Advocacy & Safety - Attitudes toward motorists: How do you see them?

Do you fit one of the following profiles?

Total up how many of these symptoms apply to you (make sure to wear a helmet while doing so, birdbrain), then match them to the statistically infallible score chart below.

1) You realize you have no idea how much gas costs, and even though you been going to work along the same route for the past two years or more, you can't seem to recall a single gas station along the way.
2) The sentence, "Americans are too dependent upon their cars." makes perfect sense to you.
3) The sentence, "A bicycle is an efficient and practical means of transit" makes perfect sense to you.
4) You really couldn't care less that you have a full knapsack, brown socks, and are riding a mountain bike on paved roads.
5) While doing #4 above, you find that you are leaving sprinting wannabes in the dust and loving it.
6) You brace for potholes- even when you are in a car.
7) YOu think of all roads in terms of their "hilliness."
8) You refused to join your local bike club because they have never heard of "Effective Cycling."
9) You become anti-social and distrustful of everyone you meet and secretly wonder how they treat cyclists on the road. You re-read Spike Bike (http://linux.stevens-tech.edu/kmh/spike.bike.all.txt) stories every night and really identify with Spike, and you begin to wonder if your family, friends, neighbors, church members and co-workers wouldn't run over you in a heartbeat if they didn't happen to recognize it was you on the bicycle.

Chart scoring:

0-1: Get off the sidewalk, Fred.
2-5: You're getting better...nincompoop.
6-8: Hey, that's pretty good!
9: Honorary A&S'er. Congratulations. Celebrate by getting pissed at another cyclist who isn't riding on the same line as YOU want them to.

-Kurt

Get out of A&S, Kurt. :p

10) whenever asked directions to some place, you only think in terms of non freeway routes.

Sorry, Kurt, but you lost me at the first insult. Is there a point to the post that I am missing?

Get out of A&S, Kurt. :p

I did - this gag was hijacked from Jokes & Humor :D

-Kurt

Sorry, Kurt, but you lost me at the first insult. Is there a point to the post that I am missing?

Lost that sense of humor somewhere eh?

I see them as they see me.

Lost that sense of humor somewhere eh?

Probably somewhere in pothole #2,085,102.

-Kurt

Hey -- I thought it was kinda funny, and I got 6 outta 9.

Now -- seriously....

Motorists, in large part, are lazy, self-important, convenience-loving wasters who need to see some personal benefit to saving the planet they live on, or to even break a sweat without getting paid for it. They are epitomized by a manager I used to work with, who was an evident financial wizard; his assertively expressed philosophy about charity was to only give to the point of getting the tax break -- one penny more and you were a sucker!

To actually step outside the accepted norm is all but unthinkable to them; pretentious status is their god, and money is the divine means to reach that god. To 'be better' then everyone they see is a secret lust,that can never be satisfied... because they'll discover eventually that they can never be.

Ooohhhhh, yeah... I'm a cynical SOB.

Hey -- I thought it was kinda funny, and I got 6 outta 9.

Now -- seriously....

Motorists, in large part, are lazy, self-important, convenience-loving wasters who need to see some personal benefit to saving the planet they live on, or to even break a sweat without getting paid for it. They are epitomized by a manager I used to work with, who was an evident financial wizard; his assertively expressed philosophy about charity was to only give to the point of getting the tax break -- one penny more and you were a sucker!

To actually step outside the accepted norm is all but unthinkable to them; pretentious status is their god, and money is the divine means to reach that god. To 'be better' then everyone they see is a secret lust,that can never be satisfied... because they'll discover eventually that they can never be.

Ooohhhhh, yeah... I'm a cynical SOB.
Mr. Cynical SOB, what is your all encompassing stereotypical description of the Noble Cyclist? And how does it differ from your description of the Evil Motorist? Seriously!

Mr. Cynical SOB, what is your all encompassing stereotypical description of the Noble Cyclist? And how does it differ from your description of the Evil Motorist? Seriously!

OK...seriously....

cyclists, in large part, are energetic, self-important, bling-loving half-wasters who need to prove some personal superiority while they delude themselves into believing they are saving the planet they live on, and thrive on dripping sweat as a badge of that superiority. They are epitomized by the cross-section of the local club, who barely deign to recognize your existence if you're not riding a skinny-tired Specialized and wearing a $150 helmet.

To actually admit that they are just another special-interest group, and not THE ONE BY WHICH ALL OTHERS ARE MEASURED, is an alien concept. Political and environmental enlightenment is their god, and they truly believe they worship at that shrine every time they throw a leg over the bike.

Now that your morbid and esoteric curiosity is satiated, let me go further.

The atypical cyclist is a person who rides a bike because that's what they prefer. They are commuters, grocery-getters, and the riders you see out pedaling with a tiny smile showing through the huff and puff, whether alone or with a group. Their lives are enhanced by the experience of pedaling, and they couldn't care less what someone else thinks about it.

Hey ILTB, I think he has both bases covered pretty well.

OK...seriously....

^
Best post of A&S in a long time.

-Kurt

Hey ILTB, I think he has both bases covered pretty well.

I agree; seriously.

OK...seriously....

cyclists, in large part, are energetic, self-important, bling-loving half-wasters who need to prove some personal superiority while they delude themselves into believing they are saving the planet they live on, and thrive on dripping sweat as a badge of that superiority. They are epitomized by the cross-section of the local club, who barely deign to recognize your existence if you're not riding a skinny-tired Specialized and wearing a $150 helmet.

To actually admit that they are just another special-interest group, and not THE ONE BY WHICH ALL OTHERS ARE MEASURED, is an alien concept. Political and environmental enlightenment is their god, and they truly believe they worship at that shrine every time they throw a leg over the bike.

Now that your morbid and esoteric curiosity is satiated, let me go further.

The atypical cyclist is a person who rides a bike because that's what they prefer. They are commuters, grocery-getters, and the riders you see out pedaling with a tiny smile showing through the huff and puff, whether alone or with a group. Their lives are enhanced by the experience of pedaling, and they couldn't care less what someone else thinks about it.

I was with you up until the last paragraph. IMO the commuters and the utility cycling crowd probably feel even more self-important than the club riders do, based on my experiences in Portland. In fact, the commuters and utility cyclists here often deride the club dooshes for using the most expensive equipment available, and for being weekend warriors and car-top cyclists, in order to give themselves a one-up on the club dooshes in saving-the-world self-importance.

I was with you up until the last paragraph. IMO the commuters and the utility cycling crowd probably feel even more self-important than the club riders do, based on my experiences in Portland. In fact, the commuters and utility cyclists here often deride the club dooshes for using the most expensive equipment available, and for being weekend warriors and car-top cyclists, in order to give themselves a one-up on the club dooshes in saving-the-world self-importance.
For sure, for sure, plenty of commuter/utility types fit the description of the typical cyclist provided by DX. Heck, read the smarm of moral self righteousness that pervades the LCF list here on BF.

Perhaps it is the "atypical" commuters, who are not born again save-the-world crusaders, as well as the persons who use a bicycle for utility due to their own economic circumstances that fit the definition of the atypical cyclist provided in DX's last paragraph.

no doubt the demographic of the commuter and utility cyclists is different wherever DX-MAN lives, when compared to Portland, which is full of true believers. the 'living car free' folks are the absolute worst.

I don't see anything wrong with trying to save the world, even with a bad attitude.

I don't see anything wrong with trying to save the world, even with a bad attitude.

tell it to the OP

:innocent:

Attitudes toward motorists: How do you see them?

As other traffic.

Next question?

Next question?

"Attitudes toward bicycles: Do you give preferential treatment to DL-1's?"

;)

-Kurt

I have yet to encounter another DL-1 on the road. Although my time may be coming (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?605597-Got-a-DL-1-attn-doohickie).

no doubt the demographic of the commuter and utility cyclists is different wherever DX-MAN lives, when compared to Portland, which is full of true believers. the 'living car free' folks are the absolute worst.
And I suppose you're the epitome of rationality and plain speaking. :rolleyes:

And I suppose you're the epitome of rationality and plain speaking. :rolleyes:

I certainly never said that or claimed to be, I was simply making an observation; thank you for not putting words in my mouth. IMO, rationality and plain speaking aren't things humans in general are too good at.

:)

I was with you up until the last paragraph. IMO the commuters and the utility cycling crowd probably feel even more self-important than the club riders do, based on my experiences in Portland. In fact, the commuters and utility cyclists here often deride the club dooshes for using the most expensive equipment available, and for being weekend warriors and car-top cyclists, in order to give themselves a one-up on the club dooshes in saving-the-world self-importance.


no doubt the demographic of the commuter and utility cyclists is different wherever DX-MAN lives, when compared to Portland, which is full of true believers. the 'living car free' folks are the absolute worst.

Yup, Portland is different from wherever I live (NE Indiana); there is no opportunity for the cycling sub-group to develop any sense of entitlement (IMO) here because cyclists here are such a small and ill-treated group. Thus, there is no hubris; it's a lot of necessity for a lot of people, especially in the immigrant population. It's a necessity for life. THAT would be the reason, most likely, that Portland is different. The disenfranchised are the ones who cycle for utility here.

I seem to be an exception; I'm not reduced to cycling for utility, i chose it. I do it to enhance my life, not to make statements about saving the world -- in fact, one of my favorite quotes is: "EARTH FIRST! We'll ride the other planets later!" So I won't fit in very well in Portland -- no agenda.