I'm giving it a try. No swearing at motorists for one week. No yelling at pedestrians.

Good luck. I'm not ready to try it for a day, even. Now that it's dark in the a.m. when I ride in, the drivers are really, really bad.

Isn't yelling at chowderheads about as productive as barking at dogs?

Sometimes they get me going inspite of good intentions. I work on dropping them from my thoughts as quickly as possible.

I must be lucky. I don't get a lot of situations that tick me off on my commute. I get the most upset when the car people are too polite and want to wait for me when it is their turn at a stop sign or whatever. Just move along. I don't need special treatment and will go when it is my turn.

Sometimes I wish I had COMPLETE control over my gag reflexes. That way I could eat green pea soup before I ride, and when someone starts bickering I could just vomit all over them.
Yes, I'm a sick minded individual.

Yeah, ignoring them is probably the best idea. Fukk being nice though, just ignore.

Spoilsport.

I don't yell at people who clearly won't hear me.

The number of people who really anger me and look like they could hear it if I swear at them is pretty small, so I don't swear much while out on the roads. A couple times a month, maybe. I guess I swear under my breath sometimes when a person really ticks me off but I don't have too many scary/anger-inducing encounters.

Never, ever take the time to yell or swear at peds or motorists no matter how angry you may be...you only give the impression of a self-righteous jackass who has plenty of time to waste, and the ped or motorist is likely respond to you with more self-righteous jackass comments.

When a motorist, ped, or other cyclists does something stupid and gets in your way, just keep your eyes on the road and shake your head in an obvious gesture of frustration. At that instant, you have exude seriousness, as if you are annoyed but you don't have any time to waste. You have to look as if you were headed to some emergency or trying to win the the most important race ever. Its the best way to make someone feel a little stupid and belittled, but at the same time, it won't give them the chance to respond to your self-righteous reactionary bull**** with more self-righteous reactionary bull****.

Yeah, go ahead and take all the fun out of it why don't you!

It can't be said that you are untested. When I cross the line into Long Island there is a noticeable rise in intolerance/ignorance towards cyclists sharing the road.

That said, in long island there is less congestion and generally a greater distance between lights, hence, less opportunity to catch up to the idiot and let them know just how much of an idiot they are. So more often than not without that opportunity, one would likely have to adapt and learn to deal with the anger/frustration on their own rather than shouting and tantruming at someone and a situation long passed.

What are you thinking? You live in New York for Christ's sake! You do that and people will think you are a tourist. Sure, that sort of behavior might be acceptable in California, where people are all concerned about color video and feelings. But it's not the norm in the black and white film world of New York City where it's dog eat dog and scratching and crawling your way to the top. Dam it... you have a cultural legacy to uphold!

Well, that was a nice idea. It lasted for about six blocks.
But I did learn something. I can resist the urge to single out a transgressor and make it personal. That, I can do. But I am powerless to stop my running monologue of invective as I ride:
Where the f**k do you think you're going?
Or Red light, jackass, red light.
I'm in this lane, I'm in this lane!
All while smiling and spinning happily down 9th Avenue.
But maybe that's O.K. At best, it's like Glenn Gould humming along to the Goldberg Variations — a little crazy, but all in the service of great art. At worst, I might be a Tourette's candidate. And I can live with either of those.

And this just made me spit coffee:
"Color video"!
It's my new signer!

it is always a pleasure to read suggestions that advance level-headed attitudes of cyclist to motorists. I appreciate it. As the old adage goes:

YOu are either part of the problem or part of the solution.

If you look for conflict with motorists on your commute, you are only advancing the negative divide between autos and cyclists. Just keep your head down, enjoy your ride, and get to/from work. Wave to your nemesis as you go by... and smile.
If it's really that bad, get a car or take the train.

I don't know about the rest of you, but it is extremely rare that I have a go at some idiot on the road in or outside of town. Happens maybe once or twice a year at best and usually in September when this place fills up with undergraduates turned loose in cars paid for by their parents.

Yeah, that's true for me too. I've started trying to engage people in conversation -- like if I'm stopped at a light and there's a taxi next to me, with the window down, I'll say hello to the driver, ask how he's doing. Same with another bicyclist, or whatever. And oddly, it really helps my attitude; exchanging good mornings with one taxi driver somehow makes all the other taxi drivers less oppressive.

You are to be commended for your effort

You've obviously never driven or ridden in Los Angeles.

[QUOTE=unkchunk;5350565] But it's not the norm in the black and white film world of New York City where ...QUOTE]


Noir York?

In our town there was a guy like that. Rode around on a bike talking to everyone. He was "The town idiot".

Man, those village idiots have all the fun.

Yeah, but that sort of monologue is part of city riding... I'm constantly mumbling, too. It's made worse by the fact that most people around me can't understand what I'm saying, so I don't have to worry about keeping it under my breath. This has led to some awkward situations when I'm back in Canada...