Commuting - Spit.. an interesting defense mechanism.

Tired of cars passing too close on my way home today, I decided to start spitting (i had OJ in my drink and my throat was gumming up) to the left of me (i ride on the right) into the lane whenever I heard a car coming in too close. And magically, I hear cars slowing down.
One dumba** slowed down and screamed, "don't spit on my f**king car!" to which I replied, "don't try to run me over, I got your plates, P-N-R..." and he squealed off.

EDIT: I think I forgot to say, I wasn't purposely trying to spit at the cars, I actually found it by accident when I heard a car slowly down behind me. I do it when I can either hear or see them from the edge of my vision coming up real fast to try to get around cars in their lane. And it's usually thrown in front of me to the left, they know it's their but it's well ahead of them. Kind of like having that plastic stick with the shiny silver tip to make your bike wider that some people advocate putting onto their 'bents.

Uuuuuummm....

How do you hear a car coming to close? I can't hear the difference between 3' and 2'11"

Al

i need a workshop in spitting. i just don't have the hawkers. good thing though, over the holiday i tried to hit a parked H2 and ended up spraying my buddy. :(

Dude... not too cool IMHO.

I'm a cyclist and I totally understand the issue of cars coming too close, but if some guy spit on my car while I was driving, I would likely run his sorry ass off the road. Well, not really, but I'd certainly yell something obscene at him.

How can you tell a car is going to be too close before it passes you...? You can HEAR that? Also, why do you assume he's TRYING to run you off the road? Look, I've had drivers come "too close", and I've had a few choice words for a select few... but just letting loose and spitting on any car that happens to come a few inches closer than you'd like is NOT COOL. That guy had every right to yell at you... I certainly would have.

Tired of cars passing too close on my way home today, I decided to start spitting (i had OJ in my drink and my throat was gumming up) to the left of me (i ride on the right) into the lane whenever I heard a car coming in too close. And magically, I hear cars slowing down.
On dumba** slowed down and screamed, "don't spit on my f**king car!" to which I replied, "don't try to run me over, I got your plates, P-N-R..." and he squealed off.

These forums amaze me. While there is a wealth of great information, they are also a magnet for every posturing idiot who wants to impress others with his/her tail of bravado. I can only hope you grow up or Darwinism claims you before you give the rest of us an even worse image among drivers.

You'd best pray god it isn't me you spit at.

Paul

Dude... not too cool IMHO.

I'm a cyclist and I totally understand the issue of cars coming too close, but if some guy spit on my car while I was driving, I would likely run his sorry ass off the road. Well, not really, but I'd certainly yell something obscene at him.
Fact is, any bastard that passes too close and gets their car covered in harmless water and cries for their mommy (i.e., "Don't spit on my ******* car!") is a wimp anyway. What's more important, your pretty paint job or someone's life?

I once collided with a motorist with my butt--the soft part. She got out and inspected her paint job to be sure nothing was scratched. Never once did she ask if I was alright.

Still, discretion is the better part of valor. I'd find a different approach.

:D

You'd best pray god it isn't me you spit at.
Paul

Learn how to drive then. You best pray to god it isn't me you hit with your car when you try to pass too close because I will fall and bring down every charge I can against you.
When you have 3 lanes of traffic, don't try to squeeze your car in so close that I can feel your mirror brushing by me at 40mph. It's usually pretty easy to hear cars trying to pass you when the other 2 lanes are moving at a steady clip and you suddenly hear a car reving their engine right behind you to your left. Happens to me during the last 20 minutes of my commute every time, yesterday it was some dumb broad driving an audi. They see that my lane's relatively empty since a) it's the turn lane onto the side street and b) a lot of cars double park here so you never really get a long stretch of street to go fast and decide that they can pull into my lane, quickly accelerate then pull back into their lane, cutting off the other driver as well.
Don't knock it till you've tried it.

How can you tell a car is going to be too close before it passes you...? You can HEAR that? Also, why do you assume he's TRYING to run you off the road? Look, I've had drivers come "too close", and I've had a few choice words for a select few... but just letting loose and spitting on any car that happens to come a few inches closer than you'd like is NOT COOL. That guy had every right to yell at you... I certainly would have.

