Originally Posted by
WonderMonkey
Great job on getting going!
My only advice is that remember how it feels when you are in a car and someone is holding things up in front of you while you are trying to get somewhere, be it an inconsiderate driver going really slow, a tractor trying to get to their field, or yes even a bike going somewhere. Remember that just because you have a legal right to be on a road doesn't mean it's a good idea. Us commuters need to be as considerate to people as we want them to be considerate to us.
Having said all that and assuming you WERE being considerate, some people (cars, bikes, etc) are just jerks. Burns me up bad just like it did you.
Thanks Wonder Monkey!
As a motorcyclist, driver, and now bicycle commuter, I consider myself a very considerate rider/driver. I don't go slow intentionally, change lanes well in advance, don't like to "cut" in the front of a merge line, etc. And I commuted for a long time on a motorcyle, splitting lanes (legal here in California), so I learned the give and take of it all. Still, When I am in a lane, on a 4 lane road, over to the right as far as safe/possible, a driver that brushes past me at more than a 20 mph difference, inches from the end of my bar, is gong to be thought of as an a**hole. And its playing games with my life... I will not be relegated to the sidewalk (sorry, it's not even legal here...) just because someone is in a hurry. I give cyclists wide berths because I never know when they may have to jerk or swerve--and I would not ever want to be responsible for tagging one.
I truly believe that a large percentage of drivers do not understand, or choose not to believe, that cyclists have as much right to the road as them, nor do they understand the traffic laws; it seems that some feel that we are somehow infringing on their rights to drive when they please and how they please.
Ok, rant off.
