raydog

OK, so this morning (Memorial Day) I go out on an 80 miler with my new Pinarello....riding along a country road in the Sierras (near Sierraville).....suddenly a big 4 dr diesel pickup truck comes up behind me and lays on the horn for at least 10 seconds. The road is a narrow 2 laner with a 6 inch wide shoulder. Many previous cars gave me MUCH scope and courtesy. WTF! I was so angry, waving him back, it was such an ugly downer experience, I didn't let it ruin the whole ride but seriously bad energy for awhile!
Has this happened to anyone else? I started thinking stupid thoughts like.....I am a Viet Nam Vet, a Marine, and this is what I get. Oh well, thanks for listening! Raydog

10 Wheels

I get horned an yelled at everyweek.

curbtender

Yep, sometimes they go by laughing, and sometimes they go by screaming. I'm pretty good about it , as long as they don't run me down. I had a discussion at a light the other day after a lady laid on her horn when she could have changed lanes. I'm glad I don't live in her house. Anyway, it sounds like they were having a nice peaceful weekend, you think?

arctos

In my experience, the horn blasting is usually followed by a brushback with mirrors followed by a cup of ice thrown. Some of our fellow species members are a regular disappointment.
Occasionally I have caught up with such idiots for a discussion of road etiquette and a reminder to them that they only out weigh me when they are in their vehicle. Humans seem to act quite differently when behind the wheel and respond better to criticism when outside of their vehicle kingdom.

Because of these behaviors I find a mirror to be a mandatory piece of equipment on every ride.

LHT in Madison

Two days ago, I am going up a steep hill in a residential neighborhood at maybe 4 mph in my lowest gear. This neighborhood is where the top 5 percent on the income scale live, large beautiful mansions. A car goes past every couple minutes or so, road is not well traveled. Some of the road is well lit in the sun, some is in shade so I have my blinking rear red light on. Car pulls up behind me, but they only honked the horn for about a second, not the full 10 that you got. Scared the $^*((&*% out of me. I look back and the car pulled into a driveway, so I followed it. Lady gets out of the car and can't figure out why I am angry, she said she was just saying hi to a friend of hers that she saw a couple hundred feet up the road.

If it was a large pickup truck in a poorer part of town, I would not have approached.

nancy sv

I try to remember that those jerks are relatively rare. You will find idiots everywhere and can't let them ruin your day. Unless they actually hit you, that is. Let it go - it's not worth your energy.

quester

On a slow ride up a mountain in Idaho last year, a truck downshifted and farted a huge black plume of smoke on me, then went a quarter mile up the road and did the same to my buddy. Rare, but there are definitely jerks everywhere.

kayakdiver

I run into asshats often enough that they tend to get little or no reaction out of me. The do get a little nervous if I happen to end up along side them at a stop though.

From time to time though..... I blow! Not recommended on rural roads without witnesses.

electrik

Stop stop, you had me at big 4dr diesel pickup

Pretty sure you have to show the dealer your sociopath license when you purchase one!

Anyways, that is their problem.

sam21fire

You should read through the "commuting" section some time if you want to learn about A-hole drivers. After reading some of those stories I realize how fortunate I've been with my commuting and touring.

ullearn

It happens, but in my experience the best thing you can do is - Smile Big, Wave Big (all 5 fingers), and if your feeling boisterous belt out a big Howdy, Hi, Hello, or Thanks!!!

Why... b/c

1. You don't give them the satisfaction of being mad
2. Maybe you get under their skin for not being upset and they are thinking "no you idiot I wanted to scare you"
3. You tend to end up laughing at yourself for being a happy ass and truly laugh it off
4. You spread the cycling love or whatever you call it

raydog

Thanks to all of you, I really needed that. The Marines, retired big city cop, etc. it's just that all of my training has always been, "never be a victim" so it's refreshing to be reminded that, really, I give up my personal power as soon as I get upset! (I still hope that gas goes to $10 a gallon so those fat people in fat cars have to walk!. Raydog

Chris L

If you really want to upset them, just blow them a kiss.

BWF

I got sprayed by a water bottle today from a girl in a passing RV. She yelled some things at me, but I could'nt tell what she said. It just sounded like some crazy yelling/laughing/screaming. I agree, the best reaction is to not react. Definitely don't want to provoke someone further. It's a downer, but at the same time I probably saw somewhere around 50 other cyclists and motorists today that gave a friendly wave. Don't let one bad one spoil your day.

jzsoup

I used to flip em off. Then one day I decided to wave at the guy. That really pissed him off. He flipped me off and I could see the steam coming out his ears. So I just kept waving and that's my policy now. I'd still rather give em the bird, but waving gets me a better reaction.

mthayer

A group of us were riding last Wednesday, and there were a few ignorant bastards yelling for us quite being dumb-a$$es and we should get cars. It is surprising how ignorant people can be.

B. Carfree

When a male purchases one, he is also required to show that he has something he needs to compensate for. If we had universal health care maybe these guys could just have some sort of surgical enhancement or something.

raydog

Honestly, it's quite comforting to listen to your responses. I also spend alot of time on a motorcycle forum and it's pretty painful to always have to deal with the "drill baby drill" set of people out there!

unterhausen

I used to get angry and flip these guys off and then I'd obsess about it for days. Now I wave, and the reactions are usually worth it. Better part is that I just forget about it because I don't lose my cool. I've come to realize that's why it was bothering me so much, I let some idiot make me lose my cool. And it also saves embarrassment when the honk is just a friend saying hi.

JohnyW

he's greeting you. Wave and cycle in the middle of your lane...

In most countries they use the horn to greet you. There some exceptions: Germany and the US

indyfabz

I love a good waive. Sometimes I add a smile and a "Hey! How you been?", as if I know them.

rodar y rodar

Sorry to hear it, Raydog. Like somebody else said, I read on other forums about all the wild crap that many people have to put up with, so I know we have it pretty good around here. At least it`s infrequent enough that it stand out in our minds, eh? Just hang in there and remember how many good miles you get for each bad experience.

Wow- there`s a silver lining for ya!

mwl6464

Least it wasn't the Dennis Hopper-"Easy Rider" ending.

The Smokester

Yeah. Some good responses here. I have decided, after many years of experimenting with various gestures, that non-responsiveness is best. The people that do these ridiculous things from their car are in a state of altered reality...They are just passing through life as if it was a television program. They really don't expect any reaction or consequences to their actions and will just keep rolling along and letting the script unwind. I think it is dangerous to try to create even trivial deviations from their script (like throwing them the bird) in circumstances which you cannot fully control.

mwl6464

Totally agree Smokester.