Road Cycling - What's the deal with pick-up trucks?

Whenever I'm out on the road and I'm "buzzed" by a car, it seems it's always some yahoo (or, yahoos) in a pick-up truck. They seem to enjoy seeing how close they can get their side view mirror to my head, then laughing at my reaction. I own a pick-up myself, but I haven't any desire to have a cyclist's head as a hood ornament!

Semi-evolved, redneck motoring primates. Best to treat them with the contempt they deserve.

regards,
Chris

As an original "redneck" or "hillbilly", I have to say that yes, your conclusion of trucks & the hillbilly drivers attitude are pretty close...well right on. But I do have to defend them on a stand of ignorance. Hillbilly's are NOT cyclists, and have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what cycling is about. They ride animals that are usually in excess of 1,000 lbs. & usually flailing through the air for 8 seconds at a time. Not that I think they should "side swipe" cyclists, but I do understand where they're coming from, both mentally and physically. And I apologize on the bad behavior you've experienced. I wouldn't want any fellow cyclist hurt for any reason! Take care!
T.C.

You May be a Redneck Pickup Truck Jockey if:

1. You honk at cyclists for fun.
2. You throw your empty beer bottles at road signs you pass while honking at cyclists for fun.
3. You forget to slow down for that corner up the lane and hit a tree (usually backwards.)
4. You can tell you're parked in a level spot because the saliva dribbles in equal amounts out both corners of your toothless, stinky mouth you gun-toting hic.

Not that I personally have anything against them

-M

LOL!

T.C. -

At the risk of sounding like a moron, can I just ask since when has ignorance been any kind of defence for throwing things at/abusing cyclists?

Chris

This past weekend a pickup truck nearly hit me. It made me rethink road cycling.

Hmmm It's usually the pimple faced kids in ricers that scare me, pickup drivers usually wave.

I tried to commute to work along a 21 mile stretch of mostly country road to stay away from the city traffic. I've been "buzzed", and run of the road several times always by people in trucks, to the point where I believed it was just a matter of time until I was hit, so I stopped road riding all together.

I still do regular greenway riding though, and am working with my town to get more bike lanes and trails set up. I know many of you think these solutions are counter productive, but the *first* thing I did was implore the local cycling community to see if we could get the word out to the public about the law when it comes to bikes and cars in the roadways. Those suggestions were met with general apathy and a few cases of anger by cyclists that felt the "STR" message was good enough. Uh, yeah, so I see...

No wonder I'm not a road cyclist.

I have found that people in all sorts of cars will buzz me, but the trucks are the ones that give the most shock becuase they are mostly at eye-level. I think it might be a perspective thing.

also, the diesel smoke kinda pisses me off too. I dont think that the diesel pickup drivers realize that they are blasting a cloud of black smoke out their side-pointed exhaust when they go to accelerate around a group of cyclists.

Ah yes, the rural white male... the one group it is still politically correct to stereotype.

Wow, and I thought I dragged up an old thread in Foo last night. lol.

I've been lucky thus far *knock on wood* that I haven't been buzzed that closely. And most have been smaller cars trying to get around me as I approach an intersection. Guess I should just start taking more of the lane to combat this issue.

I tend to get buzzed more by the Harley riders, since I ride on fun roads. They'll coast 'til they get right up next to me, then gun it. The exhaust from straight pipes out of a V-twin is deafening.

Trucks are more noticeable because they're bigger and generally have huge mirrors.

I get buzzed more by big 4-door sedans driven by the older people on their way to a casino. They seem to hug the right shoulder anyway.

-- I guess it's anybody that has an inherent sense of arrogance about their car and their 'right' to take up the whole road where bicycles don't belong: Big trucks, fast sports cars (guilty), loud and/or fast motorcycles, 'riced' Hondas, 'land yacht' big cars, etc.

--- but, I've been buzzed by everybody, there's really no bias, it seems.

edit///after re-reading this post...I need more coffee. Sorry for the discombobulation.

