zacster

Let's see, I ride right on someones tail on the Manhattan Bridge because if I pass them they would feel obligated to try to pass me again. Bright lights, also on someones tail, also on the bridge. I stop at lights, even when there is nobody coming. I let pedestrians go by when they have the right of way. I stop for cars that could just as easily run me down. I look with disdain at Citibikers, even though I'm a member myself.

ussprinceton

at a red light, when the road is clear, I cross

wphamilton

I took the liberty of collecting the answers.

Woops, this is for the things commuters do to us, not that we do. I'll collect these answers as well and compare.

So for the other thread anyway,
the winning annoyances are: running traffic lights and salmoning, followed closely by trackstanding!

I didn't spend a whole lot of time on this, so some may have been left out or duplicated. I counted 98 complaints.

Jim from Boston

Thanks for doing that. Personally, I enjoy doing such wonky data collections and displays, and it's a valuable skill on my job.

I ride on relatively busy cycling routes in the reverse usual commuting direction, and I would say I only have been (infrequently) annoyed by close, unannounced passing; and only once by bright oncoming lights, on a dark MUP.

wphamilton

OK here's the chart for THIS thread


We think that the type of bike that we ride is the most annoying thing we do.

Followed by type of clothes, running reds and bright lights.

Interesting to me, only running reds and bright lights are highly placed in both lists.

Nobody owned up to the occasional salmoning, riding on sidewalks, or lecturing about helmets from the list of other commuters annoying us.

We think that our bikes, our clothing, and our equipment may be annoying to other commuters, but we don't find it annoying ourselves.

yuoil 

I stick my pump in their front wheel then make fun of them in Italian.

Not really. I would say I get the most negative responses when I stop next to someone else stopped and say hi. Just awkward it seems. Rarely do they want to talk.

jan831

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjskYWfowm8
track standing at traffic lights

and annoy bikers without lights by telling them that they should really have a front and rear light (most of the time youngsters biking to school)
wave at car drivers who don't stop when they should (it gives them the strange look on their face, thinking whether they know the cyclist who they just ignored)

wphamilton

I'll bet he has no problem with wheel-suckers, or anyone else riding close to him!

bmthom.gis

I find calling ourselves bikers is really annoying. we are cyclists. Or just people who like bicycles a whole lot.

halcyon100

Overall, I tend to be pretty cautious and I think this bothers some people. If I need to go on a sidewalk to get to a bridge/tunnel/MUP path, I walk my bike.

I come to a complete stop at stop signs most of the time, even when there are no cars around. I have had a few cyclists behind me that seem annoyed by this. If the law were changed to "Idaho stop" rules where you could yield, then I would treat the stop signs as a yield. Maybe I am being unreasonably cautious... But I come to a stop for these reasons:

1) My commute is not that long and co-workers often tell me they saw me on their drive to work. I guess I don't like the idea of co-workers, especially supervisors & supervisees watching me break the law as I get to work...
2) The cops in my area issue $500 tickets to cyclists for traffic violations. Granted, it is not very common that they are issuing these tickets, but they do. My husband got one for turning left at a red light that was really long - he thought the light was broken and turned.
3) In the SF bay area, there seems to be a lot of negative sentiment toward cyclists (e.g. wannabe racers with ridiculous clothes, entitled people that ignore traffic laws so they can have a faster Strava time, etc.). I feel that if I actually adhere to the traffic laws, I am doing my small part to combat the negative stereotypes about cyclists.

Remian8985

mad skills. Track stand champions got nothing on him.

Remian8985

Things I do that annoy fellow commuters:
- Yell at them (or if I'm in a good mood, say politely in a loud voice) for not signalling
- I attach the rear lights to my backpack at night
- I'm too fast for some
- I'm too slow for some
- I don't aggressively pass cyclists. That means I'd voluntarily get stuck (and make the commuters behind me stuck) behind a granny until I get a big clearance in the car traffic.
- I treat stopping streetcars like stop signs they honk at me often.
- I don't usually notice if anyone's on my tail so then I don't point out potholes and stuff
- I almost never stop at T-intersection traffic lights
- I do fast "rolling stop" at regular stop signs (unless there are cars coming)
- I zoom through all-way stop signs (unless there is a car/pedestrian there before me)
- I ride the sidewalk on steep climbs
- I claim an entire lane if I deem the right side unsafe. That makes elitist self-entitled motorists put their own lives at risk by passing me at high speed on the oncoming traffic lane just because their ego hurts when they're behind a cycle.


Things fellow commuters do that annoys me:
- Not signalling
- Not ringing bell/honk before passing
- Squeeze through broken road surface, parked cars etc instead of claiming a lane
- Claiming the streetcar lane

kelsodeez

i dont know what annoys other people that i do, but one guy i ride with will pass people and say "nice bike! have a good ride" even if their bike looks like crap and they look like they are deep into an all out sufferfest. its kind of patronizing but still funny as hell. mainly because of how oblivious he is to the situation

kelsodeez

i prefer the term "bicycle enthusiast"

katsrevenge

I have blinding bright lights.
I sometimes ninja.
I sidewalk surf.
I ride in the road.
I have a bell and am not afraid to use it.
I'm a fairly sedate rider.
I'm sort of friendly. Unless you are creepy.

Hugh Morris

I pass people. If they make a point of getting in front of me again, I ride their back wheel and get an easier speedy section of the commute. Yesterday a dude broke the headwind for me a solid 10 minutes. Particularly fun if they're clipped in and lycra'd out when I have street clothes, a pannier and a trombone.

I don't know if it annoys other commuters that I always wear street clothes though. I sometimes ride shirtless if it's super hot, which might annoy people. No point in wasting a shirt though.

Darth Lefty 

This morning I stopped while going uphill

RubeRad

I get passed by a high schooler on that exact same GMC most days. He's just got a better motor!

Remian8985

I only see about 1 in 50 commuters in Lycra. So I don't think my street clothes annoy anyone. But the Lycra people usually give me a look if I pass them. idk why.

Shirtless is not an option, I got man boobs. Or may be I can go shirtless just to annoy people with them

Reynolds 

Drop them.

RubeRad

The man boobs?

I dunno, in my experience it's pretty painful if my man boobs get tangled in the spokes...

Reynolds 

I was answering to the OP.

klmmicro

I am usually wearing my MTB baggies and an old UA shirt. The racer types look down so I usually start babbling incoherently about inane subject matter when we stop...yelling of course as I have my ear buds in (rarely on, just in to be really annoying). I borrowed three extra tail blinkies and ran those for a few days. The flashing was epic as were the jeers.

Nothing really seems to bother the commuters and "regular Joe" riders in my area, just the militant super racer types seem to even notice. I certainly do not care what others are wearing or how they ride as long as their actions do not endanger me.

baron von trail 

I'm a polite commuter. I save my ******* side for when I drive a car.

dgk02

Ha, I use a motor! That pisses off some commuters, although it's pretty stealthy and I'm always pedaling. But I'm also 63 and would have given up commuting by bike if I had to do a 25 mile r/t commute in NYC without being able to take it easy sometimes. Especially heading up the Williamsburg Bridge or running into those nice headwinds. It makes it possible to do each way in about an hour. Otherwise it just takes too long.