You people need to learn how to read, especially OregonBound, who thinks he's some kind of perfect poser bike commuter. No one said he's trying to run me off the road. No one said I'm trying to spit on their car. But I let one loose before their car gets to me and they slow down because they think it's gonna hit their car.
Hate to say it but you probably don't drive and neither does the other poster because when you rev your car (especially anything with 6+ cyl's) from 40-60mph to pass, you can definitely hear it. And when you do so just to cut into the lane of a biker, pass 4-5 cars, then cut back into traffic to shave a few seconds, that is completely absurd. The speed limit is 35 mph, you're already doing 40, fine I forgive you, 5 mph over. But since I'm in the least frequently used most frequently empty lane doing 25, there is absolutely no need to use my lane as your margin of error to pass traffic at 60mph.
Next time drivers blow by you with a 35mph speed differential close enough to graze the hairs on your arm, don't complain to me.

Actually I can read fine... but you need to be more specific in your origional post.


No one said he's trying to run me off the road.

You DID say you accused the guy of trying to run you over... you said in your first post, ""don't try to run me over, I got your plates, P-N-R...". Don't change your story now! lol


No one said I'm trying to spit on their car. But I let one loose before their car gets to me and they slow down because they think it's gonna hit their car.

OK, point taken... I'll concede this one... of course, from what you first posted it still begs the question of how you could know the driver was going to be "too close" to you BEFORE he even caught up to you.


Hate to say it but you probably don't drive and neither does the other poster because when you rev your car (especially anything with 6+ cyl's) from 40-60mph to pass, you can definitely hear it. And when you do so just to cut into the lane of a biker, pass 4-5 cars, then cut back into traffic to shave a few seconds, that is completely absurd. The speed limit is 35 mph, you're already doing 40, fine I forgive you, 5 mph over. But since I'm in the least frequently used most frequently empty lane doing 25, there is absolutely no need to use my lane as your margin of error to pass traffic at 60mph.
Next time drivers blow by you with a 35mph speed differential close enough to graze the hairs on your arm, don't complain to me.

Geesh... first of all, I DO drive a car (a big, loud SUV with a massive engine and terrible gas mileage). All of this is a really nice story and would have been a good idea to include in YOUR ORIGIONAL POST. The scenerio you describe here puts your spitting on the road into some context that your first post didn't have. Before you made it sound like you were just arbitrarily spitting onto the road (and by implication, onto cars...) in the vicinity of regular traffic just becuase you were fed up with them being so close. I'm not the only one here who read your post that way. Now you're giving us a scenerio where a driver is accelerating hard and passing other cars on the right lanes. I'd agree with you on this, that's not cool at all on the drivers behalf. Thanks for the clarification... now that you've described the situation in sufficient detail, I think you are somewhat justified in being upset.

That's true, considering when I posted, I was pretty pissed since it was the 4th time in 2 days that it's happened. So I just wanted to get it off my chest without getting into too much detail. But yes, that was what happened and I'm starting to get fed up cause it happens literally every time, guaranteed, I know some driver's going to pull something like that. And it's not even me, they pull into my lane, almost slams into a double parked car in my lane about a block ahead, jam on their brakes, and cut off a car in their original lane just to get back in without being slowed down. Some guy was honking at me to slow down today before this happened as I was drafting behind this girl going the same way. I raised my hand like, "what do you want me to do?" and he blows by only to turn back into his lane literally 2 seconds later cause there was a car parked on the side of the street. Great, he shaved 3 seconds off his commute.

I know halfway through that stretch I pass by a police station, just not sure how to handle it if I just pull up to a cop and say, "guy almost ran me over, license plate is XXX". Not sure how the cops are gonna respond since they can see for themselves that cars are blowing by above the limit and I've yet seen them to anything.

Don't change your story now! lol

OK, point taken... I'll concede this one... of course, from what you first posted it still begs the question of how you could know the driver was going to be "too close" to you BEFORE he even caught up to you.


