feethanddooth

lately during my rides more and more drivers are acting out towards me. from getting the general honking at to being swirved at. the other day while approaching a one lane bridge a driver sped up to get in front of me to get there first. i was going quite fast and if i hadnt slowed down we would have collidid(sp?).

im rather tired of being treated like a construction cone thats in the way while riding. so ive been thinking of things to do to get back at the drivers who treat me like trash.

1. carry a rock to throw in my back pocket
2. mace too
3. carry a water bottle full of paint. if the chance arrives, spray their car with it.
4. a handfull of change to throw
5. wear spurs on my shoes to scratch their cars.






ok, done venting.

Falkon 

hahaha I've thought of all that as well. I picked up one of those road reflectors that got knocked off once. I threw it on the side of the road and let me tell ya, you gotta be careful or you can lose your balance. That said, I don't think I could take a baton to a car while riding either.

timmhaan

i hear ya, but be careful. you never know what maniac is behind the wheel. some dude with a gun perhaps or just nothing to lose and he'll aim his car right you.

keep in mind that you may be affecting other cyclists as well. case in point: during a century i was riding about 100 yards behind another cyclist who was ever so graciously blocking traffic needlessly. some hicks in a truck yelled at him and continued to the next light. after i went through ahead of everyone else the hicks came roaring by me screaming and foaming at the mouth. i wasn't even the one who blocked traffic!

anyway, we all gotta live with these scumbags driving around, so lets just try not to make it worse for everyone.

jamesdenver

If I had to "arm myself" everyone morning with rocks and mace, I probably won't enjoy my ride very much and it woul immediately put me in bad mood.

But that said a U lock is plenty of defense physically, and my camera phone is perfect for any documentation if needed, and I usually have both of those with me all the time.

Also if involved in a confrontation just know your "outs" i.e. an alley for a quick getaway, a one way street you can use the sidewalk for, etc...

yes

How long have you been riding. It got much better for me after 6-12 months. I agree w/ ^. It wouldn't be fun for me if I had to arm myself, before heading out.

feethanddooth

hello. i was joking.


and i forgot, i wear clipless so the spurs wouldnt work so well

krazygluon

I'm a big fan of karma. They'll get theirs...maybe not until after you've calmed down from the rage of being raged on, but they'll get theirs.

oboeguy

U-lock Justice FTW!

CliftonGK1

1: Also makes for good weight training, if you don't end up having to throw it at anyone.
2: Carry pepper spray instead, that way it can double as a condiment if you stop for lunch.
3: Zip-Strip. Definitely Zip-Strip.
4: Why throw away perfectly good money? Rocks (see #1) are good enough.
5: While silly sounding at first, that's got a serious "Beyond Thunderdome" kinda cool factor.

fordfasterr

a can of (compressed) brake parts cleaner fits nicely into any water bottle holder and will easily peel the paint from just about any vehicle it is applied 2.

=)

zorak8me

We should all carry those spike strips the cops use...

DataJunkie

Hence the reason I would like a u-lock that can actually mount to my bike frame. My current one is in my pannier.
However, I have not had any notable interactions with motorists lately.

bmclaughlin807

Yeah, well if you were up at a decent hour like respectable people and not riding all over Denver in the middle of the night when NORMAL people were still sleeping.....

mister

I feel bad for all of you that get swerved at, yelled at, honked at, etc. and feel like you have to retalliate. I've been buzzed a few times and the only time I felt I needed to confront the driver was when I actually got hit by the guy's mirror. As for when people yell, it's like this: "Hey lakdsjflkjadslf jdasj fjkljalkd !" I can't understand the person 99% of the time so I just assume their being polite and wave. If someone is really being unsafe, I'll try to get the plate, but honestly people drive so fast here it's damn near impossible to get the whole thing when they blow by at 60mph +.

MyPC8MyBrain

I carry Halt dog spray on the daily ride clipped [but discrete] to the outside of the pack. I hear that it works on humans too. A frame mounted Ulock is on the xmas list. I'll prolly never want to haul that, but the thought of removing an idiots mirror gives me goosebumps.

I have bear spray that I keep around for camping and hiking. That thing fires like a fire extinguisher. It would be fun to blast a cloud into some idiot's car... Ahhhh the things we can dream about

ModoVincere

I'm looking for 14-16" fiberglass handles. I can drill a hole in one end of each and attach leather wrist straps and a leather handle to one end.

Hope I never have to use these, but if I have to defend myself, these will be handy.

bugmenot

Just pee in a bottle and carry it in a bottle cage. When someone rolls down their window to yell at you, pop off the top and hurl it in. Much fun.

mister

You could always buy an ASP. Collapses to the size of a mini pump and then extends to 20" - 30" depending on the one you get.

Az B

Thermonuculear hand grenades.

Az

fordfasterr

You need a concealed weapons permit to carry that with you.

If you are caught with one, and don't have the license - you go to jail even if you don't use it.

littlefoot

1/2" flat washers do quite well against windshields and are quite hard to find afterward. Not that I approve of this.

TheDL

I don't have a problem with motorists that much here in Portland. But I was thinking...a lot of people talk about how threatening and damaging a U-lock can be, but who carries a 6 pound U-lock on every ride? I just switched to riding a singlespeed w/ a flip/flop hub on my commute and I realized that now I always carry a 15mm wrench to take my wheels off should I get a flat. Now a 15mm wrench could do some damage too, and it's lighter than a U-lock. Though I understand it may not look as menacing.

DataJunkie

I carry a huge kryptonite ATB u-lock in a pannier. Darn thing is 5lbs+
<-- cheap bastard that needs to purchase a better mini lock

notfred

If you're going to carry a weapon with you, you might as well go all out:



Just kill everyone who annoys you.

Xrisnothing

That sounds like a state law to me.