Getting "dissed" while riding
 

Funny I don't remember ever being disrespected while riding a bike as a kid or teenager. My wife and I had just completed a ride on bike path and had returned to the car when a car full of rednecks shouted obscenities at us for no reason. I was at the LBS and was telling the owner my story and he proceeded to tell me how many times he's had stuff thrown at him out of car windows and people yelling at him or honking horns. I guess you can't ever get away from rednecks. I have had this happen while walking back to the car after paddling local creeks, that was in PA. The rednecks can't resist when they see a guy in a spray skirt. I really didn't think this would happen with bicycles? Says a lot about society, doesn't it.

Haven't heard much yet this season since car windows are still up...but here are some comments (good and bad) from last year.


"get out o the road"
"get off to the side"
"get on the sidewalk"
" F--- YOU!" (caused him to miss the green light)
"Go daddy go"
"ha ha ha you better pedal faster"
"I LOVE YOU"
" You're only going 12 miles per hour, sir. That's better....better...better...32 miles per hour sir!" (his speedo must be off)


Still waiting to get clocked in the back of the head with a beer bottle. Had a car whiz by me about 60mph the other night on a back road...came real close but I noticed the driver kept it in a straight line as the car sped out of sight. It's the slow drunks and texters that worry me more.


Don't let the losers with low self-esteem get you down. Ride on.

Concur with both comments.

I guess it's not "cool" to ride a bike in the eyes of some. I need a good come back line for when it happens again. I can handle myself just fine if they stop for a confrontation but if they have guns and/or knives it's just not worth it. I'm going to start shouting at rednecks in pick ups just to balance things out a little. :)

had a dairy queen drink, Drive by, thrown by passenger in pickup truck at me . I said to myself 'Keep working kid, so my social security stays funded'..

The main reason I gave up road riding and only mountain bike now. I'd rather have a run-in with a tree than an Escalade going 50mph on a residential street, which is how they drive where I live. Was never verbally dissed but have been spit at, and then there were always those cars (usually a blinged out Mercedes paid for by mommy and daddy) full of teenagers who seemed to think it was fun to buzz the geezer on the bike within an inch of running him off the road. We have the "3 feet law" now here in CA, but apparently only the cyclists know about it.

Wave at them, and smile - they then think you know them, and they start to worry. If they stop and actually confront you, I just tell them I already snapped a pic of their plate.......

They are not "RedNecks" they are usually disrespectful intolerant, aggressive, ignorant people/drivers.
Many "RedNecks" are impressed by our sport!

So long as grown men wear funny clothes & ride a bicycle, there have been grown boys who have thrown things at Us. Ignore them. They want a reaction.

Bullies have always been around. There is really no way to get rid of them. Don't bother asking why, it's just something in their DNA.
In grade school, a bunch of them gang up on smaller, weaker kids and forcibly take their lunch money. As teenagers (or older), they
pile into a car owned by one of them and harass cyclists, joggers, and elderly people walking their dogs. Yes, I have seen
all of this. Sometimes, they are stirred up by the rantings of the brain stems on talk radio. I don't think anyone can
deny this. Funny how these so-called "shock jocks" are so brave with their mouths, while inside high-security office
buildings, isn't it?

I had eggs thrown at me, years ago. One connected, and gave me slight cuts on my left leg. Other incidents: A beer bottle,
(Domestic lite brand, of course) a bag of McDonald's garbage, and something made of plastic I could not identify. None of
these objects connected. On one occasion, on a morning commute, some rocket scientist leaned way out of the passenger
window of a passing Honda, and hurled a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee at me. They failed to work the prevailing headwind
into their calculations, and the coffee made an arc, landing on the rear quarter and trunk lid of the car. Oops.

I have noticed much less of this in Eastern MA, during the last few years. ( Before anyone mentions it, yes, I am aware
of the recent incident, involving
a member of the MA state police. ) So, the number of bullies are diminishing. I would say time is doing its job.

Bullies are bullies, and there is little to be done with them. I would definitely report an actual assault, should that happen, but
there is nothing to be done about the usual yelling. The best thing is to hope that sooner or later, what goes around comes around.
Sometimes, it does.

