threat. Beating on their machine just makes them more willing to run me over. If someone's willing to run over a rider to begin with, and a rider breaks off their rearview mirror, do you really think that they'll be more polite to another rider at a later time?

As for your second comment, I hardly think that duration of membership has anything to do with pissing PSI.

edk
03-08-04, 01:51 PM
Just a few articles as food for thought. I'm not real happy with me being painted as a country bumkin, peace sign sucking, flower child, but hey thats the nature of the beast in an anonymous internet. Either way, I'm pretty adament in my stance that what dumpstervegan did was *not* justified regardless of where he lived and commutes - and if you knew me you'd know it takes a lot to say that. Read on I'm sure your rage will grow. Mine did.

To me Cars are weapons, I dont **** with people with guns, I don't ufck with people with cars. I still get mad, I still behave badly, but I feel pretty stupid and bad afterwards. and temper my reactions accordingly

It's a slow day, good for the soul - I wish I was arguing with another group besides my own tribe, oh well.

I love this one... I bet the cyclist was TOTALY JUSTIFIED! in what he did to the big bad SUV - 'course he's still dead, died a miserable death, but hey the driver got his too. 2 lives lost that day.
http://www.totalbike.com/news/article/588/

A bullet in the chest, wasnt worth the arguement if you ask me - I'll fight for something I am willing to throw my future and my wife and 2 kids future away on, the right of way on a road IS NOT one of those things
http://www.bikeleague.org/mediacenter/medprs20.htm

He's a little too mushy, but makes a good point at teh end of the article.
http://www.australiancyclist.com.au/showarticle.php?s=8&a=102

eh well The driver DID give him the finger, and he was driving a pick-up, they reacted how they saw fit... nothing wrong with that right?
http://www.totalbike.com/news/article/894/
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04063/280552.stm

Better places to live?
http://www.bikesatwork.com/carfree/carfree-census-database.html

You'll agree with the last line of the article
http://varsity.utoronto.ca:16080/archives/119/nov02/news/road.html

Suggests filing a police report, I did. guess it worked <shrug> I've got better things to do than worry about it.
http://multisweatracing.org/articles/roadrage.htm

Hmmm.. thought this stuff only happens in NY or Chicago?
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_481518.html



It took me exactely 17 minutes today to research this and another 20 to compise posts. 37 minutes to re-enforce fighting a car or truck on thier terms is a losing battle.

lucklust
03-08-04, 01:54 PM
Whoa, screw the ULock-as-car-beater... I'm gettin' a .45