Billy Ray

From Jeepforums:
https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=226058

Here is the blog entry refered to in the first post:

This is the reason why I don't get along well with cyclists. I know, I live in the most popular area in the nation for bicycling, so if you're one of THEM, stop reading now. Really, you won't like it.
The Jeep I drive has a stinger on the front - for those of you who don't what that is, imagine an obnoxious piece of metal protruding from the front of it that looks like a cow prodder. Yesterday, I was getting ready to leave from a parking spot on one of Portland's main streets. There was absolutely no traffick behind me, but in the far right lane (which I needed to pull into) there was a van stopped at the red light (I was about 20 feet back from the light). So, I put on my turn signal and moved as far behind the van as I could. I was mostly in the lane, but still diaganol. The light still being red, I see a hoard of cars coming up the street behind me, and in the far right lane was a bicyclist.
Now, what would most people - car or bike - do when you encounter a vehicle in your lane, clearly moving from a parking space onto the street? You wait behind the car until the light turns green. Then you go.
Apparently, this bicyclist just didn't want to wait (perhaps it's due to the unique habit many of them have of freely moving between being a car and a pedestrian and he wanted to turn into a pedestrian and jay-pedal through the red light). He proceeds to maneuver between me and the van, which I simply thought to myself, "what a dick," but didn't really care much. And then he punched the hood of the car.
I of course had to allow myself a second to question what kind of idiot would punch a car. Oh, yes, one with yellow spandex and a matching yellow helmet. Then I remembered the cow prodder.
So, the lesson is, if you ever decide to get a stinger for your Jeep, make sure to get the competition one - it's the perfect heigh/protrusion for jabbing bicyclists square in the back. Unfortunately, much like the the character of Marcus's wife in "Bad Santa", I just couldn't build up enough speed. The biker remained on his bike and did not go flailing off into the distance the way I imagined it in my head. He did, however, refuse to look at me when I drove past him. Perhaps he has learned that cars (and perhaps any chunk of metal weighing several tons) are in fact stronger than he is.

BR

twahl

Bad form! Bad justice for a bad move, but still...

Everyone please be sure to read his profile before you make any comments about SUV drivers in general.

geog_dash

Cyclist was being an idiot. Jeep response doubled the number of idiots using that piece of road at the time.

CB HI

It was a women driving the jeep (the posters girl friend).

Also note that she conveniently left out the reason the cyclist felt compelled to slap her hood. (A punch would have left a dent, she does not mention a dent, so the cyclist most likely slapped the hood). My guess is that she was only halfway in each of the lanes, was well behind the van in front of both of them and she saw the cyclist was going to use the other half of the lane to move all the way up to the van up ahead. Seeing this, she decides to balk the cyclist at the last second and the cyclist nearly being hit, slaps the hood to get this cyclist hatter to stop.

Any other guesses as to the “real story”?

Seems both cyclist and jeeper were impatient.

dobber

Two more candidates who escaped Darwins selection process.

Blue Order

Aside from the obvious problems with mounting an offensive weapon on the front of your vehicle and using it to assault an admittedly asinine cyclist with it, he's wrong when he says that nobody is being prosecuted for the deaths of 4 Portland cyclists.

genec

+1... tend to agree.

roccobike

I wish I could say that was a strange story, but I had some idiot roadie decide to kick my Jeep because I didn't leave enough room for him to get passed me (on the right) at a red light or he was just generally being a moron. The jerk hurt his foot. All this on a Sunday, on a lightly travelled street. I guess some cyclists don't need to be in their cage to have road rage.

o-dog

looks like a tale of two idiots to me... except the one in the Jeep was a hair away from commiting vehicular homicide

2wheeledsoul

+1
Add the cattle prod on the jeep, which probably never gets off the pavement much less among cows. A penismobile, how typical.

Helmet Head

Apparently we all agree that these wo guys will hopefully never have children.

Note, however, the expectation of the aggressive motorist: "Now, what would most people - car or bike - do when you encounter a vehicle in your lane, clearly moving from a parking space onto the street? You wait behind the car until the light turns green. Then you go."

Basically, he expected the cyclist to act vehicularly.

Also note this astute observation of cyclists in one of America's most "bike-facilitated" cities: "perhaps it's due to the unique habit many of them have of freely moving between being a car and a pedestrian ...".

I just get more and more convinced that more facilities lead to more non-vehicular cycling, and vehicular cyclists are respected by even the aggressive and supposedly bike-hating motorists.

2wheeledsoul

How about this off the jeeper's blog.

'Nuff said.

