wafranklin

I am a laid-back guy.
But when someone messes with me when I am riding my bike my temper spikes fast and dangerously.
It takes alot of effort for me to calm myself down which is, or course, the best plan.
My impulse is to chase down the offending driver and have a confrontation.
Seems like it has something to do with the exercise getting my juices flowing or something.
I do alot of weight lifting and don't have the temper spikes, but then I don't have
drivers honking and swerving at me with their cars while at the gym.
I wonder if others have this issue.

Troul 

Just an annoying bike rider to other people. Your safety is not something they'll naturally respect especially when laws are "written" to protect you while pedaling.

Oneder

I get more wary while on the bike than anything, but it is understandable since your adrenaline is up while riding. Just try and stay in control. I do keep a large u-lock with me in case I get someone attacking me or something but so far no problem yet though I have had idiots yelling about nonsense ad nauseum because most people are entitled idiots who don't have any idea what the laws are they just get mad if they have to wait 2 seconds for a cicyclist or step aside one foot or pay attention for 2 seconds of their selfish life.

Pugs2xLove

Thank God I haven't encountered any road rage behind the handlebar. There are a handful of idiotic drivers and a few bikers that get under my skin but I laughed it off and pedaled on. Not worth it IMO.

Paul Barnard

I don't respond well to people who threaten or endanger me.

indyfabz

A laid-back Fred?

shelbyfv

Clearly you need to let that temper loose, run the perp down and get some satisfaction. There are too many of us skinny armed, mild mannered cyclists about.

Strange

If riding your bike lowers your excitability threshold and your inhibitions do at least one of the following things: learn and practice anger management techniques and/or stop riding. There are a lot of people walking through life with a very short fuse, and getting into a hassle with them is potentially deadly. It’s truly shocking how quickly a random encounter with such a person can escalate from words to violence. A few things to remember:

1) The best way to deal with trouble is to avoid it in the first place. No matter how much righteous indignation you feel be aware that responding angrily will *not* convince the other person of your rightness and their wrongness. It will only serve to escalate the situation further.

2) You have nothing to gain and everything to lose by getting into a hassle with someone. No amount of argument or adversarial behavior will make the situation right, but it may very likely lead to bad or even catestrophic consequences for you.

3) You have no idea the kind of person you’re dealing with. They could be anyone from Caspar Milktoast to a baby mutilating criminal sociopath. You have no idea of their present state of mind, their level of self control, their propensity for aggression and violence, their amenity to reason or the abject lack of same, their physical capacity for violence, their criminal history, or really anything else about them. Do not assume anything based on a person’s superficial appearance, the vehicle they’re driving, or any other immediate impression of them.

4) Rash behavior can cause you a lifetime of regret. No matter how much anger you feel in the moment it will eventually subside and, unless you’re a sociopath, you’ll get over it. But if in that moment of anger you do something with irrevocable consequences you will find that years after your anger has dissipated the consequences of your actions will still be with you.

Just a few things to bear in mind.

GlennR

I've snapped off a few right hand mirrors in my time. And I keep telling myself to calm down, but i've seen drivers almost hit me when they're the only one on a multi lane road. Or pass me only to make a right turn right in front of me.

Once had 2 girls in a minivan come up right behind me and lay on the horn. I must of passed them and they did it again. After the 3rd time, I was able to catch up to them at a light and bang on the driver's window. They were so surprised they ran through the red light.

That taught me a lesson and i've not had any "bike" rage since. I don't want anyone to get hurt.

shelbyfv

One of the best posts I've ever seen on BF. Thanks

vane171

Ride your bike so as not to provoke car drivers with your arrogant riding. Bike is not an automobile and should be ridden accordingly. I use both as most of us do and we don't cause problem. Problematic are those bikers who are saving the Earth by riding bikes and who developed resentment towards those who use cars.

shelbyfv

GlennR

So you think the cyclists are the antagonists?

I find the opposite that some drivers feel cyclists don't belong on the streets. That some go out of their way and do risky things.