My problems:

1. Soccer moms/dads in vans leaving/arriving at local schools - they try to pass and stay to the right of the center line, often while going blind (to traffic on other side of short, steep hill) uphill in a double yellow section of road. Even riding in the right tire path or even more towards the center of the lane doesn't help. How do I know they are soccer m/d's? All the soccer ball stickers plastered all over windows. I've pretty much quit riding around the start/end of school because of this.

2. Farm machinery that takes up more than one lane, coming up from behind. Usually can easily hear them though.

3. And yes, pickup trucks, usually with dual wheels on the rear axle and flying mirrors that extend way out.

And my favorite:

4. Any vehicle on a subfreezing AM driven by an idiot with a cell phone in one hand, coffee or other drink in other hand, peering out through a barely scraped viewspot in a frosted over windshield.

Please don't stereotype. I’m a middle aged white male and yes, I do drive a pickup truck. That does not make me a red-neck or hillbilly. I’ve been buzzed by all types of vehicles. Generally, it’s kids who think it’s funny to scare the **** out of cyclists.

I have very strong feelings on this subject. I have been spat on and had all manner of stuff thrown at me. Screamed and honked at, and run off the road, too. The thing with the diesel smoke is fairly new, they get close and match your speed, put it in a high gear, then mash the throttle. This causes a huge black cloud to belch out. Cute. I have found these cretins are almost always young white men who wouldn't stand a chance in a fist fight with me or my friends, but they get some kind of thrill from their cowardly actions. Once one of these jerks threw a grape Slurpee on my friend Sue,(who was wearing a white jersey) and my friend Mike saw where they went(the Buckley School). He rode in there and probably would have beat the little pin head but the guard called the cops. At least this one idiot got arrested. I swear, sometimes I feel like carrying a gun when I ride. BTW I live in the L.A. area.

Been buzzed by trucks and jeeps but actually hit by a Harley rider... he and I were the only two riders on an empty stretch of country road where I train and the moron cruises right up next to me and hits me on my left arm with his handlebars/mirror... I was cruising at about 22 mph and he was going fast enough that he was out of sight in less than a minute... fortunately it was a glancing blow and I managed to stay upright without hitting the road or ditch...

Hmmm It's usually the pimple faced kids in ricers that scare me, pickup drivers usually wave.


+1 Teenagers are the worst, everybody else has been real nice; except for a couple of rednecks in a pickup truck. They didn't buzz us but had choice words concerning our choice of sexual partners. About 5 miles up the road said pickup truck is broke down by the side of the road. Rednecks nowhere in sight.

2. Farm machinery that takes up more than one lane, coming up from behind. Usually can easily hear them though.



... or attempting to pass them when they're moving too slow. Although the drivers, I've found, are vastly more aware and considerate than your typical driver (around here, at least).

While I agree with the general sentiment of the OP, I've been a victim of the reverse.

I was fishing a pond near the side of the road just off the Mississippi River in Savannah, IL, while waiting for my bass tournament partner to show up with his boat. My pickup was parked on the shoulder. I was casting and minding my own business, when I felt a stream of water hit me aside my head. I turned to see a group of roadies cruising past on their high-priced machines, giggling like school girls.

I suppose they thought they were getting back at all of the crackers who had ever taunted them. Obviously they didn't realize that I was also a roadie, just not on that day. Had half a mind to hop in the truck, tear after them, and let them know this key point, but you can't argue with idiots. And sometimes, the idiot is the cyclist.

Whats the deal with old threads?

Most rednecks are too stupid to know that they are stupid. The only thing that is predictable about them is that they are cowards by themselves and they'll try to show off if they're with their buds. Doesn't much matter how old they are, just the old ones are too fat to be very mobile and they usually don't live much past 70 because of their unhealthy life styles.

I haven't quite figured out why some one like me on a bike is so threating to them, I guess it's a power thing. It's not just limited to making cyclists get out of their way, they beat up on each other pretty regularly too.