Hehe, well I didn't say it was his intention, it's just what I told HIM to drill it in that he came really really close, close enough to almost run me over.
Usually I can't tell but on this stretch of road, all the cars are going at the same speed, meaning I hear a constant roaring from all the cars. 90% of the time, when a driver guns their engine, it means that there's a clear stretch in front of them. And that doesn't happen if they're in the other 2 lanes cause the cars are all following each other. The only time when they can accelerate like that is when they're pulling into my lane. Which only means two things:
a) they're going into my lane to try to squeeze between me and the car in their original lane to "cut" and make a pass.
or god forbid b) they're directly behind me and are accelerating into me to run me over.
I usually assume the first and it almost never fails. I try to take the lane when there isn't room for cars to pass but when I'm 3 ft from the side there's usually enough room if someone wants to be in a lane full of potholes and double parked cars. If I hear a car reving up, I take a quick look behind me and if I see a big wide car, I know they'll barely make it.

That's true, considering when I posted, I was pretty pissed since it was the 4th time in 2 days that it's happened. So I just wanted to get it off my chest without getting into too much detail. But yes, that was what happened and I'm starting to get fed up cause it happens literally every time, guaranteed, I know some driver's going to pull something like that. And it's not even me, they pull into my lane, almost slams into a double parked car in my lane about a block ahead, jam on their brakes, and cut off a car in their original lane just to get back in without being slowed down. Some guy was honking at me to slow down today before this happened as I was drafting behind this girl going the same way. I raised my hand like, "what do you want me to do?" and he blows by only to turn back into his lane literally 2 seconds later cause there was a car parked on the side of the street. Great, he shaved 3 seconds off his commute.


Dude... I hear you my friend. I used to drive down a street near downtown LA (Wilshire) that is similiar to this. It's three lanes in each direction, with steet parking allowed during non-rush hour times on the right "curbside" lane. Cars would regularly try to make passes in the right lane, only to have to slam on the brakes and dive back into the middle lane when they would see a parked car on the street. At best the car would end up in front of one more car and in the process, risk an accident. More often than not, the offending driver would have to brake hard and would end up right behind the same car where they started.

That used to seriously piss me off... and I wasn't even on a bike, I was in my Jeep Liberty. :mad:

Guy, you live in New York City! Guess what, it sucks to drive there too! If you think you're going to carve out a bubble for yourself in NYC's extreme traffic congestion by spitting I think you're a little delusional. What you'll probably do is get yourself killed.

These forums amaze me. While there is a wealth of great information, they are also a magnet for every posturing idiot who wants to impress others with his/her tail of bravado.



You'd best pray god it isn't me you spit at.



Do you see the contradiction in the above sentences? (Both extracted from the same post).

However, the first point is right on in many cases. Personally I think spitting at a car is about as pointless as p!ssing into the wind. It's not going to stop someone who really wants to run you off the road (I know because I've had plenty of drivers try). About the only real defence you have against drivers passing too close is to simply ride in a position on the road that gives you plenty of space in which to back off when they do.

Guy, you live in New York City! Guess what, it sucks to drive there too! If you think you're going to carve out a bubble for yourself in NYC's extreme traffic congestion by spitting I think you're a little delusional. What you'll probably do is get yourself killed.

Well you try to make do with what you can here. It's actually not traffic congestion that worries me, it's lack thereof. Heavy traffic's fine cause they're not going that fast, you can always squeeze around. Its a lot harder when everyone's doing 40 to squeeze around cars, you just pretty much stay to the side and don't get in people's way.
Another thing to do is turn your head back. As DahonSteve mentioned in another thread, drivers look for that sometimes. It won't always work but half the time, they sneak up on me and pass really close or try to squeeze by if they think I'm just chugging along and not looking. Same for pedestrians, they'll blow by them around corners really fast if they're not looking but if I'm standing at a corner and look directly at a driver and make eye contact, they'll usually slow down. The spit into the lane before they get there is almost the same as when I had a mirror sticking out 6 inches to the left of me. Drivers though it was something metal and sharp, lots of em would give me room. Apparently their paint job is worth more than my life to them.

Apparently their paint job is worth more than my life to them.

You'd think they'd see the commercials for MACCO paint jobs on the TV embedded in their dash.

As far as other posters thinking that you can't hear where the car is behind you, this is my experience :

Around here, they have a lot of one way streets with a bike lane on one side. You can definatly hear which lane the car is, and how fast they are going. It's all about understanding the Doppler shift and the volume. I generally ride towards the edge of the bike lane, or out pretty far from the parked cars on the lanes without them. If you can sense how far behind you they are (here, they usually give you at least 6-12" space) you know if you have to move.