UmneyDurak

I read some of the repsonces on that forum. They were more bike friendly that I would have thought. The replies ranged from usual idiotic cager rants to similar views expressed here.

mac

That's exactly what I was thinking. I also notice when I act VC at a traffic light - take the full lane and don't filter up to the front - I get a lot of room from the motorists on the road, whether they are in a car, truck, or SUV. I guess being lit up like a Christmas tree and being (hopefully) just as visible as a motor-driven vehicle also has something to do with it.

SteveAZ

While I'd agree with this for the most part...not always.

Case in point, last night commuting home I pull up behind a car waiting at a red light to make a left turn. As I sit behind that car (in a VC manner) I notice a car pulling up behind me but quickly closing the gap. I look back and watch them wait until nearly the last minute to hit the brakes and sit about 3 feet off my rear tire. Whatever, this guys a jerk so I pay no attention to him. Light turns green and as I start to go I hear the car behind me spin the tires , alright, now he's threatening me with his car (I have caused him no inconvience what-so-ever or even given him a cross look) now I'm pissed. I immediately look back, hit the breaks and come to a stop (track stand) and give him the bird as I'm now ready to go. He then squeels off making an early left (into on coming traffic) and proceeds to barely make the next light. Unfortunately no license plate #.

I don't know what it is about that intersection, it's coming out of a residential area but that is the second time in about 6 weeks I've been threatened by a car at that intersection. The first time, the car literally bumped my rear tire.

Anyway, my point, even when you do everything as you should, there's just no pleasing everybody

SteveAZ

Contrary to my last post, I notice this for the most part as well.

DCCommuter

I agree with your premise, I'm not sure I would agree with the motorist. The vehicular thing to do is for traffic entering the lane to yield to traffic already in the lane.

I find that one of the sources of conflict between motorists and cyclists is that motorists feel they have the right of way over cyclists when they don't.

scarry

Co-exist?

Blue Order

So far, I agree with you, HH...


...but I don't think it follows that the jackass cyclist is a result of more facilities. Your unstated premise is that a cyclist can either ride non-vehicular because there are facilities, or can ride vehicular because there are no facilities, but cannot ride non-vehicular when using facilities and ride vehicular when not using facilities. I can do both. I suspect every cyclist here can do both. I think it boils down to attitude about one's place in the world. Some people have an inflated sense of self, and it shows in their attitude that "the rules" are for other people, whom they view as chumps, but not for them. Some of these people drive cars, and some of these people ride bikes, but they all have the same attitude, and a lot of them apparently get violent when they are challenged.

Blue Order

Help, help! I posted a blog entry on the internet, and somebody read it-- I'm being stalked!

mac

When motorists see bicycle lanes, they assume that all bicyclists will remain in their bicycle lanes and never cross over or enter the motor-vehicle lanes. Thus, they are even less conscious of bicyclists on the road because they think they will never have to deal with them in their motor-vehicle lanes. This puts the courageous VC who ignores unsafe bicycle lanes in direct contact with motorists who see him hogging the road and taking both his bicycle-lane and their motor-vehicle lanes.

scarry

And then there are those idiot motorists who yield the ROW even when they clearly have it. Which leaves you, the cyclist, waiting in uncertainty for them to go. If they were to just freaking go, I would smoothly go behind them.

Blue Order

Let's say you're driving a car and this woman in a jeep pulls out in front of you. Now, she may or may not have the right of way, and for now, it really doesn't matter which. The question is, do the rules of the road apply to you, the driver of the approaching car? Do you (A) apply your brakes and stop behind her, or (B) drive around her and try to squeeze between her and the car ahead of her? Which is vehicular?

Now let's say you're riding your bike, and the woman in the jeep pulls out in front of you. Again, she may or may not have the right of way, and for now, it really doesn't matter which. Do the rules of the road apply to you? Do you (A) apply your brakes and stop behind her, or (B) ride around her and try to squeeze between her and the car ahead of her? Which is vehicular?

mac

In both cases you stop and let the vehicle pass since it's already out in the street in front of you. Where else do you have to go? Split the lanes and ride on the paint?

And not only did this bicyclist try to squeeze around, he then wedged himself between two motor-vehicles.

2wheeledsoul

Aaagh! You made me spit coke on my monitor!

Bike lanes? Oh, you mean the cars doublepark free lanes? Or the dump your tire shredding garbage here lane? Or maybe the car can violate the solid white stripe and cut you off when they damn well please lane?
Gimme a break. If cagers don't want my bike in the car lane, then they can keep the damned cars and car related garbage out of the bike lane. Is that too much to ask? Must be, it's reported on BF all the time.

That's why bike lanes are the dumbest idea since the invention of the car.