saturnsc2

o.k. i know there's a million threads here about idiots who throw things, shout at us, ect., but one thing they seem to have in common at least with me is that all the people who shout to me to "get off the road," or to "ride on the sidewalk" seem to be just young punks which makes me wonder exactly what these numbnuts are taught in driving school these days. they either are just being rude, or they don't even know that we have a right to the road just like cars. when i went to driving school (1979) one of the first things they taught me is to share the road with bicycles, & to have general courtesy to other motorists & other vehicles. just the other day a young fat girl shouted to me to "get the hell off the road" i'm sure jealousy in addition to stupidity also as a lot to do with idiots like this. when your about 20 years old, a girl & weight 300 pounds you are jealous your not in shape like us cyclists. people like this are miserable, & not happy with themselves. just because they hate themselves, they unleash their venom on the world, & cyclists are easy targets for their harrasement. so all i can say is get a life morons & go back to driving school & learn the rules of the road! p.s. this time, don't flunk the tests!

danch

From watching people drive, I'm pretty sure there weren't many of them paying attention in driver's ed. For that matter, there's way too few paying attention to what they're doing!

ovoleg

When people do this to me I just regret that I am not in my car...Usually I carry a cellphone for instances like this

Some guy told me to get off the road once and I just kept riding. He then started swerving into my area and getting way too close and then he started laughing. I slowed down and pulled up to the stop light with him. Got on the cell phone and called the cops.

Operator: "911 Emergency, how can I help you"
Me:"Someone just tried to run me off the road, drunk male, ~20 years old, 250 pounds. He is following me and I cannot avoid him, im wearing white shift, riding a teal bike"
Operator:"We will send an officer to your area"

10 minutes later through my ride I see the guy pulled over to the side of the road. I pulled up the officer and informed him of what this guy tried to do. The guy is so ignorant he yelled at me and said that I shouldnt be riding on the road and it was my fault.

Then the officer informed him of the law, the look on his face was priceless.

I hope he gets jailtime. These people are ridiculous...When I see cyclist on the road I usually change lanes not to drive next to them or something. I dont want to risk hitting them.

saturnsc2

what gets me is when this fat biatch shouted at me, it was at night. no other cars in sight & on a double lane road. why did she have to ride right next to me? why not in the oposite lane? it always seems to happen in a place where there's no traffic light for them to get stuck at. in my book, that makes them cowards. i carry mace on me all the time. i would love to squirt a load in the face of an idiot like that. i'm just waiting for the opportunity to do so...

Kinger

I am a daily commuter that leaves for work around 10pm, and I work every other weekend. I alway dread my friday and saturday night commutes, I am always being harrassed by high school aged or recently graduated kids in their cars. I have been swerved at, bottles trown at me, hit in the head by a BIC lighter, but my personal favorite (sarcasim alert) when drive up right next to me and wail on the horn to scare the **** out of me then laugh and point as they pass.
Over the winter I was riding during a snow storm and I had a kid slow down laugh and yell at me, "Hey it's snowing" I just yelled back "Thanks, I was wondering what that was."

va_cyclist

Anyone else pick up on the irony of the O.P.'s handle and sig?

Don Gwinn

I have to think you're putting way too much effort into the psychoanalysis here. There are a lot of bullies out there, and there are a lot of them who don't normally act like bullies because they don't normally feel they have the advantage over someone else to be able to do it safely.
When people like that get to drive a car and there's someone pedaling along relatively slowly (compared to a car) and looking very exposed and alone, it's too much temptation for the inner bully. They're not doing it because they hate cyclists, even if that's what they'd tell you. They're doing it simply because they perceive cyclists to be vulnerable.

mirona

Exactly. And when I sprint up to them at 35 mph with "that look" on my face, they will drive over curbs to get away (true story). They think there will be no reprocussions if they face off with a cyclist, so they have at it.

saturnsc2

hense the word "cowards" hell, anybody could harrass a cyclist while their driving a 4000# metal coffin, but put those same people on a bike too & see what they do then. i can't remember a posting anywhere where a cyclist harrassed another cyclist...

hi565

Hey they arent all my age!

On monday (see my wonderful monday morning ride thread) I was with my cousin and we were about to meet up with our club and this guy in a truck (groan!) drives up next to us and says something like "your a disgrace to cyclist" or "you give cyclist a bad rap!"(not worded exactley like that...) and I wanted to say "YOU are a disrgace to DRIVER!" But the guy looked like he couldve kicked my ass so I refrained. I actually laughed. I think he got afraid because he saw a group of about 25 riders next him. A couple on a tandem just luaghed. Well I hope I dont have to call the cops eventually! But I always carrie my cell just in case of something like that.

skiahh

Ammm, the irony that he drives a car and is complaining about asswipes who happen to be IN a car?

What are you talking about? There's no irony here... unless you're one of those types who lump ALL car drivers into the same group.

noisebeam

Don't you remember your teenage years? Getting a reaction from strangers who can't react back is tops in amusement. You can laugh about it and hi five your buddies until the next victim comes along.

Al

saturnsc2

i never threw stuff at cyclists, or shouted obscenities at them. i guess it depends on your upbringing. i wasn't raised to be a scumbag. i was taught to respect others. are you saying you approve of that kind of behavior?

roadfix

...you mean taught at home these days...?

noisebeam

Of course I don't approve, but I can understand it. -Throwing stuff at cyclists or using vehicle as threating weapon are dangerous and should (and can if caught & proven which is rare) have severe penalities. But shouting, yelling, while disrespectful are just words and by far the most common form of 'abuse' from young punks. Many times when coming from teenagers I just laugh it off, as it is so obviously part of their game and a form of rebellious self expression that the perp may think impresses their peers.

Al

saturnsc2

lol! i guess both. family morals are down these days. i get a laugh when i watch old movies from the 1940-50-60's on those old classic cable movie stations. on one of the old movies someone said "ah applesauce" & that was considered vulgar language! nowadays, kids bring guns to school, so it makes you wonder what the hell went wrong with the new generation....

saturnsc2

well i can't understand it. if i ever mouthed off to my parents when i was little i got the crap beat out of me. that's discipline. a lot of these brats need discipline. it's annoying enough to hear them yelling crap, & a lot of these idiots start off by just yelling, then it turns to physical abuse such as swerving into you, throwing things, ect. when's it going to stop?

fallstorm

I remember my time in driving classes about 4 years ago. There was almost nothing taught about bicycles... if anything, maybe 5-10 minutes. I remember we spent a lot more time on people with red-tipped white canes (blind pedestrians). I can barely remember seeing many pedestrians with this type of cane, but I sure see a lot of cyclists!

Actually, I haven't been yelled at as much as many have. The actual yelling (Hey! Get the heck off the road!) and dangerous actions (running stop signs when they can clearly see me, etc) has been mostly from middle-aged people, but the general harassment has been from more college-aged people. Luckilly, I haven't had anything thrown at me (yet, knock on wood). However, as I live in a college town, my sample is slightly biased.

noisebeam

Look, I'm very glad you are such a good person, but I am not talking about you or individuals, I am talking about the very obvious phenomemon of kids to be obnoxious and outragous to strangers when they are not being observed by someone who can inflict punishment. I'd bet there are highly disciplined kids out there who get severely punished by parents for bad behavior, but put them in a car with their friends with a vunerable cyclist nearby and they will taunt them for fun and social status.

I do not believe that verbal harrasment like this (kids amusing themselves) escalates to physical. This is different than the verbal harassment with rage that comes from all ages, actually often 25-35yr olds where they really have pent up rage toward cyclists and the world around them that they can't control.

Point is I see a big difference between the very common and predicable yells I get from car packed with kids when passing the local high school vs. the agressive yelling and close passing I get from 25-35 yr old men in their jacked up pickups. The former is amusing, the later saddening.

Al

saturnsc2

ya that's kind what i figured, almost nothing taught about bicycles. i remember a lot about bicycles, especially being taught how hard it is to see them & motorcycles & to always lookout for them. maybe the d.o.t. should read these forums & re-think the driving courses. seriously, because so many people tell me to ride on the sidewalk, it really makes me wonder if these people are just oblivious to the fact that bicycles riding on the city streets are legal. i still have my old driving school book from the d.o.t. from 1979 & it clearly states in there many places about bicycles & their rights. also abut the blind person, who just like you i rarely see. i just see cyclists too....

capejohn

To the point of someone talking stupid. I have learned to give anyone under 45 a free pass. Except for bike people. They are intelligent enough not to need one.

saturnsc2

well, that's fine but in a lot of cases talking stupid tends to escalate into other things. an example: one time i was riding along when a car filled with high school idiots drove by & started yelling at me (god knows what they even said), & i just ignored them. then they must have turned around because they came back a few minutes later & did the same thing again & again i ignored them. then the bastards came back a third time, but this time they buzzed right by me on my side of the road & missed me by about a foot obviously because they were frustrated they didn't get a response from me the first 2 times. the first 2 times they rode by comming at me from the oposite lane. i give nobody a free pass, their all a bunch of idiots & i don't condone any harrassment of any kind.....

capejohn

Your original post was some kid making a stupid comment. Your response to my post is a very different situation, and would get a different comment from me.

saturnsc2

sorry, i guess when i get started i can't stop. i had so much done to me i could write a book. i'm at the point where i would love to carry a gun & just shoot out the tires.
of idiot drivers. it would serve them right. i love to go cycling, but these idiots just make you paranoid that takes the fun out of riding....

steve_wmn

You must be getting a lot more mileage in than me because I'm not seeing very much bad behavior at all. I think I've had one "get off the road", 2-3 surprise beeps and one thing thrown at me, which was a apple that flew harmlessly through the spokes of my back wheel.