Personally, I ride defensively since in a car - bicycle collision, the bike always loses.

Koyote

I think you’ve lost the plot. We’re discussing cases in which motorists harass/menace/endanger cyclists when they (the cyclists) have done nothing wrong.

If this has never happened to you, then you’re pretty lucky. Perhaps you have not been riding for very long… Or perhaps you live in North Dakota.

dedhed

Good way to get shot

veganbikes

Ride your bike only indoors in a small box while watching shows on diesel trucks and gas powered super cars on a T.V. powered by a gas generator so as not to upset drivers with your pedal powered arrogance. Streets are only for cars and it says so in the constitution and also stay off sidewalks which are only for gas powered and e-scooters. I am a pedestrian too but you don't see me clogging up passages for motorized vehicles which should always have the right of way in every single situation as it is their road and they are the only ones who ever pay taxes on them while bikes and walkers go around creating potholes and cracks in the sidewalk which ruin my car.

Remember bikes are toys and nothing else. Cars are for responsible adults to drive as they please and do as they please on the roads because those are exclusively their roads that were divined to them by Asphalt Jesus.

woodcraft

Might be the saddle.

Try a recumbent.

tomato coupe

From the title, I assumed this thread was about recumbents.

shrimp123

there are two songs from Beatles that i sing to myself when i get angry on my bike
- if you have got trouble
then i take a deep breath and
- let it be
If i happen to pass by at the next signal, "smile and wave boys".... remember all five fingers, no favorites!

I hate being honked at... hey, i have even been charcoal-ed once. But, I LOVE biking so much that i refuse to let some jackass get me into a situation that might ruin it for me (don't care about him/her).

MattTheHat 

Where the heck are you riding? From this and a few of your other posts it sounds like you’re cycling in a Mad Max type scenario.

You write that most people are “entitled idiots who don’t have any idea what the laws are they just get mad if they have to wait 2 seconds.” MOST people? Really? In my experience I’d say a tiny, tiny fraction of drivers act that way.

If you feel like you need to carry a u-lock for self-defense, you might want to reconsider riding. Or maybe move. Knitting or stamp collecting are pretty safe alternatives. You also might not want to post about your u-lock self-defense system on the internet. Guess what happens when you clock one of those drivers with your u-lock? Your internet post won’t look good in court.

Oneder

It pretty much is mad max, at least when it comes to dealing with pedestrians. Most of the drivers are OK but there are a lot of them on some of the roads I pass to get to the bike trail. I don't care if the cops see that, I would never do anything that was unwarranted and they are not going to chase people down over a minor incident anyway. Hotheads aside (and there's lots of them who object to me being on the sidewalk or being in the bike lane or being in the gutter or on and on) I've been attacked by homeless people by surprise before and if that happens on the bike then I want to be sure I am ready.

I already moved from california because the whole state has turned into a dumpster fire which is unlivable unless you are a retired multimillionaire or otherwise lucky enough to live in a beach city and not to have to commute. It's actually pretty safe here in vegas but between the street people and hot/cold/windy weather the awful drivers and the plentiful traffic it is not the best bicycle environment. I am sure out in the country it is better but the whole country is changing dramatically and it shows no signs of slowing down or changing for the better any time soon.

MattTheHat 

Your hyperbole cracks me up. I can assure you the whole state has not turned into a dumpster fire. Now, I don’t care to live there, but your characterization is almost amusing.

Out in the country? The Dallas area has almost 4 times the population of the Las Vegas area. The drivers here are nothing like what you describe in “the big city.”

indyfabz

Could have sworn I clicked on General and not A&S. Guess not.

wolfchild

Keep your ego in check and keep your emotions under control...There is nothing wrong with having an aggressive and dangerous side...but don't use it until your life is really in danger. There is no need to go into berserker rage just because some person honks at you or because some driver gives you a finger, those are not real threats, they're just emotional responses from people who lack self-control. Save the beast that's within you for when you really need it.

jack pot 

bike rage is road rage minus 2 wheels & 2000 lbs > chill or die