If there is traffic coming on the 2 way streets, it's REALLY important. If a car is coming up 10-20 feet behind you and you are squeezing their lane, they might not have anywhere to go when they pass you if there is another car coming in the opposite lane. It's usually better to slow down a bit and move to the right and let them pass before the opposing traffic gets there, then slow the car behind them down by moving back out.

I know it doesn't quite apply to your situation, but figured others might learn something...

Oh, and I usually just spit on the parked SUV and luxury/sports car windows. If it costs more than I'll make in the next decade, it deserves to get spit on.

Do you see the contradiction in the above sentences? (Both extracted from the same post).


Point well made. Now excuse me while I mop up the testosterone I've dripped on the carpet.

Paul

Point well made. Now excuse me while I mop up the testosterone I've dripped on the carpet.

Paul

Heh don't worry, it gets a lot worse when you're trying to chase down someone who almost ran you off the road to shave 5 seconds off their commute.

Heh don't worry, it gets a lot worse when you're trying to chase down someone who almost ran you off the road to shave 5 seconds off their commute.

But in chasing them, how much time do you have off your commute?

Man, quell that noise!

You want a campaign worth getting into??

How about all the druids in NYC who MUST ALWAYS spit onto sidewalks?! On any day I cannot begin to count the sheer number of slopping foreheaded, knuckle-dragging luurgs I see who spit constantly for no apparent reason (as if there is usually a good reason to spit where people walk anyway... or for that matter spit period).

Mostly it's the age group of 14-30 year olds. Doesn't matter if they are walking solo, in a group, talking on a cell, listening to music, etc... they SPIT constantly!! They aren't coughing usually, they aren't sniffling... they don't look sick per se... nope, they just feel the need to dig deep inside their bronchioles or throat and call up some murky crud to spew onto the same concrete that I walk on, children drop things and need to pick them up on, people slip and fall on, et al.

It seems to me urban spitting among males is coming in a close second to ball fondling, and no, I ain't talking about basketball. And on that note... just last night while walking to deli to pick up some milk I passed a guy who while squawking into his cell about "pimp-slapping" someone, he took his right hand and began cupping his onions like they were Chinese Ohm Balls and then on cue, snorted in heavily and launched a dumb-bell shaped hank of lung cheese through the air and directly onto the sidewalk leading into the deli... where 2 seconds later a Yuppie came walking out with a copy of the NYTimes in hand and proceeded to unknowingly plant his $150.00 Kenneth Cole shoe directly onto it.

Stop &^%$%$^^$# spitting!

And BTW... all bravado aside- I wouldn't even get close to a cyclist while driving *intentially* but being that words like "close" are extremely open to interpretation... if someone goinked on my car I would exit the car and forcibly walk them over to my car by the back of the hair on their head and make them lick it off before placing my shoe up their a**.

And that's not because I even like or love my car... neither of which I do. It's simply because spitting is rude.

And rude people need help learning to not be rude.

PS. Human sputum (spit) can contain T.B., Influenza let alone Hepatitis A/B & C as well as HIV if the crap has blood in it. Think about that the next time you walk in someones goink and then walk into your home or, you spit onto a sidewalk.

OH yeah, I have TB, the flu, hepatitis, HIV, and probably the herpes, best stay away from me. If you run me over, my guts splattered all over your car are probably going to cause a little bit more mess than spit, I guarantee you that much.

Frankly I don't spit on a path where people would be, if I'm on my bike on the path, I hold it in until I get to a storm drain. Thanks for reaffirming my believe that some people think their paint job's worth more than my life and somehow it's more rude to spit than to endanger the life of another human being. Yes, somehow that all magically makes sense.

I don't dig deep for spit, you get dry and thirsty and your throat naturally gunks up. Spit on the ground? ooo boy, you better go bring your high chair and an extension next time anyone on this board mentions blowing anything out of their nose. I'm sure you of all people would know it's a lot more dangerous dodging aerosolized particles cause the guy in front of you is blowing chunks left and right than just a piece of spit on the ground.

But thanks for filling me into that "14-30" stereotype with nothing better to do on my hands. How about I fill you into that category that doesn't read everything before posting? Which part of "close" don't you understand when I say I can feel cars brushing by me at 50mph?

But in chasing them, how much time do you have off your commute?

