Originally Posted by
big john
In 30 years of riding, all the sadistic, hateful things I have seen have been done by young white men. I've been spat on, buzzed, had bottles, cans , and even chunks of ice thrown at me, not to mention all the obscenities and insults. Not just here in California, but having toured across the U.S. the worst part of that trip was in Eastern Kansas, Kentucky, and Missouri where thrown objects were a daily part of the ride.
I live in the suburbs of Kansas City, so Missouri. You're right on. People here are idiots toward those on bicycles. I've had stuff thrown at me, trucks blare horns and try to run me off the road, and people yelling "get off the road!" at me. I'm a conscientious rider and never press my luck with cars. If people wait for me at intersections, I wave, say thank you, etc. I have lights and wear hi vis clothing. So I don't think it's my abrasiveness on the road.
There is a local radio show which on Friday has an hour where you can call in and vent about whatever bothered you that week. Quite a lot of the calls are funny. But one thing I have noticed, week in and week out as a regular listener. There are always 2 or 3 calls *****ing about people on bicycles. There are never any calls from cyclists griping about people in cars. So there is a general pervasive redneck attitude here that cyclists are second class citizens on the road. This is a pretty sedentary town compared to some places I've seen (contrast Denver or Portland, for instance). People here drive huge vehicles, eat a lot of BBQ, and watch movies. So we don't have the overall fitness culture as a city, in general, that promotes bike friendliness.
By the way, having lived in both rural MO and rural KS, I can say that rural Missouri is way scarier and a lot more like Deliverance. Rural MO is a little bit like the film Gummo in a lot of places.
This pretty much sums up the vehicular attitude around these parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZeFDe44Ddo&feature=kp