I'm not sure how many rednecks we have here in AZ, but I got buzzed by a massive pickup towing a boat last weekend. Looked like he was coming back from Lake Pleasant. We had just crossed an intersection, so he was "only" going about 35 mph, but he damn near hit me with the massive side mirror and then after he passed me, I could see him looking in his rear-view mirror to see my reaction. I can be a hothead, but I didn't do anything.

My wife almost got creamed by a dumb$hit driving a P/U and towing a boat in Marina del Rey. I chased him down to "discuss" it with him and his response was, "She should be more careful"!

There are too many people on the road, and most of them are stupid.

I was riding a popular route in the area, which is semi-rural, about a month ago with a couple of friends from out of town and a 80's Camaro with racing stripes buzzed us coming from the other direction. In his defense, the liquor store was closing in 10 min and it was late Saturday afternoon. For most rednecks down here in SC, beating your wife just isn't as fun without a good buzz!

I was embarrased for the area, as it is great for cycling and we had just been talking about how they wished that they could ride here all the time like I had the joy of doing. I wonder if the Camaro guy ever buzzes Hincapie when he is home riding???

Whats the deal with old threads?
It's cool. Instead of starting a new thread with the same subject matter, just tack it on an existing one, whether old or recent.

This may sound crazy, but i feel less threatened riding in heavy rush hour traffic on a week day than riding by myself on a country backroad. I might be one of the lucky ones, living in an area where cyclists are a realativly common sight, I havnt been buzzed in a long time.

Last night a guy in a pickup yelled out "Lance Armstrong!" as he passed me while i was chuggin up a hill. I get that alot more than the buzzing.

Ya know, something like 50% of the vehicles sold in the last several years were 'light trucks'. This and ever increasing traffic densities just mean that more folks are going to do that sort of thing and they're more likely to be driving a pick-up or such. Plain old math.

Whats the deal with old threads?

Must be someone is actually using the search function instead of creating a new Redneck thread ;)

Ya know, something like 50% of the vehicles sold in the last several years were 'light trucks'.

Vehicle's like the Chrysler PT Cruiser are considered Light Trucks - one of the reasons is because the seats can fold down flat. Part of the reason that car manufacturers do silly things like that to qualify cars as trucks is so that they can get away with the poor gas mileage.

A proper Redneck would never ride in some of the things in the 'light truck' category :rolleyes:

Please don't stereotype. I’m a middle aged white male and yes, I do drive a pickup truck. That does not make me a red-neck or hillbilly. I’ve been buzzed by all types of vehicles. Generally, it’s kids who think it’s funny to scare the **** out of cyclists.

+1

My problems:

1. Soccer moms/dads in vans leaving/arriving at local schools - they try to pass and stay to the right of the center line, often while going blind (to traffic on other side of short, steep hill) uphill in a double yellow section of road. Even riding in the right tire path or even more towards the center of the lane doesn't help. How do I know they are soccer m/d's? All the soccer ball stickers plastered all over windows. I've pretty much quit riding around the start/end of school because of this.

2. Farm machinery that takes up more than one lane, coming up from behind. Usually can easily hear them though.

3. And yes, pickup trucks, usually with dual wheels on the rear axle and flying mirrors that extend way out.

And my favorite:

4. Any vehicle on a subfreezing AM driven by an idiot with a cell phone in one hand, coffee or other drink in other hand, peering out through a barely scraped viewspot in a frosted over windshield.

+1. I also drive a large Ford pick-up. However, I always give bikers a break.

It's been a long time since I was buzzed, but I am certainly familiar with the pick-up truck moron, always male, almost always under 25.

