StoredBiff

Today on my ride I encountered a motorist that was obviously upset by the presence of a cyclist on the road.

On highway 101 on the Oregon Coast this guy found an uncontrollable urge to lay on his horn for what seemed an eternity. This same yahoo, in a full size truck pulling an empty boat trailer (that must have been for at least a 30+ footer) with vertical guides on the side that protruded well into the fog lane, then found it necessary to come by me not giving up an inch of road. Mind you I am on a section of highway that has at most 12 inches of room on the shoulder! He passes and slows in front of me - and by in front of me I mean he pulls onto the shoulder! He slows to less than ten mph and sticks his head out of the window and starts screaming obscenities at me and tells me to "Go back to f*ckin' Portland with all the other crazies!".

To the man whom I upset today - Mr. Motorist, I am sorry that you are so upset with me. I wish you all that you deserve, especially in the afterlife and I hope that you find out what that is very, very, soon.

celticfrost

So... did you make it back to Portland?

joking -- that sucks.

There's a guy around me who has both front and rear mounted cameras on his bike. He showed footage of similar "cager" behavior to law enforcement and a summons/citation was issued to the driver.

sleepy

You should've U-locked his boat.

DropDeadFred

or got his tag...called it in and tell them he threw stuff at you....

Makel

I don't hear these horn blasts, the music in my earphones is too loud.














cue urbanknight

OldsCOOL

Same here. I smile and wave like a Fred on Starbucks when they go by.

Da Sherm

It's stories like these that make me want to get a rear and front mounted camera to record my rides, just because you never know.

K&K_Dad

motorists like that are ******** Plain and simple. They'll hit the horn and then tell you to get a car like it's really going to make a difference. Just be sure to not be near them when they have that big one behind the wheel. There's no telling where they're going to swerve.

Just this morning on my run I actually had a guy aim his truck at me. Mind you I was running against traffic to the left of the white line and he still aimed for me. Threw my hands up and said a few not choice words as his mirror came within inches. ****** actually had the nerve to slow down like he was going to stop after he passed me. Puhlease.

It happens. If we live in fear we'll all just turn into hamsters at home spinning our trainer/roller(pick your choice).

Pug

Based on his behavior will probably be sooner rather than later. Did you notice crushed beer cans or empty pill bottles on the dash?

rmr1923

happened to me for the first time yesterday too... i did my best Thor Hushovd impersonation, zipped up my jersey and started pointing at my chest like i just conquered a TDF stage through the Pyrenees. the guy looked at me like i was a ****** and just went about his day.

KD5NRH

If they're not going too fast, a palm-heel strike to the mirror is a defensive move; pushing yourself away from the vehicle to avoid serious injury. Any good cop is going to approach it with the question of why the truck was close enough for you to hit it.

thump55

I feel sorry for you folks who have limited roads to travel. 'Round here, the only time I need to get on a "highway" is if I have to cross a bridge.

slowandsteady

Dude is clearly in need of anger management classes. But then again, maybe he just came back from a fateful trip with his five passengers on a a three hour tour. The weather started getting rough and his tiny ship was tossed. He was left without phones, lights or motor cars, not a single luxury, like Robinson Crusoe, primitive as can be. That sort of boat trip would put anyone in a bad mood.

Groundhog1248

You'd be pissed too if you left your boat at home.

rbart4506

Reminds me of the time a few years ago my wife and I were out for a ride...

We were going up a section of road that has a bike lane, but due to construction the bike lane was not available since it was part of the travel lane. Since it was a construction zone and the lane was tight we would take the lane, like we are legally allowed to do. On this fine Sunday morning we had an older gentleman that just had to get by us...BTW the section of affected road was less then a 600m long...He laid on his horn, surged his car and yelled obscenities at us

He then made a squeeze play and got by me and almost sideswiped my wife as he passed...I was pissed!

Then the guy behind him starts doing the same thing. At this point he has maybe 300m until the zone ended and the road returned to normal. He attempted to squeeze by me, but I could see that he had a very good chance to hit my wife...Who was slightly ahead and to the left of me...So I did an open palm smash down on his hood. He was so close to me I probable could have leaned on his vehicle. After this he attempted to steer me off the road and I just accelerated ahead...

This is where it gets funny...After the construction zone the road returns to having a bike lane and we go in it and continued riding...Venting along the way. This road then climbs for a good 1.5km so we were probably going at 20-25km\h. I looked back and he is following us in the bike lane. This is starting to freak both of us out so I call 911. They ask if it's a green pickup, I say yes...They say he's already called in and there will be police waiting for you guys at the top of the hill...

I laugh! The guy was in such a rush to get around us, but then will take the time follow us at 20km\h and whine to the cops...

So we get to the top of the hill and a couple officers are waiting...

We pull over and he pulls over. I tell the officer what had happened and why I hit the truck...Which was simply to get him not to pass since there was a very good chance he would hit my wife. He listens and then talks to the guy...He comes back and says he wants me to pay for damages to his truck...The cop laughs

Goes back and I can tell he's giving him a tongue lashing...

Cop comes back and has a chat with us and says that maybe we may want to choose a different route until the construction is done....Problem is it's really the only way through that area to get you up the hill and out of town...

I know some will say why take the lane, well in this situation there truly was not enough room for a car to pass us...Also, I figure that if the original motorist would have just sat behind us and not been a dick we would have made it through the section in less then 3mins...Then everyone could have been on their merry way at 9am on a SUNDAY morning

StoredBiff

I have a regular loop that I ride which for the most part is away from traffic. The last 9 or so miles of a forty mile loop happen to be on the highway. This stretch of highway in off-tourist months is a beautiful ride - terrible road surface - but beautiful ride. I choose once a week to ride it in the summer and take my chances with the traffic in order to enjoy the views. It's a funny thing though, I have never to the best of my knowledge had a bad or negative incident with somebody from out of the area. The Northern Oregon coast is made up of a lot of old fishing and lumber communities and the "old timers" there tend to view cyclists as a nuisance. As their numbers (the old timers) decrease they seem to be getting louder and more aggressive in how they act out to us.
There is a group ride in our area planned for next year that is expected to draw 300+ riders and the city is discussing options on how to "suggest" to these disgruntled locals to make plans to be out of town that weekend


This made me lol

zigmeister

Funny how they often harass single riders. I've yet to see anybody jump out of a car ahead and stop for 20 of us to approach to continue a discussion.

DeadheadSF

Don't forget to mention that "he might have had a weapon", but you weren't sure. Gets a response for sure (besides, his vehicle is a deadly weapon).

Nick Bain

they are always to chicken **** to stop and have a conversation about why they think we shouldn't be on the road.

SactoDoug

Too bad you didn't have a helmet cam. Turning over video with his license number would get him a road rage ticket, a big fine and points on his license.

Quel

In Jacksonville last year, two cyclists got stabbed by a single road rager when surrounded by their buddies. So you never know.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/23753562/detail.html

FactVord

That's one hell of a story. I've had my fair share of bouts with motorists, but never to the extreme where authorities were called in.

pdxtex

coastal oregon!! meth capital of the western united states! come for the views, stay aggitated paranoia!!

Velo Vol 

What makes people in Portland crazy?

surgeonstone

fify