nismo400

I took my bike out for a little 7 mile ride on the road today. I was riding in the right lane. I got flipped off by 3 f***ers and over 5 people came within 3 feet of me when they passed me. I was flippin people off left and right the whole time. I swear to god if I could of caught up with one of the people who came close to me i would have kicked off their rear view mirror. Next time I go for a road ride i'm taking three or four C batteries with me. So beware Plano drivers, next time you cut it close to a guy with a silver helmet and black bike you will get a ding or broken window.

chicken-f***ers!!!!

KevinG

Sorry you had a bad ride, but damn that last line had me laughing so hard!!

Guest

Likewise. I had a good chuckle.

I had a good ride going north today, but coming back south, it was one idiot after another. And one guy was turning right, and I had the light, and I literally missed getting hit by like 1 second. If I'd been a little slower, I would have been hit head on. About every mile, I had a problem today coming back, but I didn't let it deter me- I ended up having a nice ride today. If all goes well, tomorrow I will have a long ride, and a possible long ride Saturday too. We'll see.

Sorry about your ride. Don't let the dumb@sses spoil a good thing!

Koffee

SipperPhoto

heheh yeah I was rollin' when I read that too..

sucks to have a bad ride like that

Jeff

bac

You got that much room? Seriously, I would guess that @ least 75% of the cars that pass me on the road are within 3 feet of my handlebars. I've learned to live with it, and hope that they don't crush me.

Ba-Dg-Er

Way to be an achiever and put yourself above them all. With that much rage I am surprised you weren't hit since you were obviously not focused on the road at all.

Not sure how it is where you are, but here, if a motorist sees you vent at another motorist they know you're upset and will derive enjoyment from further upsetting you.

Calm down - life is too short.

Rowan

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Uh oh, answered it already!

The Terminator

I hope things get better for you. I am not ready for the rode yet. I will likely stick to the trail at least until I decide to wear a helmet. I don't like helmets, they are so uncomfortable. I only get off the trail to go by the bikeshop. People are pretty good to cyclists over there, I guess that they see so many of us making a little ant trail to the bikeshop and back.

nismo400

Sorry Buddah, maybe I'll find enlightenment by following your guide to life.
Of course I wasn't focused on the road, I was focused on the morons on it so I wouldn't be HIT!

Since you are so into behavoral psychology you should know that telling irate people to calm down is liable to earn you a black eye, just a friendly tip

Ba-Dg-Er

Thus becoming one of the morons on the road, don't focus on people that will never understand or even try... just ignore them and go on your way. By focusing on the morons you please the people that are trying to upset you, and the others well they're not paying attention in the first place so they don't know either way. By the way, it's Buddha ... and I ain't him! I was merely trying to advise you from my own experience.

Quote:

Since you are so into behavoral psychology you should know that telling irate people to calm down is liable to earn you a black eye, just a friendly tip

HAHAHAHAHA .... please ...

John E

California law (not universally followed, of course) mandates that a motorist leave 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicyclist. (It helps that the bicycle section of the drivers' handbook / vehicle code summary was edited by cycling advocates and Effective Cycling instructors!)

Ba-Dg-Er

Arizona has the same law ... nice to know it's not followed any better here then it is in California.

brad

Yes, by all means kick a mirror. That way the next time that drunken buba sees a cyclist he'll just run over and kill them. Yes, by all means throw a battery at them. That way the next time drunken buba sees a cyclist he'll take a few shots at them with his coon shooter.
Or better yet, just vent on this forum. Then forget about it, ride your bike, keep a look out for the drunken buba types and not get someone else killed.

The Rob

I occasionally (like today on the road to work) have motorists skim by, the sort of drivers who are loath to approach the center line. I usually respond with a thumb jerked to the left and a shake of my head.

This morning I also had a guy muscle his way into the right lane in front of me as we came to a red light. Since I was already slowing I didn't even have to brake very hard, but it was a bit too close. I felt this act warranted a slight crouch to peer through his rear window with hands out and palms up ("What the Hell are you doing?")

These reactions are ordinarily the extent of my displays of dissatisfaction because, let's be honest, ranting and rude gestures communicate the idea that one wishes further 'dialogue', a request that might be obliged. Then comes the screaming, flailing appendages, and drawn weapons.

