thbirks

Here's the story. Friday night I was coming home from downtown where I had some errands to do. So I'm riding down 7th ave in the bike lane and a F150 passes me. As the pick-up goes by a girl in the passenger seat yells something like, Ugaboogaladada. Well, that's what's it sounded like to me. It didn't scare me or anything. It's just the idea that I'm amusement for people bored with sitting in a motorized box that annoys me. Now I'm new to the area but I know that the truck will probably get held up when it reaches Colorado Blvd., just a few blocks further, so I pick up speed, I'm spinning my single ratio pretty good and when I get to the intersection the truck is still waiting.

Now I figure the occupants of the truck have noticed me following them. But apparently not because when I pull up along side the truck and knock on the passenger's window the teenaged girl who yelled at me freaks out. She's screaming at the top of her lungs, the power door locks click shut and the driver is looking to leave but the Blvd is crowded and there's no where to go.

I'm surprised by the reaction and i'll admit I'm kinda pleased with myself. I ride around to the driver's side and since the windows are all up I yell "Don't mess with cyclists! We're Craaaazy!"

I felt kind of bad about the whole thing when I got home but my housemates thought the story was hilarious.

So does this make me a bad person? Am I going to hell?

Dane

Your bad alright...BADASS!!!

steveknight

three lashings with a wet noddle for you I think.

Becca

Yeah, you are - but that's not a bad thing. You'll be there with the rest of us.

Biketo120

I think your story is really funny!

Local guy here was run off the road by a car and he flipped them off. The car turned around and the three big guys beat so up so bad he had to spend several days in the hospital. Local guy was my physician. He is still baad! Was on an expedition to Everest last year.

I want to have fun, but live long so I try to restrain myself when confronting motorists just for fun.

The_Pitts

oh yeah! get 'em.
I had a group of teenagers driving by throw a coffee creamer at me. when they missed I turned around picked it up. caught them at the light and splattered it all over the hood! Boy they didn't see that comming, they laughed their heads off.

SSenorPedro

Similar situation happened to me the other day.

I was riding my fix through some dense, stopped traffic. Kind of had to pick my way through slowly to avoid mirrors, etc. On several occasions I saw people look startled and heard auto door locks click as I rode by.

I guess we must be scary folk.

junioroverlord

When I'm riding people I'll have at least one person flash thier high beams at me or honk thier horn for absolutley no reason. It makes me sad and mad.

Da Tinker

He. They think they are all-powerfull over cyclists, in their infernal combustion powered cages. Then we prove them wrong and they must lock the doors and cower before our aerobic prowess.

BeTheChange

That is awsome. Just by catching up to people while they are stopped they have to acknowledge that you are another human being and you take away their anonymity of being inside a steel box. Bravo!

Daily Commute

Nice touch. I'll have to remember that one.

This weekend, an SUV pulled up behind me and honked. There were two empty lanes to the left, but the driver wanted me to move. I did--from the right part of the land to dead center. As he passed, I smiled and waved.

I caught up with them at a light. (Are there eight more satisfying words in the English language?) A middle-aged man and woman were in the car. I knocked on the window, smiled, waved again, then turned off to a side street, where I was going anyway. The whole incident made going to work on a Sunday worthwhile.

Grasschopper

Too bad a horn on your bike that was loud enough to hear in a car isn't reasonable. It would have been great to come up behind him and honk back at him.

Portis

Yes you are bad. You have just redefined, "chasing high school girls." Damn, i wish i could chase High School girls again but i just know my wife would be mad at me!

Seriously, the first thing you should learn is to shut out the people behind the glass in those cars. Something wierd happens to people when they get behind that glass. It has little to do with the fact that you are on a bike. Have you ever been walking and noticed the people that stare at you like you are an alien??

It is like all rules of conduct, and manners are off when you are in a car. It is wierd... Anyway, just ride and enjoy, the car people are not there.

noisebeam

or delusional...

Pehaps she was yelling 'nice legs' - then was screaming in embarasment when you came up to her.

Or perhaps she was not yelling at you but her friend who was on the sidewalk - then was terrified by some stranger knocking on the window out of the blue.

Not every person in a car is 'out to get you' or trying to scare cyclists.

Al

Zin

Ok, ok. Now I'll have visions of Pauly Shore in "In the Army Now!"

"We're Crrrraaaazzzzzyyyyyy Boys!"

Besides, aren't all Fixie riders crazy anyway?

PaulH

I'd have to agree -- you really do not know whether or not the girl was harassing you. Furthermore, she did not throw anything or otherwise attempt to do you any harm. Neither the driver nor the passenger broke any traffic laws. Since you raised the question of "was I bad?", I'd have to answer in the affirmative. You deliberately intimidated someone who had not harmed you -- rather like what some motorists do.

Paul

Daily Commute

Paul's right, it may have been a compliment. That's one reason I prefer the smile and wave. If it was a compliment, I am returning the favor. If it was the usual anti-cyclist garbage, I frustrate the drivers by letting them know they haven't gotten to me.

Edit: For a thread about pro-cyclist comments from motorists after the TDF, see this thread. Sometimes, motorists are not trying to insult us.

LLCoolJessie

TH, People like you make me sick. If we're going to be allowed to continue riding on the road with cars, we need to be passive and non-destructive users. Aggrivating motorists is no way to earn their respect. Next time, I suggest you just pedal along and keep your mouth shut.

thechrisproject

Seconded. I read this thread this morning and haven't been able to quit vomiting. And the toilet paper at work sucks, so I might be too sore to ride home.

Okay, so I didn't get sick. I laughed when I read this thread. It's probably not the best thing to do when riding, though.

BeTheChange

Exactly, we are 2nd class citizens on the roads and we need to accept it. It seemed to work for civil rights for black people... wait, no it didn't. Never mind.

traindabrain

The good news is that they saw you, the bad news is that you could be charged with assault. I just learned this from my EMT class. If you make a person fear bodily harm, that's assault. Your story is funny, but heads up for next time. Smiling and waving, possibly pretending you don't understand english is preferred.

Safe Riding!

erraticrider

Uh? how many people have you been riding?

digs

lol... yes... tell us about this "people riding"

I'd flash my lights or honk my horn, as well

thechrisproject

I actually laughed out loud here!

Mr. DNA

i kind of agree with the last few. that's the kind of thing i'm always tempted to do, but invariably when i react like that i later bump into the person in question at work or in some kind of awkward social situation and i think "man if i hadn't tried to out-a$$hole that guy we would be getting along fine right now". once you get face to face with someone it suddenly occurs to them that you're a person and they invariably feel stupid if you were decent when they acted like cavemen (or cavewomen, in this case).
one reason to take the high road.

oops one edit here. when i say "the kind of thing i'm always tempted to do" i mean retaliating to nasty drivers, not "people riding". i don't find people riding overly tempting.