So my birthday ride Saturday was less than relaxing.
 

I took my normal route for about 25 miles.

Hauling down a road, there's a road coming up on the right, I'm going straight, didn't see the A-hole coming, and he whizzes past me, and clears me by about 1/2 a car length, and hangs the right turn. I had to grab two handfuls of brake to keep from hitting him. Yelled some choice words, he could care less.

Next I enter an industrial park I always ride to. It's quiet except for some 18-wheelers entering and leaving, but I always give them the respect, and never get in their way. Let me explain the situation, the road comes to a T, there is a long building with a distribution warehouse inside a gate. The only sign at the T on the fence is ??? Industrial Park, deliveries to the right, associates to the left. I ride down that road to where the carded gate is and turn around. Been doing this for 7 years. Some guy in a car comes at me, waves me down and tells me this is private property. I said really? Where does it say that? He said he is just telling me. I told him noted, but I'm not changing my riding unless it's posted. He rode off, but still left me a little pissed. He was wearing a Safety vest, so I assume he was just one of the yard jockeys.

Lastly, I come to a stop light. I ride to the white line and stop. Some lady in an SUV is having a COW, blowing the horn, and waving her hand at me, I guess assuming I wasn't going to stop. She had her window down yelling, and I had a few choice words for her too.

So, it was a great birthday ride! I had to come home and kick the dog (no, I don't own a dog, so I kicked a rabbit in the front yard...No, really, I didn't do squat :lol:).

Today, Fathers Day, It was a MUCH calmer ride. And YES, I will make it a POINT to go to that industrial park, even if I am running a little late :notamused:

Happy birthday g.

Happy Birthday and Father's Day! It seems that a lot of drivers try to beat the pedestrian across the cross walk or in parking lots. I was taught (and I'm sure it still is this way) that you wait for pedestrians.

When that happens to me, I usually just wave at them (no not with my middle finger :p ) and say thanks for looking... doesn't fix the situation but makes me feel slightly better:)

At 55, the fact I rode 530 miles last month makes be feel MUCH younger. I had a great 25 miler today. HOT as heck, but I like riding in the heat.

Lol I had an experience on my ride today. I was doing a 40 minute temp interval, and let's just say I was stressing about completing the interval. We have very few flat spots in Reno and since I need to maintain a constant poer for 40 minutes I end up riding in a big square turning right all the time.

We have very wide bike lanes on all the roads in my neighborhood...thinking they are at least 4 feet wide...anyway near the end of my ride I am coming up on this corner and the light is red. I of course am turning right into a bike lane, from a bike lane, but I don't even slow.

A woman coming across the intersection literally freaks out, lays on the horn, swerves way left, then over corrects all the way back into the bike lane on the right. She then
proceeds to yell something, and digitally signal to me that I am number 1. If I weren't so tired I may have found it funnier.

I suppose I can see how she thought I was going to run out in front of her, so I guess it's really my fault...oddly enough I bet I did it 10 times before she got there and no one else seemed to care lol.

Well, last year, I came to a T in my neighborhood that has no stop sign, but the people coming in both directions across the T have a stop sign. I'm coming down the hill full speed, signal I am turning right since there is a car at the stop sign. I see him look at me, so I know we are in sync, then he pulls across while I am in mid-turn. I miss his bumper by inches. I'm so used to it. I just shook my head, didn't yell anything, and the driver looks in the mirror and flips me the bird. I raise both hands off the bars and give him double barrels. He slams on the breaks and stops. I am praying to god he stays there until I reach him. I rode up on his right, and literally stuck my head in his passenger window, and said something to the affect "You pull out in front of me and then flip me off?" He was a teenager.

My veins were bulging. He then said "No sir, I saw you almost wrecked and stopped to see if you were okay"

I said, no skippy, you were going to be a smart A$$ until you saw how big I was (I'm almost 6' and weigh 225") He continued to mumble something about me having a stop sign (and no there is not one there). I finally shook my head and rode off.

So here he comes from behind me full throttle and as he passes, he yells "I hope you fall off your bike".

I'm still pretty sure he almost crapped his pants when I stuck my head in his car :)

BTW, sometimes I just educate people. Had a school bus pull away from a stop sign as I was coming, and he swung so wide, he was off the road, and ran me in the dirt. Kids on the back of the bus were screaming, thinking I was a goner. He stopped to let his next batch of kids off, and I rode up to the drivers window, and explained what just happened. He apologized and said he will look much closer before pulling out.

I'm not always a jerk :) Depends on the attitude of others.

I had three cars wait till I passed through the intersection before turning, one wait till the road became paved before passing me, and several waved (all digits) and said hello. Not very exciting, but I figured I had to balance the world out a little. :lol: