RidesaCarlton

The city I live in has some peculiar ideas about bike lanes. In the centre of downtown, there is a road, that has also been labled as a bus or bicycle only road. OK, I rode it a few times. There is only room of one bus, or one bike. They can't pass without going into the opposite direction lane. A bus decided to be ignorant. Two can do that, and I just moved into the centre of the lane, and continued at 8 MPH (Mountain bike). He followed me about 6 inches from my back tire for about 3 blocks. I decided I didn't care. Being ignorant is no fun, even when I'm in the right. I now avoid that road because regular traffic is safer.

drlogik 

Quite frankly, we have it good today. When I started riding back in 1975, us riders frequently had bottles, cans and other trash thrown at us. Not out of malice but just thinking it's funny. We got pushed off the road and one time for me, I got run off a bridge and fell 10 feet down into a creek. I road home soaking wet when it was in the 40's. No cell phone to call home and no payphone to make a call in the countryside.

There were no bikes lanes, at least not in any place I lived in back then. There wasn't the proliferation of riders either. So a motorist seeing a cyclist out on a country road was a rarity, at least where I lived.

My opinion on the situation today centers around one main issue: We are our own problem.

There are a few riders that ride my same route who routinely run red lights, stop signs, fail to yield and take up an entire lane at rush hour. Who does this?

There are a lot of advocate riders out there that do amazing things to increase awareness of cyclists and roads. Those efforts are thwarted by riders that intentionally provoke motorists.

Many will disagree with me and some will attack what I am saying. That's your right. BUT, don't complain if a motorist acts like a jackass to you and you're one of the riders that run red lights, stop signs and take up an entire lane during rush hour. You're part of the problem, not part of the solution....if this applies to you.

To minimize bad encounters with motorists, I ride routes that have a bike lane, wide shoulder or a dedicate center lane for turning. I stop at stop lights. If there is no traffic at all, I'll cautiously proceed. If it's a stop sign, same deal. I don't cruise through one unless there is no traffic.

I commuted to work for about three years in Phoenix Arizona and never had a problem abiding by those few rules. If I got off work late and hit peak traffic, heck I'd ride a different route or ride the sidewalk. I only once had an encounter with a motorist but he truly didn't see me and apologized.



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Jmpierce

I used to commute in Chicago on a regular basis and rode on the weekend with friends. I have been shouted at a few times. The best was when I was retiring home after a long ride in heavy traffic, a ball game had just let out, when a passenger in a car yelled "get a car looser!" As he passed I noticed the Cubs attire and realized he was a Cubs fan and I yelled "Who's the looser?" The Cubs hadn't won in many years at that point.

m2244

You're kidding? Grandstand much?

Good topic OP, people can be jerks to cyclists, good to get some perspectives on how to handle it.

unterhausen

What I have found if I'm merely harassed is that I get over it much more quickly if I just wave. And I'm not talking about a single finger wave either. We're all different, but plotting the perpetrator's demise is something I don't want to obsess over for a week. Even if they deserve it and the world would be better off without them.

If it's more egregious than just words, I haven't really settled on a satisfactory response. I'm generally in favor of calling the cops if it's an illegal act. They are calling the cops about cyclists. And lying.

As far as the political or socio-economic motivations of these people, well, that's not really a fit subject for General Cycling. And I would say you are probably wrong anyway, mind reading is an inexact science.

twowheelies

I agree, drivers are much more acclimated to cyclists these days than in the past.

I used a bike as my primary means of transportation in NYC back in the 90s, and I can’t tell you how many times I was nearly run over by some maniac driving a city bus!

I still ride in the city regularly, and the *******s are still out there, trust me. you still get drivers honking, cutting you off or passing too close... there just aren’t nearly as many of them, thankfully.

indyfabz

And does it in General instead of A&S, where this mess belongs.