No one is served by these histrionics. If you feel threatened by the behavior of a motorist, take the license number if you're able and report the incident. In this way you may even be doing your fellow cyclists and other motorists a favor.

-Rob

The Terminator

You can't triple stamp a double stamp!
You can't triple stamp a double stamp!
You can't triple stamp a double stamp!

Ba-Dg-Er

LA LA LA LA LA LA!
LA LA LA LA LA LA!
LA LA LA LA LA LA!

Ba-Dg-Er

From the Tucson, Arizona paper the "Arizona Daily Star" ... this article is kind of old being from November 2000, but it gives some insight into the mind of a motorist that sees cyclists raging on motorists.

These are merely excerpts, the full article is at:
https://tdc-www.harvard.edu/massbike/...0011/0109.html

"The driver of a truck that collided last week with a bicyclist training for El
Tour de Tucson is the same driver involved in a crash with another cyclist on the same road last year."

"The driver, Patrick P. Argenziano, 51, says he feels cursed by bad luck, and
that the crashes on South Mission Road were not his fault."

"Both of the crashes occurred in clear weather conditions during daylight and
on flat surfaces. No skid marks were reported."

" 'I didn't hit anybody. . . . These guys ride along these roads, they give you
the finger, they don't want to move over, what are we supposed to do?' Argenziano said. 'They are rude, crude people. Not every one of them, but some of them are. We try to get around them and all's we get is abuse.' "

"Argenziano, driving a 1987 white Ford truck. Argenziano's 14-year-old son was in the truck with him."

" 'He was yelling profanities out the window and he bumped the guy on the bike.' "

" 'Cantor) must have lost control. He was in the middle of the road and he
didn't move for me. It's as simple as that,' Argenziano said"

All of the riders involved were okay, although one was seriously injured. This just goes to show that raging on these people does nothing but enrage them in the future when they encounter other cyclists. This man explained that WE are rude, crude people... not all of them, but some of them, but he didn't think about that when he hit these cyclists. Now his son has learned these lessons from dear old dad and by now should be behind the wheel.

Remember that your actions impact our entire community/sport. The driver could turn around and run you down or run the next cyclist they see down ... either way we lose a valued member of the sport and that is incrediblly unfortunate.

mechBgon

Excellent points by you and Ba-Dg-Er, brad. These people may "pay it forward" in the bad way.

Personally, I find that the closer the motor vehicles get, the more draft I can pick up off 'em If you're not comfortable operating with motor vehicles close to you, I can understand that, and I recommend picking up a helmet-mount mirror so you can at least see what's coming, how fast, how wide, and whether they're moving out or not.

Chuvak

yeah, yaeh. How come you never mention the speed? Were they really that fast? 3 feet is more then enough room for me. I've been passed on a one-way street with less then a foot.

Joe Gardner

*nod* on 25mph streets (30mph actual speed), I dont mind as long as they give me a foot of room. Actual passing speed is between 5 and 10mph, I know i can hold a straight line, I figure most drivers can too.

nismo400

The speed limit is 40 but everyone drives between 45-55mph so they were going pretty damn fast.
The streets are Legacy and Independence so people from the area can back me up on the numbers.

lostinthewoods

Hey,

where in plano do you ride???

I tend to get that same behavior when riding up Midway north of plano parkway. I now a days ride in the middle of the right lane b/c it is a 3 lane road.Screw them. I have my pump with me. that is enuff to take a side mirror off.

another thing I found that works well is to be sure you SPIT towards the left side when cars come by. You may actually catch a few with a good lugi. hehe.. That deters them some. hehe

nismo400

I never thought of a pump.....hmmmmmmmm!!!!

Prosody

On bad days I can be bothered by rude drivers. On good days I will not be bothered. I may not control the drivers on the road, but I do control myself. I can choose to end a ride more stressed than I was at the beginning, or I can choose to enjoy a ride and find some physical and mental peace through it. Besides, the overwhelming majority of drivers I encounter on the roads are safe and courteous, and I respond to them in kind.

Guest

Speaking of which, does anyone know where I can get one of those really loud horns (small enough to tuck away and carrry for when I'm riding)- I want to say they're fog horns, but I'm not sure. People usually have them at football games.

I'm just thinking one of those bad boys ought to be enough to attract the attention of some inattentive driver! I'm still shuddering from that near miss from today on my ride! And the dumb @ssed driver never even stopped, even though all the traffic did- it was pure shock!