hey, this is neither a question nor a rant, just an observation. i went for an easy ride before work with a colleague this morning. we work in the city and met there and rode out around the surrounding river and park etc. we were mostly going the opposite of the bike commuters coming into the city. well, having to look at them as they pelted towards us, there just seemed to be so much aggression. so much struggle to beat each other into work! and also quite a few guys bolted by us in such a pushy fashion. It was really unpleasant, like peak hour in cars replaced by angry dudes on bikes. i notice it a bit on my usual ride to work and back and have been avoiding the major bike paths as it makes things unpleasant. for what it's worth, i ride a fair clip on my surly pacer, it's just quite a few others seem hell bent on imaginary victory. I wish i could simply let it go, but it gets under my skin!

I don't think I would call my commuting style aggressive, but when I have a destination in mind, I don't mess around. I don't commute for recreation. Perhaps that is what you were seeing. That being said, there is no excuse for being rude. One can still ride with purpose without being a jerk.

Sounds like a rant to me...

Agree with BreatheGood.

I can see where you're coming from, when you just want to take it easy all the bustle can be aggrivating.

But on the other hand, I do also know that I will frequently ride hard while commuting (not always though). For me it's just a matter of keeping it interesting- seeing if I can knock a minute or two off here and there.

Could also be that the other persons piloting skills are superior than yours (not knocking you, just saying) and what seems like a close call to you is no biggie to them. Maybe they're racers or fast club riders that do the whole pace line thing regularly so close quarters manuevering is the norm.

Maybe their just expletives.

I'm probably guilty of it, but there are a few reasons. When you ride the same route everyday
a) it gets boring
b) you learn the light cycles
c) it doesn't seem like you're going that fast

Also as mentioned, it could be down to differences in your bikes or "engine". My 9 mi commute into work on a 700c bike never seems to take more than 40 minutes even when I go slow for dark or wet conditions, but if I have the studded MTB it'll be a good 5 min longer.

And also as mentioned I also commute for exercise/health as well as enjoyment, but not really recreation.

I only ride on the bike path for 1-2mi. The rest of my ride is on the road, so I am mostly keeping up with cars instead of buzzing cyclists...

I rarely see any other commuters.

I’m not sure what you’re saying. You were out for a casual ride. You observed others who were riding fast, and conclude they are “angry and aggressive”. Maybe they were competing amongst themselves trying to mix it up to work. There is no mention of them riding irresponsibly or dangerously or impeding your ride, but it upsets you to see them passing you.
Why?

When I ride into work -- 15 miles -- I leave the house about 5:50 AM hungry, having consumed only a 12 oz glass of iced coffee. I find this very energizing and automatically flip into a "time-trial" mode of riding. You might consider me an "aggressive" rider. But I have no malice and will not do anything to endanger or be rude to you. This ride is the best part of my day. 12-13 hours later if I ride home -- that's a little more laid back!

Don in Austin

Probably better to deal with angry/aggressive dudes on 15 to 20 lbs bikes than 6000 to 8000 pickups.

i hear you all. it is more an attitude i sense and dislike, than an impediment. i too will use the commute to interval train (for kg loss) but will not do so on cyclepaths that are full of traffic. there are a lot of close calls and it seems to be trains of riders led with a few roadies and a few guys on hybrids with backpacks hanging off one side of their back just killing themselves to keep up with the 'peloton'. a lone version of the latter was the type that nearly swiped us today. but still it is not dangerous just generally obnoxious. i hear lovely tales of happy commutes here, but the testosterone level is of the charts where i live. it is not roadies with great skills and courtesy being overly cavalier, it is another type entirely with something to prove. i know the problem is mine though and that a graceful 'what me worry' is the antidote. but in general all i am saying is the same attitude that you see on the road appears to be replicated on the bike paths and i don't so much care for it.

Just people being people. They ride that route every single day, they know where they're going, they know the usual traffic pattern. I can be kind of impatient when I'm driving my usual commute, but I can also quickly assess little glitches in the traffic pattern and maneuver through them. Same thing on bicycles I think.

I understand what you are saying. I think as cyclists we want to believe that the simple act of getting on a bike somehow magically transforms people into reasonable more caring individuals. For some people it works. But human nature is what it is and the general population is made up of all kinds and they all can and do ride bikes. My point is, you take a dickhead and put him on a bike he's still a dickhead only he's on a bike now.

I'd just chalk it up to experience and realize that that route is not the one to ride for pleasure during peak commute times.

No need to read more than what is being displayed out. It's an observation with no understanding of the the other rider at all...
Some people, in my case, use my commute as portion of training. I could be blasting at 20+mph while gasping on the way back home or going at 15mph at recovery on the way in to office.
Some times, you are just genuinely in hurry.

When I commute, I'm usually running late (or taking the long route to get extra work in). Either way, I usually am going fairly hard. I typically don't ride on bike paths though (except at night), and if I'm agressive, it usually takes the form of swearing at asshat cagers. That's just me though.

The most dangerous behavior I encounter on the MUPs is iPod zombies wandering or turning suddenly. Groups of bikes or individuals riding fast may be annoying, but as long as they are not riding dangerously, I don't have an issue.

Did you try waving?

+1

Yeah, I've seen a few groups decide that it's OK to take up almost the entire width of the greenway and leave virtually no room for people heading the other direction. I also think an individual riding in a group will sometimes be more rude than when that same individual is riding alone.

Hurried commuters are rare on the paths where I live. The city of Raleigh has a 10 mph speed limit on paths; Cary's is 15. If I want to ride fast I use the roads (I typically cruise about 18-22 mph on flat terrain); I treat paths as social space and I slow way down before passing. But the paths here haven't been marketed as transportation facilities and they usually aren't very convenient for non-recreational travel; they are much more parks-oriented. If convenient bike paths were being marketed as commuting routes here, I suspect we'd see a lot more fast commuters on them, and they'd probably ride with a sense of entitlement to go fast.

Cat 6 commuter racing.

Were the "commuters" smoking cigarettes?

I would agree with you both, but that's not what the OP is describing.

Different strokes for different folks. Some people like to bike as slow as possible without falling over, some like to go as fast as they can. Some people even ride differently on different days.

Same here. I wish there were more so all my agressive riding wasn't for naught.

Pretty much what is being described is closed course racing in a public setting. Motorists do the same thing, just at a faster pace and being able to do more damage if they lost control of their vehicle.

I think the percentage of cyclists who are rude is exactly the same as the percentage of motorists, runners, walkers, dog walkers, skaters, stroller moms--you name it--who are rude.

But in my experience people really save up their ranting anger for cyclists. For example, when I drive, almost invariably someone cuts me off or tailgates me, etc., but I don't go out and post it on a website.

Getting on the bike dressed in lycra somehow transforms us into Cat 1 racers