hillyman

My goal this year is to not to lose my temper in any 'confrontations'. Sure enough, on my second road ride of the year, I'm on a lonely hilly backroad enjoying the quiet. Up from behind comes a car, honks twice and passes close. So I raise my left arm and wave my hand to the left. The car pulls over. As I ride up towards him I see a sticker " How's my driving 1-800-EAT-... " as the side window rolls down. I hesitated a moment and then like a idiot rode up. He asked nicely did I wave him over. I said no, I was motioning you to give room because you passed real close. His tone increased and he said "If you are afraid of getting hit ride on the other side of the road"! I said no this is the legal way, you need to give room. He got mad and started cussing me out good. I just asked him nicely to please move on and let me enjoy my ride and he drove away still cussing. It wasn't perfect but a new attitude and road shoes kept it from getting ugly

KleinMp99

Stupid ****in people.....you should have kicked his ass. I was riding home with 2 friends once and this jeep flys by in the other direction and somebody inside said something like "your bikes are shît" so I flipped them off with both hands, they stopped and threw it into reverse and burnt the tires out a little, put it back into forward and drove away. F****N idiots...

Pete Clark

Actually, Hillyman is not only doing his part to make the world a better place, but he is helping himself.

He will reap the long-term benefits that a mind at peace brings, including physical benefits. The cussing motorist is only killing himself, very slowly (not to mention making his own life a h*ll-hole.)

By habitually agitating oneself, one shortens one's lifespan and makes one prone to a host of debilitating (or deadly) "lifestyle diseases."

bikerTeen

I agree completely! The last thing we need in this world is more stress-related illness. A lot of us need to follow Hillyman's example. Afer all, riding a bike is supposed to be fun!

(Although if I were Hillyman, I would (calmly) call "1-800-EAT-...")

antonius

Well I had to reply with glee, Hillyman. Now that's the spirit.

I too had difficulty with holding my temper and not let things go. Nooo, I had to cuss and flip my finger, chew people out, fume and cuss some more, chase some people down and bang on their cars. Some didn't respond, others flipped back and so on. And I have hypertension.

It is my goal this year as well, to not confront and cuss and flip. I've failed a couple of times but resolve to do better on the next ride. Yes, I know, some drivers are not too smart and fail to respect cyclists on the road. But there are many more drivers who do respect everyone on the road and drive carefully.

And BTW, I was rear-ended in my car earlier this week and I didn't get mad or respond in anger towards the driver who hit me. And he didn't rant at me for stopping for the yellow light. I took it in stride, took down the required info for insurance and we went on our merry ways.

So here's to you Hillyman, you are a role model. By doing what you are doing, it is your part to make the world a better and more peaceful place to live (in light of what is going on in the world.) Shall we all strive to do the same.

Peace.

SipperPhoto

good to go Hillyman... nothing pisses people off more, than being nice to them. It makes it even better when you know you are right !

Jeff

digger

You handled it right Hillyman.

Keeping your temper YOU where able to control the situation and most likely the outcome.

To anyone who states that Hillyman should have kicked his a$$...or 'flips the bird' at people:

If you are being cursed at, or if someone insults your bike, and you get upset, then you need a thicker skin. Try not to be so sensitive. They are words, they don't linger and cause no physical harm. Smile, wave, say thank you, whatever. Don't let them push yer buttons.

If someone threatens your life or with harm, get info on description, license or whatever and call the police.

If someone takes a swing at you then YES, kick his a$$! If you can, otherwise get the he11 outta there and call the police.

Getting upset because someone said nasty words means you don't have control of the situation. Never let em see you angry for something like that.

It's all about control....

Digger

amerpie

I admit that it's frustrating when some moron gives a cyclist a scare becuase the cyclist might cause the motorist a three second delay on a trip to the bakery to buy some doughnuts. I admit that on occasion I've given a motorist the old thumbs up with the wrong finger. In my mature moments, however, I realize that when it's car vs. bike, cars always win.

Peace,
Lou