Heading home, on the normal route- feeling good after jumping hurdles @ work.

Riding a street taken a hundred times. Here comes a truck, in the opposite direction. A horn honk, and a woman drops the A bomb on me. Out of nowhere. This isn't in an intersection, haven't cut anybody off.. but there it is.

The best part of the story is, as a cyclist, I don't suffer from road rage. Figure the poor gal is more than halfway to nuts anyway, why push her off the edge?

Breifly my overloaded mind entertained the thought of giving up the bike commute.

Then I thought, heck no. You should have a thick skin while doing the things that bikers do. You need to, because motorists don't understand people on bikes- we are in their way, like a speedbump.

Experience gives you a suit of armor. Have had other run ins with maniacs both two legged and four, but I feel these things make me (us) stronger. I feel more determined to carry on.

Shrug and keep going, what else?

That would just make me laugh and blow my Airzound.

At some point it happens to everyone who rides regularly. People that do that (yell) are angry at the world.
It will bother you for an hour or so, they in the other hand, have to wake-up in a state of anger every day.

You won.

It happens. If you log enough miles, occasionally you'll encounter the illogical profanity yeller.

If you like your route and everything else is going fine, disregard the jerk and keep pedaling. To do otherwise would grant her her wish.

You are taking the right approach too in avoiding road rage on the bicycle. Anger rarely results in a better outcome when riding. Keep your wits so you can continue riding safely. Analyze it later if you need to, and file it in the circular file unless you think there was something you were doing wrong.

Put in this context: If you rode the bus, and someone going by screamed the A bomb at you, would you not ride the bus anymore? What if you were driving a car, and someone yelled at you? Take advice from the penguins... smile and wave boys, just smile and wave.

I'm sorry, A Bomb?. If you mean a verbal assault, that's well short of what I would call an A bomb in any context.

"A bomb" had me scurrying to the Urban Dictionary: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=a-bomb

I'm lost.

What's the "A bomb"? I've had full bottles of beer thrown at me, full cans of Coke bounced off my helmet, french fries. I've been shot and had automobile passengers grab my elbow to pull me down. But I've never had anything as bad as an A bomb.

I think she likes you! /wink-wink-nudge-nudge


There are ******** everywhere. Cars, bicycles, motorcycles, foot, post office... you name it. Perhaps even we are idiots, but the problem with being an ******* is that ******* himself never realises they are being an *******.

Now, THAT would put me off riding in the area.

Rule 5, FB, Rule 5.

"A******". After reading your post, I'm putting you in for a medal.

Thanks for the good replies folks. 99% of the time commuting is blissful- it's the rude awakenings that sadly tend to be memorable.

Would this put you off commuting?

I believe this is a situation for righteous anger:

But to answer the original question, “Would this put you off commuting?": No, not me personally.

Velominati Rule 5, I presume ("HTFU").

Where in the HELL is La Petite Roche ?? I want to avoid it!
Shot ?? And you still ride?
Armed ,I hope? Apparently they were incompetent killers-so you might be able to bring your gun into play-probably not,but
It MUST be a concealed carry state???

+1

Some people are just angry. My sister gets angry at a bike commuter every morning. She's too nice to honk or yell at him, but every time I visit she tells me about him. I tell her that she should ride instead of drive.

Wow, I've never heard that meaning before. A bomb = a*****e

Not as bad as an "F-bomb," IMO.

That wuld b Little Rock....

And that squirrel yelling, yells at everything............. not just bikes.

I have 3 side mirrors to my list of driver retributions
and in one case someone threw a wendys bag at me in heavy afterwork traffic I grabbed it and returned it to him ..... the bike gods were smiling at me that day 3 ketchup packets inside which got emptied on his window and hood ....so when people yell at me I look at the traffic ahead an smile thinking the possible fate of that poor mirror

I've been intentionally side swiped by a guy in a pickup truck, while riding on a marked bike route. Ignorant comments? Water off a ducks back is the best approach, since you have no idea what psychological disorder may be fueling those comments.

Remember, you are an A-bomb just by riding your bike to work. They are stuck in a car, or truck in your case, and hating life. Gotta love it when the pot boils over and the frustration come out. Physical assualts, OTOH, are unacceptable.

Please explain. I don't speak bike.