I'm in disagreement with the observation that there is no intelligent life on Earth. I think there is plenty of intelligence around but you have to search for it. I also know there are plenty of psychopaths around who love getting a rise out of people.

I take just the opposite approach. While it may make me feel better to flip them off, I try to think of the next rider they encounter. If they don't get a reaction they expect, they might realize it is not worth their energy. Most of the time I can not really tell what was said anyway, and I just give them the benefit of the doubt. However, when it does happen, it is usually a 17-25 year old boy/man in black pickup truck.

I don't know how you define "redneck", but the few encounters I've had were from just plain rude, immature people. I agree with VNA's post:
Actually, I find that most drivers, 99.9%, are courteous, give us a lot of space, even stop and ask us if we need assistance when standing on the side of the road looking at a map. The loop through Michigan that I was talking about in an earlier post was 1000 miles long, including riding through Detroit. We did not have one incident similar to what you described.

What people say about others --- anything, for any reason --- reflects more on themselves than on those at whom the words are directed.

Yes, there are ignorant people everywhere who need to put others down so they don't have to look close at themselves. Such is life.

As far as I'm concerned, if someone can feel better by throwing meaningless words at me, then I'm willing to accommodate him. Venting his frustrations this way is the best of all alternatives. Imagine what might happen if he can't vent.

Texters are rolling death wagons! Cannot believe the backwards mentality of ALL rednecks that drive diesel truks! For me it's very hard not to flip the bird when people yell out the window. I used to do it without caring too much, but anymore there are too many people that are really on the edge of sanity, so ya just gotta roll with the punches.

And, rednecks drive trucks. Just sayin'.

On a long hill climb I had a guy in a pick'em up truck come up behind and hit his airhorn. My ears were ringing for days.

I was never so motivated to catch and tell him off, but the hill was too long and he was gone.

I bet he compensating for a small wiener with his big truck.

I think that a lot of them must be smoking something exotic. I've been told a lot of times that I should move because the road is copulating.






Incidentally, I think it's funny what words get published on BF and what gets starred out.

Tell him his drink hand up needs work.

I think it is also safe to guess that your truck driver, and others we have talked about here, are not PhD candidates at MIT or anyplace
else.

One thing that concerns me in this area is the left turn on flashing yellow.
I'll be going straight through the intersection on green, the opposite side has a red light for through and a flashing yellow for left turn.
The tendency now is for opposite drivers to turn into me on the flashing yellow.
This despite the right of way and fluorescent green jacket.

Could not agree more. I just grit my teeth and smile and wave. Although around these parts it happens very infrequently.

I'm going to disagree with your guess here, a college degree never gave anyone an ounce of common sense! A superiority complex maybe!

rednecks will do that. I have had sh*t thrown at me and insults for no reason at all (opposite lane of traffic no less).

Glad to hear you had a good experience riding through "the D". I'll loop into Detroit for a CRITICAL MASS, and organized "Tour de Troit", or just to get a cup of coffee, and I've not had any problems.

- AS A MATTER OF FACT: on the Tour de Troit I had a rider drafting me too closely, didn't pay attention to a stop sign we were rolling up to, didn't pay attention to me saying "breakbreakbreakbreak" and he shoved me in to an intersection that didn't have to stop - The drive must have been paying really good attention and was totally on the brakes.
The only issue was the knuckle head drafting me going over his bars and landing on his head.

I used the term "rednecks" loosely.. I've seen "rednecks" on bicycles but it's usually only because they got a DUI and that's the only way they can get around. I guess a better term would have been "low lifes". It seems to me the lower socio economic groups are the typical offenders, either that or people just don't like seeing others having a good time. I rode on the shoulder of a state road here in northern MI for 10mi. today. Frankly it scared the crap out of me even though there is a very generous shoulder. One texting teenager or one drunk driver and it's game over. I can handle a slurpie chucked out a window at me but I didn't enjoy hearing vehicles coming up from behind at 70mph. I don't think I can "get used" to that so I'm going to have to take the bikes to bike paths to have peace of mind. You guys that mingle with vehicular traffic must have a different mind set than I do.