Ironically, I don't know if it's psychological but it's not that much off. If I really push hard, I can make it in 45 minutes, normally, 50, if I take it easy, 55 minutes. The difference from a normal pace for me is +-5 minutes.

I'll often spit or snot-rocket for ease of breathing, especialy in the cold weather, while riding & although to a motorist this may look distainfull & unhealthy it is certainly not as unhealthy & as lethal as the fumes belching out of their exhaust pipes that we are all forced to breath so that they can transport one person (more often than not 200lbs+) in a 1.5ton vechicle for a few miles to& from their work !

OH yeah, I have TB, the flu, hepatitis, HIV, and probably the herpes, best stay away from me. If you run me over, my guts splattered all over your car are probably going to cause a little bit more mess than spit, I guarantee you that much.

Frankly I don't spit on a path where people would be, if I'm on my bike on the path, I hold it in until I get to a storm drain. Thanks for reaffirming my believe that some people think their paint job's worth more than my life and somehow it's more rude to spit than to endanger the life of another human being. Yes, somehow that all magically makes sense.

I don't dig deep for spit, you get dry and thirsty and your throat naturally gunks up. Spit on the ground? ooo boy, you better go bring your high chair and an extension next time anyone on this board mentions blowing anything out of their nose. I'm sure you of all people would know it's a lot more dangerous dodging aerosolized particles cause the guy in front of you is blowing chunks left and right than just a piece of spit on the ground.

But thanks for filling me into that "14-30" stereotype with nothing better to do on my hands. How about I fill you into that category that doesn't read everything before posting? Which part of "close" don't you understand when I say I can feel cars brushing by me at 50mph?

My post wasn't directed at you specifically (other than the spitting on a car part). However I must say the way you're coming out in this thread it's fairly clear that-

1. You talk before you think.

2. You're defensive.

3. You're a classic back-stepper... i.e. you say/post things and then try to explain how others got what you mean't wrong.

Quoting you directly... a car literally "brushing" by you at 50 mph would put you on your arse quicker than you can say, "Hi, I have classic low self-esteem!". So again, "brushing" is very open to debate.

It's sad really... I thought I posted on a topic which by and large was interesting, topical, you could relate to living- as you say- in NYC, etc... instead 99.9% of it Mohawked you and you, true to form, have assumed everything to be a personal attack on you.

Lastly... outside of a very few key locales- where are these cars brushing by you at 50 mph anyway? Not too many places on the island that I can think of where 50 would be the norm + one would be cycling.

Lastly... outside of a very few key locales- where are these cars brushing by you at 50 mph anyway? Not too many places on the island that I can think of where 50 would be the norm + one would be cycling.

You need to get off the island and realize there are 4 other boroughs in the actual city of new york despite the fact that NYC usually refers to manhattan. Try going down 3rd or 4th avenue in brooklyn or flatbush. It's hard to visualize it until you've been here. Or 86th street, bay parkway, avenue T, avenue S... there's a whole bunch of others I haven't though of yet but a while ago I know a friend who was doing well over 140 going down 86th street. Cars have no problem getting up to the speed limit. Like I said, I don't mind traffic, it's when everything's flowing fast that things get hairy.

[QUOTE=OregonBound]who wants to impress others with his/her tail of bravado.

Tail of bravado = doing a century without padded shorts.
:)

[QUOTE=OregonBound]who wants to impress others with his/her tail of bravado.

Tail of bravado = doing a century without padded shorts.
:)

Hemmroid city. :p

EDIT: LOL tail, ok I get it now... hahaha..

[QUOTE=OregonBound]who wants to impress others with his/her tail of bravado.

Tail of bravado = doing a century without padded shorts.
:)
I did 88 miles, 1/3 of it on dirt logging roads, on a 31pound hard tail MTB, worn out forks, $10 fat slicks for tires, unpadded shorts, a wornout cheap 'school' type backpack filled with 20 pounds of water/food/med kit/unpadded tights(for night in the mountains-elevevation change), started at 4pm and got back at 5 am, with platform pedals and 2.3 pound(each) leather workboots.(It's all I had at the time and no money to change it)
I had an adventure race to train for and a lack of gear wasn't about to make me let my team down. Not only that, but I felt fine the next day (after 12 hours of sleep) as I've never bothered with padded shorts in my life. :)
Not a joke.
yes I get "tail" of ....