But for for white-knuckle, "what am I doing here," non-stop, shorts-soiling scary, try the Rockefeller Parkway (the road between Tetons and Yellowstone Natl Parks) during the summer. It isn't the pick-up trucks, it's the wall-to-wall Winnebagoes towing either a car or a boat. The boats are worse, because they are ususally wider than the Winnie pulling them. A stunning percentage of the drivers of these Rigs From Hell suffer from one or more of the following maladies:

(1) lack of experience driving their rigs, leading to a complete absence of understanding of where the hell the right side of their vehicle is;

(2) seeing the road and what's on it only for a fleeting nanosecond at a time as they turn their head from gawking at the scenery out one side window to gawk at the scenery out the other side window;

(3) a grim determination to prove that drinking and driving do in fact mix;

(4) tired from having driven 500 miles non-stop, starting at 4:00 a.m., fueled only by coffee, donuts and the occasional 7-11 mystery-meat stick;

(5) a vision from God telling them that they are not to cross the center line while passing a cyclist under any circumstances whatsoever lest they be cast directly into the pits of hell; and/or

(6) closely related to #1, failing to remember that they are towing something that is wider than the Borg Collective they are driving, leading to Winnies passing at a respectable 12" away :mad: followed immediately by a trailer with a boat that feels like its trying to get into your pannier. :eek:

It's at times like that that you discover amazing abilities of the ride-2mm-from-the-side-of-the-pavement variety.

I noticed the same thing, even when i'm driving, the most offending drivers tend to be pick-up truck drivers.

I live in the country, and I own a truck (suburban). I find most people...

1. (older gals & gents) slow down drastically, and practically drive on the opposite side of road when passing me, giving me plenty of room.

2. (younger snot nosed college kids) are the ones who are immature morons who think it's funny to scare the heck out of someone on a bike, regardless of what they drive.

3. (soccer moms in mini-vans) have a tendency to be so air headed, they drive along thinking they simply own the road, and society owes them something for being a Mom. So, they could care a less whether or not a cyclist falls over when they blast on by, while mindlessly blabbering away on their cell phones. (This actually happens, ALOT!!!)

I live in the country, and I own a truck (suburban). I find most people...

1. (older gals & gents) slow down drastically, and practically drive on the opposite side of road when passing me, giving me plenty of room.

2. (younger snot nosed college kids) are the ones who are immature morons who think it's funny to scare the heck out of someone on a bike, regardless of what they drive.

3. (soccer moms in mini-vans) have a tendency to be so air headed, they drive along thinking they simply own the road, and society owes them something for being a Mom. So, they could care a less whether or not a cyclist falls over when they blast on by, while mindlessly blabbering away on their cell phones. (This actually happens, ALOT!!!)


Well said!

It's been a long time since I was buzzed, but I am certainly familiar with the pick-up truck moron, always male, almost always under 25.

I'm 23 and I drive a pick-up truck.

I'm probably the most hated person on this forum. It's a shame I can't bear children, being male and whatnot, I think having the full trifecta would be rather nice.

As an original "redneck" or "hillbilly", I have to say that yes, your conclusion of trucks & the hillbilly drivers attitude are pretty close...well right on. But I do have to defend them on a stand of ignorance. Hillbilly's are NOT cyclists, and have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what cycling is about. They ride animals that are usually in excess of 1,000 lbs. & usually flailing through the air for 8 seconds at a time. Not that I think they should "side swipe" cyclists, but I do understand where they're coming from, both mentally and physically. And I apologize on the bad behavior you've experienced. I wouldn't want any fellow cyclist hurt for any reason! Take care!
T.C.

Hey now watch it...i could be sometimes classified as a hillbilly, but here I am on a bike forum. I do a little bit of everything, but have never felt the need to endanger someone on a bike...and oh, i own a pick-up truck. :p

Lucky for me, I live in a city with a high roadie population. People are so used to seeing and sharing the road with cyclists that they don't cause any concern to or even seem to notice us. In fact, the most annoying traffic I have to deal with is teenagers on BMX bikes in the bike lane going no more than 11mph; I usually just pass them on the left. Sometimes they yell curses and try to chase me down but I've yet to have one catch up with me or even come close to my speed.