Pulling this thread back on topic...
2 more incidents to add.
1.) I was on my way to work....pedaling along at a slow 21mph on a flat, no headwind. As I did my usual glance behind to gauge traffic flow, I spotted a roadie...decked-out in spand-a-logos. My intutuition told me he was going to pass, so out of courtesy, I pulled a little bit towards the curb side to give him some room...'cuz well, that's the courteous thing to do. Guess what he does? He comes flying by and cuts a sharp diagonal straight across my front wheel. Now that's not nice. Look, I was a roadie of 7 years 'til I got smacked by a car, and all that time I've learned that the proper way to pass is to pull out of the guy's slipstream, give him some distance, then quickly glance over your shoulder before taking his line. Instead, his gesture was as if an invite for me to attack or something. Obviously, apart from being up his #ss, his head was probably on the Champs Elysee. That's just plain rude, and if not executed properly, is downright dangerous.
2.) Driving around town today, I saw this spand-a-logo roadie trying to mimic a trackstand (like the guys on fixies) 1/4 of the way into the intersection waiting for the green. The usual Saturday morning rush-for-brunch caused gridlock that backed-up into the intersection. When the light turned green, I watched in dismay as Mr. Attitude-on-2-wheels let the unfortunate lady, who was at the tail end of the gridlock and blocking his passage through the intersection, let her have it good. He was mouthing something about "you [explitive]-ing idiot...get the hell out of the middle of the [explitive]-ing road!!!!", right into her window, spouting intermittent blobs of saliva that I could clearly see from my vantage point. Now, not only was that rude and uncalled for, but downright nasty. Imagine the germs!
No wonder motorists don't think very highly of cyclists. It's not like (from what I've witnessed in this last week alone) majority of cyclists are on the same wavelength of conscientiousness about doing anything to ease the bad blood between them and motorists. Where's all the "bike advocacy" in action? If I didin't know better, I'd say they're advocating "2-wheels good, 4 wheels bad" attitudes. Whatever the case may be, someone needs to start advocating practicing common courtesy and decency (and lay off the spit, for hygiene's sake). Add "roadie-rage" to the list of crap I gotta deal with.
Now before you go and call me whatever you are about to, let me add some positive feelings into the mix:
On my way home Friday night, I caught up with a group of fixies. Now these guys are talented. I can't imagine riding through town with no brakes, and up hills with the gears that they do. It was a game night, so traffic was gridlocked at every intersection within 1 mile of the ballpark. One guy saw me at the back of the line and said, "Hello!". "Hey, how are you doing?," I replied. The light ahead turned green, but cars were blocking the intersection. I followed this group of 4 fixies as they signaled left and right, weaving skillfully in and out of the stopped line of cars, slowly but surely making our way past the congestion. No cussing...not hotheaded egotistical antics. Just good, courteous, skillful riding. We got to our destination without pissing anyone off, and certainly without laying gobs of spit across anyone's driver's-sde windows. See the difference? Now that's what I'm talking about.
